SAT Prep 3-06-08

Quizzes/Prefix/Grammar

Quiz Time

Here's the quiz

Prefixes

Arch/Archi- Chief, principal Architect

the deviser, maker, or creator of anything: Archenemy

a chief enemy.

Archy- Ruler Monarchy

supreme power or sovereignty held by a single person. Anarchy

a state of society without government or law.

Prefix

Art- Skill, craft Art

the craft or trade using these principles or methods Artificial

made by human skill;

Auc/Aug/Aux- to increase Auction

a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.

Augment to make larger; enlarge in size, number, strength, or

extent; increase:

Prefix

Auto-self Automatic

having the capability of starting, operating, moving, etc., independently

Be- to be, to have a certain quality Belittle Belated Befriend Belie

Subject/Verb Agreement This is probably the easiest question to get

correct. In many cases, people get confused as to when to

add an “s” to the end of the main verb. I.E. Say or says? When do you use either one?

ISE

3rd person singular, add “s” to the verb He eats pizza. The dog runs everyday. Ben poos every morning. Terrance, the acclaimed songwriter, says that he

doesn't like opera. 3rd person singular includes subjective

pronouns like (He/She/It), names, or groups

3rd person singular includes subjective pronouns like (He/She/It/They), names, or groups

Some subjects sounds plural but are really singular Everyone/Everybody Nobody Everything/Altogether Whoever/Whatever/Whenever Committee/Board of Directors/Congress/Chamber of

Deputies (etc.)

ISE

Conjunctions can get difficult as well: John AND I see Mary. (AND is plural) Either John OR Bob dates Mary (OR is singular) Either John OR I date Mary (Even though OR is singular,

you must go with the conjugation of the word closest to the verb, which is I DATE)

Neither John NOR I date Mary (Same rule as above) Both John AND I date Mary. (Same as AND)

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

What are pronouns? Subject- I, You, He/She/It, We, You, They, Who Object- Me, You, Him/Her/It, Us, You, Them,

Whom What are antecedents?

Specific nouns Like names, places, etc

Why is it important to memorize subject/object pronouns for ISE? What this means is that "he" is a pronoun that

replaces the subject of the sentence while "him" replaces a direct or indirect object in the sentence.

Example

The teacher told me that I gave him a hard time when I wouldn't tell him to who I handed the paper. What is the mistake?

“Who” should be replaced with “whom” Anytime you face the word “to” it will always follow with “whom”

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreements

Ambiguous Questions William raced Harry and he was clearly the winner.

Whenever a sentence is not clear, most likely it is wrong.

Comparison with pronouns I am a better writer than she.

Make sure that the pronouns are the same when comparing.

Verb Tenses

Conjugation Errors I go to the pool I goes to the pool I lay down and sleep every night I lie down and sleep every night

Since you are doing the action “every night” you have to change the verb to present tense.

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/verbs.htm

Verb Tenses

Tense Errors You should also make sure that the tense of a

verb being used matches the context. Yesterday I go to the beach. Last Monday I will have bought at least four bushels

of corn.

Verb Tenses

If I was a rich man, I would buy everyone a new car.

When you make a sentence using a condition, you must use the "were... would" construction. If I were a rich man, I would buy everyone a new

car.

Adjectives

When comparing two items, must add “er” to the adjective Yesterday is hotter than today This laptop is more expensive than that laptop.

When comparing three or more, must as “est” to the adjective Today is the hottest day of the month. This is the most expensive laptop in the store.

Adjectives

Correct/Incorrect Mike is bigger than he. Between Mike, Scott, and Ted, Mike is the

biggest. Among my friends, I am the smarter one. The students at King High are smartest than the

students at Lincoln High.

Adverbs

Adverbs describe verbs and other adjectives. Even a person who drives carefully cannot

operate a motor vehicle when he is under the influence of alcohol.

He slowly walked to the classroom.

The College Board will not ask you what an

adverb is. Rather, it will ask you questions in

which it mixes up adverbs and adjectives.

Adverbs

What is wrong with these sentences?

If you want to arrive on time you better leave quick.

I told him that he did a well job on the assignment.

Verbs

Three types of verbs Infinitive- to+verb

form of a verb that can be used to replace a noun, adjective, or adverb

Gerund- verb+ing Present progressive form of a verb that can be used

to replace a noun. Participle

Present progressive or perfect/past ("-ed" or "-ing") form of a verb that replaces an adjective.

Panting, I caught my breath

Verbals

You should know how they are correctly applied to a sentence. He said that I should really start to instruct the

kids, including to teach them reading.

The sentence is very confusing because "to teach" is actually an incorrectly-placed infinitive. The verb should be conjugated to its proper form, which makes the sentence much clearer.

The only way you will become proficient with these verbals is by to practice them.

Singing my prepared song, the audience all clapped for me.

Word Choice

Sometimes during the SAT, you will face a sentence that sounds like these I cannot except any kind of personal check. There are many affects of global warming that

are starting to show up.

Commonly Mistaken Word-Pairs

Write/right Affect/effect Infamous/famous Conscience/Conscious Principal/Principle It's/Its (The word it's is a contraction for "it

is") Contraction/Contradiction

Parallelism

Sometimes you might come across sentences like these: I like to eat, play volleyball, surf, and also I can

sing. Reading is my favorite hobby even though to

play baseball is America's. Doesn't he understand that knowing how to

throw, catch, and how to tackle are fundamentals of football?

Parallelism

What is parallelism? The structure of one part of a sentence should

match the structure of the others. The SAT's will be littered tremendously with

these types of errors, so have your eyes aware for this.

Miscellaneous

Speaking Errors Sometimes we use incorrect grammar when we

speak. This seeps into our understanding of grammar. Here are some speaking errors you should be aware of

I ain’t going to listen to her anymore. (I am not going to listen to her anymore.)

He use to be my friend. (He used to be my friend.) Irregardless of your opinion on abortion, you must admit

that there are many perspectives in the debate. (Regardless of your position…)

I should of taken those groceries out. (I should have taken those groceries out.)

You aren’t suppose to mess with her. (You aren’t supposed to mess with her.)

Miscellaneous

Double Negatives Two negatives cannot be next to each other

Haven't never Couldn't never Couldn't hardly Can't barely

Could be an outright negative or a word that has a negative connotation. Be aware!