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TEN FOR TEN®
GRAMMAR AND USAGE PRACTICE
When a sentence contains an error (approximately 82% of the time), there is a 50% chance that
that error will involve singular/plural or verb tense. Therefore, paying close attention to verb
tense and agreement, along with pronouns, will help you focus quickly on the money part of the
sentence.
First, Improving Sentences:
If you’re uncertain about which Improving Sentences answer is best, read the shortest, simplest
answer choice into the sentence. Either that choice will be right (more often than you might
think) or you’ll have a good idea of what you’ll need to add or move in order to make the
sentence as clear as possible.
1)
2)
3)
Africa is not nearly so mountainous as in Asia.
(a)
so mountainous as in
(b)
that mountainous as
(c)
equally mountainous as
(d)
as mountainous as
(e)
that mountainous as in
As it is primarily a bird of Tonga’s native forests, the mongani also lives in scrub and native
grasslands.
(a)
As it is primarily
(b)
Although primarily
(c)
Because it lives primarily as
(d)
It is primarily
(e)
It lives primarily as
Although campaign consultants have long known that scare tactics can win votes, only
recently have psychologists and political scientists devised studies to find out whose votes
they win and why.
(a)
they win
(b)
they can win
(c)
this wins
(d)
tactics like this wins
(e)
such tactics win
GRAMMAR AND USAGE
2
4)
5)
6)
7)
If every nation was completely self-sufficient and also operating under a free market
economy, the world’s food supply would be governed by the economics of supply and
demand.
(a)
was completely self-sufficient and also operating
(b)
was completely self-sufficient and they operated
(c)
was completely self-sufficient and also operated
(d)
were completely self-sufficient and operated
(e)
were completely self-sufficient and they operated
Although maps are used in many other studies, it is geography when they become the
one constantly essential tool.
(a)
it is geography when they become
(b)
geography uses them to become
(c)
geography is when they become
(d)
in geography they are
(e)
it is in geography they are
In addition to Jews and Christians, Islam blossomed within a small area in Western Asia.
(a)
In addition to Jews and Christians
(b)
As with Jews and Christians,
(c)
Judaism, Christianity, and also the practicing of
(d)
Along with Judaism and Christianity,
(e)
Jews and Christians, in addition to
Listening to good storybooks sharpen children’s awareness and appreciation for the
sounds of spoken language.
(a)
sharpen children’s awareness
(b)
sharpens children’s awareness of
(c)
are what sharpens the awareness of children
(d)
sharpens the awareness of children
(e)
is to sharpen children’s awareness
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
3
8)
9)
10)
11)
Rote learning, the process of memorizing by repetition, is how many young children learn
the alphabet or the multiplication tables.
(a)
is how
(b)
is used for when
(c)
this is how
(d)
the way
(e)
which is used when
In San Salvador, coffee, from the highlands, and bananas, produced mainly in the
Caribbean lowlands, as the most important crops, they account for nearly half the total
value of all exports.
(a)
as the most important crops, they account
(b)
as the most important crops, which account
(c)
are the most important crops, accounting
(d)
are the most important of their crops by accounting
(e)
have been the most important crops, which accounts
Ancient Trojans believed in giants—mythic heroes and semi-human creatures, they are
many times the size of ordinary folk.
(a)
creatures, they are
(b)
creatures, and they were
(c)
creatures, and
(d)
creatures;
(e)
creatures
One time a candidate for the Republican nomination for United States president in 1964,
Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith won 126 delegates before withdrawing from the
race.
(a)
One time
(b)
She was
(c)
Being
(d)
To be
(e)
As
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
4
12)
13)
14)
15)
For both his shorter and longer works of fiction, Maxfield Kahlo achieves the rare feat of
being accessible to the common reader while satisfying the most demanding of
sophisticated critics.
(a)
For both his shorter and longer
(b)
For both his shorter, and in his longer,
(c)
In both his shorter and his longer
(d)
Both in his shorter and his longer
(e)
Both his shorter and longer
Its fossil record virtually unchanged over 100 million years, the baobab tree is one of the
oldest living species of tree.
(a)
Its fossil record
(b)
Its fossil record was
(c)
Its fossil record, which is
(d)
Its fossil record exists
(e)
Its fossil record, because
Because it lacks water, this makes the area known as Death Valley a desert, but it is by no
means devoid of life.
(a)
Because it lacks water, this
(b)
They lack water, which
(c)
Water, the lack of which
(d)
Lacking water, it
(e)
Lack of water
Of the 2,027 bridges serving New York City, nearly half are over land.
(a)
nearly half are
(b)
nearly half
(c)
nearly half of them
(d)
there are nearly half
(e)
there are nearly half of them
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
5
16)
17)
18)
19)
British author Charles Dodgson, best known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, is renowned for
when he wrote two of the most famous and admired children’s books in the world, Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass.
(a)
is renowned for when he wrote
(b)
renowned in that he wrote
(c)
received renown, he wrote
(d)
is renowned for writing
(e)
was renowned and wrote
Reading maps involve several abilities, including the ability to locate places, to ascertain
directions, to measure distances, and to interpret the mapmaker’s symbols.
(a)
involve
(b)
involves
(c)
will involve
(d)
has involved
(e)
have involved
Efforts to equalize the funds available to school districts, a major goal of education
reformers and many states in the 1970’s, has not significantly reduced the gaps existing
between the richest and poorest districts.
(a)
has not significantly reduced the gaps existing
(b)
has not been significant in reducing the gap that exists
(c)
has not made a significant reduction in the gap that exists
(d)
have not significantly reduced the gap that exists
(e)
have not been significant in a reduction of the gaps existing
Digital technology, like every marketer knows, it is synonymous with speed, precision, and
the future.
(a)
technology, like every marketer knows, it is
(b)
technology, similar to what every marketer knows as
(c)
technology, as every marketer knows, is
(d)
technology is what every marketer knows as
(e)
technology that every marketer knows is
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
6
20)
21)
22)
23)
At the airline, their pilots were angry with the prospect of seeing their pension plans
replaced with less generous versions, vowed to use legal means to fight such a move.
(a)
At the airline, their pilots were angry with
(b)
The airline’s pilots had anger because of
(c)
Pilots at the airline, angered at
(d)
It angered pilots at the airline,
(e)
Their pilots, angry at the airline for
About 35 percent of the world’s orange juice is produced by California, comparing it with
nearly 50 percent produced by Argentina, the world’s largest orange producer.
(a)
comparing it with
(b)
but
(c)
whereas
(d)
although
(e)
compared with
The first 12,000 United States patents, known to be the Z-patents, were burned in a fire in
1844.
(a)
to be
(b)
to have been
(c)
as
(d)
as they were
(e)
as being
Nearly one-sixth of all the human beings on Earth live in India, it has the world’s most
populous democracy.
(a)
India, it has the
(b)
India, the
(c)
India, having the
(d)
India; the
(e)
India; and are the
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
7
24)
25)
26)
27)
Mexican painter Minerva Gomes-Luz drew inspiration from her Mexican heritage, where
she incorporated native and religious symbols into her work.
(a)
where she incorporated
(b)
in which she incorporated
(c)
incorporated
(d)
from which she incorporated
(e)
therefore, she incorporated
The Parthenon was a church from 1204 until 1456, when Athens was taken by General
Mahmud the Conqueror, the Turkish sultan, who established a mosque in the building and
used the Acropolis as a fortress.
(a)
who established a mosque in the building and used the Acropolis as
(b)
who, establishing a mosque in the building, used the Acropolis like
(c)
who, when he had established a mosque in the building, used the Acropolis like
(d)
who had established a mosque in the building, using the Acropolis to be
(e)
establishing a mosque in the building and using the Acropolis as
Upon its completion in May 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, a steel suspension bridge linking
Brooklyn to Manhattan as the longest bridge in the world.
(a)
to Manhattan as
(b)
to Manhattan, and was
(c)
and Manhattan, was
(d)
with Manhattan, it was
(e)
with Manhattan, as it was
When light from a distant source, such as the sun, it strikes a collection of water drops, such
as rain, spray, or fog, a rainbow may appear.
(a)
such as the sun, it strikes
(b)
like the sun’s, striking
(c)
such as the sun, and striking
(d)
such as the sun, strikes
(e)
like the sun’s, strikes
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
8
28)
29)
30)
Johannes Gutenberg is generally credited to bring together the two main concepts of
modern printing: movable pieces of metal type that could be reused, and a printing press
for producing sharp impressions on paper over and over.
(a)
to bring
(b)
as he brought
(c)
by bringing
(d)
with bringing
(e)
for the fact of bringing
The Senate approved immigration legislation that would grant permanent residency to
millions of aliens currently residing here and if employers hired illegal aliens they would be
penalized.
(a)
if employers hired illegal aliens they would be penalized
(b)
hiring illegal aliens would be a penalty for employers
(c)
penalize employers who hire illegal aliens
(d)
penalizing employers hiring illegal aliens
(e)
employers to be penalized for hiring illegal aliens
According to the American Gardening Association, households in the United States spent
a total of $1 billion on flowering bulbs in 2003, twice as much as that of 1998.
(a)
that of
(b)
was in
(c)
for
(d)
in
(e)
from
You deserve a break. Why don’t you check the answers and explanations for 1-30 now?
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
9
Next, Identifying Sentence Errors:
31)
When people gave up the hunter-gatherer way of life and began to cultivate the soil and
A
grow their food, they often became less mobile, built more substantial residences, and
B
C
they developed more effective means of storage. No error
D
E
32)
Besides conserving forest resources, recycling produces fewer pollutants than does the
A
B
conventional pulping and bleaching processes that are normally used to create paper.
C
D
No error
E
33)
For decades, the most popular playground in the world was Redondo Beach’s Playland,
A
which combined a Pacific Ocean Beach and boardwalk with food concessions, souvenir
B
C
shops, rides, and other attractions. No error
D
E
34)
Most of the world’s rays, living in temperate and tropical regions, though the Greenland
A
B
C
ray lives in the cold Arctic waters, and the huge manta ray is at home in the seas
around Antarctica. No error
D
E
35)
Once the suspension bridge replaced the cantilever, the United States becomes the world
A
B
leader in this new type of long-span bridge-building. No error
C
D
E
36)
One of the northernmost countries of Europe, Finland’s borders are Russia on the east,
A
B
C
Sweden on the west, and the tip of Norway on the north. No error
D
E
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
10
37)
During the eighteenth century, some Zuni Indians left their mesas due to drought and
A
B
C
famine and coming to live with the Apache at Elden Mountain Arizona. No error
D
E
38)
Modern vegetable farming ranges from small-scale, low-technology production and local
A
B
sale and vast commercial operations that utilize the latest advances in automation and
C
D
technology. No error
E
39)
Long one of the favorite characters of American folklore, Natty Bumppo is best known
A
B
C
to be the hero of James Fennimore Cooper’s novel The Deerslayer. No error
D
E
40)
Although the number of books written in African languages are growing, many African
A
B
writers find a larger audience for works written in French or English. No error
C
D
E
41)
Among the earliest telescopes were Huygens telescopes, modeled after the simple
A
B
instruments built by Christian Huygens, the first person having used telescopes to study the
C
D
stars and planets. No error
E
42)
Mrs. Tanaka asked Juan and I whether we would consider joining our school’s grammar
A
B
C
D
team. No error
E
43)
Larger in area than Europe, the icy continent surrounds the South Pole is called Antarctica.
A
B
C
D
No error
E
44)
Although not the first animated feature film, Disney’s Fantasia was the first animated film
A
B
to use up-to-the-minute techniques as well as achieving widespread release. No error
C
D
E
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
11
45)
In order to prepare for the speech he was given to all of the parents and teachers at the
A
B
school, Colin practiced speaking in front of a group of his friends. No error
C
D
E
46)
Between 1507 to 1511, Michelangelo, working on a scaffold 60 feet above the floor,
A
B
painted the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome with hundreds of giant figures
C
that represented his vision of the world’s creation. No error
D
E
47)
Ballet, modern dance, and Indian classical dance is a form of theater dance, the dancers
A
usually highly trained professionals performing for audiences in particular venues and on
B
C
D
special occasions. No error
E
48)
The website reported this morning that despite the increase in the minimum wage, many
A
B
people are still having trouble making ends meet. No error
C
D
E
49)
Audio recordings, and the equipment used to make and play them, comes in many
A
B
C
forms, including records, CDs, and MP3 recorders. No error
D
E
50)
Nearly all of the editors of the magazine agree that of the two newly-published articles,
A
B
C
Mangini’s is the more exciting. No error
D
E
51)
The credit for making Vladimir Mayakovsky internationally famous as a poet belongs to his
A
B
friend, poet Nicolas Pulganyek, which despite Mayakovsky’s wishes, collected
C
Mayakovsky’s unpublished poems and then had them published. No error
D
E
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
12
52)
Many types of dance music and jazz call for special instruments, which includes the hi-hat,
A
B
a pair of cymbals operated by a foot pedal; a cowbell struck with a wooden-tipped
C
drumstick; and wire brushes used on both drums and cymbals to produce a swishing
D
sound. No error
E
53)
The largest European type of mole grows to about seven inches, while the largest
A
B
C
American type, the Springfield mole, it grows to about six inches. No error
D
E
54)
Contrary to their friend Liam often behaved as if he had only one day left to live, Roy
A
B
C
and Cary rarely acted without first considering the consequences. No error
D
E
55)
Used in sculpture, carving is the process and it reduces substances such as stone, wood,
A
B
C
or ivory to a desired shape by cutting or chipping away unnecessary parts. No error
D
E
56)
Formerly called manacles or shackles, handcuffs consist of two metal rings joined by a
A
B
short chain; once fastened shut, it requires a key to open. No error
C
D
E
57)
A meteorite shows an enormous variation in size, from micron-sized dust particles filtering
A
B
slowly through the atmosphere to giants weighing many tons. No error
C
D
E
58)
Encouraged from her teacher, Sandra decided to enter the short story contest with a
A
B
story about her experience growing up in Cleveland. No error
C
D
E
59)
Most newer digital cellular phones have entertainment programs on it, everything from
A
B
simple dice-throwing games to memory and logic puzzles. No error
C
D
E
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
13
60)
Every day, millions of tiny stony bits fall quietly into the atmosphere, burn briefly as
A
B
C
meteorites, and leave behind a vaporized residue that filters slowly to Earth. No error
D
E
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TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
GRAMMAR AND USAGE PRACTICE
Improving Sentences: Shocking statistics: Some answer choices are correct more often than
others!
When in doubt, should you just pick (b)? How about (c)? No! You should eliminate every
choice you’re sure is wrong and then pick the shortest of the remaining answers. Our recent
research using nine real SATs shows that not all choices are created equal:
The shortest answer is right 39% of the time; the second shortest, 29%; third shortest, 16%; second
longest, 10%; and longest, 6%. So, over the long run, the shortest answer choice is more than six
times as likely as the longest choice to be right!
What does this mean for you? Just that “Go Short” should always be your Plan B. Any time you
can’t eliminate four choices (even if you can’t eliminate any), pick the shortest one that’s left!
(Whenever the shortest answer is the winner have put a bold “S” in the answer’s explanation.)
^
*
1)
D. Comparison sets include “as ... as” as well as “more ... than” and “less ... than.” Any
time a sentence contains a comparison, you should consider these comparison sets. S^
2)
B. Note that the sentence tells us that the mongani “also” lives in scrub and native
grasslands. So, the first half of the sentence must tell us where else the mongani lives, and
so the sentence needs a “contrast” word; “although” is the only one that fits the bill.
3)
E. Each pronoun used in a sentence must refer clearly to one and only one noun, right?
Here, “they” could refer to “consultants,” “tactics,” “psychologists,” “political scientists,” or
even “studies.” So, let’s eliminate any answer choice that includes “they.” Similarly, all
relevant nouns in this sentence are plural, so we can eliminate choices (c) and (d), since
“this” refers to a singular noun.*
4)
D. Since it’s extremely unlikely that every nation will ever be self-sufficient and operate
under a free market economy, this sentence supposes a condition that is unlikely to ever
happen. In order to speak hypothetically, we need to use a verb tense called the
subjunctive. (“If Paul were here, he’d know what to do,” tells us that, in fact, Paul isn’t
here.) So, we’re down to (d) and (e). In (e), why do we need “they”? (If you were
between (d) and (e) and chose wrongly, did you at least consider picking the Shortest
Choice?) S^
5)
D. Note that “in many other studies” is parallel to “in geography.” If you liked choice (b),
note that it states that, in the end, geography, rather than the maps, is the one essential
tool. S^
6)
D. Whenever we see a introductory phrase at the very beginning of a sentence, it will
describe the subject. Here, the subject is “Islam,” so we need an intro that relates to
“Islam.”
The green “S” means that the shortest answer was right! See the introduction above.
What is “such”? Here, it’s an adjective that refers back to the previously-mentioned “tactics.” All adjectives answer
one of three questions: “Which one(s)?”, “What kind?” or “How many?” Consider: “Some team members enjoy a
good razzing, but others consider such behavior hurtful.”
GRAMMAR AND USAGE
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
2
7)
B. Some words that end in “ing,” called “verbals,” aren’t verbs. “Verbal” adjectives are
called participles, and “verbal” nouns are called gerunds. “Surfing is an exhilarating
sport,” includes two “verbals.” One of them, “surfing,” is a gerund and is the subject of the
sentence. The other, “exhilarating,” is a participle and modifies “sport.”
The subject here is the gerund “listening.” A gerund is always singular. That eliminates (a),
which might have tempted you, and (c), which probably didn’t. Also, any time you can
express a relationship using a possessive (my aunt’s pen) or a prepositional phrase (the
pen of my aunt), prefer the possessive.
We also need to discuss idiomatic preposition usage. In order for “children’s awareness
and appreciation for” to be correct, the “for” must be the correct preposition to link both
“awareness” and “appreciation” to the descriptive phrase that follows. Is it? Imagine that
you are asked to cut “and appreciation” from the sentence. Wouldn’t you then request
to change “for” to “of” so it would relate correctly to “awareness”? Since that’s the case,
“awareness” requires its own preposition (which we see in the correct answer choice). If
you’ve read this entire explanation, congratulations. You will do well on this test.
8)
A. For a discussion of “verbals” such as the subject of this sentence, please see the
explanation to problem 7. Next, any time you run across a portion of a sentence that is set
off by commas and not underlined (here, “the process of memorizing by repetition”), you
should physically cross that portion out! Finally, every sentence needs a verb that agrees
with the subject. So, we’re down to (a) and (b). Is rote learning merely “used” when
young children learn, or is rote learning how they learn? S
9)
C. As we discussed in sentence 8, you can cross out any non-underlined portion of a
sentence that is enclosed by commas! So, here we’ll cross out In San Salvador, from the
highlands and produced mainly in the Caribbean lowlands. Once we’ve done so, our
sentence reads, “Coffee and bananas …” but we don’t have a verb. So, let’s pick a
choice that includes a verb. By the way, choices (c) and (d) are in the present tense,
whereas choice (e) uses present perfect tense. Whenever we discuss something in
general, we use the present tense (as I am doing here). S
10)
E. When in doubt, find the shortest choice; read it into the sentence. If it sounds fine, pick
it; if you don’t like it, you’re likely to know why. If the shortest answer doesn’t work, then try
the second shortest. Also, always remember that people your age are deeply and
sincerely in love with commas. S
11)
E. Note that here the second half of the sentence, beginning with “Maine ...” is an
independent clause, which means that it could stand on its own as a sentence. So, we’re
looking for an answer choice that subordinates the first half of the sentence to the second.
By the way, if you picked (c), “being” is almost always the “kiss of death” on the SAT. S
12)
C. If we were discussing the contents of one novel, would we say, “For his novel” or “In his
novel?” Next, the correlative conjunction “both ... and” correlates whatever follows
“both” with whatever follows “and”; here, in choice (c) “both” distributes “in” to “shorter”
and “longer.” It would be legal, if inferior, to say, “Both in his shorter and in his longer …”
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
3
13)
A. In order to fill the blank, we need to know what is “virtually unchanged.” Must be the
fossil record; OK, but why can’t we choose, say, (b)? For one thing, the past tense “was”
implies that whatever “was” no longer “is.” “Today was gloomy until the sun came out.”
Moreover, the second half of the sentence is already an independent clause (one that
can stand by itself), and the two halves of this sentence are connected with just a comma
(which is not underlined and therefore not negotiable), so that comma can’t connect two
independent clauses (as in choice (d)). S
14)
E. The key here is the verb “makes.” Whenever you spot a non-underlined verb, the
question to ask is, “What [verb]?” Here, “What makes Death Valley a desert?” Must be
“lack of water.” S
15)
A. The order in which a sentence is written can be confusing. In order to “hear” the
sentence correctly, identify the subject, the verb, and the rest of the sentence and then
feel free to change the order of the words. So, this sentence becomes, “Nearly half of the
2,027 bridges serving New York City are over land.” Can we always do this? Yes.
16)
D. As we saw in question 8, we can cross out any portion of a sentence that is enclosed
by commas and not underlined (here, we can cross out best known by his pen name,
Lewis Carroll and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the LookingGlass). What’s left? “British author Charles Dodgson is renowned for when he wrote two of
the most famous and admired children’s books in the world.” We know that he “is”
renowned; if (e) were correct, he would no longer be renowned. S
17)
B. For a discussion of “verbals” such as the subject of this sentence, please see the
explanation to problem 7. Here, “reading” is the subject and “involve” is the verb. How’s
it read? “Reading involve ....” As we discussed in problem 7, all gerunds are singular!
18)
D. As we discussed in question 8, we can cross out any portion of a sentence that is
enclosed by commas and not underlined (here, a major goal of education reformers and
many states in the 1970’s). So, our “revised” sentence begins, “Efforts to equalize the funds
available to school districts has not significantly reduced ….” Is the term “efforts” singular
or plural? If you chose (e), remember the odds: The chance of the longest answer being
correct is about 1 in 20!
19)
C. As we’ve seen elsewhere in this set, pronouns are always suspect. Do we need “it”?
Yes, you might say, “it” refers back to “digital technology”; but, wouldn’t “digital
technology” be the only possible subject anyway?
20)
C. Note that in this sentence somebody “vowed.” Who vowed? Must be “pilots.” Now,
how do we construct the sentence so that “pilots vowed”? If you chose (e), do you prefer
“for the prospect” to “at the prospect”? Every word matters. Also, who is “their”?
21)
E. This is a tough sentence because even the right answer is clunky. However, we soldier
on. Consider this sentence: “Bob has twice as much money comparing him with Ray.”
What? Wouldn’t you want to compare Bob and Ray using “compared with” instead? I
would. Also, if you chose (b), (c), or (d), what criteria did you use to choose one of them
and not the others? Can you see that they are so close to equivalent that none of them
can be right?
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GRAMMAR AND USAGE
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
4
22)
C. First, if you ever find a problem in which “to be” is part of the correct choice, call me.
Even if it’s 3 A.M. At the office. Next, if you plug in the shortest choices first, you get to try
“known as,” which sounds great, doesn’t it? Note that we “know … as,” “regard … as,”
and “condemn … as.” S
23)
B. We discussed the improper use of “it” in problem 19. Consider: “My dog, it has fleas.”
Next, when you’re not sure which choice you prefer, start by plugging in the shortest
choice. Let’s try (d), then (b): When we plug in (d), we end up with a clause and a
phrase separated by a semi-colon, which is intended to connect two independent
clauses. Will a comma (b) correctly connect the clause and phrase? It will. S*
24)
D. “Her Mexican heritage” is the cultural experience from which the artist took the symbols
that she used in her work. If you liked (e), note that in order to link a new independent
clause beginning with “therefore, …”, we would need either a period or a semi-colon after
“heritage.”
25)
A. First, did you cross out the Turkish sultan? Next, what did General Mahmud do? He
“established” and “used.” Note that “who” is a relative clause that describes “General
Mahmud.” If you chose (e), please never choose a verb that ends in “ing” unless you can
explain why.
26)
C. Every sentence needs a verb. Here, “the Brooklyn Bridge” needs a verb. To provide it
with a verb, the appositive that begins with “a steel suspension bridge” must end and be
followed by a comma, so the main clause of the sentence can resume.
27)
D. As we discussed in problem 19, the SAT likes to throw in a superfluous pronoun now and
then to see whether you’ll notice. “My cat, it has fleas.” Not so good it’s not right, right?
Next, once we get rid of the pronoun, since “distant source” is followed by a comma, we
need to identify that distant source—it’s the sun, right, not “the sun’s.” Can a possessive,
such as “sun’s,” ever be the subject of a sentence?
28)
D. Here, we can read up to the colon and then ignore the rest, wouldn’t you say? Now
we’re back to “credited,” which is always accompanied by its own preposition sidekick.
Try to figure out what that sidekick is: “Reggie was credited _______ bringing back high top
sneakers to school dances.” Credited’s sidekick is always with.
29)
C. Parallel Structure should be your focus whenever a sentence contains lists or
comparisons. How do we identify a list? It contains the word “and.” Here, we have a list:
The legislation is intended to do two things: “grant permanent residency and ...” shouldn’t
we try to find a choice that agrees with grant?
30)
D. Here is another Parallel Structure sentence—in this case a comparison. So, what’s the
comparison here? Note that to make a “legal” comparison we must include the
bracketed [in]: “in 2003” to “[in] 1998.” S
In case you’re interested, in the randomly-gathered set we just finished, the shortest answer was
right in 13 out of the 30 questions, which translates to a shade over 43% of the time.
OK, 30 down, 30 more to go …
*
The right answer in this sentence is tied for shortest.
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31)
D. Do you know pronouns? If so, great—whenever a pronoun shows up, it will be the right
answer (that is, the error in the sentence) around 70% of the time! So, even if you’re a high
scorer, you should be suspicious of every underlined pronoun. Here, we have two
pronouns, but the (b) choice, “their,” clearly refers back to “people.” Next: Do we really
need “they” in choice (d) to continue the list? How would the sentence read if we
crossed it out?
32)
B. We’re comparing actions—“recycling produces fewer pollutants” than what? Must be
“the conventional pulping and bleaching processes,” which is plural. Remember, a
singular “does,” but plurals “do.”
33)
E. About 20% of the time there’s nothing wrong with a sentence. In choice (b), “which” is
a relative pronoun that refers back to Playland, which is great; if you were suspicious of
choice (c), “with” is always used with “combined,” isn’t it?
34)
B. Every clause needs a verb. What’s the verb in the first clause (which ends at the
comma? Might it be “living”? No, while “are living” might work, “living” without the “are”
doesn’t. How about, “Most of the world’s rays live ...”?
35)
B. Always determine whether a verb’s tense matches the timeframe of its sentence. A
good way to do so is to check the tense of non-underlined verbs like “replaced,” which is
in the past tense. Here, “becomes” is present tense. Simple as that.
36)
C. As we discuss in the Intro Descriptive TEN FOR TEN, whenever a sentence begins with a
descriptive phrase we need only ask, “What does this phrase describe?” Here, “What is
one of the northernmost countries of Europe?” Might it be Finland? Yes, but it can’t be
“Finland’s borders,” which is not a country. We might rewrite that portion of the sentence
to say, “... countries of Europe, Finland borders Russia on the east, ...”
37)
D. When does the action take place? During the eighteenth century, right? So, could
there be any reason to use any verb tense other than the past tense “came to live”?
38)
C. Here we see the need for a set of prepositions that will create a range. Would we say,
“She drove from Arizona and Ohio?” No, we’d say “from Arizona to Ohio.”
39)
D. If a sentence containing the expression “to be” seems funky and you don’t know what
else to do, pick “to be.” The expression the writer was looking for is “known as ....”
40)
B. In the Dedicated to the Preposition TEN FOR TEN, we bracket prepositional phrases and
then read the sentence without them. Here, all we have to do is bracket the prepositional
phrases [of books] and [in African languages] to leave “Although the number written are
growing ….” Now that we’ve taken out the prepositional phrases, we’re left with a single
noun (number), which must be the subject. Singular or plural?
41)
D. Is there any reason we need any tense other than past here? I don’t think so. So, can’t
we rewrite (d) to read “who used”?
42)
A. Please bracket [Juan and]. Now read the sentence without those words. It’s pretty
simple, although your fourth-grade teacher told you to never say “Juan and me,” right?*
*
She probably also told you that you can’t begin a sentence with “because.” Surprise! You can.
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43)
C. We can change (c) to “surrounding” or “that surrounds.” Either is OK. Otherwise, you’ll
need to finish the sentence with “Pole.”
44)
D. Fantasia was the first film to do two things, right? If that’s the case, then we need to
use parallel structure to relate those actions. The first thing Fantasia did was “to use,”
which looks OK. So, the second action must parallel the “to [verb]” format. “Achieving”
doesn’t do the trick; how about “to achieve”? Imagine we tried to make “to use” parallel
with “achieving”: We would have, “… first animated film using up-to-the-minute
techniques as well as achieving widespread release.”
45)
B. Has Colin given the speech yet? I don’t think so. However, the verb tense in choice (b)
suggests that he has! If you try to make the sentence make sense to you, you’ll smoke out
grammar errors. How about, “In order to prepare for the speech he was to give ...”?
46)
A. As we saw in problem 38, certain words work together idiomatically. Between you to
me, that’s a good thing. Wait a minute! Between you to me? Shouldn’t that be
“between you and me”? Yes, and this sentence should start, “Between 1507 and 1511….”
47)
A. Sometimes a compound subject made up of singular nouns will appear singular. Here,
when we combine ballet, modern dance, and Indian classical dance we have three
types of dance! This is why it’s so important to Suspect the Verb whenever one is
underlined.
48)
E. This sentence seems to pose a verb tense problem. Can a website report something
that is happening now? Sure, if the situation is ongoing.
49)
B. Check the explanation to number 47. If you got 47 right and this one wrong, compare
the sentences. Here, as there, the subject is a whole bunch of things (which is plural), so
we need a plural verb.
50)
E. This sentence features “nearly all” and “newly-published,” both of which describe
“editors” and “articles,” respectively. How about the verb? Although we would have to
use “agrees” with “each editor” or “every editor” (because “every” is always treated as
singular), here “nearly all” has to be plural. Next, we consider “more exciting,” and
remember that when comparing two entities we use the comparative (such as “more
exciting”) and when we rate three or more entities we use the superlative (such as “most
exciting”). Remember, “good, better, best” corresponds to “one, two, three [or more].”
51)
C. Simple rule: The SAT nearly always refers to people as “who,” not “that” or “which.”
52)
B. You can substitute “including” or “which include,” each of which would be correct.
We can’t use “includes” because it’s a singular verb; because several instruments are
listed, we can’t describe them all with a singular verb.
53)
D. Why include “it”? Cross it out and see how much more clearly the sentence reads.
Remember, any underlined pronoun is suspect, and if you’re not sure what to do,
randomly “picking the pronoun” has about a 70% chance of being right and so is highly
recommended.
54)
A. Imagine this sentence beginning, “Contrary to their friend Liam, who often ....” Here,
We need to begin the sentence with a dependent-clause indicator like “Although.”
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55)
B. Here, we want to describe carving. Wouldn’t it be better to replace “and it” by “that”?
“Carving is a process that ...” Remember that any “and” signals parallel structure. Here, we
would be saying that a definition (“is”) and an action (“reduces”) are parallel.
56)
D. As we work on Identifying Sentence Errors problems, we will note how often pronouns
turn out to be the problem in their respective sentences. What’s “it”? Handcuffs, right? If
you chose (c), here’s a “trick”: Imagine replacing the semicolon by a period. Is
everything OK? Therefore, the semicolon is fine.
57)
A. Let’s try this: “A single hair shows an enormous variation in color ....” Wait a second! A
single hair cannot vary in color; in order for there to be a variety, won’t we need more
than one hair? So, “Meteorites show an enormous ...” would work better, wouldn’t you
say?
58)
A. We are never “encouraged from ….” Rather, we are always “encouraged by....”
59)
B. As we just discussed in problem 56, by the time you finish working through the Maine
Prep materials, you should be on pronouns like a hawk, because each underlined pronoun
has about a 70% chance of being the error!
60)
E. It’s amazing how often the correct answer choice to the last question in the Identifying
Sentence Errors section is (e). So, if you’re pressed for time, pick (e).
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