1 - ] SAT - Common Problems In Grammar And Usage

1- ] SAT - Common Problems In Grammar And Usage

 

Common Problems in Grammar

Grammar Fragments

What is a sentence fragment ? A sentence fragment is a broken chunk of sentence in need of fixing . The poor fractured thing can’t stand alone . We’ll look at some broken sentences and fix them too .

Here are the fragments . Let’s examine them one at a time .

When the troll bounced off the banister

Muttering over the cauldron

To harvest mandrakes nocturnally

In our preparation of the purple potion

Or lurk beneath the balustrade

We feel something missing in them . They do not give you a complete meaning .

Here are a couple of ways to correct this fragment . You can simply chop off the subordinating conjunction when , leaving yourself with a simple sentence :

1 . The troll bounced off the banister .

2 . The witch is muttering over the cauldron .

3 . Harvest mandrakes nocturnally ! ( the infinitive phrase is turned into a command )

You can provide a simple subject and complete the verb .

- We will harvest mandrakes nocturnally .

You can treat the phrase as the subject of your sentence and add a predicate .

2 . Muttering over the cauldron is a bad habit that good witches should avoid .

- Muttering over the cauldron , the witch failed to enunciate the incantation clearly .

You can also provide the dependent clause ( or the infinitive phrase ) with an independent clause to lean on :

1 . When the troll bounced off the banister , he bowled over the professor of  herbology .

- The little wizards laughed to see such sport when the troll bounced off the banister .

To harvest mandrakes nocturnally is a task that only a fearless junior wizard would undertake .

- To harvest mandrakes nocturnally , you must wait for a completely moonless night .

The next to last sentence fragment is a participial phrase .

To fix it , you can provide a simple subject and create a verb .

We prepared the purple potion .

He lurked beneath the balustrade .

You can assume an implicit subject (you) and turn it into a command :

Prepare the purple potion !

Lurk beneath the balustrade !

Common Grammar and Usage Errors .

Some errors are more common than others . Here are a dozen that appear frequently on the examination . Watch out for them when you do the practice exercises and when you take the SAT .

1 . The Run-On Sentence

Mary’s party was very exciting ,it lasted until 2 A.M.

It is raining today , I need a raincoat .

You may also have heard this error called a comma splice . It can be connected by making two sentences instead of one :

Mary’s party was very exciting . It lasted until 2 .A.M .

or by using a semicolon in place of the comma :

Mary’s party was very exciting ; It lasted until 2 A.M .

or by proper compounding :

Mary’s party was very exciting and lasted until 2 A.M.

You can also correct this error with proper subordination .

The second example above could be corrected :

Since it is raining today , I need a raincoat .

It is raining today , so I need a raincoat .

2 . The Sentence Fragment

Since John was talking during the entire class , making it impossible for anyone to concentrate .

This is the opposite of the first error , instead of too much in one sentence , here you have too little . Do not be misled by the length of the fragment . It must have a main clause before it can be a complete sentence . All you have in this example is the clause . You still need a result . For example , the sentence could be corrected .

Since John was talking during the entire class , making it impossible for anyone to concentrate , the teacher made him sty after school .

3. Error in the Case of a Noun or Pronoun

Between you and I , this test is not really very difficult .

Case problems usually involve personal pronouns , which are in the nominative case ( I , he , she , we , they , who ) when they are used as subject or predicate nominatives , and in the subject case ( me , him , her , us , them , whom ) when they are used as direct objects , indirect objects , and objects of prepositions . In this example , if you realize that between is a preposition , you know that “I” should be changed to the objective “me” because it is the subject of a preposition .

4 . Error in Subject-Verb Agreement

Harvard College , along with several other Ivy League schools , are sending students to the conference .

Phrases starting with “along with” or “as well as “ or “ in addition to” that are placed in between the subject and the verb do not affect the verb . The subject of this sentence is Harvard College , so the verb should be “is sending” .

There is three bears living in that house .

Sentences that begin with “there” almost always have the subject after the verb . The subject of this sentence is “bears” , so the verb should be “are” .

5 . Error in Pronoun-Number Agreement

Every one of the girls on the team is trying to do their best .

Every pronoun must have a specific noun or noun substitute for an antecedent , and it must agree with that antecedent in number ( singular or plural ) . In this example , “their” refers to one and must be singular :

Every one of the girls on the team is trying to do her best .

6 . Error in the Tense or Form of a Verb

After the sun set behind the mountain , a cool breeze sprang up and brought relief from the heat .

Make sure the verbs in a sentence appear in the proper sequence of tenses , so that it is clear what happened when . Since , according to the sentence , the breeze did not appear until after the sun had finished setting , the setting belongs in the past perfect tense :

After the sun had set behind the mountain , a cool breeze sprang up and brought relief from the heat .

7. Error in Logical Comparison

I can go to California or Florida . I wonder which is best .

When you are comparing only two things , you should use the comparative form of the adjective , not the superlative :

I wonder which is better .

Comparisons must also be complete and logical .  

The room on the second floor are larger than the first floor .

It would be a strange building that had rooms larger than an entire floor . Logically , this sentence should be corrected to :

The rooms on the second floor are larger than those on the first floor .

8 . Adjective and Adverb Confusion

She did good on the test .

They felt badly about leaving their friends .

These are the two most common ways that adjectives and adverbs are misused . In the first example , when you are talking about how someone did , you want the adverb “well” , not the adjective “good” :

She did well on the test .

In the second example , after a linking verb like “feel” you want a predicate adjective to describe the subject :

They felt bad about leaving their friends .

8 . Error in Modification and Word Order

Reading for the book , the ladder slipped out from under him .

A participial phrase at the beginning of the sentence should describe the subject of the sentence . Since it doesn’t make sense to think of a ladder reaching for a book , this participle is left dangling with nothing to modify . The sentence needs some rewriting :

When he reached for the book , the ladder slipped out from under him .   

9 . Error in Parallelism

In his book on winter sports , the author discusses ice-skating , skiing , hockey , and how to fish in an ice-covered lake .

Logically , equal and similar ideas belong in similar form . This shows that they are equal . In this sentence , the author discusses four sports , and all four should be presented the same way :

In his book on winter sports , the author discusses ice skating , skiing , hockey , and fishing in an ice-covered lake .

Error in Diction or Idiom

The affects of the storm could be seen everywhere .

Your ear for the language will help you handle these errors , especially if you are accustomed to reading standard English . These questions test you on words that are frequently misused , on levels of usage ( informal versus formal ) , and on standard English idioms . In this example , the verb “affect” meaning “to influence” has been confused with the noun “effect” , meaning “result”. 

The effects of the storm could be seen everywhere .