You know what are verbs, they are the action words. However, when it comes to the working rules of the verbs, there is so much complexity that you do not remember beyond a few working principles like tenses or the subject-verb agreement. In the current post, we have summarized the rules of working with verbs and this will be followed by a quick practice exercise on the same.

Rule I: When two or more subjects are joined by “as well as, like, besides, with, in addition to, together with and along with”, the verb is used according to the first subject. For example:

• The director as well as the troupe of dancers was honored by the public.
• The father, and not his children, has been arrested for committing theft. Read more…

In each of these sentences, a part of the sentence has been underlined. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of phrasing the underlined part are indicated. Choose the best alternative:

1. Leaders enable a group by imagining and create a future, which will fulfill the group purpose

a)      By imagining to create

b)      To imagine and by create

c)       To imagine and create

d)      To imagining creativity

2.  Some people by naturally talk more than others.

a)      By natural talk

b)      Naturally talk

c)       Nature by talking

d)      Naturally by talking

3. One of the basic choices we make in life is whether following the path of smart selfishness or try to avoid all problems.

a)      While following

b)      Is whether to follow

c)       Is whether or not to follow

d)      Has been whether follow

4. Good natured people have been suffered because of their politicking companions.

a)      Have suffered with

b)      Are suffered because of Read more…

This is a collective mix of the kinds of questions asked in SAT critical reading and SAT vocab. Take this quiz to test your knowledge:

Choose from the 4 alternatives numbered 1, 2, 3 & 4, the word nearest in meaning to the given word:

1.            Insolvent

1. Bankrupt
2. Corrupt
3. Melancholic
4. Possessive

2.            Topple

1. Prickle
2. Tool
3. Dominate
4. Overthrow

3.            Ruckus

1. Redemption
2. Commotion
3. Pleasure
4. Surplus

Choose from the 4 alternatives numbered 1, 2, 3 & 4, the word opposite in meaning to the given word:

4.            Amicable

1. Criminal
2. Compensatory
3. Experienced
4. Unfriendly

5.            Cursory

1. Perfunctory
2. Flimsy
3. Careful
4. Indecent

6.            Capricious

1. Predictable
2. Chivalrous
3. Diplomatic
4. Changeable

The given sentence is divided into three parts numbered 1, 2, 3 & 4. One of these parts may contain an error. Select the erroneous part. If you think there is no error in any part of the sentence, select option 4 that indicates ‘No Error’ Read more…

While a lot of people dread SAT grammar, the monster is not as terrifying as it looks. It is relatively simple if one can avoid the most common errors in grammar. Sometimes, the pressure of taking an exam can make us forget some of the easiest things that we have learned.

One of the first things that people mess up is the pronouns.  While pronouns look to be the simplest parts in a grammar test, it is one place where you have a high chance of going wrong. You must learn to distinguish pronoun usage, whether it is subjective or objective.  While practicing for pronouns, make sure that you thoroughly read up on the usage of pronouns and what constitutes the objective and the subjective case. That will teach you to get your “I”s and your “me”s  right.

Voice problems are another thing. Passive voice is obsolete and it is so in SAT as well. Always avoid passive voice and stick to the active. If you use passive voice, sentences become longer and you might end up making grammatical mistakes. The shorter the sentence, the sweeter and the better. Read more…

SAT Grammar: Understanding Parallelism in Sentences

In grammar, parallelism is a balance of two or more similar words, phrases or clauses. In a simpler language, when there is parallelism between two things, there are similarities between them. Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level.  In SAT Writing, the most basic kind of sentence may consist of a single clause. More complicated sentences may contain multiple clauses, including clauses contained within clauses.

For your SAT, you can find all the important SAT Grammar topics you need to cover here.

The usual way to join parallel structures is with the use of coordinating conjunctions such as and, or, but, nor, so, for and yet.

SAT Tip: Try to skim through your SAT sentences, pausing at conjunctions and, or, but etc. Check on each side of these words to see whether the items joined are parallel. If not, make them parallel. The important point to remember is that both forms must be the same

Example: (Incorrect) Either you must stay here or go with us.

(Correct)    You must either stay here or go with us.

(Incorrect) John writes poetry and also short stories.

(Correct)     John writes poetry and short stories.

(Incorrect) This bike is not only fast but also it is safe to drive.

(Correct)   This bike is not only fast but also safe.

Understanding Parallelism in Words and Phrases

Rule #1 Use similar grammatical form when offering several ideas :

a)     With the –ing (gerund) form of words

Example:

(Parallel) Jessica likes running, swimming and travelling.

(Not Parallel) Jessica likes running, swimming and to travel.

(Parallel) My friends and I went to Mauritius for Christmas and spent our time surfing, sunbathing, and hiking.

(Not Parallel) My friends and I went to Mauritius for Christmas and spent our time surfing, sunbathing and on hikes.

Explanation:  Here there a series of “-ing” words beginning each item. Keep it that way.

SAT Tip: If you have several items in a list, put them in a column to see if they are parallel.

Read more…

SAT…Grammar? Oh no!

A lot of students get concerned when they hear “grammar.” After all, these are rules that you haven’t seen since 9th grade…and you probably weren’t paying close attention!

Fear not! Here are two major tips to help you with the “rules” on the SAT.

1) Go with what you know!

Unless you’re the kind of student who learns by “remembering rules and applying them on test day” (a rare brand of student indeed), your best bet on the SAT is to go with what you know. Most of the time, you can eliminate the majority of the wrong answer choices simply because they “sound wrong.” If you regularly read (fiction, nonfiction, etc.), you’re in especially good shape with this strategy. For those who spend a lot of time reading, you can often spot the right and wrong answers without knowing the rules.

“But…what if I don’t read all the time? It’s a little late to start, isn’t it!” Not a problem!

For both those of you who read all the time and those of you who never read at all, the biggest thing will be practice. Practice practice practice. Take practice tests, practice quizzes, practice questions. Check the answers you got wrong, and see what the right answer was. The more often you see these things, the better acclimated you’ll become to the test. After all, each student is taking a different test…and yet, the test is standardized, which means that it’s the same across the board! Because of this, you’ll start to notice patterns in the right and wrong answers. You’ll begin to spot wrong answers more quickly, because you’ll recognize them from the times you saw them before. You’ll spot right answers right away, and you’ll maximize your score! Read more…

If you listen carefully to the conversations around you, you will hear inconsistent and incomplete structures all the time particularly in lively or heated discussion:

There are two types of critical reading portion in SAT: the sentence completion and the reading comprehension questions, which are both divided into three (3) sections, each of which has its own formatting.

You should expect to see something like the following on your test, but not necessarily as it is in order:

24-Question Critical Reading Section

24-Question Critical Reading Section

19-Question Critical Reading Section

In my last post Subjective and objective personal pronouns, I discussed the difference between personal pronouns in the objective case and in the subjective case.  In this post, I’ll discuss reflexive pronouns, another type of personal pronouns which is often tested on the SAT Writing section.

What are reflexive pronouns?

The following are the reflexive pronouns: Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

The word reflexive indicates that both the subject and the object of the verb or preposition are the same person or thing.  Consider the following sentences:

She bought a present for herself.

I think that man is talking to himself.

Did you never ask yourselves if that was a good idea?

Sometimes, the fact that the pronoun is an object is not immediately apparent.  Consider the following example:

We ate the whole thing ourselves. Read more…

Like subject-verb agreement, which I discussed in my last post, personal pronouns are a simple grammatical concept that can become a challenge on the SAT.  Students are often confused about when to use what form of the pronoun—for example, for first person singular, when should you use “me” and when should you use “I”?  Correspondingly for the third person plural, when should you use “they” and when should you use “them”?  In this post I’ll explain the difference between these forms so you are ready to catch errors on the SAT Writing section.

Subjective vs. objective cases

Cases are classifications of nouns and pronouns based on their role in a sentence.  The subjective case and objective case mean just what they sound like.  A noun or pronoun is in the subjective case when it is the subject of the sentence or phrase.  A noun or pronoun is in the objective case when it is the object of a verb or the object of a preposition.  Read over the following sentences and try to determine the role of each pronoun: Read more…