1. Miscellaneous SAT Grammar Tips

2. Pay attention to verb tenses The racing champion had A made no mention B in his C speech of the mechanics on whom D his success had depended. No error E.

3. Pay attention to verb tenses The racing champion had A made no mention B in his C speech of the mechanics on whom D his success had depended. No error E. Correct Answer: A Explanation: Verb tense error: “had” is incorrect as the past perfect tense is not needed here. The verb should be “made” and not “had made”.

4. Pay attention to verb tenses From ancient times A, sculpture had been B considered the prerogative C of men, and even now, in some parts of the world, women sculptors face D hostility and suspicion. No error E.

5. Pay attention to verb tenses From ancient times A, sculpture had been B considered the prerogative C of men, and even now, in some parts of the world, women sculptors face D hostility and suspicion. No error E. Correct Answer: B Explanation: No need for a past perfect tense. Change to “has been” (the present perfect).

6. Pay attention to verb tenses The most A important skill I had learned B in my two years of C senior high school was to D direct the course of my own studies. No error E.

7. Pay attention to verb tenses The most A important skill I had learned B in my two years of C senior high school was to D direct the course of my own studies. No error E. Correct Answer: B Explanation: Verb tense error: change the past perfect to simple past by removing had.

8. Pay attention to verb tenses The farmer should not have been A so careless as B to leave the door of the house unbolted when C he had gone D to bed. No error E.

9. Pay attention to verb tenses The farmer should not have been A so careless as B to leave the door of the house unbolted when C he had gone D to bed. No error E. Correct Answer: D Explanation: No need for a past perfect tense here: use went.

10. Watch out for redundancies With skill and surprising A gentleness the fireman managed to B lower the injured cat down C from the top of D the tree. No error E.

11. Watch out for redundancies With skill and surprising A gentleness the fireman managed to B lower the injured cat down C from the top of D the tree. No error E. Correct Answer: C Explanation: Down is redundant.

12. Less vs. fewer Employees with less A personal problems are B likely C to be more D productive. No error E.

13. Less vs. fewer Employees with less A personal problems are B likely C to be more D productive. No error E. Correct Answer: A Explanation: Use fewer not less for countable items.

14. Less vs. fewer The general reported that A, as a result of B financial constraints, less C soldiers would be sent on D peace-keeping missions this year. No error E.

15. Less vs. fewer The general reported that A, as a result of B financial constraints, less C soldiers would be sent on D peace-keeping missions this year. No error E. Correct Answer: C Explanation: Change less to fewer.

16. Less vs. fewer If you were A to work at least four hours a day on the project, we would B complete it in a shorter C time, and with less D problems. No error E.

17. Less vs. fewer If you were A to work at least four hours a day on the project, we would B complete it in a shorter C time, and with less D problems. No error E. Correct Answer: D Explanation: Change less to fewer.

18. Avoid pronoun shifts For a successful career as A a beautician, one B must be prepared to dissemble: C you must not tell your client the unvarnished truth about his or her D appearance. No error E.

19. Avoid pronoun shifts For a successful career as A a beautician, one B must be prepared to dissemble: C you must not tell your client the unvarnished truth about his or her D appearance. No error E. Correct Answer: B Explanation: For pronoun continuity, change one to you.

20. Avoid pronoun ambiguity It is an old criticism of the medical profession that they A have considered B the symptoms and causes of C disease without sufficient reference to D the causes of health. No error E.

21. Avoid pronoun ambiguity It is an old criticism of the medical profession that they A have considered B the symptoms and causes of C disease without sufficient reference to D the causes of health. No error E. Correct Answer: A Explanation: A pronoun with out an antecedent. Change they to doctors.

22. Avoid pronoun ambiguity Cynthia argued vehemently with A her mother over B her C refusal to attend D the school concert. No error E.

23. Avoid pronoun ambiguity Cynthia argued vehemently with A her mother over B her C refusal to attend D the school concert. No error E. Correct Answer: C Explanation: Ambiguous pronoun. Is it Cynthia or her mother who is refusing to attend?

24. Avoid pronoun ambiguity You seldom see anyone in Europe spitting A in public nowadays, mainly B because they C had a successful campaign against D this health hazard in the post war years. No error E.

25. Avoid pronoun ambiguity You seldom see anyone in Europe spitting A in public nowadays, mainly B because they C had a successful campaign against D this health hazard in the post war years. No error E. Correct Answer: C Explanation: They is incorrect because it has no antecedent. (Who are they?)

26. Avoid pronoun ambiguity When Russell Wallace and Darwin independently A proposed similar theories, Darwin had B already accumulated extensive evidence with which C to support his D ideas. No error E.

27. Avoid pronoun ambiguity When Russell Wallace and Darwin independently A proposed similar theories, Darwin had B already accumulated extensive evidence with which C to support his D ideas. No error E. Correct Answer: D Explanation: Ambiguous pronoun. Does the evidence support Darwin or Wallace, or both?

28. Pay attention to the use of superlatives Determination of A the long-term effects of B aerosols on the upper atmosphere is C currently one of the more challenging D problems in climate research. No error E.

29. Pay attention to the use of superlatives Determination of A the long-term effects of B aerosols on the upper atmosphere is C currently one of the more challenging D problems in climate research. No error E. Correct Answer: D Explanation: Change more to most. [More would be used if there were only two problems.]

30. Pay attention to the use of superlatives We have no choice but A to appoint Mary: B she is the best C of the two candidates, and there is D no prospect of finding more applicants. No error E.

31. Pay attention to the use of superlatives We have no choice but A to appoint Mary: B she is the best C of the two candidates, and there is D no prospect of finding more applicants. No error E. Correct Answer: C Explanation: Since there are only two candidates we must use better not best.

32. Pay attention to the use of superlatives The engineer, who is renowned for his ingenuity A, has designed B a very unique C cooling system for our new plant in D Spain. No error E.

33. Pay attention to the use of superlatives The engineer, who is renowned for his ingenuity A, has designed B a very unique C cooling system for our new plant in D Spain. No error E. Correct Answer: C Explanation: You cannot say very unique. [Just as you cannot say more superior.]

34. Look out for idioms Many physicists initially regarded A quantum theory as B unnatural, absurd, and C incompatible to D common sense. No error E.

35. Look out for idioms Many physicists initially regarded A quantum theory as B unnatural, absurd, and C incompatible to D common sense. No error E. Correct Answer: D Explanation: The idiom is “incompatible with”.

36. Look out for idioms The reason I will A not be going B to Mexico this year is because C I will use up all my travel money attending D an important meeting in Singapore. No error E.

37. Look out for idioms The reason I will A not be going B to Mexico this year is because C I will use up all my travel money attending D an important meeting in Singapore. No error E. Correct Answer: C Explanation: The correct usage is to say, “the reason is that”, not “the reason is because”.

38. Look out for idioms This detailed yet A readable biography is well researched and B provides valuable insight to C the facts that D motivated the famous philosopher. No error E.

39. Look out for idioms This detailed yet A readable biography is well researched and B provides valuable insight to C the facts that D motivated the famous philosopher. No error E. Correct Answer: C Explanation: The idiom is “insight into”.

40. if vs. whether He is not sure if A he should B buy the new computer now or C wait until he receives D his next bonus. No error E.

41. if vs. whether He is not sure if A he should B buy the new computer now or C wait until he receives D his next bonus. No error E. Correct Answer: A Explanation: Change if to whether. [Use if to express a condition. Use whether to express alternatives].

42. Don’t forget about the commonly misused words… She wondered whether A the city had changed alot B since she had left to go to C university. D No error E.

43. Don’t forget about the commonly misused words… She wondered whether A the city had changed alot B since she had left to go to C university. D No error E. Correct Answer: B Explanation: “Alot” should be two words.

44. Don’t forget about the commonly misused words… After you have written A a definition in your vocabulary notebook, add a few B ways to use the word or C a sentence to illustrate it's D meaning. No error E.

45. Don’t forget about the commonly misused words… After you have written A a definition in your vocabulary notebook, add a few B ways to use the word or C a sentence to illustrate it's D meaning. No error E. Correct Answer: D Explanation: No need for an apostrophe for a possessive pronoun.