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SAT Grammar Rules
3rd Q. 2014
Agreement – 1/8
The # of a word indicates whether it is
singular or plural. The subject and verb of a
sentence must agree in #. Single sub. needs
a single verb & plural sub. needs a plural
verb. This is called subject/verb agreement.
Sub./Verb Agreement – 1/9
Single:
The child wonders what is under the Christmas
tree.
 The sub. is the singular n. “child”. Therefore,
a singular verb takes an “s” at the end.
Sub./Verb Agreement – 1/10
Plural:
The books fell off the desk with a loud clatter.
 Plural nouns take an “s” while plural verbs do
not.
Sub./Verb Agreement – 1/13
 Verbs only agree w/ the subject.
 Words that come in between the sub. and
verb do not matter when figuring out
agreement.
Kalani, along with other students, agrees that
we need to change the dress code.*
Sub./Verb Agreement – 1/14
 Remember, for compound sub., the verb will
be plural.
Kalani and Kaleo are visiting.
 However, if the compound sub. is considered
1 unit, then you use a singular verb.
Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite food.
Sub./Verb Agreement – 1/15
 When the parts of a compound sub. are
joined by or/nor, then you need to look at the
sub. (noun or pronoun) that is, physically,
closest to it.
Either the clerks or their manager is taking
inventory.*
Sub./Verb Agreement - 1/16
 Some indefinite pronouns are always
singular, and some are always plural. Some
may be either depending on how they are
used in the sentence.
Sub./Verb Agreement – 1/16 cont.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns:
another
either
neither
other
anybody everybody nobody
somebody
anyone
everyone no one
someone
anything everything nothing
something
each
much
one
 Each of the cabins has a fire place.
 Everyone likes chocolate.
Sub./Verb Agreement – 1/17
Plural Indefinite Pronouns:
both
few
many
several
 Many of the ships are here today.
 Both of us need rest after the flight.
Sub./Verb Agreement – 1/21
Questionable Indefinite Pronouns:
 They are singular when referring to things
that can’t be counted & plural for things that
can be counted.
all
enough
most
plenty
any more
none
some
 Some of the scenery is ready.
 Plenty of athletes are competing.
Pronouns – Nominative – 1/22
 People often become confused when dealing
w/ the pred. nominative form if it’s at the end
of the sentence.
 Remember, if the pronoun is talking about the
sub. of the sentence, then you use the nom.
form.
The teacher is she.*
Pronouns – Objective – 1/23
 Objective p.n. are either a direct object
(directly receiving the action), and indirect
object (a word that comes between a
transitive verb & the direct object), or an
object of the prep.
1. My parents visited me. (d.o.)
2. Kalani gave her a pair of socks as a gift.
(i.o.)
3. This present is for me. (o.p.)
Pronouns – Objective – 1/24
 Remember that an objective p.n. cannot be
used as part of the subject.
“My friend and me went to the movies.”
This is incorrect, it should be, “My friend and I
went to the movies.”
Problem Pronouns – Usage – 1/27
 Who is the nominative case (sub. or pred.
nom. of the sentence).
 Whom is the objective case (d.o., i.o., o.p.).
Who is going to the dance? (sub.)
The teacher is who? (pred. nom.)
To whom am I speaking to? (o.p.)
Whom is he irritating now? (d.o.)
Problem Pronouns – Usage – 1/28
 Remember that a comparison can be made
using a clause that begins w/ than or as;
however, the ending of the sentence might
be omitted. If that is the case, then add the
missing word to see which p.n. is correct.
He is taller than (her/she).*
Problem Pronouns – Usage – 1/29
 Pronouns ending in –self or –selves
shouldn’t be used alone; their antecedents
should be there as well.
Wrong: Kalani and myself went to the beach.
Correct: Kalani and I went to the beach.
Correct: I did the project myself.*
Problem Pronouns – Usage – 1/30
 Hisself & theirselves are incorrect usage.
Don’t ever use them.
Problem Pronouns – Usage – 1/31
When do you use his, her, their…?
 When you have a singular indefinite p.n.,
you need to use a singular p.n. (i.e.
everyone & his/hers).
 When you have a plural indefinite p.n., you
need to use a plural p.n. (i.e. both & their).
Everyone should bring his/her own lunch.
Several people brought their own lunches.
Problem Pronouns – Ambiguous*
2/3
 An ambiguous p.n. reference means that
p.n. could be talking about more than one
noun.
Ambiguous: Remove the wrappers from the
boxes and then discard them. (Are you
talking about the boxes or wrappers?)
Clear: Discard the wrappers after you remove
them from the boxes.
Verbs – Irregular – 2/4
 Irregular verbs are important to know simply
because of the usage.
 Remember, a verb is irregular if you cannot
just add an –ed to make it past tense.
Reg. verb: walk = walked
Irregular verb.: swim = swam
Verbs – Irregular – 2/5
 To make it trickier, irregular verbs can change
again when you had a helping verb (i.e. has)
to it:
swim = swam = has swum
Verbs Tenses – Problems – 2/6
 When speaking/writing about 2 past actions,
& one has happened before the other, use
the past perfect tense (had + verb) to talk
about the action that happened first.
The student believed he had eaten that
particular piece of chicken before.
Verbs Tenses – Problems – 2/7
 Use having w/ the 1st verb to show that one
action was completed before the other (&
both happened in the past).
Having finished his final early, Kalani fell asleep
at his desk and missed the release bell.
Verbs Tenses – Shift Problems –
2/10
 Always use the same tense to express 2 or
more actions that occur at the same time.
 Never shift tenses within or between
sentences unless you need to clarify the
meaning of the sentence.*
Verbs Tenses – Shift Problems –
2/11
Wrong: Lao Mao moved to Maui in 1912, and
he eventually becomes an America citizen in
1920.
Correct: Lao Mao moved to Maui in 1912, and
he eventually became an America citizen in
1920.*
Modifiers and Comparisons – 2/12
 Adj. describes nouns and pronouns. Many
end w/ -ous, -cal, & ing.
 Adv. describes verbs, adj., & other adv. They
often have an –ly ending that is added to the
end of an adj.
Modifiers and Comparisons – 2/13
 Positive degree means the adj./adv. is
describing 1 person, place, group, thing, idea,
or action. It stands alone.
Adj.: strong (1 syllable)
beautiful (2 syllables)
Adv.: calmly
Modifiers and Comparisons – 2/18
 Comparative degree is used to compare 2
things.
Adj.: stronger (+ “er” to a 1 syllable word)*
more beautiful (+ “more” to a 2 syllable
word)**
Adv.: more calmly (always add “more”)
Modifiers and Comparisons – 2/19
 Superlative degree is used to compare 3 or +
things.
Adj.: strongest (+ “est” to a 1 syllable word)*
most beautiful (+ “most” to a 2 syllable
word)**
Adv.: most calmly (always add “most”)
Using Comparisons Correctly –
2/20
 Double comparisons are incorrect; you never
use more/most when the word already ends
with –er/-est.
Wrong: Your last paper was more clearer.
Correct: Your last paper was clearer.
Using Comparisons Correctly –
2/21
 Watch out for illogical comparisons. The
word other or else is used to compare an
individual member of a group with the rest of
the group.
Wrong: Chinese is more difficult to learn than
any language.
Correct: Chinese is more difficult to learn than
any other language.
Special Modifier Problems – 2/24
 A double negative occurs when 2 or more
neg. words are used to express a single neg.
idea.
Wrong: Kaleo didn’t do nothing wrong.
Correct: Kaleo didn’t do anything wrong.
Or
Correct: Kaleo did nothing wrong.
Special Modifier Problems* - 2/25
 The words hardly, barely, & scarcely already
function as neg. & should not be used with
other neg. words.
Wrong: There wasn’t hardly a student left.
Correct: There was hardly a student left.
Capitalization Rules – 2/26
1. Capitalize proper n. & adj.
 China & Chinese food
2. Capitalize the names and initials, as well as
titles and abbreviations, that are used with a
personal name.
 Dr. V. Ululani Laepaÿa
 Mr. Michael-Randy Keone Laepaÿa Jr.
Capitalization Rules – 2/27
3. Cap. a kinship name when it is used before
a proper n. or when it is used alone in place
of a name.
 They met Aunty Kim at the mall.
 I need to give the present to Mom.
Capitalization Rules – 2/28
4. Cap. the names of races, languages,




nationalities, tribes, and religions, and any n.
or adj. derived from these names.
Asian
Italian
Hebrew
Apache
Capitalization Rules – 3/3
5. Cap. all words referring to God, the Holy




Family, other deities, and religious
scriptures.
God
Buddha
The Talmud
The Gospel
Capitalization Rules – 3/4
6. Cap. the p.n.* I and the interjection O.
 Why, O God, am I forsaken?
7. Cap. The named of parts of the world,
political divisions, topographical names, and
the names of specific structures and public
places.
 California
Democrats
 London Bridge
Grand Canyon
Capitalization Rules – 3/5
8. Cap. the names of sections of the country
but not of directions of the compass.
 Kalani and Kaleo went to school on the East
Coast, but often drive south during their
breaks.
9. Cap. proper adj. derived fr. names of
sections of the country, but not adj. made
from directional words.
 A Northern state vs. the southern most city.
Capitalization Rules – 3/6
10. Cap. the names of stars, planets, galaxies,





constellations, and other heavenly bodies
except sun and moon.
Polaris
Mars
Orion
Andromeda Nebula
Haley’s Comet
Capitalization Rules – 3/7
11. Cap. the names of ships, trains,
automobiles, airplanes, and spacecrafts.
 Hokuleÿa
 Boeing 727
 Toyota Camry

Challenger
4th Q. Grammar cont.
Capitalization Rules - 3/10
12. Cap. the names of historical events, people,
and documents.
 American Revolution
 The Enlightenment
 Magna Carta
13. Cap. the names of organizations and
institutions.
 Kamehameha School
 Toys-for-Tots
Capitalization Rules – 3/11
14. Cap. the abbreviations of B.C., A.D., A.M.,
and P.M.
 88 B.C. until 100 A.D.
 From 11:45 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.
15. Cap. the names of awards and special
events.
 Nobel Peace Prize
 Special Olympics
Capitalization Rules – 3/12
16. Cap. freshmen, sophomore, junior, and
senior when they refer to specific classes.
 Soph. English
 Senior Prom
17. Cap. the brand name of a product but not
the common noun that follows it.
 A Prada bag.
Capitalization Rules – 3/13
18. Cap. the titles of specific, numbered, & lang.
courses, but not the genl. names of school
subjects.
 I have English followed by Psychology 101.
 I find math cumbersome.
19. Cap. the 1st word of every sentence, of
every line of most poetry, & of a direct
quotation.
 As she cried, she yelled out, “Go away!”
Capitalization Rules – 3/14
20. Cap. the 1st word in the greeting of a letter &
the title & name of the person you are
writing to. Cap. only the 1st word of the
closing sentiment.
 Dear Dr. Lau
 Yours truly
Capitalization Rules – 3/27
21. Cap. the 1st, last, and all important words in
titles; don’t cap. conjunctions, articles, or
prep. w/ fewer than 5 letters.
 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Capitalization Rules – don’ts –
3/28
1. Do not capitalize prefixes such as pro-, pre-,

2.


post-, ex-, and anti- when they are used in
compound words.
ex-President Clinton
Titles used alone shouldn’t be cap. unless
they refer to a person in a uniquely
important position or used in direct address.
Call a doctor.
The President is here.
Capitalization Rules – don’ts –
3/31
3. Don’t cap. a kinship name when it is
preceded by an article or a possessive word.
 He just became a father.
 I took a message for my aunty.
4. Don’t cap. the words god and goddess when
they refer to the deities of ancient
mythology.*
The Greek goddess of the rainbow was named
Iris.