11 Grammar Rules

8/3/2019 11 Grammar Rules

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/11-grammar-rules 1/109

GRAMMAR RULES

11 RULES TO APERFECT SCORE ON

THE WRITING

SECTION OF THE SAT



RULE 1: VERB TENSE



CONSISTENCY OF TENSE

The tense of verbs must remain consistent

within the sentence. If the sentence begins in the present tense, it

should remain in the present. If it begins in

the past tense, it should remain in the past

tense.



Incorrect: Because she sang so

beautifully, she wins the contest.

Correct: Because she _____ so beautifully,

she _____ the contest.



PAST PERFECT TENSE

This tense is used to indicate a time that

precedes another time mentioned in thesentence.

The first action to happen requires past perfect

tense, which means the helping verb HAD

comes before the main verb. The last action to happen requires past

tense.





Until last Friday, we thought we had lost thebook.



HISTORICAL PRESENT TENSE

Part of the sentence may be in the past

tense, but another part might be in thepresent tense if that second part is

something that is always true.



Incorrect: His research was based on

the concept that light traveled faster thansound.

Correct: His research was based on the

concept that light _______ faster than sound.



LITERARY PRESENT TENSE

When discussing literature the accepted

convention is to discuss the actions in fictionin terms of present tense.



Incorrect: The main character of the

story disregarded his father’s wishes.

Correct: The main character of the story

_____ his father’s wishes.



2. Subject-Verb Agreement



Subject followed by a prepositional

phrase

When the subject of the sentence is followed

by a prepositional phrase, be sure you do notmistake the object of the preposition for the

subject of the sentence.





The squirrel ran _____ the fence.

A few common prepositions: –

of with at on – for to under over

– from by between beneath

– below above along against

– since before after beside – behind around about across



You need to eliminate prepositional phrases

from a sentence by crossing them out so thatthey don’t get in your way.

The subject is never part of the prepositional

phrase.



* A quick word about verbs

Singular verbs end in “s.”

TIP: If you label a singular subject with an

“s” it helps you remember that the verb must

have that “s” on the end.



* A quick word about subjects

Memorize the following words – they are

always singular:

– each, either, neither, one, -body, -thing



Practice:

One of the boats is sinking.

– Prepositional phrase:

– Subject?

– Singular or plural subject?

– Verb?



One more practice:

The boys across the street picks a fight withmy little brother every day.

– Prepositional phrase?

– Subject?

– Singular or plural subject?

– Verb?



Subject following the expletive THERE

The word there can NEVER be the subject of the sentence.

You must eliminate the word “there,” find the

subject and then make sure the subject and

verb agree.



Practice:

There is always two men on guard at the

post.

– Cross out?

– Who or what is doing the action in the sentence?

What’s the subject? – Singular or plural subject?

– Verb?



Subject after the verb

This is a difficult sentence construction

because you must find the subject in itsunusual location.

Remember to eliminate prepositional phrases

to help you.



Tip: I cannot find the subject!

Locate the verb first and then ask yourself

who or what is performing that action.



Practice:

Far away from the rest of the crowd standsthe three men.

Eliminate what?What’s the verb?

Who or what is performing that action? Singular or plural subject? Verb?



Compound subjects joined by or or

nor

Look at the subject that sits closest to theverb and let that subject determine thenumber.

If that subject is singular, then the verb must

be singular. If that subject is plural, then the verb must be

plural.



Practice:

Neither the girl nor the two boys want to go

eat breakfast.

– Compound subject?

– The subject closest to the verb?

– Singular or plural subject? – Verb?



One more practice:

Neither the two boys nor the girl wants to go

eat breakfast.

– Compound subject?

– The subject closest to the verb?

– Singular or plural subject? – Verb?



3. PRONOUN USAGE



Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

When we use pronouns, we must be sure

that they agree with the antecedent.

If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun

must be singular.

If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must

be plural.



* A quick word about antecedents

Antecedent: the noun that the pronoun

replaces or to which it refers

Mary went home because she was not

feeling well. – Mary is the noun / also the antecedent

– She is the pronoun that refers back to Mary



Reminder:

The following pronouns are all considered

singular; you must memorize them:

– each, either, neither, one, body, thing



Practice:

If someone calls, tell ____________ I leftearly.



Pronoun as a compound element

When pronouns are used as part of a

compound element, students really get

confused. The solution, however, is quite

simple.



HINT:

If you will break the sentence apart and read

it twice, once for each word in the compound

element, you will quickly recognize the

correct answer.



Practice:

Tom and (I, me) went to the movies. – Tom went to the movies.

– _____ went to the movies.

Dad gave Tom and (I, me) the gifts. – Dad gave Tom the gifts.

– Dad gave _____ the gifts.



Ambiguous Reference

When the antecedent is not clear, there is an

ambiguous reference to the antecedent.

For example: They say in that magazine that

scores have dropped rapidly. – They is vaguely referring to someone, but we have

no clear picture of who it is.



In order for the sentence to be correct, we

must know clearly the antecedent of that

pronoun.

If the antecedent is not clear, you can’t use

the pronoun.



RED FLAGS:

“It” and “this” are red flags in regards to this

rule.

If you see either of these words in a

sentence, you should immediately check for

pronoun ambiguity.



Practice:

The manager told her secretary that she must pay the filing fee.

– Who is she? The manager? The secretary?

Someone else?



One more practice:

It surprised me when you came home.

– Who or what is it?



Who vs. which

The pronoun who refers to people.

The pronoun which refers to things.



Practice:

He is the boy _____ is the editor of theschool newspaper.

This is a math problem _____ is extremely

difficult.



Shift in person

First person uses I

Second person uses you Third person uses he / she / it



The rule in standard written English is thatyou may not shift from one person to another

within a sentence.

For example: I think I will be okay, but youhave to be prepared for the unexpected.

A person has to study hard if you want to dowell in school.



Turn to the chart on page 604

Label Nominative as Subject – the two terms

are interchangeable.

Add “who” to the subject column

Add “whose” to the possessive column

Add “whom” to the objective column



Three important tips:

Tip 1: Subject pronouns follow the verb “to

be” – This is she. It was I.

Tip 2: Object pronouns follow prepositions. – Between you and me.

Tip 3: Comparing two? Use subjectpronouns. – She is better dressed than he.



4. DOUBLE NEGATIVES



A double negative is TWO negative

expressions applied to the same idea.

HINT: when you see the contraction “n’t”

used in a sentence, immediately check for

this rule being broken.



Common negative expressions:

No Hardly

Not ScarcelyNothing Nowhere

None Nobody

No one Neither

Never



Practice:

I haven’t seen nobody I don’t want no help.

We don’t have hardly any.

I can’t scarcely see.



5. Idioms



An idiom is an expression in which the words

have developed a special meaning in relation

to each other. This meaning is destroyed if

some part of the related group of words is

omitted or if some word not commonly a part

of the idiom is introduced.Most idioms consist of a key word and one or

more prepositions.



For example:

We are angry with a person… not angry at

him.

We comply with a request, not comply to a

request.



So what do you do?

You will want to take a look at the list of

common idiomatic expressions on page 608

of your binders.

You will need to memorize any of these with

which you are not already familiar.



Practice:

Her blue dress is different _________ the red

one.

After hearing the story, Jane was concerned

_____ the problem.



Her blue dress is different FROM the redone.

After hearing the story, Jane was concerned

WITH the problem.



You all give it a try….

Practice one: Separate the correct forms

from the faulty forms.

Practice two: Match the correct preposition

into the idiomatic expression.



6. Passive Voice



Keep in mind that the writing section of the

SAT is evaluating your knowledge of

FORMAL, standard English.

SAT test creators prefer ACTIVE voice over

passive voice.



Active vs. Passive Voice

Active voice occurs when the subject of the

sentence performs the action.

Passive voice occurs when the subject

receives the action.



Example:

Active voice: Tom hit the ball

Passive voice: Tom was hit by the ball.



A comment about passive voice:

Keep in mind that passive voice is not wrong,

it is simply not the preferred sentence

structure of the SAT creators and most

English teachers.

If choice A is in passive voice and choice C isin active voice – the answer in active voice

will always be considered the “right” answer.



Practice:

Which is the active voice (and therefore the

best) sentence?

– A delicious meal was cooked by Mary.

– Mary cooked a delicious meal.

– What can you notice about each?



What you should have noticed…

Was = form of the verb “to be” – (is, am, was, were, be, being, been = forms of the

verb “to be”) – It is impossible to create the passive voice unless

the writer uses a “to be” verb.

By Mary = indication of passive voice

– If “by so-and-so” is used or could naturally beadded after the verb, your sentence is in passivevoice



Passive or Active Voice?

Jeremy stood beside the road.

The man was told not to utter a sound. The pilot flew the plane.

In the moonlight, the couple danced the

tango.

My car has been driven to Dallas.



7. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers



* Misplaced Modifiers

Modifying phrases should be placed as near

as possible to the words they modify.

If they are not, they often distort intended

meaning of the sentence and add unintended

humor.



Example:

Incorrect: The boy saw the red car looking

out the window.

– As written, what is the sentence actually saying?

– Correct: Looking out the window, the boy saw thered car.



Single word modifiers

Remember that the placement of a single

modifying word changes the meaning of the

sentence.

– I only saw Janet.

– Only I saw Janet. – I saw only Janet.



Practice:

The man saw the car swimming in the lake.

My dad only gave me five dollars for the trip.



Dangling Modifiers

A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that

does not clearly modify any word in the

sentence.

This kind of error makes the meaning of a

sentence absurd.



Example:

Solving the case, one important clue was

overlooked. – (Who solved the case? The clue?)



Practice:

Climbing the tree, a bird’s nest was found.



Tip:

When sentences begin with an introductoryphrase followed by a comma, you should first

look at the word following the comma to seeif it is being accurately described by theintroductory phrase.

– While talking to the officer, the dog ran betweenhis legs. (really, the dog was talking to theofficer?)



8. Parallelism



Parallelism is about consistency.

If a sentence begins with one construction

and suddenly shifts to another, it is lacking in

parallel structure. These shifts may occur in

the person, number, voice or tense of theverb, or in the kind of verbal phrase, or in the

type of modifier used.



Example:

He likes hiking, boating, and to run.

– He likes hiking, boating, and running.

– He likes to hike, to boat, and to run.



Practice:

Tell me his name and where he lives.

I saw how he held the bat, how he hit the

ball, and then he ran to first base.



Compared and contrasted ideas:

Dancing no longer interests me as much as

to go skiing. – Dancing no longer interests me as much as skiing.

The woman was praised more for her beauty

than for the way she behaved.

– The woman was praised more for her beauty thanfor her behavior.



9. Sentence Structure



Fragments

A fragment is a part of a sentence that does

not express a complete thought.

When you see fragments on the SAT, they

will be in the test format for revising

sentences.



Run-on Sentences

A run-on sentence is actually two separate

sentences that fail to be separated by the

proper punctuation.



Comma Splice: the fancy run-on

A run-on can be created by putting a comma

between the two sentences.

This is a common error that SAT knows

many people believe a good fix to a run-on.

Don’t fall for their attempt to “get you.” Knowthat comma splices are still run-ons and are

always wrong.



Correcting run-on sentences:

A period can be added to the end of the first

complete thought, and the first letter of the

second complete thought will need to becapitalized.

A semicolon can be added between the two

thoughts.



Correcting continued

A comma plus a FANBOYS can be placedbetween the two complete thoughts.

– Note: make sure an appropriate FANBOYS isused as SAT likes to trick you here as well

– and indicates addition

– but indicates contrast – or indicates choice

– therefore indicates result



Correcting continued

A semicolon – conjunctive adverb – comma

between the two complete thoughts. – For example:

I tried to finish the exam before the bell; however, I

couldn’t do it.

– Some common conjunctive adverbs include:however, consequently, moreover, therefore,

nevertheless, otherwise, for example, that is,

furthermore



A note about conjunctive adverbs

If you are attempting to separate two

complete thoughts using a conjunctive

adverb remember that using a comma beforethe conjunctive adverb (instead of the

required semicolon) results in a run-on

sentence.



Practice:

I saw the man in the store he was veryhandsome.

I saw the man in the store, he was veryhandsome.

I saw the man in the store. He was veryhandsome.

I saw the man in the store; he was veryhandsome.



Practice continued:

I saw the man in the store, and he was veryhandsome.

I saw the man in the store, but he was veryhandsome.

I saw the man in the store; moreover, he wasvery handsome.

I saw the man in the store, therefore, he wasvery handsome.



10. Coordination and Subordination



Coordination

Has to do with joining ideas of equal rank in

sentences.

Generally we use the coordinating

conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

The problem we face with coordination is

making sure that the relationship betweenthe two ideas is accurately expressed.



Practice:

Food is adequate in the summer_________

in the winter a good supply is not available.

– Which of the following would fit in the blank? A. , and

B. , but

C. ; however,

D. ; therefore,



Unequal Ideas?

If two unequal ideas are joined as though

they should have equal emphasis, we have a

problem with coordination.



Example:

John Blair is a native of Texas, and he was theguest speaker for the meeting.

– These two ideas are not really related and arecertainly not of equal importance.

– They should not be joined with a conjunction thatsuggests that they are equal.

–

One way to correct this problem is throughsubordination.



Subordination

We take the sentence of lesser importance

and make it into a subordinate clause.

Subordinate clauses begin with a

subordinate conjunction (after, as, before,

since, until, when, while, because, although,if, unless)





For example:

With a subordinate clause: – John Blair, who is a native of Texas, was the

guest speaker for the meeting.

Use an appositive

– John Blair, a native of Texas, was the guestspeaker for the meeting.



Practice:

Sue cannot pay her credit card bill, and she

still charges her merchandise to her account.

– Although Sue cannot pay her credit card bill, she

still charges merchandise to her account.

– ** pages 632 – 633 for more practice



11. Punctuating with Colons



Most likely you are familiar with colons being

used to introduce lists; however, there are a

couple of more sophisticated uses with whichyou need to be familiar.



A colon is appropriate to use for separating

two sentences when the second sentence is

an explanation of the first.



Tip:

An easy way to recognize whether or not a

colon is appropriate in this kind of

construction is to ask the question WHY? between the two sentences. If the second

sentence answers that question, then it is an

explanation of the first sentence.



For example:

I was unhappy to hear that you had left town

so early.

Why?

(Because) I was hoping we would be able tospend more time together.

So…..



I was unhappy to hear that you had left town

early: I was hoping we would be able to

spend more time together.



Practice:

The young boy was excited about visiting his

grandmother: she had promised to take him

to the amusement park.

The reasons for his success are obvious: he

is intelligent, personable, and responsible.



Long, formal statement or quotation

Another appropriate time to use a colon is

before a long, formal statement or quotation.

In this situation you should note thatquotation marks are NOT required.



For example:

The famous words of Patrick Henry are

relevant even today: Is life so dear, or peace

so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!

I know not what course others make take;

but, as for me, give me liberty or give me

death!



Congratulations!

You have now been introduced to all 11

grammar rules.

Documents

11 Grammar Rules