Writing

The Writing section of the SAT makes up one-third of your total composite score (800 out of
2400). Here is the run-down that I gave in the introductory section:

Quote:

The SAT Writing section, added in 2005, is a slightly shorter 60 minutes, which is broken into
three sections (one 25-minute essay section to commence the test, a 25-minute section, and a
refreshingly brief 10-minute section to round out the SAT). There are 25 Improving Sentences
questions, 18 Identifying Errors questions, 6 Improving Paragraphs questions, and the essay.

Although the SAT does not explicitly test any grammatical terms, having a firm
understanding of English grammar serves as an invaluable foundation for confidently
answering each of the Improving Sentences and Identifying Errors questions. Having an
especially good ear for what sounds right may get you a good score a lot of the time; but it
is unreliable, especially these days, when colloquialisms and grammar errors pervade our
speech. So here we go.

(In writing this guide, I have attempted to integrate concepts that the SAT will test into the
presentation of grammar. Some of the grammar terminology can be intimidating; but if you
spend the time to truly understand the concepts that I present, I am confident that
(assuming an essay score of 10 or higher) you should be able to consistently score 750 or
higher on the Writing section, almost regardless of where you started.)

GRAMMAR GUIDE

It seems most appropriate to begin with the parts of speech, many of which will likely be
familiar to you. Many relevant discussions stem from them, and they are presented here as
well.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

The Noun: any entity, often defined as a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns come in
various forms, some of which have overlap:

Common noun: a nonspecific entity; is not capitalized, except when beginning a sentence.
Examples: dog, computer, printer, ground, person, painter, stupidity.

Proper noun: a specific entity; must be capitalized. Examples: Bob, Microsoft, United
States, Texas.

---

Singular noun: a single entity; may be proper or common. Examples: house, President,
shirt, beauty.

Plural noun: multiple entities; may be proper or common. Examples: houses, Presidents,
shirts.

---
Collective noun: a single noun that refers a group of entities. Examples: jury, team, family.
Depending on the context and intended meaning, collective nouns may be either singular or
plural; I will discuss this more later.

---

Count noun: noun that can be pluralized. Examples: world, army, book, pencil.

Noncount noun: noun that cannot be pluralized; also called mass noun. Examples: clutter,
rice, furniture. Some words can be count or noncount nouns, depending on the sense that
the word is being used in. One example of such a word is will: in one sense (that relating to
determination), the word is a noncount noun; in another sense (that relating to a legal
document), the word can be pluralized.

---

Concrete noun: a noun referring to an entity that can be perceived with one of the five
senses. Examples: pen, air, bed, Fred, wall.

Abstract noun: a noun referring to an entity that cannot be perceived with one of the five
senses. Examples: beauty, intelligence, determination, depression. Abstract nouns are
usually noncount nouns.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

The Pronoun: any word taking the place of a noun. To guide the discussion of pronouns, I
will explain person, case, and anaphora. As you work through this section, you will likely
notice the great number of errors that directly relate to pronouns.

Person

- First-person pronouns refer in whole or part to the speaker or writer; I, me, myself, mine,
my, we, us, ourselves, ours, and our are the first-person personal pronouns.

- Second-person pronouns refer in whole or part to the reader or listener; you, yourself,
yours, and your are the second-person personal pronouns.

- Third-person pronouns refer to neither the speaker or writer nor the reader or
listener; he, him, himself, his, she, her, herself, hers, her, it, itself, its, one, one's, they,
them, themselves, theirs, and their are the third-person personal pronouns.

I will discuss pronoun case (and its implications on the SAT) in a moment, but there are
many SAT-relevant aspects to pronouns that should be studied now, all of which can be
categorized under the umbrella of errors in person and number.

Shifting person and number: On the SAT a sentence must not change person, unlike the
style that I employed earlier in this guide, in which I frequently shifted
fromone to you to students to avoid sounding overly formal. Consider the following
sentence:
If one wants to avoid losing their leg, you must not bite yourself excessively.
one is in the third person (it refers generically to a single person who is not the speaker or
listener), whereas you is in the second person. This is incorrect; one of these must be
changed to eliminate the discontinuity. (This sentence contains another pronoun error, which
I will discuss soon.) Consider another example:
If students want to do well on their tests, one would be wise to answer the questions
correctly.
Both students and one are in the third person; but the former is plural, and the latter is
singular. This is incorrect. Consider another variation on this error:
If students want to do well on their test, they would be wise to answer the questions
correctly.
It is highly unlikely that multiple students would be taking a single test, so test must be
pluralized to eliminate the number shift. Upon learning this idea, however, students tend to
overgeneralize by assuming that all plural possessive pronouns must be followed by plural
nouns. This is, indeed, generally the case, but do not forget what we learned just recently:
noncount nouns cannot be pluralized. The following pair of sentences (using the word will,
which can be either count or noncount) is, therefore, correct:
Driven by their great will, all of the frogs continued until they reached their destination.
Nonetheless pragmatic, though, the frogs made sure that their wills were in order before
they embarked on their quest.
Noting the additional error that occurred in the first example sentence reveals an important
concept that is frequently tested on the SAT: that they, them, and their are always plural.
This contrasts with the typical habits of most people, and even contradicts the
recommendations of many grammarians; so it is worth stressing. The most common
singular substitutes for they and them are he or she and him or her, respectively. These
alternatives are, unfortunately, quite clunky, though. Another solution is to pluralize the
subject of the sentence. Consider these variations in the following corrections of the first
example sentence:
If one wants to avoid losing his or her leg, he or she must not bite himself or herself
excessively.
If people want to avoid losing their legs, they must not bite themselves excessively.
Note that, in the second sentence, care was taken to pluralize leg in order to comply with
the previously stated rule about avoiding number shifts.

Case

- A pronoun in the subjective case (also called the nominative case) is the subject of a verb.
These pronouns "do" something or "are" something. The subjective pronouns are I, you, he,
she, it, we, they, and who. (who is usually a relative pronoun, which I will discuss later.)

- A pronoun in the objective case (also called the accusative case) is the object of a verb or
preposition. These pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, them, andwhom. When the
pronoun is the object of a verb, it is either a direct object or an indirect object. I cannot see
distinguishing between these two forms as being useful on the SAT, however, so I will not
elaborate on that.

- A pronoun in the possessive case (also called the genitive case) modifies a noun. The
possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, its, our, theirs, and whose.

Nouns also take all three forms, but in English there is no distinction in how we write or
speak nouns that are in the nominative or objective cases. For example, one can say that
Bob ate the city, or that the city ate Bob. In the first clause (I will discuss clauses in detail
later) Bob is in the subjective case; in the second clause Bob is in the objective case, as it is
the direct object of ate.

Case errors in comparisons: In everyday speech we often use the incorrect case in
comparisons. Specifically, we tend to use the objective case instead of the subjective case.
This error stems from our tendency to omit the verb in the second part of the comparison.
Now, this habit itself is not ungrammatical; but it does lead to the aforementioned case
error, which is ungrammatical. Consider the following sentence, which would not likely even
raise an eyebrow if used in normal speech:
You are a better runner than me.
You is being used in the subjective case here (although we cannot tell this by just looking at
the word, as you is one of those pronouns that do not visibly inflect between the subjective
and objective cases); it is the subject of the verb are. me, which is in the objective case, is
being compared to the subjective you. This discontinuity must be fixed by changing me to I.
This may sound somewhat awkward, but this feeling should go away if you actually say the
otherwise implicit verb, as in:
You are a better runner than I am.
This error appears frequently on the SAT.

Gerund errors with the possessive case: This error is one of the most pervasive and
least commented-on in the English language. One finds mention of it only rarely even in
grammatical handbooks. Because I have not yet established all of the necessary
grammatical foundation to explain this, I will address this at the conclusion of the "Parts of
Speech" section. For now, though, I will leave you with an example of this error:
I looked up and saw a person stealing my burrito!

Case errors with prepositions: Although this rule is relatively straightforward, I will save
describing it until I cover prepositions. Speaking of that adverb...

Case errors with relative pronouns: I won’t go into detail about how the concept of
restrictive and non-restrictive clauses applies to relative pronouns; all you really need to
know is what they are. Who and whoever are subjective relative
pronouns. whom and whomever are objective relative pronouns. The relative pronouns that,
which, and whichever can be in either the subjective or objective case. The rules for
determining which case is being used apply similarly to relative pronouns: if the pronoun is
the subject of a verb, it is in the subjective case; otherwise, it is in the objective case.
Because who visibly inflects between the cases, I will present two sentences using that word
and its variation to example when each case is appropriate:
I caught the turkey whom I knew.

I want to catch the turkey who knows me.

In the first sentence I is the subject of the verb knew, and whom (which is referring
to turkey) is the object of that verb. (Ordinarily, the object of a verb will appear after it. It is
important to note, though, that relative pronouns are usually exceptions to this.) In the
second sentence who (which is also referring to turkey) is the subject of the verb knows,
and me is the object of that verb.

(It’s also worth noting that the relative pronoun which does not work with people and
that who only works with people and personified turkeys.)
Errors with making the possessive case: In order to make a singular noun possessive,
we generally add an apostrophe and then an s. In order to make a plural noun possessive,
we generally add merely an apostrophe if the word already ended in an s. These basic
guidelines are exampled below:
dog --> dog's
pencil --> pencil's
George --> George's

dogs --> dogs'

pencil --> pencils'
the Georges --> the Georges'
If, however, the plural noun does not end in an s (as is the case with, for example, women),
you must add an apostrophe and an s.

Another issue arises when we are forming the possessive with a compound noun (i.e., a
noun phrase). When each of the nouns within the noun phrase is possessing at least one of
whatever the noun that is being modified is, we use the possessive case for each of the
compound noun's nouns, as in:
Ironically, Bob's and Fred's cars broke down at the same time.
If the noun that is being modified is possessed jointly by the nouns in the compound noun,
use the possessive on only the noun closest to the noun that is being modified, as in:
My mother and father's mansion should satisfactorily suit my housing requirements.

Case errors with compound subjects and objects: Contrary to what many people's
speech may suggest, each noun in a compound subject or compound object must be
inflected to the same case as the other nouns' case in that phrase. Consider these
ungrammatical sentences:
Him and Bob went to the store together.

Sally, Joe, and her are about to start a new pasta club.

I do desire that you apprise my pet and I of the reasons for your election to depart.
These sentences should be corrected thus:
He and Bob went to the store together.

Sally, Joe, and she are about to start a new pasta club.

I do desire that you apprise my pet and me of the reasons for your election to depart.
In the third sentence pet and me is the compound object of the verb apprise.

Case errors with appositives: Appositives define or elaborate on the nouns that they are
adjacent to, as in (the appositives are underlined):
My friend Bob is a good swimmer because he is a fish.

A loyal turkey, Sam was eaten without objection.

My mother, Sue, is a female.

My company, the best accounting firm in the nation, likes to make money.
(In case you're curious about why commas were used in the third sentence but not the first,
it has to do with restrictive versus non-restrictive modification. In general, when a modifier
restricts what it is modifying, we use commas; if not, we don't. This is usually true for
appositives. For example, if we write My friend, Bob,, the modification is non-restrictive,
meaning that Bob is your only friend. Similarly, if we write My mother Sue, the modification
is restrictive; this implies that you have more than one mother.)

Anyhow, appositives must match the case of the noun that they are modifying. For
example:
We revolutionaries are free.

They have left us revolutionaries no option.

The best students in the class, she and I, will receive poor grades on the paper.

I will give the two best students in the class, her and him, poor grades on the paper to
facilitate this example sentence.

Anaphora

In its most general sense, anaphora refers to any verbal reference. All pronouns are, thus,
anaphoric; they refer to nouns. A pronoun's referent is often called itsantecedent; but I will
herein use the former term (i.e., referent) because antecedent implies to me that the
referent must appear before the pronoun, which is untrue. There are three main types of
anaphora, which I explain in the context of pronouns:

- Exophora occurs when a pronoun's referent is found in a different context than that in
which the pronoun is found. With respect to the SAT's Identifying Errors questions, an
exophoric pronoun would refer to something that is not in the given sentence.

- Endophora occurs when a pronoun's referent is, in the context of the SAT's Identifying
Errors questions, in the given sentence.

- Cataphora, a type of endophora, occurs when a pronoun's referent comes after that
pronoun, as in:
Although she did not know what time it was, Sally started jumping on her clock.
Sally is the referent, and she is the cataphoric pronoun.

Exophoric pronoun errors: In the context of the SAT, exophoric pronouns are always
incorrect. That's right: the referent for a pronoun, for the SAT's Identifying Error questions,
must always appear in the sentence. Clear cataphoric references are acceptable, however.

Ambiguous reference errors: More than merely appearing in the sentence, a pronoun's
referent must be clear. Consider the following sentences:
The parents told their children that they would be leaving soon.

The parents told their child that they would be leaving soon.
The first sentence is unacceptable because they could grammatically and logically refer to
either parents or children. However, the second sentence is acceptable. The
plural they cannot refer to the singular child; it must, therefore, refer to the only plural noun
in the sentence: parents. (This does get a bit hazier, though, if the writer of the second
sentence was trying to refer to both parents and child. Rest assured, though: most
ambiguous reference errors on the SAT will be apparent if you are looking for them.)

For further example of when a pronoun should be considered ambiguous and when it should
be considered acceptable, consider my previous sentence:

Quote:

The plural they cannot refer to the singular child; it must, therefore, refer to the only plural noun
in the sentence: parents.

There, it referred clearly to they. Grammatically, however, the singular it could have referred
to the likewise singular child, a fact compounded by the two words' close proximity. But
because the referent of it is the subject of the previous clause, the reference is clear. If one
had meant to refer to child (which was being used in the objective case), he or she would
have had to explicate that* noun as opposed to using the pronoun.

[* That that reminds me that I should briefly mention demonstrative pronouns and
adjectives. They are this, these, that, and those. Each of those can be used as a pronoun
(as in I want to eat that) or an adjective (as in I want that hippo as a friend). In either case,
the reference must also be clear; even the adjectival demonstrative is referring to
something.]

Don't be fooled by dummy pronouns: Alright, I lied a little bit earlier. Dummy pronouns
(more formally called expletive pronouns or pleonastic pronouns) are the singular exception
to the rule that all pronouns must have endophoric references on the SAT. Why? Well,
dummy pronouns do not actually refer to anything. Consider the following sentences:
It is important to note that one plus one does not equal five.

Despite appearances to the contrary, it was clear to the particularly perspicacious observer
that Bob's name was Bob.

What time is it?

None of these pronouns have a referent*—either endophorically or exophorically. And that's
fine. Just remember this: if a pronoun is trying to refer to something (i.e., it is not one of
those rare dummy pronouns), you need to be able to find that referent in the sentence;
otherwise, the pronoun is being used erroneously.

(* Did you notice the mistake? In order to maintain continuity in number, I need to
pluralize referent.)

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

The Adjective: a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. Examples: green, nice, mean,
amazing.

Luckily, there is much less to mention about adjectives than about pronouns. There are
some additional things to mention about participles, but I will save those for the section in
which I cover verbals (which are participles, gerunds, and infinitives).
Errors with adjectives in comparisons: There are three terms relevant to this
error: positive, comparative, and superlative. The positive form of an adjective is its base
form (e.g., cold). In order to form the comparative form, we usually use the suffix -er or the
adverb more (e.g., colder). In forming the superlative form, we generally add the suffix -
est or the adverb most (e.g., coldest).

The comparative form is used when we are comparing two things, as in:
Between me and my brother, he is weaker.

Which of your two cars do you like better?

The superlative form is used when we are comparing three or more things, as in:
Among me and my brothers, I am weakest.

Which of your eleven cars do you like best?

A specific diction error: fewer versus less: This error is unlikely to show up on any
given SAT, but it comes up so frequently in everyday speech that it is worth mentioning. In
general, we associate the adjective fewer with count nouns and number, and the
adjective less with noncount nouns and amount. Consider these examples:
fewer computers
less computing
fewer births
fewer cups of coffee
less coffee
less beauty
fewer beauties
less hair
fewer hairs
less than ten minutes
less than three miles
less than five dollars
The last four examples may seem to depart from the general guideline slightly, and in a way
they do. But, while some of those things may seem countable and in reference to numbers
(e.g., you can count out your money and see that you have less than five dollars), the true
semantic implication is related to amount. For example, when we say that there is less than
ten minutes left, we are referring not to the actual minutes, but to time. Likewise, when we
say that we are less than three miles away, we are referring to distance. And with the
dollars example, we are not referring to the actual dollar bills (in which case we would be
referring to a number); we are, instead, actually referring to the amount of money.

This concept has important implications for subject-verb agreement as well, which I will
discuss later.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

The Adverb: a word that modifies an adjective, a verb, or another adverb.
Examples: quickly, fast, happily.

An instance in which an adverb is modifying an adjective:

I want to buy a very hungry alligator.
The adverb very is there modifying the adjective hungry, which is modifying the
noun alligator. An instance in which an adverb is modifying a verb, and in which another
adverb is modifying that adverb:
I ran through the wall quite fast.
In that sentence the adverb fast is modifying the verb ran. That adverb is, in turn, being
modified by the adverb quite.

Errors in placement of adverbs: In general adverbs can be placed quite liberally. We can
correctly say, for example, all of the following:
Quickly, he ran to get his lost lemur.

He ran quickly to get his lost lemur.

He quickly ran to get his lost lemur.

Sometimes, however, the placement of an adverb can change the meaning of a sentence.
Consider this example, in which I italicize part of the sentence with the intent that you will
emphasize that part in your mind when you are reading it; this will make the error even
harder to spot:
When I went to Mars last week, I only ate one meal the entire time!
If you heard this when you weren't in SAT-Writing mode, your grammatical ear would likely
have no problem with this sentence. The problem with the sentence is that it departs from
the general rule that adverbs must be as close as possible to what they are modifying.
When I emphasize the nearest candidate for modification, the result is not so pleasing to the
ear:
When I went to Mars last week, I only ate one meal the entire time!
This leaves me wondering: what did you do to the rest of the meals? To reduce this
ambiguity, we need to move the adverb next to one meal:
When I went to Mars last week, I ate only one meal the entire time!

Incorrectly deciding between adverbs and adjectives: The key to correctly identifying
whether an adverb or adjective is appropriate is to ask yourself What is the word doing in
this sentence? If the word is modifying a noun or pronoun, use the adjective form. If the
word is modifying a verb, adjective, or another adverb, use the adverb form. There are
some tricky situations, however:
I feel really [bad/badly] about your situation, Bob.
Ask yourself whether we are modifying feel or some noun. We are actually modifying I here,
so we choose the adjective bad. If we chose badly, the meaning would be that the manner
in which we feel is bad. Consider this sentence:
He is hungry.
These two sentences actually have very similar underlying grammatical
structures. feel and is are serving, respectively, as linking verbs to the
adjectives bad andhungry. Because bad and hungry modify the subject of the intervening
verb, they are called subject complements; specifically, they are predicate
adjectives (predicaterefers broadly to the verb and its complements and modifiers).

This does not have to do with adverbs, but elaborating on this topic seems worthwhile.
Another type of subject complement is the predicate nominative. Recall that the nominative
case (also known as the subjective case) means that the noun or pronoun is the subject of a
verb. Because predicate nominatives define or rename the subject of the linking verb, they
must be in the subjective case. With nouns, the result is perfectly agreeable to the ear
(remember that nouns do not visibly inflect between the subjective and objective cases):
Bob is the man.
man serves as the complement to the subject, Bob, of the linking verb is. Consider this
example, which correctly uses a pronoun in the objective case:
Who is the best runner? The best runner is he.
The subject complement and predicate nominative he is defining the linking verb's
subject, runner, so it is inappropriate to use the likely better-sounding, objective-cased him.
Here are a couple more examples:
I gave it to him. That is, the recipient was he.

The best people are they.

Redundancy, often committed via adverbs: When a word or set of words can alone
mean what is intended, it is unnecessary and, furthermore, ungrammatical to indicate the
idea again with modifiers. Consider this question:
That was good, but can you repeat that song again?
If this will be only the second time that a song is being played, again must be omitted.
Consider these temporal redundancies; I indicate the word or words that should be omitted
in parentheses after each sentence:
I'll meet you there at twelve noon. (twelve)

The meeting starts at 6 PM at night. (at night or PM)

The annual meeting is held every year. (annual)

There are also some phrases that are always redundant, because the words themselves
encompass the meaning of the modifying word or set of words. One example: He wrote his
own autobiography. There are also some words that, except in colloquial contexts, should
only rarely be adverbially modified. One, for example, should not say that something is
"very unique" or "somewhat perfect"; the latter word in each of these pairs is an absolute
adjective. We can, however, say that something is "almost unique" or "probably perfect."

While we are on the topic of redundancy, I might as well bring up a phrase that always
frustrates me, mostly because of its pervasiveness: the reason why is
because.reason already indicates the "why," so both because and why are redundant. The
correct phrase is the reason is that.

Comparative and superlative adverb errors: Care must be taken in forming the
comparative and superlative forms of adverbs. Generally, if the adverbial form of word ends
in -ly, we must form the comparative and superlative forms with more and most,
respectively. For example, instead of asking someone to "work slower," we should ask him
or her to "work more slowly." Make sure to avoid redundancy, though: if the adverb already
indicates the comparative or superlative, do not use more or most. For example, more
better is incorrect.

A specific diction error: due to versus because of: There are some less conservative
grammar sources that support the interchangeability of due to and because of. Nonetheless,
most references maintain the distinction, and it is possible that this could appear on the
SAT. Luckily, the rule is straightforward: due to functions adjectively, and because
of functions adverbially. That is, due to modifies nouns; because of modifies verbs. Consider
this lot of examples; in each case the phrase that I choose is the only correct one, according
to this distinction:
My failure was due to my lack of success.
I failed because of my lack of success.

That is due to his pet snake.

I said that because of my pet snake's forcing me to do so.

Because of the weather, I am hungry.

My hunger is due to the weather.

This means that the only time that one can grammatically begin a sentence with Due to is
when a participial phrase is being employed, as in:
Due to the weather, the storm went home.
If we are following the technical distinction, we know that the storm is due to the weather,
but we do not know why the storm went home. If, however, the writer is not following the
rule, the storm could have gone home because of the weather. This latter meaning "should"
have been communicated thus:
Because of the weather, the storm went home.
I guess we'll never know.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

The Preposition: a word that links words and phrases. Examples: on, in under, around,
between, upon, past, until, at.

A commonly cited rule with respect to prepositions is that they cannot appear at the end of
a sentence. This is, however, not actually true in most cases. Now, there are some times
when it is wrong to do so, as in:
Where is he at?
But this is due to the fact that at is unnecessary, as where already indicates location; it is
not directly due to the preposition's being at the end of the sentence. In fact, there are
some times when moving the preposition from the end of the sentence is incorrect:
I ran up the restaurant tab. Up what did you run?
Why is that second sentence wrong? Because run up is a phrasal verb; it consists of the
verb run and the particle (a cool name for the preposition of a phrasal verb), which is up in
this case. The components of a phrasal verb cannot be separated. Some other phrasal
verbs: make up, run into, and show up.

(Make sure that there is no prepositional redundancy if someone did try to move a
preposition from the end of a sentence, as in the person to whom I talked to.)

The SAT will occasionally test idiomatic phrasal verbs. Some of these can be problematic to
even well-prepared test-takers who are native English speakers. From various sources I
have compiled a list of verbs and their corresponding prepositions/particles (only some of
these are actually phrasal verbs, and only some of those are idiomatic); I have tried to
include any relevant notes:
abide by
absent from
accuse of
accustomed to
agree on / agree upon / agree with / agree to
For example: We agreed on the best course of action. We agree with each other and our
ideas. We agreed to give. We agreed to the plan.
afflicted with
afraid of
angry about
annoyed with / annoyed by
apologize for
apply for
approve of
argue with / argue about
For example: I argue with you about food.
arise from
arrive at
associated with
aware of

believe in
belong to
blame for

came into use

capable of
care about / care for
For example: I care about your well-being. I care for you in order to ensure your well-
being.
cater to
characteristic of
charge of
cite as
committed to
compare to / compare with / compare against
Generally, the use of "with" stresses the differences between the objects of comparison,
whereas the use of "to" emphasizes the similarities. Also, "with" must be used when
"compare" is being used intransitively, a concept that I will cover later.
comply with
composed of
comprise
Despite being frequently used, "comprised by" and "comprised of" are not correct.
"comprise" means "include."
concerned about
condemn as
conform with / conform to
connected to
conscious of
consider to be
consist of
consistent with
contrast with
contributed to / contributed toward
count on

debate over / debate about

dedicated to
define as
depart for / depart from
For example: I departed for Canada. I depart from the typical thinking.
depend on / depend upon
depict as
desirous of
differ from
discriminate against / discriminate between / discriminate among
For example: I discriminate against people from your school. I discriminate among/between
my meal choices.
dispute over / dispute about
distinguish from
divergent from

emphasis on
endeavor to
escape from
excuse for

fascination with
fire from
fond of

guilty of

hide from
hint at
hope for

impose on / impose upon

indebted to
indifferent to
insist on / insist upon
instrumental in
intend to
interested in
involved in / involved with

jealous of

lead to
limited to

object to
oblivious to
obsessed with
obtain from
opposed to
opposition of / opposition toward
originate in

partake of
participate in
plan to
proclaimed as
pray for
preoccupation with
prepared for
prevent from
prohibit from
proud of
provide for / provide with
For example: I provide for you. I provide you with food.
qualify for / qualify as

react to
reason for
recover from
regard as
related to
rely on / rely upon
resentful of / resentful toward
resort to
respond to
responsible for
result in

satisfied with / satisfied by

search for / in search of
see as
separate from
similar to
stare at
stop from
subscribe to
suffer from
superior to
suspect of
sympathize with

tamper with
thank for
think of
tired of
transition from / transition to

upset with

vote for / vote against

wait for
went about
work with / work for
worry about

Case errors with prepositional phrases: Whenever a noun is the object of a

prepositional phrase, it must be in the objective case. Consider these ungrammatical
sentences, in which the underlined portion indicates the prepositional phrase that the error
is in:
I went to the well with she and Bob.

Between you and I, I never really liked my enemies.

The objective case for each pronoun should be used:
I went to the well with her and Bob.

Between you and me, I never really liked my enemies.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

The Verb: a word that expresses being or action. Examples: eat, give, increase, slip. There
is a lot to talk about with verbs.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement appears consistently on the SAT.

Amounts are singular; numbers are plural. Recall our earlier discussion about deciding
whether to use fewer or less. If fewer would be used to modify a noun, that noun takes a
plural verb. If less would be used to modify a noun, that noun takes a singular verb. Using
the verb to be, here are subject-predicate versions of the list of examples that I gave in
discussing the issue of fewer versus less:
(fewer) computers are

(less) computing is

(fewer) births are

(fewer) cups of coffee are

(less) coffee is

(less) beauty is

(fewer) beauties are

(less) hair is

(fewer) hairs are

(less than) ten minutes is

(less than) three miles is

(less than) five dollars is

Note that, as we discussed earlier, those final three examples represent amounts (time,
distance, and money, respectively), not numbers.

The simple subject of a sentence is never in a prepositional phrase. And only the
simple subject directly (this distinction will become important later) affects how a verb
should be conjugated. Consider these examples, in which the intervening prepositional
phrases are in brackets:
The number [of people] is amazing.

That jar [of pencils] walks very nicely.

Those hawks [of honor] are honorable.

The house [with the three doors] is under water.

Bob [as well as three of his friends] is going to the mall to buy a hotel.

But... Although the previous topic heading is technically always correct, there are times
when we will need to consider the plurality or singularity of the object of the intervening
prepositional phrase. In order to decide whether to ignore or pay attention to the
prepositional phrase, ask yourself What is this sentence trying to say?Consider these
examples.
A lot of cars is available for purchase.
The subject of this sentence is the singular lot—one full of cars. If, however, the sentence
said this, it would clearly have a different meaning:
A lot of cars are available for purchase.
While the simple subject of the sentence is still technically a lot, we must refer to the object
of the prepositional phrase, the plural cars, because the sentence is trying to say that many
cars are available. Consider this sentence, which I wrote earlier:
The number of people is amazing.
The sentence is not trying to say that the people themselves are amazing, just that how
many there are is amazing. Such an intention contrasts with that of this sentence:
A number of people are amazing.
Here the people themselves are being directly referred to, and the agreement reflects this.
Similarly, with a percent or fraction, we must refer to the object of the preposition and have
our verb agree with that:
Three-fourths of all pelicans belong to the minority.

Three-fourths of my pie is gone on leave.

Ninety percent of the town is gone.

Ninety percent of the town's inhabitants are gone.

Collective nouns are flexible. Collective nouns can be singular or plural, depending on
the intended meaning. For example (note how the pronouns correspond to the singularity or
plurality of the subject):
The group is working toward its goal.

The group are fighting among themselves.

The jury has decided its verdict.

The jury are fighting among themselves.

When we think of the idea represented by the collective noun as a set of distinct entities, we
treat the noun as plural, with respect to both pronoun agreement and verb agreement.
Be careful with compound subjects. If and is used to connect the nouns in a compound
subject, the subject is almost always plural, as in:
Bob and I are leaving now.
The singular exception (get it?) occurs when the subject is a compound noun that is
representing one idea, as in:
Macaroni and cheese is good.
If or is used to connect the nouns in a compound subject, we must consider only the noun
closest to the verb, as in:
Bob or he is a rabbit.

The members or their leader is a rabbit.

The leader or their members are rabbits.

The rabbit or you are a rabbit.

Bob, she, or I am a rabbit.

As these last two sentences indicate, the verb must be conjugated not only to the
singularity or plurality of the closest noun, but to its person. The second-person youtook
what is in this context a singular are, and the first-person I took am.

Don't be tripped up by inverted verb structures. Occasionally, a verb's subject will

follow it. There are three common types of circumstances under which this inversion occurs.
An inverted verb structure is often indicated by the expletive pronouns there and here.
Make sure that the verb agrees with the true subject, which comes later in the sentence:
There is a dog in the lawn.

There are three dogs building a lawn.

There seems to be a house.

There seem to be houses.

Here is a monkey.

Here are the monkeys that knew the other monkey.

(Don't forget that there's is a contraction for there is, so one cannot grammatically say, for
example, "There's two owls plotting to arrest me.")

Special rules do arise, however, with respect to those expletive pronouns when the subject
is compound. Follow these guidelines for the verbs that follow those expletive pronouns,
which differ slightly from those explained under the previous heading:

- If or is used to connect the nouns in a compound subject, the verb should match the
closest noun:
There are wells or a wall.

There is a well or wells.

- If and is used to connect the nouns in a compound subject and the noun closest to the
verb is plural, the verb must be plural:
There are hats, a muffin, and an artist in the locker.
- If and is used to connect the nouns in a compound subject and the noun closest to the
verb is singular, the verb may be either singular or plural:
There is a muffin, hats, and an artist in the locker. or

There are a muffin, hats, and an artist in the locker.

Note that this final rule is unique to inverted verb structures in which expletive pronouns
appear.

Another common situation in which an inversion occurs is when we have an introductory

prepositional phrase. Make sure that you check the plurality or singularity of the subject:
Under the desk are pencils.

Behind the soda machine is a dollar.

Behind the soda machine are sand-dollars.

Inverted structures also commonly appear in questions:
Why are Bob and Sally working together? not

Why is Bob and Sally working together?

Learn the rules for correlative conjunctions. These are the primary correlative
conjunctions as well as the only ones that are relevant to subject-verb agreement:
both [noun] and [noun]

either [noun] or [noun]

neither [noun] nor [noun]

For the correlative conjunction involving both, the verb is always plural:
Both the water bottles and Bob are going to Canada for the winter.
For the correlative conjunctions involving either and neither, the verb agrees with the closer
noun (in both number and person). Consider these examples of the proper use
of either...or:
Either the shoe or arm is fine.

Either the shoes or arm is fine.

Either the shoe or arms are fine.

Either she or I am fine.

Either I or she is fine.

There are either people or a dog in the cabin.

There is either a dog or people in the cabin.

neither...nor follows the same rules.

Learn the rules for using indefinite pronouns.

- When used as indefinite pronouns, each, either, neither, much, anyone, someone,
somebody, anybody, anything, and something are always singular. Intervening prepositional
phrases are completely irrelevant—there are no exceptions. Consider these examples (note
how any predicate nominatives must agree in number with the corresponding indefinite
pronouns):
Each of the brothers is a male.

Either of you guys is a salamander.

Neither of the options is viable.

Much of the number of the patrons is attributable to marketing.

Anything is fine.

Each of us is ready.
(Note that each can be used adverbially as well; in such cases, it is irrelevant to subject-
verb agreement, as in They each are eating hot dogs. Note the logically necessary plurality
of the object dogs. Had each been used as a pronoun, we would have had to change the
clause to Each of them is eating a hot dog.)

- Some indefinite pronouns are always plural; the intervening prepositional phrases are
again irrelevant. These are few, others, many, both, and several. For example:
Few of us are ready.

Others are arriving shortly to prop you up.

Many of the errors are acceptable.

- Some indefinite pronouns' singularity or plurality depends on that of the intervening
prepositional phrase. As I indicated earlier, the subject is never in such a phrase, but this is
one of those circumstances under which we nonetheless need to refer to the object of the
preposition. These pronouns are some, any, all, most, and none. For example:
Some of you are coming tonight.

Some of the pie is nice.

Any of them are able to excavate.

None of it is enough.

None of those colors are happy.

[A special discussion of none is warranted. Describing none as equivalent to not one, some
grammar-conscious writers insist upon none's being singular without exception. I, instead,
recommend sticking with the above guideline. Consider this entry from The New York Times
Manual of Style and Usage:

Quote:

none. Despite a widespread assumption that it stands for not one, the word has been construed as
a plural (not any) in most contexts for centuries. H. W. Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English
Usage (1926) endorsed the plural use. Make none plural except when emphasizing the idea
of not one or no one — and then consider using those phrases instead.
Likewise, I often see (in several of my school textbooks, for example) any used in the
singular sense even when the object of its intervening prepositional phrase is plural. This
does not seem to be the prevailing practice, however. In any case, in order avoid getting
embroiled in controversy, the College Board is unlikely to test agreement with either of
those two words.]

Mood

There are three primary grammatical moods:

- Generally, the indicative mood is used to pose a question or make a statement. It is the
most common mood. Examples of the indicative mood:
He is tall.

Why is he tall?

We predict an increase in the amount of time that has passed.

- The imperative mood is used to make commands. The subject of a verb in the
imperative mood is usually you, which can be and often is omitted. Examples of the
imperative mood:
Clean the sink.

Leave me alone.

Decrease the speed.

Let's leave now.

- The subjunctive mood's uses are difficult to briefly generalize, so I quote this source:
Quote:

The subjunctive mood is used in dependent clauses that do the following: 1) express a wish; 2)
begin with if and express a condition that does not exist (is contrary to fact); 3) begin with as
if and as though when such clauses describe a speculation or condition contrary to fact; and 4)
begin with that and express a demand, requirement, request, or suggestion.

Consider these example sentences, which I have also borrowed from that source:
She wishes her boyfriend were here.

If Juan were more aggressive, he'd be a better hockey player.

We would have passed if we had studied harder.

He acted as if he were guilty.

I requested that he be present at the hearing.

Questions on which knowledge of when the subjunctive is used is helpful appear quite
frequently on the SAT.
Tense

Before I explain each tense's general uses, here are the conjugations of to eat in the first
person for each tense:
Simple present: I eat
Present progressive: I am eating
Present perfect: I have eaten
Present perfect progressive: I have been eating

Simple past: I ate

Past progressive: I was eating
Past perfect: I had eaten
Past perfect progressive: I had been eating

Simple future: I will eat

Future progressive: I will be eating
Future perfect: I will have eaten
Future perfect progressive: I will have been eating

Present Tenses

Simple present: The simple present tense is used to refer to customary actions (e.g., She
travels for work) or being (e.g., My pet is a dog), and it can be used in special future
situations (e.g., The test is tomorrow or The election is on Tuesday). (The simple future
tense can also be employed for that last use, as in The test will be tomorrow).

Present progressive: The present progressive tense can emphasize the ongoing nature of
an action (e.g., I am walking instead of the more general I walk). Like the simple present
tense, it can refer to future situations (e.g., He is moving next year).

Present perfect: The present perfect tense is used when a past action affects the
present. since is often a trigger for the present perfect tense. The present perfect tense can
indicate that an action occurs in the present as well as in the past (e.g., Since birth, I have
lived here). Also, it can refer to a completed action if the writer or speaker wishes to
emphasize the past action's effect on the present (e.g., I have just completed my book).

Present perfect progressive: The present perfect progressive tense is similar to the
present perfect tense, except the former cannot refer to a completed action and emphasizes
the continuous nature of the action.

Past Tense

Simple past: The simple past tense refers to an action completed in the past.

Past progressive: The past progressive emphasizes the ongoing nature of an action
completed in the past. It can also be used when we are talking about two concurrent actions
in the past (e.g., As my dog was watching me, I was eating my food) or an interrupted
action (e.g., I was eating when my dog grabbed my bowl).

Past perfect: The past perfect tense is used to refer a past action that occurred before
another referenced past action. by often signals the past perfect tense (e.g.,By the time we
arrived, Bob had left). When a prepositional phrase already indicates that an action came
before another action, the simple past may be used instead of the past perfect (e.g., Before
we left, I went to the bathroom) or Before we left, I had gone to the bathroom).

Past perfect progressive: The past perfect progressive tense functions similarly to the
past perfect tense but emphasizes the continuous nature of an action.

Future Tenses

Simple future: The simple future tense refers to actions to be completed in the future.

Future progressive: The future progressive tense is used to refer to actions that will be in
progress at a future time (I will be eating lunch at noon).

Future perfect: The future perfect tense is used to indicate that an action will be
completed by a particular time in the future (e.g., I will have finished my homework by the
time you arrive).

Future perfect progressive: The future perfect progressive tense functions similarly to
the future progressive tense but emphasizes that the action has been occurring prior to the
specified time (e.g., I will have been working on it).

A specific verb error: to lay and to lie: Using these two verbs correctly can be difficult,
so it is worth going through their basic forms.

- to lay is a transitive verb; that is, it takes an object (e.g., I want to lay this down). Its
three basic forms:

Base form: lay (For example: I always lay the paper down first.)
Simple past: laid (For example: Yesterday, I laid the rug on the ground)
Past participle: laid (For example: I have/had always laid the paper down first.)

- to lie is an intransitive verb; that is, it does not take an object (e.g., I want to lie down).
Its three basic forms:

Base form: lie (For example: I always lie down.)

Simple past: lay (For example: Yesterday, I lay down on the rug)
Past participle: lain (For example: I have/had always lain down on the paper.)

(The next section discusses the past participle.)

Recognizing past participle errors: The past participle is used along with a conjugated
form of to have in forming the perfect tenses. For example:
He has eaten the sandwich.
eaten is the past participle there. For some verbs, though, the past participle is the same as
the simple past tense form:
They have arrested the criminal.

I have seized the opportunity.

Forming the past participle of nearly every verb should be simple for fluent English
speakers. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to read through this list, which offers the base form,
simple past form, and past participle, respectively:
Arise; Arose; Arisen

Become; Became; Become

Begin; Began; Begun

Blow; Blew; Blown

Break; Broke; Broken

Choose; Chose; Chosen

Come; Came; Come

Dive; Dived/Dove; Dived

Do; Did; Done

Draw; Drew; Drawn

Drink; Drank; Drunk

Drive; Drove; Driven

Drown; Drowned; Drowned

Dwell; Dwelt/dwelled; Dwelt/dwelled

Eat; Ate; Eaten

Fall; Fell; Fallen

Fight; Fought; Fought

Flee; Fled; Fled

Fling; Flung; Flung

Fly; Flew; Flown

Forget; Forgot; Forgotten

Freeze; Froze; Frozen

Get; Got; Gotten

Give; Gave; Given

Go; Went; Gone

Grow; Grew; Grown

Hang (a thing); Hung; Hung

Hang (a person); Hanged; Hanged

Know; Knew; Known

Lay; Laid; Laid

Lead; Led; Led

Lie (to recline); Lay; Lain

Lie (tell fibs); Lied; Lied

Put; Put; Put

Ride; Rode; Ridden

Ring; Rang; Rung

Rise; Rose; Risen

Run; Ran; Run

See; Saw; Seen

Set; Set; Set

Shine; Shone; Shone

Shake; Shook; Shaken

Shrink; Shrank; Shrunk

Shut; Shut; Shut

Sing; Sang; Sung

Sink; Sank; Sunk

Sit; Sat; Sat

Speak; Spoke; Spoken

Spring; Sprang; Sprung

Sting; Stung; Stung

Strive; Strove/strived; Striven/strived

Swear; Swore; Swore

Swim; Swam; Swum

Swing; Swung; Swung

Take; Took; Taken

Tear; Tore; Torn

Throw; Threw; Thrown

Wake; Woke; Woken

Wear; Wore; Worn

Write; Wrote; Written

Several times in the past, the SAT has tested test-takers' ability to recognize the use of an
incorrect past participle.

Avoiding the passive voice: When the grammatical subject of a verb is logically
performing the action of the verb, the verb is in the active voice, as in:
Bob went home.

I have talked to Bob.

If not, the verb is in the passive voice, as in:
Bob was talked to by me.

Many gifts have been given out this Christmas.

In the first sentence Bob is the subject of the verb, but Bob is not the one talking—we find
the true logical subject in the prepositional phrase: me. Likewise, in the second
sentence gifts is the subject of the verb, but the logical subject of the verb is nowhere in the
sentence.

Now, the passive voice is not ungrammatical, nor is it always stylistically inappropriate.
There are times when the passive voice is preferred, such as when we want to emphasize
what would have been the object in the active voice or when we do not know the true
subject. For example, in that sentence I said, "There are times when the passive is
preferred." Preferred by whom? We don't find the answer in the sentence, because I
employed the passive and did not identify the true subject in a prepositional phrase. But it
worked fine.

In general, however, we want to know who or what is performing the actions of verbs, so
the general practice should be to use the active voice whenever possible. This is reflected on
the SAT's Improving Sentences questions, on which the passive voice seldom appears in the
correct answer.

(You'll likely notice that past participles are used in forming the passive voice.)

Shifting tenses: A sentence need not be in one tense. For example:

I want to go to the movies, but I did not used to.
We shifted from the simple present tense to the imperfect tense, and that is perfectly
grammatical. There are no complex grammatical guidelines for deciding whether a tense
shift is appropriate. All you need is an understanding of what each tense means (which I
attempted to facilitate with my earlier descriptions) and to logically apply that
understanding. Indeed, logic needs to drive your determination of whether a tense is
appropriate. For example, we cannot logically say:
I will eat a hot dog yesterday.
Likewise, we cannot logically say:
Before they left the house, they will pack all their belongings.
Such a shift is simply illogical. As long as you are watchful of the tenses present in a
sentence, spotting illogical shifts should not be problematic.

It is worth reiterating the common trigger words for the perfect tenses. by often signals the
past perfect or future perfect, as in:
By the time I was ten years old, I had been talking for almost a year.

By the time you get here, I will have left.

since (when used as a preposition as opposed to a subordinating conjunction, which I will
discuss soon) often signals the past perfect or present perfect, as in:
Since birth, I had been a winner; then you came along.

Since I got here, I have been eating nothing but food.

Verbals

There are three main types of verbals, which are technically verbs but function as different
parts of speech:

- Participles function adjectively. Present participles, which usually have the suffix -ing,
indicate present conditions, as in an eating rabbit (the rabbit is currently eating). Past
participles describe past states or actions. For example, an eaten rabbit was eaten by
something in the past.

We can use participles in three main ways. First, we can modify a noun adjacently:
I want a working fan.
We can also offset the participle to modify a noun; this often involves the use of a participial
phrase:
Running, he left the building.

Angry, the frogs were not likely to sign the treaty. or

Having been angered, the frogs were not likely to sign the treaty. or

Angered, the frogs were not likely to sign the treaty.

The last three sentences mean very similar things. In fact, the last two sentences are
identical in meaning: you can add Having been to a past participle to make a participial
phrase. You can also add Being to angry with no effect on the meaning.

We can also use participles in normal verb phrases:

He is running.

He has run.
Mis-modification with phrases: Looking for mis-modifiers is crucial on the SAT's
Identifying Errors and Improving Sentences questions. When using participial phrases and
prepositional phrases that have a participle in them, one must take special care to ensure
that the subject of the clause that the phrase is attached to is what is intended to be
modified. The phrase usually comes before the clause, but it can intervene or come after.
Consider these sentences, all of which are incorrect:
Looking back, he should not have done that.

Having finished that, it is time for us to move on to the weather.

In completing their project early, we have saved much time thanks to the construction
company.

As a veteran patron, this customer service really disappoints me.

Considering the recent increase, the higher number is not surprising.

Given the recent increase, the higher number is not surprising.

When using this medication, irritation or dryness may occur.

These sentences could be corrected thus:
Looking back, I see that he should not have done that.

Having finished that, we move on now to the weather.

In completing their project early, the construction company has saved us much time.

I, as a veteran patron, am really disappointed by this customer service.

Considering the recent increase, I am not surprised by the higher number.

Given the recent increase, I am not surprised by the higher number.

When using this medication, you may experience irritation or dryness.

Exampling some other modifying errors is worthwhile.

Misplaced limiting modifiers usually occur when the verb of a sentence is adverbially
modified and the intention is to instead modify the verb's object.
Bob almost sold candy to every person in the neighborhood!
It is more likely that the intended meaning was this:
Bob sold candy to almost every person in the neighborhood!

Squinting modifiers occur when an adverb could be modifying either a word before it or one
after it.
Eating food quickly causes hunger.
Does quickly eating food cause hunger, or does eating food quickly cause hunger? We need
to clarify:
Quickly eating food causes hunger. or

Eating food causes hunger quickly.

Ambiguous prepositional modifiers can usually be avoided only be reworking a sentence's
structure. Consider this ambiguous sentence:
I stopped the oil flow with my child.
Did you use the child to stop the flow, or did you and the child stop the flow together?
Consider this example as well (though it’s not technically a prepositional mis-modifier):
I want to show my best friend Squidward to everyone in town wearing a salmon suit.

- Infinitives comprise the base form of a word and to. For example, the infinitive
of eat is to eat. That is the present infinitive; there are also perfect infinitives, such asto
have eaten (e.g., I want to have eaten a hot dog by the time I get home).

There is not much to know about infinitives for the SAT. A commonly cited "error" is the split
infinitive, in which an adverb intervenes between to and the base form of the verb, as in to
happily eat. This is, however, not a real error.

- Gerunds function as nouns and always end in the suffix -ing.

Failing to distinguish between participles and gerunds: Earlier, I offered this
ungrammatical sentence:
I looked up and saw a person stealing my burrito!
stealing is a gerund there. Gerunds need to be treated as nouns, and a noun can be
modified by another noun or pronoun only if that noun or pronoun is in the possessive case.
So the sentence must be revised thus:
I looked up and saw a person's stealing my burrito!
After all, it is the stealing that most interests the speaker, not the person. If, however, the
logical emphasis is on the non-gerund noun, the modifier is best thought of as a participle,
as in:
I looked up and saw the President walking to his car!
Clearly, the speaker is referring to the fact that he saw the President; what the President
was doing was incidental. Thus, we do not use the possessive case. Consider this sentence:
I looked up and saw the President/President's walking toward me!
In this case either form is justifiable: the speaker could be amazed by the action (i.e., the
President's walking toward him or her) or the person himself. Consider these examples, in
which the possessive case is rendered necessary because of the intent of the sentence:
His not being here is frustrating.

I don't like my dog's peeing on the rug.

My son's running into me caused my injury.

The failure of the system was due to its not being well regulated.
For these sentences the words ending in -ing are participles:
I don't want to buy a computer nearing the end of its life.

Around the corner was my long-lost dog sitting on the sidewalk.

However, we do make practical exceptions to the general rule that gerunds must be
possessively modified. With indefinite and reflexive pronouns, for example, using the
possessive form is either particularly awkward or impossible:
Everybody's doing his or her own work helped get the project done.

I don't like myself's not having high self-esteem.

The first sentence sounds so awkward that you may avoid the possessive case for that one,
but using it is not ungrammatical. In the second sentence, though, we cannot use the
possessive form because no such word exists.

On the Improving Sentences questions of the SAT, it will often ungrammatically precede a
gerund (usually being). If you can determine that being is not being used as a participle,
you can rule that answer out. Consider these sentences:
I am so happy about it being cheap!
Such a sentence is incorrect, because the speaker is happy about the cheapness. It must be
rewritten as:
I am so happy about its being cheap!

Incorrectly using a gerund or infinitive as a complement: When an infinitive or

gerund is the object of a verb, we call it that verb's complement. Some verbs must take
infinitive complements; others must take gerund complements; and some can take either.
Some nouns also take infinitive or gerund complements. Follow these guidelines for deciding
whether to use an infinitive or gerund.

Abstract nouns usually take infinitive complements. Some common abstract nouns
are tendency, motivation, and desire. So, one would say that someone has atendency to,
for example, exaggerate things.

The object of a preposition is often a gerund. One says that they need help with
getting elected.

(The following lists are adapted from here.)

The following verbs take infinitive complements:

agree
aim
appear
arrange
ask
attempt
be able
beg
begin
care
choose
condescend
consent
continue
dare
decide
deserve
detest
dislike
expect
fail
forget
get
happen
have
hesitate
hope
hurry
intend
leap
leave
like
long
love
mean
neglect
offer
ought
plan
prefer
prepare
proceed
promise
propose
refuse
remember
say
shoot
start
stop
strive
swear
threaten
try
use
wait
want
wish
The following verbs can take an object and an infinitive, as in I will advise him to stop,
where him is the object:
advise
allow
ask
beg
bring
build
buy
challenge
choose
command
dare
direct
encourage
expect
forbid
force
have
hire
instruct
invite
lead
leave
let
like
love
motivate
order
pay
permit
persuade
prepare
promise
remind
require
send
teach
tell
urge
want
warn
The following verbs take gerund complements:
admit
advise
appreciate
avoid
can't help
complete
consider
delay
deny
detest
dislike
enjoy
escape
excuse
finish
forbid
get through
have
imagine
mind
miss
permit
postpone
practice
quit
recall
report
resent
resist
resume
risk
spend (time)
suggest
tolerate
waste (time)
The following verbs can take a preposition and a gerund, as in We talked about stopping:
admit to
approve of
argue about
believe in
care about
complain about
concentrate on
confess to
depend on
disapprove of
discourage from
dream about
feel like
forget about
insist on
object to
plan on
prevent (someone) from
refrain from
succeed in
talk about
think about
worry about

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The Conjunction: Conjunctions like hooking up words, phrases, and clauses.

- The coordinating conjunctions are and, or, nor, but, yet, and so. They have many uses,
including connecting two independent clauses. Clauses comprise a subject and
a predicate (the verb and all its complements and modifiers). Independent clauses are those
that can stand alone. Consider this sentence, in which a coordinating conjunction is used to
connect two independent clauses:
I went to the store, and I saw the manager.
If we had not repeated the subject I, there would have only been one independent clause
(but with a compound verb):
I went to the store and saw the manager
Commas are always used before coordinating conjunctions that are connecting two
independent clauses unless the two clauses are very short and have the same subject, as
in:
He ate and then he slept.
Using a comma there would also be correct, though. When a comma is used to connect two
independent clauses that are not joined by a coordinating conjunction, it is called a comma
splice. In American English (and on the SAT and ACT), comma splices are incorrect.
Consider these examples of the comma splice:
I am hungry, I need to eat.

I don't like you, thus you must leave.

You seem nice, however, you just destroyed the Sun.

I ate my sandwich, then I watched the movie.

These sentences could be corrected in a variety of ways: using a coordinating conjunction,
using a semicolon, or creating two sentences. Just make sure that, if you do use a
coordinating conjunction, the conjunction is logical. For example, one should not say:
I am hungry, and I do not eat.

I am hungry, but I am about to go buy food.

These could be corrected thus:
I am hungry, but I do not eat.

I am hungry, so I am about to go buy food.

I often hear people claim that sentences should not be started with coordinating
conjunctions, but doing so is perfectly grammatical. Something that should be avoided,
though, is using coordinate conjunctions redundantly, as in:
I bought a llama, but I could not afford it, however.
This could be correct as (among other possibilities):
I bought a llama, but I could afford it.

I bought a llama. However, I could not afford it.

- Subordinating conjunctions (e.g., although, unless, because, if) introduce adverbial

clauses, which are a special type of dependent clause (i.e., a clause that cannot stand
alone). Adverbial clauses modify entire independent clauses. Introductory dependent
clauses are often adverbial, as in (underlined words are subordinating conjunctions):
Although I cannot afford it, I will buy a llama.

Because I need a drink, I will make this sandwich.

However, they need not be introductory; in fact, adverbial clauses can be freely moved
around a clause. Consider these examples:
I will go even though I don't want to.

The plan will continue as planned unless it does not.

As with coordinating conjunctions, illogic and redundancy must be avoided. These sentences
are incorrect:
Although the man is nice, he gave to charity.

Even though he is ready, he will nevertheless not go on stage.

nevertheless is a conjunctive adverb (as are words like however and thus) and, therefore,
has the same semantic effect as even though.

- Correlative conjunctions are used in pairs. Some common ones are:

both...and...
either...or...

neither...nor...

not only...but also

whether...or
The only exceptions to these: also is sometimes omitted in the fourth conjunction pair,
and or may be omitted in the fifth conjunction if the alternative would be a negation (for
example, I don't know whether to go or not may be abbreviated as I don't know whether to
go). Here are some examples of these conjunctions:
Both Bob and Bob's dog are leaving soon.

I want either a moon or a star.

He is neither mean nor nice.

He not only went to the store, but also tore it down.

Whether you stay here or go build a museum is up to you.

The phrases so...that, as…as, and just as…so too also fit this form and are worth
mentioning:
He is so hungry that he could eat a piece of fruit!

I am as hungry as an eater!

Just as you are a moose, so too am I an animal.

Correlative conjunctions provide a good opportunity to broach parallelism, which (roughly

speaking) requires that words that are used in similar structural ways must be parallel. Let's
first explore this with correlative conjunctions in particular: the words on either side of the
second part of the correlative conjunction must be parallel in form. To better understand
what correct parallelism implies, consider these examples of incorrect parallelism
with both...and (the red areas must be parallel to each other):
I like both dancing and to sing.
That sentence is incorrect because to have, an infinitive, is not parallel
with running and eating, which are both gerunds.
Bob both likes to eat and to walk.
The infinitive to walk is not parallel with the conjugated verb likes. This could be corrected
by writing likes both to eat and to walk or likes to both eat and walk.
Bob looked both in the window and the mirror.
One phrase has a preposition; the other does not. This can be corrected by writing both in
the window and in the mirror or in both the window and the mirror.

These rules apply similarly to the other correlative conjunctions. Also, the rule about
gerunds and infinitives applies even when there is no correlative conjunction, as in:
Bob likes eating, walking, and to have a great time.
This sentence is incorrect because to have is the only infinitive; the others are gerunds.
Prepositional parallelism must also be observed:
We went to the theater on the fourth day, the fifth day, and on the sixth day of the show.
The sentence can be grammatically rewritten in either of the following two ways:
We went to the theater on the fourth day, on the fifth day, and on the sixth day of the show.

We went to the theater on the fourth day, the fifth day, and the sixth day of the show.
Articles (e.g., the and a) must also be parallel:
I read the first, second, and the third books.
Likewise, this sentence can be rewritten as:
I read the first, second, and third books. or

I read the first, the second, and the third books.

For more examples of how to apply the principle of parallelism, consider these pairs of
sentences from here (sentences in italics are not parallel):
Phuong Tran has wit, charm, and a pleasing personality.

Phuong Tran has wit, charm, and she has an extremely pleasant personality.

In English class, Tashonda learned to read poems critically and to appreciate good prose.

In English class, Tashonda learned to read poems critically and she appreciated good prose.

He wanted three things out of college: to learn a skill, to make good friends, and to learn
about life.

He wanted three things out of college: to learn a skill, to make good friends, and learning
about life.

Coach Espinoza was a brilliant strategist, a caring mentor, and a wise friend.

Coach Espinoza was a brilliant strategist, a caring mentor, and friend.

We found the film repulsive, offensive, and embarrassing.

We found the film repulsive, offensive, and we thought it was embarrassing.

Mr. Nguyen kept his store clean, neat, and conveniently arranged.

Mr. Nguyen kept his store clean, neat, and he made it conveniently arranged.

Professor Ali rewarded his students for working hard on the final project and going beyond
the call of duty.

Professor Ali rewarded his students for their hard work on the final project and going
beyond the call of duty.

Comparisons, moreover, must be logically parallel. That is, the things that are being
compared must be grammatically parallel (as was exampled above) and of the same logical
type. For example:
My team's uniforms are better than your team.
Uniforms cannot logically be compared to a team in this context, so the sentence is
incorrect. Consider this sentence:
Similar to my computer, your computer's monitor has poor resolution.
Only monitors, not computers, can have poor resolution, so this is illogical. Consider this
sentence:
The President's agenda, like his predecessor, focused on appeasing the superficial interests
of his constituency.
An agenda is being compared to a President, which is illogical. Using a pronoun, we could
correct the sentence thus:
The President's agenda, like that of his predecessor, focused on appeasing the superficial
interests of his constituency.
The following sentences illustrate another comparison error that appears frequently on the
SAT:
Mexico is better than any country in North America.

He is better than anyone.

When the object of comparison is included in what it is being compared to, the comparison
is illogical. We can usually fix this by using other or else:
Mexico is better than any other country in North America.

He is better than anyone else.

All that’s left to mention, I believe, is diction. The SAT will occasionally test your ability to
recognize an incorrect word, usually one that is spelled or pronounced very similarly to the
intended word. Because there is no general guiding principle behind appropriate diction, this
section is somewhat difficult to prepare for. However, if you would like to try to do so, I
recommend reading through this. If you choose not to, though, you won’t be penalized
more than one question at the most. (If you do use that Web site, you can disregard all
entries on proper nouns and any issues that seem especially esoteric.)

(It looks as though, in the end, everything ended up fitting under “Parts of Speech.”)

I should reiterate that grammatical terms will never be explicitly tested on the SAT.
Nonetheless, relying merely on your auditory intuition is woefully unreliable and is generally
unsuccessful at tackling the more difficult questions. For that reason, I wrote this guide.

I hope that you found this grammar guide helpful. If you understand all the concepts that I
presented and you take a couple practice tests to help you apply the material and get a
hang of the section, it is reasonable to expect to miss very few, if any, questions on the SAT
Writing section.
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Improving Sentences Questions

These questions test your ability to choose the best variation on a given sentence. In
deciding which choice is "best," you should first consider grammar. If an option is
ungrammatical, it will never be the correct answer. When you are going through the choices
initially, you are on the hunt for any mistakes; this usually narrows your choices significantly
and can occasionally lead you to a single correct answer.
If choices remain after filtering out the ungrammatical ones, you must next consider the
clarity of the sentence. Are all of the pronouns as unambiguous as they can be? Does the
sentence flow logically? Are the conjunctions consistent with the intended meaning of the
choice? These questions should be running through your mind.

If more than one choice remains after applying these techniques, go with the more concise
choice. Once ungrammatical choices are eliminated, the correct choice will be the shortest
one the vast majority of the time. Keep in mind, however, that the College Board would not
consider a choice better simply because it was shorter than another; there is typically an
unnecessarily wordy, awkward spot that contributes to the length.

Identifying Errors Questions

These questions test your ability to recognize usage errors and incorrect grammar. A
sentence with four underlined words or phrases will be presented. If one of these four
underlined portions contains an error, select it as the answer. If you think that there is more
than one error, you have made a mistake. If there is no error, select (E) as the answer.

These questions are relatively straightforward and do not require a deep strategy; if you
know your grammar (as I hope you do if you have gone through the previous posts), you
will do very well. The only strategic thing I do is to mark each question that I think has no
error. When I have finished, I return to the marked questions to ensure that there is truly no
error. While there is no predetermined number of questions that will have no error, it is good
to keep in mind that approximately 20% of the questions will have no error on any given
test. But don't let this fact cause you to second-guess answers that you had been confident
about.

Improving Paragraphs Questions

Compared to the rest of the Writing section, these questions have less to do with grammar
and more to do with well-organized writing. Diction and clarity also come up.

Among other things, you'll be asked to provide better alternatives for sentences and
phrases, to fix the syntax of a sentence, and to rearrange sentences within the paragraphs.
For the most part, the questions are not as objective or straightforward as the rest of the
Writing section, so your best preparation will be to work through the Improving Paragraphs
questions from The Blue Book. Once you get a hang of these, however, they can become
quite easy.

PRACTICE #5

Try these questions. The first eleven are Improving Sentences questions, the next eighteen
are Identifying Errors questions, and the final six are Improving Paragraphs questions.
(Answers and explanations appear below.)

1. By the beginning of 1755, events are reaching a stage that made war between Britain
and France all but inevitable.

(A) No change
(B) will reach