Subject Verb Agreement

Identifying Sentence Errors

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then check the individual blanks against the Big 8 Grammar Rules. 

AThe origin of amusement parks lie in ancient and medieval religious festivals and trade fairs, Bwhere merchants, entertainers, and food sellers Cgathered Din order to take advantage of the large crowds. ENo error

(A)  Underlines the subject of the sentence so you must check to see whether the subject agrees with the verb.  In this case the subject and verb are separated by a prepositional phrase, “of amusement parks.”  (If you thought that “amusement parks” was the subject, remember that the object of a preposition can never be the subject of a sentence.)  Ignore the prepositional phrase and the sentence reads “The origin lie.”  This should read “The origin lies.” Mark this error and quickly check the other blanks.

(B) The word “where” is used to describe locations, so this blank has no error.

(C) The word “gathered” is in the past tense, which is correct because the festivals in the sentence are “ancient and medieval” rather than current.

(D) “In order to” is an idiomatically correct phrase to describe the purpose of an activity.

(E) This option cannot be correct because you have already marked an error.

The correct answer is (A).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 37% of the responses were correct.

For more help with the writing section of the SAT, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Completions

Link of the Day

What do you think about when you look to the sky?  How often do you look up and see the stars?  Astronomers around the world watch for changes in the skies, but it seems that only one Texan was able to capture on video a recent event on Jupiter.  Read the article here and think about how you could use this current event as an excellent example on an SAT essay relating to the themes of luck, perseverance, technology, knowledge, planning, or even how individuals are defined.

9/3 Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 

As always, cover your answers before you read the sentence.  This sentence has two blanks, which means that you should focus on one blank, predict an answer for that blank, and then eliminate any answer choices that do not match your prediction.  Next you will move on to the second blank and use the exact same process.  Remember to look at all the answer choices even if one answer matches your prediction exactly.

He maintains that ethnic and cultural ------- are generalizations no more related to what an individual is actually like than are the ------- representations of constellations to the actual nature of a star.

After you have read the sentence, isolate the important information pertaining to a single blank.  Look at the first blank.  There is a definition right in the sentence: “________ are generalizations.”  What could you call generalizations about ethnic and cultural groups?  The word “stereotypes” comes to mind.  Use that word as your prediction and look down at your answer choices to see which answer choice matches your prediction.

(A) traditions . . chemical

(B) stereotypes . . pictorial

(C) details . . figurative

(D) heritages . . prophetic

(E) specimens . . graphic

It may help to ask yourself whether the word fits the definition in the sentence.  Is a tradition a generalization? No. Is a stereotype a generalization? Yes.  Is a detail a generalization? No.  Is a detail a generalization? No.  Is a heritage a generalization? No.  Is a specimen a generalization? No.  (A specimen cannot be a generalization because it is an actual part of the group being studied, even though the results from studying a specimen can be generalized.)  Using this method you keep yourself from trying to justify a wrong answer.

Although you were able to predict the exact answer and eliminate all the other answer choices just by looking at one blank, this will not typically happen.  Continue with this problem to practice the Knowsys Strategy for Sentence Completions.

The second blank contrasts "_____ representations of constellations to the actual nature of a star."  The key word here is representations.  A representation is usually an imitation, and if something is not “actual” it must be a "copy" of some kind.  How do humans try to represent constellations? Usually people use a visual means such as drawings or photographs.  Use the word "visual" as your prediction and look down at your remaining answer choice.

(B)  stereotypes . . pictorial.

Your prediction matches the answer choice.

The correct answer choice is (B).

Words used in this SC:

Tradition: part of a culture passed down from person to person

Stereotype: an oversimplified conception

Detail: something small

Heritage: something received through descent from the previous generation

Specimen: an individual sample representing a group

Chemical: substance produced through a chemical process

Pictorial: expressed in pictures

Figurative: metaphorical, emblematic, or representing (as in drawing and sculpture)

Prophetic: predicting the future or speaking by divine inspiration

Graphic: pictorial or vivid

On sat.collegeboard.org, 69% of the responses were correct.

For more help with the writing section of the SAT, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Probability

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer.

Read the question carefully, paying attention to the bottom line, the information that you must find.  Assess your options for solving the problem and attack the problem using the most efficient method possible.  In most cases you will not need to look at the answer choices until you have found your answer and double checked that it corresponds with your bottom line.

In the figure above, the length of  is 2x and the length of   is 3x.  If a point is chosen at random from , what is the probability that the point will lie on ?

Start by labeling the line with the information that you are given because it helps to have a visual.  Part of the line is 2x while part of the line is 3x.  Your bottom line is a probability, the likelihood of an event occurring.  Probability is expressed as the number of relevant outcomes divided by the total possible outcomes, so you will need to find the length of the whole line (your total).  

The total line length of the whole line from point A to C is: 2x + 3x = 5x.  

The point that is randomly chosen can be anywhere within the 5x length, so that number represents the whole.  The relevant part of the line is from point B to C (3x) because you are asked to find the probability that the point is between B and C.   When you plug in those numbers into the equation for probability, you have 3x divided by 5x.  Notice that you can simplify your answer because the variable cancels out.  Now look down at your answer choices.

  

(A) 

(B) 

(C) 

(D) 

(E) 

The correct answer is (C).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 69% of the responses were correct.

For more help with the writing section of the SAT, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Structure

Link of the Day

Woody Guthrie is the subject of today’s SAT question, and he is also a fascinating folk musician who would make an excellent historical example for your SAT essay.  Singers and songwriters influence culture in profound ways.  Guthrie's message was about love.  He wrote, "I hate... songs that run you down or songs that poke fun of you on account of your bad luck or your hard traveling.  I am out to fight those kinds of songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood."  You can find out more about Guthrie and the songs he wrote here.   

Today also marks the 11th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.  Take a moment out of your busy day to remember the victims and their families.  You can read more about the 11th anniversary here.

Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then evaluate the underlined portion of the sentence using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.

Woody Guthrie wrote and adapted more than a thousand songs, many of them are about the struggles of workers and the poor in the United States.

Notice that the underlined portion of the sentence comes directly after a comma.  This is a good indication that you should check sentence structure.  When you read the sentence, does it seem as if it includes two separate thoughts?  This sentence is a comma splice; the comma should be a period.  Which underlined word could you replace in the original sentence to create a grammatically correct sentence?  If you immediately see a way to fix the problem, make a note of it.  You are now ready to look down at the answer choices.

(A) many of them are

(B) many of which are

(C) many are

(D) which are, many of them,

(E) and many of them that are

You do not need to read (A) because it matches the original sentence and you found an error in the original.  (B) fixes the comma splice by changing the second independent clause into a relative clause that modifies “songs.” (C) fails to remedy the comma splice.  (D) and (E) are needlessly complex and introduce new errors into the sentence.

The correct answer is (B).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 66% of the responses were correct.

For more help with the writing section of the SAT, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 

Do not look at the answer choices.  You should be able to read the following sentence carefully and make an educated prediction about what belongs in the blank without being distracted by wrong answer choices.  Make your prediction as specific as possible, using any clues you find in the sentence.  Your prediction could be an exact word, or it may be a general feeling that the answer is positive or negative.  Then you can easily eliminate any words that do not match your prediction.

Although often victims of circumstance, the heroines of Shakespearean comedy tend to be ------- women, usually ready with a clever stratagem or verbal ploy for getting out of a difficult situation.

The first thing that you should notice about this question is that it is a logic question.  Note the use of the word “although.”  This word signals that you must find something that means the opposite of “victims of circumstance.”  A victim is someone who suffers from the actions of another person, so the word that you are looking for must show that these heroines are actively doing something good.  If you read the sentence too quickly, you might look for a synonym of “victim” and choose a wrong answer.

The second part of the sentence goes on to explain more about these women.  They are “ready with a clever stratagem or verbal ploy.”  If you need one word to describe this phrase, what could it be?  You might predict the word “skillful” or just use the word “clever” from the sentence.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) imperious
(B) suffering
(C) excitable
(D) resourceful
(E) precocious

There is only one answer that matches your prediction.  (B) is the opposite of your prediction. (A) and (C) have nothing to do with your prediction.  (D) matches perfectly.  (E) could mean “clever,” but it is too specific.  It means cleaver at an early age and the sentence does not indicate anything about the age of Shakespeare’s heroines.

The correct answer is (D).

Words used in this SC:
Stratagem: tactic
Ploy: strategy
Imperious: bossy, overbearing
Resourceful: capable or clever
Precocious: characterized by early development

On sat.collegeboard.org, 52% of the responses were correct.

For more help with the reading section of the SAT, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Proportions

Link of the Day

Using current events in your SAT essay will impress your readers with the idea that you are informed about the world around you.  However, you are not limited to current events on this planet.  For example, have you heard the whimsical story about the Mars rover taking pictures of itself?  If not, follow this link to read the article.  This is a cute story, but it also relates to science, planning, creativity, and even self-awareness – topics that have shown up on the SAT.   With just a little more research, you could use the Mars rover as one of your excellent examples for the essay.  

9/9 Proportions

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer.

Read the question carefully to glean as much information as possible.  Then identify your bottom line, assess your options for solving the problem, and attack that question in the most efficient way possible.  When you have found an answer, loop back to make sure that you have answered the bottom line.

A group of workers can harvest all the grapes from 10 square meters of a vineyard in ½ minute. At this rate, how many minutes will the group need to harvest all the grapes from100 square meters of this vineyard?

Did you make a note of the bottom line?  The bottom line is the number of minutes it takes to harvest 100 square meters.  There are a number of ways to think about this problem, but one of the easiest ways is to set up a proportion.  You could set it up as time over area.  Write the ½ as .5 just so that you do not get confused between the fraction and the proportion.



When you set up the problem like this, you can easily see that in the denominator you would need to multiply the first 10 by 10 to get the second denominator of 100.  Anything you do to the bottom of a fraction you must also do to the top.  Multiply the .5 by 10 and you will get 5.  You solved for minutes just as the question asked you to do.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) 5
(B) 10
(C) 20
(D) 50
(E) 60

The correct answer is (A).


On sat.collegeboard.org, 69% of the responses were correct.

For more help with the math section of the SAT, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Prepositions

Identifying Sentence Errors

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Quickly check each underlined portion against the Big 8 Grammar Rules, marking any error you find.  Remember, some sentences will not have an error.

ABefore the end of the semester, Beach of you Cneeds to meet with your adviser Dor I to discuss your plans for next year. ENo error

(A) In this case, the word “before” is a kind of modifier because it tells when the students must meet with their advisers.  It is placed right next to the words it modifies "the end of the semester," so there is no problem with its placement.  (A) has no error.

(B) The phrase “each of you” is idiomatically correct.  (B) has no error.

(C) The verb “needs” should agree with the subject “each of you.”  “Each of you” is singular so “needs” is correct.  If “each of you needs” sounds odd to you, think of it this way: you would say “he needs” and “she needs” rather than “he need” and “she need.”  (C) has no error.

(D) After a preposition, you must always use the word “me” rather than the word “I.”  Look before the underlined “I” and you will find the preposition “with.”   You would say “meet with me,” not “meet with I.”  Mark that error.

(E) This choice cannot be correct because you already identified an error.

The correct answer is (D).


On sat.collegeboard.org, 68% of the responses were correct.

For more help with the writing section of the SAT, visit www.myknowsys.com!