Grammar Digital SAT

Statement

provides information

questions

asks for information

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 independent clauses

commas

can never link two independent clauses unless there is a coordinating conjunction

colons 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

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

• a dash, unless the dependent clause is

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

verb changing

1. if there is a “to” form and/or an -ing form, check for a complete sentence

2. otherwise, find the subject and eliminate any answers that aren’t consistent in number (singular/plural) with the subject

3. if needed, check tense. Look for other verbs in the sentence or surrounding sentences, as well as time-change clues

Apostrophes

• on pronouns represent contractions

• possessive pronouns don’t get apostrophes

Contradiction

• It’s - it is/it has

• They’re - They are

• You’re - You are

• Who’s - Who is/Who has

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