The word “forced” sounds too strong in this context, and generally, you don’t “license”
a painting to be made. The word “decreed,” which means to order or command, also
seems too harsh given the context. The word “commissioned” can mean hiring an
artist to create a work. It’s the only word that’s typically used with artwork, and it’s
the most appropriate word for this sentence. The correct answer is B.
#2 Use the Fewest Words Possible
• Typically, the shortest grammatically correct answer choice
that expresses the same information as the original sentence
will be the right answer
• On the SAT, words or phrases may be unnecessarily added to a
sentence.
• Here’s an example sentence with a redundancy error:
• Every year, Jane runs the Los Angeles Marathon annually.
• In this sentence, the word “annually” means that she runs the
marathon every year. Because the sentence starts with “every
year,” the word “annually” is unnecessary. It doesn’t add any
new information to the sentence, and it should be eliminated.
SAT Example:
The correct expression is “as a means of,” and the answer is B. Study
the idiom questions from the practice SATs, and review my article on
SAT idioms to prepare yourself.
#4 Keep Verb Tense Consistent
• The general rule regarding verb consistency is that verbs
should remain consistent in tense or form throughout a
sentence. Example:
• Last week, Frank rented a car and drives to Las Vegas.
• Last week, Frank rented a car and drove to Las Vegas.
• Also, on the SAT, the verb tenses of surrounding sentences
can provide context clues for the proper tense to use in a
given sentence to maintain consistency. Example:
• Trenton lives in a rural area. He enjoyed the peace and quiet.
• Trenton lives in a rural area. He enjoys the peace and quiet.
SAT Example
In this sentence, the verbs “is” and “serves” indicate that the underlined
verb should be in the present tense. Answer choices B and D are not present
tense verbs. Answer choice A is wrong because the “it” is redundant. The
correct answer is C.
#5: Surround Non-Restrictive Clauses and
Appositives With Commas
The clause before the semicolon is not a complete thought; therefore, the
semicolon is being used incorrectly. Answer choice C unnecessarily adds
“and,” and answer choice B is wrong because it places a colon after a
dependent clause. The correct answer is D.
#8: A Colon Must Come After
an Independent Clause
• Colons are usually used to introduce lists or explanations.
• The key rule for colons is that they must come after a
complete sentence.
• If you end the sentence where the colon is placed, the
sentence should make sense and be a complete thought.
• Incorrect: Meena enjoys multiple genres of music like:
alternative, rap, heavy metal, and country.
• Correct: Meena enjoys multiple genres of music: alternative,
rap, heavy metal, and country.
• The first sentence is incorrect because the part of the
sentence that comes before the colon isn’t a complete
thought.
SAT Example:
Because the clause before the colon is a complete thought and it's setting up a
list, the colon is being used correctly. The types of people listed after the colon
are the narrator's colleagues. Because "colleagues" isn't part of the list, you can't
substitute the colon for a comma. Also, you can't use a semicolon in place of the
colon because there isn't a complete thought after the punctuation. The correct
answer is A.
#9: Use Apostrophes Correctly
to Form Possessives
• The SAT tests you on how to use apostrophes to correctly form
possessives.
• Luckily, the rules for forming possessives are pretty
straightforward.
• If the word is singular or plural but doesn’t end in “s,” then
you add an “s” after the apostrophe to form a possessive.
• I shall be paying a visit to the men’s restroom.
• My computer’s monitor is rather dirty.
• To create a possessive for a plural word that does end in “s,”
just add an apostrophe after the “s.” Check it out:
• Juan thinks his parents’ rules are too strict.
• Also, only use apostrophes for possessives or contractions.
Contractions are formed when you combine two words.
Examples include it’s (it is), don’t (do not), and isn’t (is
not). Don’t use apostrophes to create plural nouns.
SAT Example:
Because the body is being discussed in general terms, we should use the singular
possessive in this sentence; the sentence is referring to the biological clocks of the body.
We can immediately get rid of A because “bodies” is a plural noun; it’s not in the
possessive form.
Also, answer choice B is wrong because bodies’ is the plural possessive form.
Additionally, there shouldn’t be an apostrophe after the “s” in “clocks.” Don’t use
apostrophes to form plural nouns; only use apostrophes for possessives and
contractions. Similarly, answer choice D is wrong because of the apostrophe before the
“s” in clocks; the correct answer is C.
#10: Subjects and Verbs Must Agree
• Subjects and verbs must agree, meaning that you must use
the singular form of a verb with a singular subject and the
plural form of a verb with a plural subject.
• Incorrect: High school students loves learning grammar rules.
• Correct: High school students love learning grammar rules.
• On the SAT, subject verb agreement questions can be more
difficult because there may be a phrase separating the subject
from the verb.
• Incorrect: The members of the committee meets every
Tuesday.
• Correct: The members of the committee meet every Tuesday.
SAT Example:
To determine if there’s a subject verb agreement error, we have to identify the subject
that corresponds with the verb “portrays.” What portrays animals? The works of art do.
The phrase in between the commas separates the subject from the verb. The subject is
plural because “works” is plural and “of art” is a prepositional phrase. The plural form of
“portrays” is “portray,” and the correct answer is C. Answer choices B and D are not
plural verbs; “portraying” is a gerund that would create a fragment, and “has portrayed”
is the singular form of the present perfect tense.
#11: Modifiers Must Be Next
to What They're Modifying
• The general rule regarding modifiers is that they must be next to what
they’re modifying.
• The most common type of modifier error on the SAT is a dangling modifier.
• When a sentence begins with a modifying phrase, the introductory phrase
must be immediately followed by a comma and then the noun the phrase is
describing.
• A determined writer, Jessica’s goal is to get her first novel published this
year.
• The way the sentence is written makes it seem like Jessica’s goal is a
determined writer. There are a couple of ways to fix the sentence. You can
place the noun that is being modified right after the comma:
• A determined writer, Jessica has a goal of getting her first novel published
this year.
• Or you can place the subject in the introductory phrase:
• Because Jessica is a determined writer, her goal is to get her first novel
published this year.
SAT Example:
This sentence makes it seem like the visitor was dotted with pin-sized knobs.
Logically, the sentence should indicate that the drawers were dotted with pin-sized
knobs. Similarly, answer choices B and C are misplaced modifiers that infer that the
there was a visitor dotted with knobs. The correct answer is D.
#12: Pronouns Must Agree With
Their Antecedents in Number
• This rule means that a plural pronoun must refer
to a plural noun and a singular pronoun must
refer to a singular noun.
• Kristin sold their car.
• The pronoun “their” is referring to the car of
Kristin. Because Kristin is one person and “their”
is a plural pronoun, this sentence has a pronoun
agreement error. This is the corrected version:
• Kristin sold her car.
SAT Example:
It’s easy to make a careless mistake on this question because you may see the singular
pronoun “it” and assumed the underlined pronoun should be singular as well. However,
the pronouns have different antecedents. The word “it” refers to 1-MCP, which is
singular, and “their” refers to apples, which is plural. The possessive pronoun agrees with
the antecedent, and there’s no error.
Answer choice A is correct. Answer choice C is a singular possessive pronoun, D is the
contraction of “it is,” and B is a homophone of the correct answer, but it’s the wrong
word.