SAT Writing Grammar Errors: Part 1

Grammar Errors: Part 1

• Verbs
• The two most common types of verb questions that appear on the SAT grammar section are:
• subject-verb agreement
• issues with verb tense and form
• Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs.
• Watch for third-person forms. Third-person singular verbs end in –s; third-person plurals do not.
• The verb will probably be separated from the subject by a phrase. It may also be reversed, or controlled by a compound subject.
• Collective nouns are singular.
• “A number of” anything is plural.
• “The number of” anything is singular.
• “Each” is singular.
• “(Every) one” is singular.
• Gerunds as subjects are singular.
• Verb tense should remain consistent throughout the sentence.
• When a sentence contains a reference to date or time, check all verb tenses first!
• If an SAT sentence is set in the past and describes a completed action, use the simple past tense, not the present perfect.
• The SAT likes to switch would and will. When you see one underlined, switch it with the other and see if it works better. Remember, will goes with present-tense verbs and would with past-tense ones.
• Would generally shouldn’t appear in a sentence beginning with if.
• The SAT likes to switch gerunds (-ing verbs that act like nouns) with infinitives (“to” verbs). Switch them back, and add a preposition to a gerund if necessary.
• Pronouns
• All pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and gender.
• If a sentences uses “one” or “you” to describe an undetermined person, it must not switch between the two terms.
• Pay close attention to a pronoun’s case–especially whether it’s being used as a subject or an object.
• This is especially true with compound subjects and compound objects!
• Adjectives vs. Adverbs
• Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns.
• Adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs.
• Adjectives can modify nouns via a linking verb.
• Parallel Structure: Lists
• When a sentence contains a list or series of items, each item should appear in the same format.
• Word Pairs
• Some sets of conjunctions (called correlative conjunctions) are always paired up a certain way: Either/or, Neither/nor, Not only / but also, Both / and, As / as, Between / and, So (such) / that, More (less) / than, Just as / so, From / to, At once / and, No sooner / than
• For Extra Grammar Help
• See Erica Meltzer’s The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar
• Watch our English Grammar course.
• Essays not written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero.
• Recommended supplementary material to view SAT questions featured in lesson answer guides: The Official SAT Study Guide by the College Board.