SAT Prep Common Errors Subject- Verb Agreement Pronoun Antecedent Adjective vs. Adverb Parallelism Modifiers Tenses Passive Voice JC Kiernan 2011

Subject-Verb Agreement  Subject: The “doer” of the action. To find the subject, after finding the verb you ask yourself “who” or “what” then the verb. To find the subject, after finding the verb you ask yourself “who” or “what” then the verb.  Verb: A word that expresses action or makes a statement. It may be either an “action” or “being” verb.  Agreement: When the subject and verb “agree” in being “singular” or “plural.” Also, when the pronoun “agrees” with its antecedents.  Antecedent: The word that the pronoun refers back to. Mary = she Jim’s = his JC Kiernan 2011

Verbs (predicate)   Verbs that “make a statement” are either physical such as hit or run, or they are mental such as think or believe.   Linking Verbs (non-action): express a state or condition. These verbs “link” the subject to a noun, pronoun, or an adjective. The most common linking verbs stem from the form of “to be,” while other common linking verbs need to be memorized. To Be: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been; and any form of it including can, could, should, shall, may  appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste JC Kiernan 2011

Compound Subjects and Verbs Compound Subject consists of two or more subjects joined by a conjunction (usually and/or) and share the same verb. Compound Verb consists of two or more verbs joined by a conjunction and share the same subject.  Subjects joined by AND take a plural verb  Subjects joined by OR or NOR take a singular verb   When a singular and plural subject are joined by OR or NOR, the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it.   Example: Either the SINGER or the MUSICIANS ARE off key. JC Kiernan 2011

Indefinite Pronouns   The following are singular: each, either, neither, one, no one, every one, anyone, someone, everyone, anybody, somebody, everybody Ex: Each does his own cooking Each of the boys does his own cooking   The following are plural: several, both, few, many Ex: Several of the students were transferred. Few on the committee attend meetings.   The following are singular or plural depending on the meaning of the sentence: some, any, none, all, most (when these words refer to a singular word, they are singular; when these words refer to plural words, they are plural) Ex: None of the story makes sense. None of the movies were exciting. JC Kiernan 2011

Exercise 1

Exercises SAMPLE: 1. Each of the animals in the Amazon tributaries command (A) as much respect among the locals for the ability to (B) (C) injure, or even kill, as the dancing catfish. No Error (D) (E) (D) (E) Page 408 # # # # 23, # 23, # # # # # 20, 22, # 20, 22, 25 JC Kiernan 2011

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement   A pronoun must agree with its antecedent both in number (singular and plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter).   Masculine: he, him, his   Feminine: she, her, hers   Neuter: it, its EX: The Fishers returned from their fishing trip. The company advertises its products on television.   Singular antecedents joined by OR or NOR take singular pronouns; Plural Antecedents joined by AND take plural pronouns. EX: Neither Sue nor Maria left books on her desk. Sue and Maria presented their reports. When a company is used- you must use IT JC Kiernan 2011

Adjective vs. Adverb An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or pronoun. Modify means “to limit.” You may LIMIT a noun or pronoun in three ways: 1.WHAT KIND? Ex: green apples, small car, capable student 2. WHICH ONE? Ex: this woman, that play 3. HOW MANY? Ex: some birds, two squirrels Be sure to decipher between words that are being used as ADJECTIVES from ones that are being used as pronouns. Such as: all, another, any, both, each, either, few, many, more, neither, one, other, several, some, that, these, this, those, what, which Ex: THESE books are overdue. (adjective-which ones) THESE are overdue. (pronoun) We chose NEITHER candidate. (adjective-which one) We chose NEITHER. (pronoun) JC Kiernan 2011

An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. A word ending in an “-ly” is usually an adverb. An adverb may tell you (used to modify a verb): HOW (She reads quickly.) WHEN (She reads early and late.) WHERE (She reads everywhere.) TO WHAT EXTENT (She reads thoroughly.) An adverb may be used simply for emphasis: Really, actually, truly, indeed Ex: She can REALLY skate! She is TRULY a fine skater. An adverb used to modify an adjective: Ex: She is a REALLY intense competitor. An adverb used to modify another adverb: Ex: She skated VERY well. Linking verbs are often followed by adjective; while action verbs are often followed by adverbs. Ex: The cider tasted sweet. The voices sounded angry. The man shouted angrily. JC Kiernan 2011

Commonly confused words Bad vs. Badly Bad = adjective Badly = adverb Joan feels bad about the broken vase. The warped record sounds bad. Well vs. Good Well = adjective or adverb As an adjective: 1. To be in good health Ex: He feels well. 2. To appear well-dressed or well-groomed Ex: She looks well in that dress. 3. To be satisfactory Ex: All is well. As an adverb: 1. To perform an action capably Ex: She wrote very well. Good is always an adjective. Never use it to modify a verb JC Kiernan 2011

Exercises Pronoun-Antecedent Page 408 #7 409 # # #4 471 #12, 18 Adjective-Adverb Page 409 #14, #6 471 # #23, 24 JC Kiernan 2011