Grammar Digital SAT

main verb

an -ing (by itself) or “to” cannot be the main verb in a sentence

• ing function as main verb with is and were

Names/Occupation

Labels that precede a person’s name, a book title, or any other potentially unfamiliar noun are never followed by a comma

• Exception: description contains the word “a” or “an”

Specifying information

phrases that are important enough in a sentence that don’t need commas

Rules:

• phrases that begin with “that” are always Specifying and never get commas around them

• Prepositional phrases are usually Specifying and don’t get commas unless they appear at the beginning of the sentence

Preposition

small, directional word

• in

• of

• for

• by

• with

• on

• to

Prepositional phrase

phrase that begins with a preposition

• in the house

• of my friends

• for you

• by the tree

Extra information

• phrase beginning with an -ing verb

• phrase beginning with an -ed verb or an irregular past participle (such as forgotten, known, begun, hidden, or kept)

• phrase beginning with which, who, whom, or whose or that contains a preposition + one of those words

• clause with a “to be” verb removed

• definition or alternative term starting with or

Transitions

transitions such as however, in addition, moreover, or therefore, are always followed by a comma

• when included in middle of sentence it needs surrounding commas

Extra Information Rules

• can come before or after the noun or pronoun it’s describing

• can be removed and produce a sentence with the same meaning, just a little less detail

• must always have commas, dashes, or parentheses both before and after the phrase

semi-colon

functions like a period; it is used between two ideas that could be their own separate sentence

• to separate two independent clauses

• to separate items in a complex series

  • identify by have (; and) later on the sentence

  • structure: sentence; something, explanation/example; and…

Commas

1. Lists —> I bought apples, bananas, and grape

2. Comma + FANBOY: separate independent clause from independent clause

3. Introductory phrases: separation from dependent clause (introduction phrase) from independent clause

4. Nonessential information: information not needed to understand the sentence

5. Adjectives describing main noun —> it was long, exhausting day

   1. Ask can you use “and”

Dashes

tells you that what comes after is going to elaborate on or explain what came before

• colon or a single dash can only come after an independent clause

• Relative clause: noun, extra information, rest of the sentences (can’t have two reactive clauses on one sentence/line)

Independent/Dependent

(in either order) can be joined with

• a comma (,)

• No punctuation at all

(in either order) can never be joined with

• a period (.)

• a semicolon (;)

• a colon (:)

• a coordinating conjunction (FANBOY)

No Punctuation Rules

• Don’t put punctuation where there is Specifying Information

• Never put a single punctuation mark in between a subject and its verb

• Don’t put punctuation after a preposition

Apostrophes

• on pronouns represent contractions

• possessive pronouns don’t get apostrophes

Possessive Pronouns

• Its - belonging to it

• Their - belonging to them

• Your - belonging to you

• Whose - belonging to whom

Noun Possession

• singular - apostrophe + s

• plural - s + apostrophe

Independent/Independent

When both sides are independent, you have three punctuation options:

1. word + (.)

2. word + (;)

3. word+(,) + FANBOY (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet)

Colon

tells you that what comes after is going to elaborate on or explain what came before

1. The line before the blank must be independent

2. The first thing after the colon must be a pronoun/noun/noun phrase

3. The line after the colon must explain or give an example on the life before the blank

Odd Verb Out (For Subject-Verb Agreement)

Match each answer choice to “they” or “she/he”

• if can use both then its a verb tense question

Front Flip (For Modifiers)

Put answer choice in beginning of sentence with the blank

Sandwich Skip (For Pronouns)

• Ignore dashes (nonessential information)

• Find antecedent (before the blank usually)

Of the (For Possession)

Use “of the” to see if it makes sense —> it means it’s possessive