Download WIDELY TESTED ERRORS ON THE PSAT`s GRAMMAR SECTION

Widely Tested Errors
on the PSAT's Grammar Section
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Singular subjects take the singular form of the verb. Interestingly, this often
means the singular verb concludes with an "s".
 Example: He goes. They go. You know that, because it often sounds funny
when done incorrectly. The trick comes when many words separate the
subject from the verb. Here's how not to get caught:
1. Ask yourself "what's the subject?"
 Two places where you won't find the subject –
o Inside a prepositional phrase
o Inside a subordinate clause (separated by commas)
2. Is it singular or plural?
 Note that the pronouns "everyone", "each", "anybody", and "somebody" are
singular!
o Example: Each of us follows the leader. These are called singular
indefinite pronouns. (Indefinite because no person is directly
identified).
 The negatives are also singular: "nobody", "no one", "nothing", "none", and
"neither".
 Other singular words that might be hard to envision as singular: army,
committee, legislature.
 Words ending in "-ing" (gerunds) are singular.
o Example: Running is my least favorite physical activity. Even "-ing"
clauses stay singular. Example: Riding my bicycle with one wheel
twelve inches off the ground and my hands in the air gives me
exhilaration.
 Here are plural indefinite pronouns: "several", "many", "lots", "both", "a
few".
o
3.Ask yourself "what's the verb?"
 Note that verbs contained in subordinate clauses don't count. A subordinate
clause is set off by commas. You know the clause is subordinate if you can
take it out and still have a sentence.
o Example: Solomon, the wise king who was known throughout the
Middle East during the 10th Century BC, amassed his wealth by forcing
men to labor for the kingdom.
 The verb here is "amassed". The sixth word "was" is a part of the long
subordinate clause, so it is not the verb of the sentence. Here, the simple
sentence is "Solomon...amassed his wealth by forcing men to labor for the
kingdom."
4. Is the subject doing the action?
 After the introductory clause, the next subject should refer to something IN
THAT CLAUSE, not something new.
o BAD: Landing two hours later than scheduled, the airport was a
welcome destination for all the weary travelers.
o The airport did not land two hours late! The plane did; the people in
the plane did.
o BETTER: Landing two hours later than scheduled, the weary travelers
welcomed being in the airport.
o BAD: The zookeeper being trusting of his staffers, two of them let him
down by failing to lock the rhinos in their pens following a feeding.
o The zookeeper is the subject. "Two of them" cannot possibly be
referring to the zookeeper.
o BETTER: The zookeeper being trusting of his staffers, he was
disappointed when two of them failed to lock the rhinos in their pens
following a feeding.
o Technically, the error here is a "dangling participle". SAT II does not
require you to know the terminology, just to identify the problem.
o BAD: Coursing nearly 100 miles through the Grand Canyon, variations
in the Colorado River can be appreciated by those who take a guided
rafting tour.
o BAD: Coursing nearly 100 miles through the Grand Canyon, those who
take a guided tour by raft can appreciate the variations in the Colorado
River.
o BETTER: Those who take a guided tour by raft can appreciate the
variations in the Colorado River, which courses nearly 100 miles
through the Grand Canyon.
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
1. Modifiers should be placed nearest to the word they modify. This avoids
ambiguity.
 UNCLEAR: They discussed the new video game in the dorm lounge.
 BETTER: In the dorm lounge they discussed the new video game.
 UNCLEAR: Reggie told Hanna in the office he had a blueprint of the new
home.
 BETTER: Reggie told Hanna he had a blueprint of the new home in the office.
2. There's common sense needed here. The context should make clear what is
needed. The best way to assess is to ask "does the sentence leave any reader
confused as to who is doing the action, or who is receiving it?"
 UNCLEAR: "The Lava Lamp eerily displayed so many shapes against the dark
wall, Bart became transfixed by watching it." Is Bart watching the wall or the
Lava Lamp? Replace the "it" and make clear what he's watching.



UNCLEAR: "The physician suggested he undergo an EKG every year."
BETTER: "Every year the physician suggested he undergo an EKG."
PERHAPS UNCLEAR: "The psychiatrist told the patient weekly to call his
mother".
PRONOUN ERRORS
1. A pronoun is a word that stands for a noun. The noun must be stated. Pronouns
should not refer to unstated nouns.
 BAD: "It needs to be treated as if it were a noun." (Vague "it")
 BETTER: "The pronoun needs to be treated as if it were a noun."
 BAD: "Woe is me."
 BETTER: "Woe is I." (Still not great because humans shouldn't be compared
to emotions.)
 BEST: "I feel woeful." or "I have woe."
2. Usually pronoun errors can be "heard". But that's still problematic in the case of
homonyms. Example:
 BAD: "Whose there?"
 BAD: "Its me."
 BETTER: "Who's there?" The contraction substitutes for the letter "i".
"Whose" is a possessive; we need the pronoun.
 BETTER: "It's I." The contraction substitutes for "it is". "Me" is a direct
object. We need "I", the pronoun.
3. Here is a table for keeping separate the pronoun, possessive and direct object
forms.
Pronoun
Possessive
Direct Object
I
you
he
she
it
we
my
your
his
her
its
our
me
you
him
her
it
us
they
their
them
who
whose
whom
3. A direct object means the person who receives the action. The trickiest is
who/whom, but fortunately that has not been tested on the SAT in a long time.
Generally, use "whom" following a preposition.
 BAD: "Who did they sell the secrets to?"
 BETTER: "To whom did they sell the secrets?"
 DOUBLY BAD: "It is him who the bell rings for."
 BETTER "It is he for whom the bell tolls."
4. Pronouns also lead to ambiguity.
 UNCLEAR: Pete Rose Jr. was at one time a more adept fielder than Ken
Griffey Jr., because he practiced fielding with his father. Better to state
whose father he practiced with - Pete Rose Sr. or Ken Griffey Sr.
 UNCLEAR: "If you are pulled over and have your wallet, make sure to show
it to the police officer". The "it" seems to refer to the wallet. More likely the
writer wants to refer to the driver's license in the wallet.
5. Don't let the pronoun accidentally shift into the plural.
 BAD: "If he or she is conscientious, they leave the kitchen as it was in the
morning." It's cumbersome to use "he or she" so often, but it's correct.
o "They" cannot refer to an individual.


BAD: "Either Marco, Barry, or Patricia are allowed to take their "smoke"
brake in the first thirty minutes of the shift."
BETTER: "Either Marco, Barry, or Patricia is allowed to take his or her
"smoke" break within the first thirty minutes of the shift."
PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION
1. Items in a series must be parallel. This means there needs to be a consistency
in any series of words or prepositional phrases.
 GOOD: "We mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
 GOOD: "Teaching a child to walk, keeping the child from harm, and helping
the child eat are all great joys in parenting."





GOOD: "To know him is to love him."
BAD: "To know him is loving him."
BAD: "Simon blocked the driveway, blasted the car radio, and he set fire to
the mailbox, all in an attempt for attention."
BAD: "We union nurses can be proud of our reputations, our efficiency, our
cleanliness, alertness, and our compassion."
2. Watch out for subtle redundancies.
 BAD: "Every undergrad is required to pass eighteen courses, to do volunteer
service, and has to pass a swim test." There's a doubled word - "required"
and "has to".
3. Note that "who" refers to people, whereas "that" refers to things. Infant
humans can go either way.
 DOUBLY BAD: "That's Marcia. She was the lawyer that defended me in traffic
court".
 BETTER: "That's Marcia. She is the lawyer who defended me in traffic court."
VERB TENSE
1. All kinds of errors fit this category. The general rule is that the sequence of
events must be clear. There's past tense and "past past", and certain
constructions have to let the reader know which came first.
2. Most of these errors can be "heard". One way to check yourself for past
participles is to scan the irregular ones in a reputable book.
3. Here are a few subtle ones that might be hard to "hear". Again, think clarity.
 BAD: "By the time I get to Memphis, my chauffer will be waiting for over
four hours."
 BETTER: "....will have been waiting for over four hours".
 BAD: "When Brandon first learned to play the cello, his brother was
proficient at the trumpet for over a year."
 BETTER: "...had been proficient at the trumpet for over a year".
 BAD: "The day my Mom allows me to eat Captain Crunch for breakfast will
have been the day I was kicked out of the home".
 BETTER: "The day my Mom allows me to eat Captain Crunch for breakfast
will be the day I am kicked out of the house".
CHANGING NARRATIVE VOICE
1. Consistency is key. When one begins a sentence in the third person singular,
one should end it that way, as we do here.
BAD: "When one begins in the third person singular, he or she should not change
mid-course."
BAD: "If you take all the shells you can off the sea floor each day, we don't leave
enough for others."
BAD LOGIC
1. It all has to make sense. At times, the sense is lacking. owing to improper
punctuation.
IDIOM ERRORS
1. These are random errors that carry no general rules. In some ways this is quite
unfair to the student who has read very little English because s/he has little to
study. We'll put some proper phrases here, but unfortunately the list is infinite.
 disdain for
 responsible for
 in the event of
 sort of
 kind of
COMMONLY MISTAKEN WORDS USED ON THE PSAT
affect / effect / effect - (1)To affect is to influence someone or something;
(2)to effect is a seldom used verb meaning to cause a result or to bring about
change, and (3)the effect is a noun that is the result.
 Example. The effect (3) of the stock market crash was a widespread return
to investing in CDs. The crash affected (1) Harold enough to stop his daytrading and get a regular-paying job.
 Example. The President's speech effected (2) fear among pharmaceutical
company workers that he was going to nationalize the health care industry,
the effect (3) of which would have caused many of the workers to lose their
jobs.
o Note that President is capitalized when referring to a specific leader of
the nation, otherwise it is not capitalized. Example. "the president of
IBM" vs. "President Nixon"
aspire / inspire - To aspire is to have a goal. "I aspire to being able to drive a
Porsche." To inspire is to instill some motivation in somebody. "My teacher
inspired me to learn more vocab." Both together: "Since I aspired to become a
virtuoso musician, I was inspired to listen to more opera."
anecdote / antidote - An anecdote is a short story. It is not necessarily factual.
"Anecdotal evidence" means a story that is not verifiable, and thus not as solid as
direct evidence. An antidote is something that combats an affliction. "Aspirin is an
antidote for pain." Both together: "The former attorney likes to tell ethical
anecdotes, including 'religion is the antidote to law school'".
allusion / illusion - An allusion is a reference to something. "The Republican
candidate made an indirect reference to impropriety in the White House, an
allusion the audience knew related to the Presidential sex scandal." An illusion is
an image that is not real. "He was under the illusion that he was Napoleon." Both
together: "The candidate spoke of a 'little guy with a bad haircut who is under the
illusion that he can run the country', an allusion most took to apply to Ross Perot".
conscience / conscious / conscientious - Conscience is a person's sense of
ethics, morality, or righteousness. It should not be used regarding animals.
Conscious means being mentally alert. Conscientious means diligent, thoughtful,
or hard-working. All three: "After the opposing prizefighter suffered a long-term
loss of consciousness, the human suffering accompanying the victory weighed
heavily on the winner's conscience, so he conscientiously set about informing his
fellow fighters about the inherent dangers of their sport."
elicit / illicit - To elicit is to draw a response from. "Several pokes at the turtle's
shell finally elicited a response - it scampered away." "The teacher tried to elicit a
verbal response from the class, but there was only silence." Illicit means not
permitted. It can be a substance such as illicit drugs, or a behavior such as
prostitution. Both: "The undercover agents tried to elicit the Congressman to take
a bribe, but either because he was onto their scheme, or because nothing could
sway him that day, he did not succumb to doing anything illicit."
eminent / imminent - Eminent means standing out or conspicuous. It often
relates to a prominent official, who could be referred to as "his eminence". It can
mean important, from which we get "eminent domain" - important land that the
government has the right to develop, even if someone else owns it. Imminent
means on the verge of occurring. "Despite his past seasons of success, the
eminent coach was clearly not the inspiring force he once was, and after 13
straight NFL losses his firing was imminent."
fewer / less - Fewer is used when referring to items that are distinguishable.
Less is used when the items are not distinguishable. "Fewer than 100 people
attended the outdoor concert...". "Less water flowed through the pipe..."
Countable is a good way to assess whether to use fewer or less. Note: if
supermarkets used proper English their signs would read "9 items or fewer".
from / between - When moving, from is the better word. When picking a
number, between is proper. "The car accelerates from zero to sixty in twelve
seconds." "I'm thinking of a number between one and one thousand." "Call me
between 9:30 and 11:00 pm." "I will be working from 10 until midnight."
more / most, better / best, greater / greatest - The first word in the pair is
the "comparative". It is used only when comparing two items. The second word is
the superlative. It is used when comparing three or more items.
like / as - "Like" is used when comparing nouns or adjectives; "as" is used when
comparing verbs. "Be like Mike" is proper because the comparison is to the noun
Mike. "Do as Michael Jordan does" is proper because the comparison is to the verb
"do".
that / which - Use "that" when the clause is essential. Use "which" when the
clause is not essential, i.e. set off by commas, subordinate.
 BAD: "The car which hit the hydrant is still there."
 BAD: "The 500 letters which accumulated on the Senator's desk were largely
hate-mail."
 There is no subordinate clause, so the better word is "that".
 GOOD: "Fifteen light years, which is a small distance when considering the
whole universe, is not imaginable."
 GOOD: "A light year, which is a measure of distance, is often mistaken for a
measure of time."
who / which - Use "who" when referring to humans: "The members of the chorus
who perform best will receive commendations". Use "which" when referring to
everything else, including groups of humans: "The chorus which performs best will
go on to the national finals." When referring to infants, the rule should be "who",
but either is acceptable, so this won't be tested on the SAT.
 BAD: "Billy Joel, the singer that recently filed for bankruptcy despite earning
over $100 million over his long career, ..."
 BETTER: "Billy Joel, the singer who..."
who / whom - Use "who" any time where you'd say "he". "Who" is a pronoun.
"Who/he gave Mary that pen". "He who laughs last, laughs the longest." Use
"whom" any time you'd say him. "Whom" is a direct object. "To whom should Mary
give the pencil?" "Those whom fortune has smiled upon with perfect health."
: / ; - The colon is used to introduce a list or summary of what has happened prior
to the colon. It can separate independent clauses. The semicolon always connects
independent clauses, i.e. the words on both sides of the ";" can stand alone as
independent sentences. The semicolon replaces conjunctions like and, or, but,
however, yet for the purpose of linking two closely related independent clauses.
its / it's - "Its" is possessive. It means "belonging to it". This is an exception to
the rule that most possessives get an apostrophe. Other exceptions: "his" (instead
of he's); "mine" (instead of me's). "It's" is a contraction. The word uses the
apostrophe to shorten "it is". Example. "When smoke emanated from the library
annex, the librarian calmly announced 'it's time to leave' and she personally
removed the most precious documents from its collection on her way out."