50+ SAT Grammar and Punctuation Rules To Know - Magoosh Blog - High School PDF

9/26/2020 50+ SAT Grammar and Punctuation Rules to Know - Magoosh Blog | High School
Conventional Expression Rules (including Prepositions)

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Learn and Test Your Knowledge with the SAT Grammar Rules
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SAT Grammar Practice Quiz
SAT Grammar and Punctuation Rules Wrap-Up
How the SAT Tests English

Grammar and Writing Rules
Generally, students are more willing to study math topics than
grammar topics…but that’s a mistake! Because there are fewer
grammar topics than there are math topics, they carry more
weight on average.
And here’s the kicker: if you’re a native English speaker, a lot of that
grammar (though not all) is already pretty natural to you. Topics
like transition words, subject-verb agreement, and tenses may take
a keen eye at times, but if you train yourself to watch for them on
the test, you’ll be using your innate English knowledge, which you
exercise every time you speak. Spend time on SAT grammar
practice, study our downloadable English grammar cheat sheet on
your phone or computer, and get ready to seriously bump up your
SAT Writing score.
When it comes to identifying grammar questions on the SAT, you’ll

want to focus on these types of questions:
Of course, this is an excerpt from a longer passage with many

other questions—both about SAT grammar and vocabulary
(although a strong knowledge of SAT grammar rules can definitely
help you figure out the best vocabulary words in context, too).
Which brings us to the big question…should you read the whole
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Table of Contents
How the SAT Tests English Grammar and Writing Rules
SAT Grammar Tips for Success
50+ SAT Grammar and Punctuation Rules
Sentence Structure Rules
Punctuation Rules
Effective Language Use
Style and Tone
Voice
Subordination and Coordination Rules
Parallel Structure Rules
Modifier Placement Rules
Verb Rules
Agreement Rules
Pronoun Rules
Possessive Determinant Rules
Diction Rules (Frequently Confused Words)
Logical Comparisons
passage or try to answer the questions without reading it? After

all, a lot of the questions are on the sentence level…
But what you’ll find is that even the sentence-level questions rely
on a lot of context. The best thing to do is to practice SAT grammar
and time yourself as much as possible until you can at least skim
the passage and then answer the questions. You’ll be glad you did
when you see your score!
Examples of SAT Grammar in the

Writing Section
On test day, you’ll open your booklet to the Writing section and see
passages with numbered, underlined portions. The underlined
sections could be as short as a word or as long as several
sentences. You’re then asked to pick the best answer from among
four.
You’ve already seen one example, but here are a couple more.
A handful of questions on test day will use the “DELETE” option—

don’t rule it out without good reason! It’s right just as often as the
other answer choices are.
What do these SAT grammar questions have in common? Their

format, first of all. They all have the same first answer choice. They
all refer to a passage. In addition to grammar, SAT Writing will also
test your understanding of organization and flow, style (like when
to use the passive voice), as well as some vocabulary, so you can
expect to see a hodgepodge of question types on the official
exam.
SAT Grammar Tips for Success

Here are our top SAT grammar tips to help you prepare for test day
and choose the right answer.
You won’t need to know SAT grammar rules verbatim on test

day…but you will definitely need to know them in practice. That’s
why we’ve given you correct and incorrect sentences below to
get you off on the right foot!
Grammar is important in not just one but two SAT sections:
Writing and the Essay. Mastering it can thus boost your scores in
two sections!
Keep reading to improve your grammar, but make sure what
you’re reading is professionally proofread. Major national
newspapers, magazines, and books are all good sources…
though be careful about dialogue in books, as authors often
have characters use ungrammatical language to sound more
natural.
Tips for How to Choose the Correct

Answer
The first answer choice in SAT Writing (when the question has
no stem) is always NO CHANGE—and this is correct as often as
the others.
You may sometimes see a choice to delete (or in SAT terms,

DELETE) the underlined portion—this can absolutely be the
right choice.
For the vast majority of questions, don’t go with what “sounds
right.” This is a common trap because we often speak
ungrammatically and what sounds right isn’t always right. (For
example, “could of” sounds just fine…but it’s not actually a
correct expression!)
Be careful that when you correct one mistake, you’re not
introducing another. Wordiness in particular often sneaks in
there. Read through all the answer choices to make sure you
have the best one.
Identify the part of speech that’s underlined for a clue to what
the question is testing. Preposition? You might be looking at an
idiom. Adverb? Check your modifiers. More on this below!
50+ SAT Grammar and

Punctuation Rules
Now that we’ve gone over how the SAT English tests grammar and
writing rules, along with our top SAT grammar tips, let’s dive into
the top 50+ SAT grammar and punctuation rules you should know
for test day.
Sentence Structure Rules

Fragments
SAT Grammar Rule #1: Each sentence needs a noun, a verb, and
to express a full thought.
Which of the following two examples is not a sentence?

He was tired.
Because he was tired.
Only the first one is a sentence. The second is a fragment.
Both of these, however, are clauses. A clause is a phrase that

contains a subject and a verb. It may or may not be a sentence.
So what’s the point of a clause?
Breaking up long sentences into clauses helps us to better

understand what each part of the sentence is doing. This will also
help you be able to tell if you are dealing with an actual sentence,
or if you are dealing with a fragment or a run-on. (Hint: This is what
the SAT is really testing you on when it mentions clauses.)
Subordinate Clauses
Now let’s take a look at a sentence that is made up of two clauses:
Because he was tired, Charlie decided not to run the race.
The first clause, “because he was tired,” is not a sentence. We call

this a subordinate clause because it is not the most important part
of the sentence. Hence, it is subordinate or secondary to the main
part or main clause of the sentence, “Charlie decided not to run
the race.” In other words, the big idea is that Charlie didn’t run the
race.
A subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause, because it

“depends” on another clause. Otherwise, it’s just a sentence
fragment. Similarly, a clause that is a complete sentence is called
an independent clause. It’s independent; it doesn’t need to rely on
any other clauses to be a sentence. The SAT is not going to test
you on the exact terminology, but it will test you on the ability to
determine whether a clause is a fragment.
Subordinating Conjunctions
If I take a simple sentence like “he studied” and add a
subordinating conjunction in front of it, what was a sentence is no
longer a sentence; it is now a subordinate clause. Subordinating
conjunctions include because, although, even though, since,
nevertheless, whereas, while. There are more, but a good shortcut
to identifying whether a word is a subordinating conjunction is to
ask yourself the following: Does it provide a reason, contrast, or
condition for the main clause?
Unless you finish all of your broccoli, you can’t have any ice cream.
= Condition
Sarah was a star athlete, whereas her sister, Maggie, would rather
not get up off the couch. = Contrast
SAT Grammar Practice Exercise
Among the following examples, see if you can figure out which
are sentences and which are fragments.
1. Though she participated often in class, hoping to get an ‘A’.

2. Hoping to get an ‘A’, she participated often in class.
3. Growing up in a household in which everyone watched
baseball, David knowing all of the rules of the game.
4. Because he studied, he passed.

Show Answers:
Run-on Sentences
SAT Grammar Rule #2: Don’t combine whole sentences with a
comma.
If you can put a period between two pieces of a sentence without

making a fragment, then they can’t be put together without some
kind of grammatical glue. Using a comma in place of a period is
called a “comma splice,” and it’s one of the most common writing
errors that high schoolers make. (So be sure to keep these SAT
grammar rules in mind!)
I can’t hear you. Can you please use the megaphone?
I can’t hear you, can you please use the megaphone?
The SAT loves to give you complex sentences to pick apart. A well-
constructed sentence is made of one independent clause and one
dependent clause. A run-on sentence is when there are too many
independent clauses. There are four main ways to remedy a run-
on.
Transform one of the excess independent clauses into a

dependent one.
Split the two independent clauses into two separate
sentences.
Use a semicolon between the two independent clauses.
Use a comma and then a conjunction to make a
compound sentence.
SAT Grammar Rule #3:”And” alone is not enough

Although using a comma and “and” together to join sentences is
correct, “and” alone doesn’t finish the job. Instead, it leaves you
with the same problem that using a comma alone created: a run-on
sentence. The same is true for “but,” “or,” and “so”—all of them
need commas to combine sentences.
I can’t hear you, so can you please use the megaphone?
I can’t hear you and can you please use the megaphone?
Of course, all of those words also have other jobs. “And,” “but,” and
“or” can just combine lists of nouns, verbs, or adjectives, and then
they don’t need commas.
I bought glow-in-the-dark sunscreen and went to the beach last

night.
I bought glow-in-the-dark sunscreen and I went to the beach last

night.
Because there’s no “I” in the second half of that corrected

sentence, the “and” is just combining “bought” and “went” into a
short list, and that’s okay.
Punctuation Rules
Without punctuation, written language would become much more
difficult to understand. Those tiny marks between and sometimes
inside of words give us cues for reading emphasis, breaks, tone,
and more. That’s why the SAT will likely test you on punctuation
rules.
Commas
Of all punctuation marks, commas may be the most versatile and
the most commonly misused. There are so many ways to use
commas that deciding whether to use one or not can be
overwhelming. Follow the SAT punctuation rules below to know
whether to add a comma.
SAT Grammar Rule #4: Every comma should serve a purpose, so

never place one without a reason.
SAT Grammar Rule #5: Commas may go between independent

clauses, but only when paired with a coordinating conjunction
(FANBOYS).
The dog raced after the car, but he was left in the dust.

strong style=”color: #c5168c”>SAT Grammar Rule #6: Commas
may go after dependent clauses, prepositional phrases, or other
descriptive phrases at the beginning of sentences.
On the other hand, the fortune teller had been correct.

SAT Grammar Rule #7: Commas may be surrounding non-
essential phrases, such as appositives.
Betsy, a lovely woman, offered to knit us socks.

SAT Grammar Rule #8: Commas may go between elements in a
list.
The child ate cotton candy, fried cookies, and ice cream at the
fair.

SAT Grammar Rule #9: Commas may go between two adjectives
that describe the same noun AND are interchangeable.
My nephew made me a funny, cute card.

SAT Grammar Rule #10: Commas may separate transitional
words/phrases from the rest of the sentence.
However, the judge disagreed.

SAT Grammar Rule #11: Commas go before or after quotes.
He asked, “Why?” “Because it just makes sense,” she replied.

SAT Grammar Rule #12: Commas are used when addressing a
person by name.
Peter, would you pass the pepper?

SAT Grammar Rule #13: If you see a comma or an “and”
underlined in a writing multiple choice question (but not used
together), ask yourself whether they can be replaced by a
period. If they can, then there’s the problem.
Semicolons
This comma-colon hybrid can be an excellent alternative to a
period between independent clauses.
SAT Grammar Rule #14: A semicolon is meant to separate two

clauses that, by themselves, could function as sentences.
SAT Grammar Rule #15: If two sentences are talking about the
same topic, a semicolon placed between them may improve the
flow of ideas from one to the other. Also, if you are writing a list
and the items within the list include commas, separating the items
with semicolons prevents confusion between all the commas.
That supermarket is my favorite; it carries all my favorite foods

for reasonable prices.
On our trip, we visited Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Illinois; and
New York, New York.
Colons
SAT Grammar Rule #16: Colons can also appear between
independent clauses, but should really only be used when the
second clause clarifies, or paraphrases the first.
The platypus is a strange animal: it lays eggs and has a bill, but is
still considered a mammal.
The other way you can use a colon is after an independent clause
that is followed by a list.
We will need the following for our camping trip: a tent, sleeping
bags, and hiking boots.
Hyphens
SAT Grammar Rule #17: Hyphens appear not just within
sentences, but within words themselves.
Adjectives can be formed of two or more words connected by

hyphens, but these adjectives may only appear before the noun
they describe.
The hand-made necklace was made of local turquoise.
Compound numbers written as words must also use hyphens.
He has answered sixty-three math questions so far.
Some of the most common places to see hyphens are after certain
prefixes, between prefixes and proper nouns, after single-letter
prefixes, and with the suffix -elect.
The all-cotton T-shirt depicted the president-elect.
Apostrophes
SAT Grammar Rule #18: Contractions use apostrophes to stand
in for letters that have been removed.
You shouldn’t poke the cat, so don’t do it.
Apostrophes are also essential for indicating possession.

SAT Grammar Rule #19: If a noun is singular or is plural but

doesn’t end with an s, add ‘s. If it is plural and ends with an s,
just add an apostrophe.
Our architect used the PTA members’ ideas in the design for the
children’s playground.
SAT Grammar Rule #20: Be careful! Several contractions are

homophones for possessive pronouns, which do NOT use
apostrophes. For example, it’s means it is, while its is a
possessive pronoun.
Parentheses
SAT Grammar Rule #21: Parentheses surround non-essential
elements within sentences.
Commas do the same, but parentheses are a bit more eye-

catching, so they provide some extra emphasis for the phrases
they surround. Remember that parentheses always come in pairs.
The road trip (which was all my brother’s idea) was ruined when
the car broke down.
Dashes
SAT Grammar Rule #22: Like commas and parentheses, dashes
set off non-essential elements in sentences.
They can be used in pairs, to set off phrases in the middle of

sentences, or alone, to set off phrases at the end of sentences.
Dashes provide even more emphasis than parentheses, and they
do a great job of catching readers’ eyes and drawing attention to
certain parts of a sentence.
My friends — Megan, John, and Ricky — offered to help me move.

His face revealed a mix of emotions — confused, yet happy.
Quotation Marks
SAT Grammar Rule #23: Quotation marks always appear in pairs
and closing quotation marks must be placed outside a
sentence’s end-punctuation.
As their name suggests, quotation marks surround direct quotes.

They can be used around an entire sentence or within sentences.
“I hope to see you again.”

“Four score and seven years ago,” began Lincoln.
1. The Brooklyn Museum features an item that might, for the

first time ever, be the star of the show. Since its inception
nearly 100 year ago, this accessory has been part of the
limelight but has always been attached to the human body
—whether in flight, in pivot, or in mid-stride. I’m talking
about the lowly sneaker, which finally has the limelight all to
itself in the exhibit “The Rise of Sneaker Culture.”I should be
honest: upon walking into the exhibit I did not expect much.
After all, how edifying can one Air Jordan sneaker encased
in a wall possibly be? But the exhibit offers much more than
an endless procession of athletic shoes; it provides context
for the way the game has both been played and evolved.
A) NO CHANGE
B) honest, upon
C) honest, upon,
D) honest; upon,
2. The very first shoe I saw, an original Chuck Taylor All Stars
from 1927, hardly allayed my fears that the exhibit would
underwhelm me. After all, the shoe, which is still produced
today with very little variations in look and design, is so
common that you don’t have to walk very far before you see
a person sporting a pair. But when I read the placard
beneath the shoe, I learned that a Chuck Taylor, a
professional basketball player, had influenced both the
design and feel of the shoe. He held basketball clinics
throughout the country, in which he was able to test out
new designs and modifications to the shoe that ultimately
led to the sneaker I beheld; a piece of history, its rubber sole
worn down over the decades.
A) NO CHANGE
B) beheld: it was a piece
C) beheld, a piece
D) beheld: a piece
3. At the time, Wyoming was not a state, a condition that

actually made it easier for the federal government to turn
the land associated with Yellowstone into a national park.
Nonetheless, had it not been for the efforts of Ferdinand V.

Hayden, Yellowstone may not have become what we know
today. Hayden was worried that Yellowstone could easily
become like Niagara Falls, which was overridden with
tourism, he felt that only the national government could help
preserve the land so that it was consistent with his vision.
A) NO CHANGE
B) tourism: this he felt
C) tourism; he felt
D) tourism, feeling

Show Answers:
Effective Language Use

Redundancy
SAT Grammar Rule #24: Watch out for synonyms in the same
sentence.
Redundancy is simply repeating the same information over and

over again, repeatedly, many times. (See what I did there?) In true
SAT style, redundancies will sometimes be hidden in a sentence
like, “Annually, my family goes to the beach every year.” We only
need to include either annually or every year, since they mean the
same thing.
Free to users who enjoy their services, websites like Facebook

and Google are especially valuable, because they offer free
resources for event organization and scheduling.
A) NO CHANGE
B) During periods of economic recession
C) When it comes to the free services the internet provides

Show Answer:
Style and Tone

SAT Grammar Rule #25: Hard to understand = bad! Look out for
over-formality, wordiness, and passive voice in SAT writing and
essays.
If you think a sentence sounds academic (and therefore good)

because it’s hard to follow, then think twice. Why is it tough? Is it
because of the structure or the meaning? Unnecessarily
complicated sentence structures are not a good thing. So make it
clear.
Every sentence in English includes a verb to describe an action.

But there are basically two different kinds of verbs: connecting
verbs and acting verbs.
Connecting verbs don’t carry a whole lot of meaning. Instead, they

just join the pieces of the sentence. “Be” is by far the most
important connecting verb. There’s no action, really. It’s just a kind
of glue.
Some examples of sentences with connecting verbs:
My hobby is collecting other people’s receipts. I have a stash of

thousands of them under my bed. Not many people do as much
digging through trash as I do.
These kinds of verbs are important—we couldn’t form sentences

without them—but they’re inherently weak. They’re just not very
descriptive.
If you use the action for the verb, you’ll usually have a stronger
sentence. It’ll generally be more concise, too. Notice how each of
the acting verbs below were already included in the first set of
sentences, but in different forms.
I collect other people’s receipts. I’ve stashed thousands of them

under my bed. Not many people dig through trash as much as I do.
Yes, you should write formally for your SAT essay. But you have to
be natural. Students often go too far, and while trying to sound
more academic, they throw in crazy constructions. And more often
than not, those clunky sentences have a connecting verb in the
middle and an action verb transformed into some other part of the
sentence.
Fix them by finding the action and making it the main verb.
✗ The theory has many people who disagree with it.

✓ Many people disagree with the theory.✗ Students who do a
lot of reading tend to have better writing.
✓ Students who read a lot tend to write better.✗ The crime
which he was found guilty of was shaving the school mascot’s
costume.
✓ He was found guilty of having the school mascot’s costume.
Notice in that last one that there’s still a passive structure—”was

convicted of”—but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It’s more
important that the action is the main verb.
Voice
SAT Grammar Rule #26: You don’t want to say anything in a
casual, lax way—or too formally, either.
The SAT wants to make sure you know when to use the
appropriate level of voice. That is, you don’t want to say something
in a casual, lax way when writing an essay, or, in this case, editing
an essay that the SAT has provided.
In the sentence pairs below, one maintains a consistent tone

whereas the other lapses into casual speak.
1a) The SAT places harsh demands on a student’s attention,

forcing them to be focused for almost four hours straight.
1b) The SAT is really hard because you have to keep your mind on
the task for four straight hours.
2a) Working in groups can lead to high employee productivity

while making people feel good about working with others in the
office.
2b) Working in groups can lead to high employee productivity

while fostering good will between colleagues.
Language can also be too stilted, or formal. The SAT—and any

manual of style!—will tell you to avoid overly formal language. Can
you spot the offender below?
3a) The SAT is highly onerous on minds exhibiting a propensity for

divagation.
3b) Students who are serious about SAT prep are more likely to
seek outside help, and are thus more likely to see a score
improvement.
If you are not quite sure what 3a) is saying, you are not alone. It
uses over-inflated, pompous language. Remember, there is a major
difference between choosing a particularly apt word and using
words like “divagation” (don’t worry, that word will not be on the
test!) for the sake of sounding more intelligent. The latter will
confuse your reader, and ultimately turn them off from what you
have to say.
There is, of course, a dark side to video games. Like any

activity that is based on a system of rewards, video games can
cause people to overindulge and neglect other aspects of
their lives, just to reach the next level in a game.
A) NO CHANGE
B) stop doing other stuff
C) cease in the engagement with other significant life
activities
D) fail to attend to urgent facets of life

Show Answer:
Subordination and Coordination Rules

Conjunctions
SAT Grammar Rule #27: When we have independent clauses
(sentences that can stand on their own), and want to join them,
we can use a comma and either a coordinating or a
subordinating conjunction.
First, let’s deal with coordinating conjunctions:
F: For
A: And
N: Nor
B: But
O: Or
Y: Yet
S: So

Known as FANBOYS, these seven conjunctions will help you
remember the coordinating conjunctions. It is important that you
know the difference between these conjunctions and that you use
the conjunctions appropriately.
Kelly wanted to get straight A’s, so she studied every night and
weekend.

✗

Kelly wanted to get straight A’s, and she studied every night and
weekend.
Kelly wants to achieve something, SO she does such-and-such.

✓

Kelly was able to score at the top of the class, and she was even
considered for the position of valedictorian later on.

✗

She was able to score at the top of the class, but she was even
considered for the position of valedictorian later on.
“But” and “yet” are conjunctions that show contrast. “And” is a

conjunction that shows that two independent clauses are related.
In the examples directly above, we want a conjunction to connect,
not to contrast, the idea that Kelly did two important things.
Parallel Structure Rules

Creating Parallel Structure
SAT Grammar Rule #28: Whether it is with nouns, adjectives,
verbs, or adverbs you need to make sure the form is consistent.
The girls at the sleepover said they wanted ice cream for dessert.
The girls at the sleepover said she wanted ice cream for dessert.
✓ The dog is hyper, large, and smelly.

✗ The dog is hyper, large, and doesn’t smell good.
SAT Grammar Rule #29: Remember that if you cannot physically

count a noun, use the words “less,” “much,” and “amount.”
I had less strength after running the marathon.
SAT Grammar Rule #30: Remember that if you can physically

count a noun, use the words “fewer,” “many,” and “number.”
I had fewer apples than I thought because my dad ate some.
Modifier Placement Rules

Misplaced Modifiers
SAT Grammar Rule #31: Misplaced modifiers don’t modify the
correct part of the sentence.
A modifier is an optional adverb, adjective, or phrase that changes

—or modifies—the meaning of a sentence. For example:
I play the flute is an independent clause that totally makes sense

by itself.
Now let’s look at the sentence with a modifier (bolded):
I play the flute, a woodwind instrument.
The thing about modifiers, though, is that they have to be placed in

the right part of the sentence to make sense. Let’s see what
happens if we switch up phrases:
A woodwind instrument, I play the flute.
Don’t see what’s wrong with this arrangement? Well, the first
example makes it pretty clear that I play a woodwind instrument.
The second example, however, makes it seem like I am the flute.
Here’s a more complicated example of a misplaced modifier (the

modifier being in bold):
Having played composers such as Beethoven and Mozart at a

very young age, Alicia Keys’ songs have many elements of
classical music.
Do you spot the error here? The sentence seems to be implying

that Alicia Keys’ songs played Beethoven and Mozart at a very
young age rather than Alicia Keys, which is silly. A better way to
correct the non-modifier part of the sentence is:
Having played composers such as Beethoven and Mozart at a very

young age, Alicia Keys has many elements of classical music in her
songs.
Misplaced modifiers on the SAT also come in other forms. In

the following examples, figure out what is being modified and
what should be modified.
1. Sonia was waiting for her book to come in the mail eagerly.
2. The boys and girls couldn’t wait action-packed for the new
superhero movie.

Show Answers:

SAT Grammar Rule #32: Dangling modifiers don’t actually
modify anything in the sentence.
Hence, it is “dangling,” or not attached to anything. Usually, the

modified clause is in passive voice.
Typing furiously, she finished her essay.
Typing furiously, the essay was finished.
The modifying phrase is not actually modifying a subject. How

would you correct the sentence?Desperate, a call was made to
the police.

Show Answer:
SAT Grammar Rule #33: Squinting modifiers logically make

sense as modifiers for two subjects in the same sentence.
Therefore, it makes the sentence ambiguous in meaning. Squinting

modifiers are the trickiest to identify because the sentence doesn’t
have any obvious errors. Furthermore, squinting modifiers don’t
come up as often on the SAT, probably because their ambiguity
makes it hard to come up with one correct answer choice. Just in
case, though, it’s still a good idea to know what squinting modifiers
look like and the SAT grammar rules needed to correct them.
Students who don’t practice often for the SAT score lower than
they would like.
Students who don’t practice for the SAT often score lower than
they would like.

SAT Grammar Rule #34: When encountering a modifier problem,
first identify the incorrectly-placed modifier.
Let’s say the following is an SAT question:
Sonia was waiting for her book to come in the mail eagerly.
The underlined portion is what you’re supposed to change. First

identify the incorrectly-placed modifier: “eagerly.”
SAT Grammar Rule #35: Change a modifier problem in one of

two ways: figure out either where to place the modifier, or how
to correct the subject.
In the same example sentence above, figure out where to place the
modifier “eagerly,” or how to correct the subject (if it should go
before or after “waiting”). Scan for the answer choice that matches
your prediction.
A lot of times–not always, but a lot of times–the corrected modifier

or subject should be at the beginning of the correct answer! If you
find that to be the case and you only see one answer choice that
matches, you already know the right answer without reading

through the choices. Pick it and move on! (And don’t be afraid to
pick “NO CHANGE” if you think that’s the case!)
Spanning six decades, a period that encompasses dozens of

albums, Bob Dylan continues to be a relevant musician well
into the 21st Century.
A) Bob Dylan continues to be a relevant musician well into the

21stCentury.
B) a relevant musician well into the 21st Century, Bob Dylan
continues to be.
C) Bob Dylan has continued to have become a relevant
musician well into the 21stCentury.
D) Bob Dylan’s career as a relevant musician continues well
into the 21st Century.
E) Bob Dylan has been continuing to be in the 21st Century a
relevant musician.

Show Answer:
Adverb Placement
SAT Grammar Rule #36: Determine if there are any words
modifying a verb or adverb, and verify that they are also
adverbs.
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb or adjective. It usually

answers any of the following questions: How much, how often, and
where?
He frequently studied.
(How often did he do the verb
study
?)
She was extremely displeased. (To what extent was she the
adjective displeased?)
He was known to run through the mountains. (Where did he do the

verb run?)
Few people use adverbs properly in everyday speech. And when

there is a disconnect between the way people speak and the
proper way to speak, you can bet the College Board is waiting for a
grammar question to snare you.
To see how we can fail to spot the proper use of the adverb,
consider the following examples. If you rely on your ear, you will
probably think that both sentences are fine as is.
Mary yelled to Tina, “Drive safe – it’s wet out there.”
The new PC was the most clever designed computer the market
had seen in years.
In the first case, the verb is “drive.” The word that modifies “drive”
is “safe.” “Safe” is an adjective, and you cannot modify a verb with
an adjective—you need an adverb. To make “safe” an adverb
simply add -ly: Drive safely.
For the second sentence, we need an adverb to describe how a

computer is designed. “Clever” is an adjective. So by adding -ly, we
now have an adverb: most cleverly designed computer.
Verb Rules
Verb Tenses
SAT Grammar Rule #37: Make sure the times given in the
sentence are consistent and logical.
Any time you see a verb underlined, you should check that the
tense given feels natural with the times that the rest of the
sentence presents. Do you smell anything fishy in this SAT
grammar example?
Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, including the favorite “Indian

Camp,” continue to be highly influential pieces of fiction despite
the fact that they have been written over fifty years ago.
If you do, then you might be onto something. It might be rotten.

The time “over fifty years ago” sounds pretty strange when put
next to “have been written.” You don’t need to know why; you just
need to know it’s wrong.
The good news is that for native English speakers, the different
times that different tenses signify are already hard-wired into your
thought patterns. All you have to do on the SAT is make sure the
times given in the sentence are consistent and logical.
SAT Grammar Rule #38: If there’s a sequence of events, make

sure their tenses put them in the right logical order.
This one is about making sure words in the sentence all match up,
by watching out for when events happened. In the past, or in the
present?
Having just been swimming, Maria smelled like chlorine.
Having just been swimming, Maria had smelled like chlorine.
Each English verb has a few basic forms. Kids who learn English in
other countries can often rattle off lists like do/did/done and
eat/ate/eaten faster than native speakers can. And there are some
verbs, like swim, which even native speakers get a little confused
about at times. Take a look and make sure you know these sets.
Swim/swam/swum
Ring/rang/rung
Forget/forgot/forgotten
Forgive/forgave/forgiven
Lay/laid/laid
Rise/rose/risen
Swing/swung/swung
There are countless others, most of which you wouldn’t think twice
about. But some of them might have you making things up in
conversation (e.g., “I would’ve swang if I’d known he was going to
keep throwing strikes.”) that just don’t fit SAT grammar rules.
Present Perfect
SAT Grammar Rule #39: Has/Have + Participle = describes an
action/event that happened in the past and continues in the
present.
To illustrate, let’s take a look at the following sentences:
1) Last night, I walked my dog.
2) I have walked Bucky every night for the last two years.
In the first sentence, I am doing the action, “walk,” only once. This
is the simple past. In the second sentence, I am describing
something that has taken place on a number of occasions in the
past and continues on till today (meaning tonight I will most likely
walk Bucky). This is the present perfect.
Once completely oblivious to climate change, the world had

now began to look more seriously at pollution.
A) NO CHANGE
B) Has now begun
C) Has now began
D) Have now begun

Show Answer:
Past Perfect
SAT Grammar Rule #40: Had + Participle = describes an
action/event in the past that happened before another action in
the past.
Whenever you are dealing with two events in the past, one of
which started or happened before the other, you must use the past
perfect tense to describe the event that started first.
Before I moved to California, I had walked Bucky in the mornings,

not at nights.
SAT Grammar Rule #41: Whenever we use the past perfect, we

must also have another verb in the sentence that is in the
simple past.
Here’s an example using the sentence above:
First Event: I had walked Bucky in the morning = Past Perfect

Construction
Second Event: I moved to California = Simple Past
Another way to think of the past perfect is with specific dates. Let’s
say I moved to California in 1984. I walked Bucky every morning
from 1981 to 1984. The sentence implies that once I moved to
California I no longer walked Bucky in the morning. That is, an
event that happened repeatedly in the past stopped when another
event happened. That interrupting event uses the simple past.
Choose the correct verb tense(s).
1. After she graduated/had graduated from high school,

Jessica decided/had decided to backpack through Europe.
2. Though he studied/had studied the entire weekend, Bobby
was only able to get a B- on his Calculus mid-term.

Show Answer:

Imperative Mood
SAT Grammar Rule #42: “Command words,” or words such as
“request that,” “order that,” “require that” are followed by “be
+ verb participle.”
The teacher demanded that the hyperactive be seated the entire

class.
He requested that she be present at the meeting.
Subjunctive Mood
SAT Grammar Rule #43: The subjunctive mood implies
conditionality, in other words a hypothetical, i.e., something
that isn’t and can’t be reality. To show this, we change the verb
“was” to “were.”
Were we space aliens, we could travel the cosmos.

Were she responsible for the break-in, she would not have an
airtight alibi.
If I were president of the United States, I would make “taco
Tuesdays” a national holiday.
If the verb is already “were,” then we just leave it. When something
is possible, then you don’t need to change the verb to “were.”
Notice how I didn’t mention the “interrogative mood.” That’s

because nothing changes with the verb; therefore, there’s no easy
way for the SAT to test that the interrogative mood is being used.
In general, “mood” is so rare on the test that I think it showed up in

one question of the four practice tests in the College Board book.
So if you have to skip one section in your SAT grammar practice,
this might be the one.
Agreement Rules
Subject-Verb Agreement
SAT Grammar Rule #44: The SAT likes to put extra information
between the subject and verb. If you cross out everything
between the subject and the verb, the correct choice will be
much more obvious.
Subject-verb agreement is a basic building block of English

language sentence structure. Because it is so normal in your
speech and writing patterns, your eyes can glide right past well-
hidden subject-verb agreement errors. Be sure to watch for
underlined verbs, and clauses set off by commas or dashes.
The teachers, who loaded up their trays with pizza, cookies, and
chocolate milk, stand at the back of the cafeteria.
✗ The teachers, who loaded up their trays with pizza, cookies, and
chocolate milk, stands at the back of the cafeteria.
When the SAT adds all that info, they will often make the word
closest to the verb the opposite of the subject. If the subject is
singular, the word in front of the verb might be plural, just to throw
you off. Sneaky, eh?
Pronoun Rules
SAT Grammar Rule #45: A pronoun refers to a noun in the
sentence.
SAT Grammar Rule #46: A pronoun can either take the

subjective or objective form depending on its role in the
sentence.
Singular Singular Plural Plural

Subject Object Subject Object
Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun
Singular Singular Plural Plural

Subject Object Subject Object
Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun
First I me we us
person
Second you you you you

person
Third he/she him/her they them

person
He called me.
Subject: he (thing or person committing the action)

Object: me
I called him.
Subject: I
Object: him
Mary lent her book to Tom. She told him to return it to her soon.
For Mary, she is the subject pronoun and her is the

object pronoun. Notice how in the second sentence, the
recipient of the action is Mary, which means the
pronoun must be in the object case. So we use her.
The second sentence does not use he but rather him. If
we are talking about the subject of the sentence and we
are referring to Tom, then we want to use he. If Tom is
the object of the sentence, then we want to substitute
him.
SAT Grammar Rule #47: When you’re listing other people as well
as yourself, I or me should come last.
This is an SAT English favorite. It’s shown up on a number of tests,

and it’s a perfect trap for anybody who trusted their 8th grade
English teacher just a little too much. There is, admittedly, plenty of
truth in these SAT grammar rules: When you’re listing other people
as well as yourself, I or me should come last. Think of it as being
polite and holding the door for the other names.
When the names are the subject, use I.
My pinkie toe and I have been through some hard times.
The world is against my pinkie toe and I.
A polar bear ate my pinkie toe and I.
By the same token, don’t start a sentence with “…and me.”
My pinkie toe and I fought off a polar bear.
My pinkie toe and me fought off a polar bear.
If the names are not the subject—a notable example being after
prepositions like against—then use me, the object form.
The world is against my pinkie toe and me.
A polar bear ate my pinkie toe and me.
If these SAT grammar rules are a bit unclear, then take out the
other player (e.g. “my pinkie toe”) and see how it sounds. Saying “A
polar bear ate I” sounds good to approximately nobody, so don’t
write it—even if there’s a pinkie toe that comes first.
Also, you can roughly assume that I is more likely correct near the
beginning of the sentence, while me is more common in the middle
or end.
Possessive Determinant Rules

SAT Grammar Rule #48: Its = possessive. It’s = it is.
The SAT is going to try to trip you up on a distinction that many—

even seasoned writers—flub. Many assume that an apostrophe
always means possessive. It doesn’t. It can also be a contraction,
or a shortening. In this case, the shortening is of “it is.”
A marathon is a challenging race. It’s a combination of endurance,

grit, and focus.
SAT Grammar Rule #49: ‘s = singular possessive. s’ – plural

possessive.
Next, we have agreement in number. By number I mean either

singular or plural. For instance, in the previous sentence, the
subject is marathon, so the pronoun needs to be singular. We want
to use “it’s,” not “they are” or “they’re.” Had the subject been
marathons, the pronoun would be “they are” or “they’re.”
On this subject, Ross always made me remember the distinction

between “you’re” and “your” better than even my English-teacher
mother could.
The SAT reading section has become less difficult for most
students, their obscure vocabulary replaced by lots of reading.
A) NO CHANGE
B) they’re
C) its
D) it’s

Show Answer:
Diction Rules (Frequently Confused

Words)
SAT Grammar Rule #50: Know that diction questions will
appear, and always be on guard if you can’t seem to find a
mistake in the question.
One of the least common—but no less diabolical—errors you can

encounter is called the diction error. They pop up about once every
other test, if that often. You may even be familiar with this error
type—it’s the old switcheroo, where one word that sounds an awful
lot like another word is incorrectly used in a sentence.
The scientists, once they discovered that each had tackled a

similar line of stem-cell research, realized that they would both
benefit if they corroborated in their research.
The word should be “collaborated,” and not “corroborated,” which

means to confirm or give support to evidence.
The first two years are the most formidable—it is during this time
that many of our enduring personality traits form.
The word should be “formative,” not “formidable,” which describes

something that is so big or amazing that it commands respect
(think of Lebron James’s skills on the basketball court).
So what to do? Carefully, look to see if the correct word is being

used. Below is a list of some of the most common diction errors.
Affect vs. Effect

Conscientious vs. Conscious vs. Conscience
Could of vs. Could have vs. Could’ve (hint: “could of” is
always wrong!)
Crutch vs. Crux
Elicit vs. Illicit
Empathetic vs. Emphatic
Flaunt vs. Flout
Imitated vs. Intimated
Ingenuous vs. Ingenious
Irregardless – no such word
Logical Comparisons
SAT Grammar Rule #51: Note the word “than.” It almost always
signals that we’re making a comparison, so you know to check
for a problem there.
After noticing the “than,” we should look for the adjective or verb
that it’s being paired with, e.g. “enjoy more than” or “is easier than.”
In the sentence below, our adjective is tougher.
Oranges’ skins are tougher than lemons’.
SAT Grammar Rule #52: When making comparisons, find the

nouns—where the problem might happen.
Some of the most difficult SAT grammar questions deal with

correct comparisons between nouns. There are two major reasons
why they cause such a problem. The first is that we make these
kinds of “mistakes” pretty often in conversation. To the untrained
proofreader, they seem pretty natural.
The second is that they can often be fixed with a possessive. If you
want to compare the color of Sam’s and Brian’s tongues, then the
sentence “Sam’s tongue is redder than Brian” is clearly weird,
whereas “Sam’s tongue is redder than Brian‘s” would be just fine.
That’s all well and good, but the SAT might not make it so easy for
you. Instead, the two nouns may already be plural.
Oranges’ skins are tougher than lemons.
Oranges’ skins are tougher than lemons’.
Conventional Expression Rules

SAT Grammar Rule #53: When it’s a preposition that’s
underlined, it’s all about your ear.
Ask yourself, “Does that sound right?” Of all our SAT grammar tips,
this might be the only time that I say to go with your gut about an
error. Most times, you should be trying to find why something is
wrong as it’s written.
The test-makers want to know if you can choose the right

preposition to go with words which actually do carry the meaning
they’re expected to. For instance, you might disagree with an idea,
but you can’t object with it. Instead, you object to it. Both
“disagree” and “object” mean exactly what we expect them to in
those phrases. It’s only the preposition that’s weird.
SAT Grammar Rule #54: If you see an underlined preposition,

find the words before and/or after that should get paired with it.
Pretty often, you’ll find the verb or adjective that came before the
preposition, like in the “disagree” vs. “object” example above, but
sometimes it’s about the words after the preposition, instead.
In the sentence “I’m on my classmate’s phone,” you’d note the

word “phone,” and ask whether “on” and “phone” link well together,
which they do. Similarly, an actor might appear in a movie, on TV,
or at a restaurant.
Whether it’s the word before or after the preposition, you have to
find that related word. Then, it’s all about your ear.
Rules About Items in a Series

Parallelism
SAT Grammar Rule #55: Words in a sentence, or sentences in a
paragraph, should all be alike in structure.
Parallelism involves making sure words in a sentence, or sentences

in a paragraph, are all alike in structure. You’ll see this most
frequently with a list of verbs.

As a result, teachers must now be proficient curators of digital
information, gathering, catalog, and maintaining these
collections.

Show Answer:


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Conventional Expression Rules (including Prepositions)

How the SAT Tests English

When it comes to identifying grammar questions on the SAT, you’ll

Of course, this is an excerpt from a longer passage with many

Download the SAT Grammar

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passage or try to answer the questions without reading it? After

Examples of SAT Grammar in the

A handful of questions on test day will use the “DELETE” option—

What do these SAT grammar questions have in common? Their

SAT Grammar Tips for Success

You won’t need to know SAT grammar rules verbatim on test

Tips for How to Choose the Correct

You may sometimes see a choice to delete (or in SAT terms,

50+ SAT Grammar and

Sentence Structure Rules

Which of the following two examples is not a sentence?

Only the ﬁrst one is a sentence. The second is a fragment.

Both of these, however, are clauses. A clause is a phrase that

So what’s the point of a clause?

Breaking up long sentences into clauses helps us to better

Because he was tired, Charlie decided not to run the race.

The ﬁrst clause, “because he was tired,” is not a sentence. We call

A subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause, because it

SAT Grammar Practice Exercise

1. Though she participated often in class, hoping to get an ‘A’.

If you can put a period between two pieces of a sentence without

I can’t hear you. Can you please use the megaphone?

I can’t hear you, can you please use the megaphone?

Transform one of the excess independent clauses into a

SAT Grammar Rule #3:”And” alone is not enough

I can’t hear you, so can you please use the megaphone?

I bought glow-in-the-dark sunscreen and went to the beach last

I bought glow-in-the-dark sunscreen and I went to the beach last

Because there’s no “I” in the second half of that corrected

SAT Grammar Rule #4: Every comma should serve a purpose, so

SAT Grammar Rule #5: Commas may go between independent

On the other hand, the fortune teller had been correct.

Betsy, a lovely woman, oﬀered to knit us socks.

My nephew made me a funny, cute card.

However, the judge disagreed.

He asked, “Why?” “Because it just makes sense,” she replied.

Peter, would you pass the pepper?

SAT Grammar Rule #14: A semicolon is meant to separate two

That supermarket is my favorite; it carries all my favorite foods

Adjectives can be formed of two or more words connected by

The hand-made necklace was made of local turquoise.

Compound numbers written as words must also use hyphens.

He has answered sixty-three math questions so far.

The all-cotton T-shirt depicted the president-elect.

You shouldn’t poke the cat, so don’t do it.

Apostrophes are also essential for indicating possession.

SAT Grammar Rule #19: If a noun is singular or is plural but

SAT Grammar Rule #20: Be careful! Several contractions are

Commas do the same, but parentheses are a bit more eye-

They can be used in pairs, to set oﬀ phrases in the middle of

My friends — Megan, John, and Ricky — oﬀered to help me move.

As their name suggests, quotation marks surround direct quotes.

“I hope to see you again.”

SAT Grammar Practice Exercise

1. The Brooklyn Museum features an item that might, for the

3. At the time, Wyoming was not a state, a condition that