grammar rules sat test
TRANSCRIPT
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8/10/2019 Grammar Rules SAT test
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AGREEMENT
BETWEENSUBJECT AND
VERB
The number of the noun ina phrase introduced by the
preposition of does notaffect the number of the
verb
A listof (many things) has
been drawn up
A plural verb follows the
construction one of thosewho because the
antecedent of who is plural
(those)
George is one of thosemenwhoalways scorehigh in
tests
Relative clauses introducedby who, that or which take
verbs agreeing with the
antecedent of the pronoun
Ulysses is one of the mostinteresting books thathave
ever been written
When the subject andpredicate nominative differ
in number, the verb agreeswith the subject, not the
complement
The theme of the novel isthe experiences of a
Hollywood writerThe verb must
agree with its
subject in number
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4
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8/10/2019 Grammar Rules SAT test
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AGREEMENT
BETWEENSUBJECT AND
VERB
Compound subjects joined by and
ordinarily take a plural verbHere comeJohn and his sister
Each of the following indefinitepronouns takes a singular verb:
anyone, everyone, no one, each,
everybody,somebody, someone,either, nothing, anything,
everything, neither
Everybodyhere knowsthe
importance of building vocabulay
Nouns of quantity, althoughplural in form, are often
understood as collective units and
therefore take singular verbs
Seven years isa long time for afamine
If the parts of the unit are
considered more important than
the unit as a collective whole, theverb must be plural: The majority
of the class areinterested in theirwork
The verb must
agree with its
subject in number
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CASE OF PRONOUNS
NOMINATIVE
Subject of a verb: He marches in the paradePredicate Nominative:It is they
Direct Address:You, go away!
Appositive:He who knows pain -he and heonly- knows the fullness of life
I,
he,
She,
we,
they,
who
OBJETIVE
Direct object of a verb: I admire himIndirect object of a verb:I gave him a book
Object of preposition: I gave it to him
Appositive: They nominated Joe forpresident him, all the people
me,
him,
her,
us,
them,
whom
POSSESIVE
To indicate possession, source, authorship,and similar relationship:
I have read Johnson for his ironic wit
I know whose verse that is
Garlic has its own peculiar odor
my,
his,
her,
our,
their,
whose
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AGREEMENTBETWEEN PRONOUNAND ANTECEDENT
Use the nominative form
when the pronoun is
subject of a sentence orclause, no matter what
the antecedent of thepronoun is
His family disinherited
Cain because hewas not
a good brother
After a linking verb, thepronoun usually takes
the nominativecase
FORMAL: It is I. That is
he. It is they
INFORMAL: It is me.Thatis him. It is them
Use the objetive case
when the pronoun is the
direct or indirect objectof a verb or preposition
Give that rod to Ed and
me
Use the objectivecase
when the pronoun actseither as subject of or as
object of an infinite
His instructors considered
himto be promising
The investigators
suspected the embezzler
to be him
The pronoun must
agree with its
antecedent noun
or pronoun in
number, person,
and gender
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AGREEMENT
BETWEENPRONOUN AND
ANTECEDENT
Pronouns take the samecase as the nouns or
pronouns to which they arelinked by coordinating orcorrelative conjuctions
Between him and methere is little to choose
Pronouns in apposition takethe same case as the nounor pronoun of which they
are appositives
He murdered both of
themhim and her
The conjuctions than and
as have no effect upon
the case of the pronoun
which follows them
You can be taller thanshe(is)
The case of therelative pronoun who
and whom isdetermined by their
use in the sentence
NOMINATIVE: We tried to
determine who shewas
OBJETIVE: Give the car to
whomever you wish
The pronoun must
agree with its
antecedent noun
or pronoun in
number, person,
and gender
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
The pronoun must be placed as near as possibleto its logical antecedent
WRONG
Mary blushed when she looks athersister
RIGHT
Looking at her sister, Mary blushed
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8/10/2019 Grammar Rules SAT test
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
Avoid placing the pronoun in a position where itmay refer to more than one antecedent
WRONG
Stephen followed Tommy into acorner, where hehid
RIGHT
Stephen followed Tommy into a
corner and saw him hide there
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
Avoid explaining the ambiguous pronoun byplacing its antecedent in parentheses
WRONGCraven asked Nevin whether his
(Cravens) car would be safe in his(Nevins) garage
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8/10/2019 Grammar Rules SAT test
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
Avoid using pronouns to stand for ideas ratherthan for nouns
WRONG
Valerie brought home from school
several excellent ceramics andwatercolors. Thismade her family proud
RIGHT
The ceramics and watercolors Valeriebrought home from school made her
family extremely proud
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8/10/2019 Grammar Rules SAT test
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
Avoid using the pronouns it, you,and they tostand for ideas rather than nouns
WRONGThe employer intended to wish good
cheer to each of his workers. He knew itwould make a splendid impression on
them
RIGHT
The employer intended to wish good
cheer to each of his workers. He knewthat such a message would make a
splendid impression upon them
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
Avoid repeating the same pronoun within a
single sentence when the pronoun has different
antecedents
WRONG
The club was the scene of a nightly
brawl; nevertheless itwas patronized bymen who liked participating in it
RIGHT
The club was the scene of a nightly
brawl; nevertheless, men who liked it
participating in it patronized the club
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
Avoid impersonal expressions
WRONG
Theysay that the new crop of inducteesis well educated
RIGHT
Draft Officials say that the new crop ofinductees is well educated
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
Avoid referring to an antecedent so remote from
the pronoun that the central meaning of a
sentence is obscured
WRONGThe Aztecs for centuries held great power in Mexico.
The lakes were filled in and a great city developed.They brought with them many cultural patternshitherto unknown to the natives
RIGHT
The Aztecs for centuries held great power in
Mexico. They filled in the lakes, introducecultural patterns hitherto unknown to the
natives, and developed a great city
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REFERENCE OF PRONOUNS
Avoid referring to an antecedent in a subordinateconstruction
WRONG
We bought copies of the magazine he
was selling to earn his way throughcollege. Itwas the New Yorker
RIGHT
We bought copies of the New Yorker, the
magazine he was selling to earn his way
through college
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VERBS
SEQUENCE OF
TENSES
If the verb in the main clause is in
the past or past perfect tense, theverb in the noun clause is
generally (thought not invariably)in the past or perfect tense
He believed
He had believed
trisected
had trisected
If the verb in the main clause is in
the present tense, the presentperfect tense, the future tense, or
the future perfect tense, the verb
in the subordinate clause may be
in any tense at all
He believes
He has believed
He will believeHe will have believed
trisects
trisected
will trisect
has trisected
had trisected
will have trisected
To express some universal truth
(real or supposed), a past tense in
the main clause may be followed
by a present tense in thesubordinate clause
He believed
He had believed
Angles are trisectable
Angels guard us
Logical sequence of tenses -adjusting
the tense of the verb in the subordinate
clause to the tense of the verb in the
main clause- ought to be maintained
Noun clauses
that he
that he
that
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8/10/2019 Grammar Rules SAT test
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VERBS
SEQUENCE OF
TENSES
If the verb in the main clause isin the past or past perfect
tense, the verb in the
subordinated clause is in thepast or past perfect tense
He was
He has been
was richhad been rich
If the verb in the main clause is in the
present, present perfect, future or
future perfect tense, the verb in the
subordinate clause may be in anytense at all
He is
He has been
He will be
He will have been
is rich
was rich
will be rich
has been rich
had been rich
will have been rich
Logical sequence of tenses -adjusting
the tense of the verb in the subordinate
clause to the tense of the verb in the
main clause- ought to be maintained
Adverbial clauses
honest althought
he
honest althought
he
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VERBS
SEQUENCE OF
TENSES
In adjective clauses, thesubordinate verb mayexpress any time that
the sense demands
Freud formulated the theory
which men ignored at first,which they attack now, and
which they will accept
ultimately
Logical sequence of tenses -adjusting
the tense of the verb in the subordinate
clause to the tense of the verb in the
main clause- ought to be maintained
Adjective clauses