SAT® grammar rules and transitions
32 rules. Knowing that a semicolon joins two independent clauses helps nobody who cannot yet tell what an independent clause is. Each rule here comes with the test you actually apply, and most of them come with the wrong answer they attract.
This is the Reading and Writing counterpart to the Math formula reference. For the words themselves, see vocabulary in context.
Joining two clauses
More conventions questions turn on this than on anything else. The whole group reduces to one test applied twice: is each side a complete sentence on its own?
Comma plus a coordinating conjunction
When it applies: Both sides complete, and you want to name the relationship (and, but, or, so, yet, for, nor).
The kiln reached temperature overnight, but the glaze had not melted by morning.
The wrong choice: Dropping the conjunction and keeping only the comma.
Semicolon
When it applies: Both sides complete, and the relationship is clear without naming it.
The tide pools are easiest to reach at dawn; the water is lowest then.
The wrong choice: A semicolon where one side is a fragment.
Colon
When it applies: The first side is complete and introduces what follows — a list, an explanation, or an example.
The kit contains everything a beginner needs: a mat, two brushes, and glue.
The wrong choice: A colon after an incomplete clause, as in "The kit contains: a mat, two brushes, and glue."
Dash
When it applies: Same job as a colon but with more emphasis, or a pair of dashes around an interruption.
The survey covered three districts — Ashfield, Bexley, and Carlow — over six weeks.
The wrong choice: Mixing one dash with one comma around the same interruption.
Full stop
When it applies: Both sides complete and the sentence is already long. Always available and never wrong.
The rehearsal ran late. The hall had to be locked by ten.
The comma splice
When it applies: Two complete sentences joined by a comma alone. Always incorrect, and always offered.
Correct: The chef tested the sauce, and the final version used less salt.
The wrong choice: The chef tested the sauce, the final version used less salt.
Agreement and verb form
Almost every question here is answered by finding the subject and the main verb, then ignoring everything between them.
Cross out the modifying phrase
When it applies: The noun nearest the verb is often inside a phrase and is not the subject.
The box of tools is kept beside the door — "box" is the subject, not "tools".
The wrong choice: Agreeing with the closest noun: "The box of tools are kept ..."
Each, every, either, neither are singular
When it applies: These take a singular verb no matter what follows them.
Each of the three proposals describes a different approach.
Neither ... nor takes the nearer subject
When it applies: With either/or and neither/nor, the verb agrees with whichever subject sits closest to it.
Neither the director nor the two producers were willing to comment.
After "there", look forward
When it applies: In a sentence starting with "there", the verb agrees with what comes after it.
There are a bench and two lamps along the far wall.
Past perfect marks the earlier of two past actions
When it applies: Both events are past and one finished before the other.
By the time the hikers arrived, the crew had replaced the markers.
Present perfect for past continuing into now
When it applies: The sentence contains "since" or "for" and the situation still holds.
Since the observatory opened, more than forty thousand visitors have passed through.
Future perfect for finished-before-a-future-point
When it applies: The action will be complete before some stated future moment.
By the time the results are published, the team will have repeated the experiment.
Modifiers and pronouns
Two rules, both about what a phrase attaches to. Both produce wrong answers that read perfectly naturally.
An opening phrase describes the next noun
When it applies: Ask who or what performed the opening action. If the noun after the comma could not have, the modifier is misplaced.
Restored over three winters by volunteers, the windmill now draws visitors.
The wrong choice: Restored over three winters by volunteers, visitors now come to the windmill.
When the noun cannot do it, give the phrase its own subject
When it applies: If no available noun fits, the correct choice is a full clause rather than a participle.
After the flour and water are combined, the recipe calls for the dough to rest.
The wrong choice: After combining the flour and water, the recipe calls for the dough to rest.
A relative clause attaches to the noun before it
When it applies: Use "which" or "who" when the modifier must describe a specific preceding noun.
The curator described the vase, which had been found in a market, as puzzling.
Two possible referents means no pronoun
When it applies: If two nouns of the same number precede the pronoun, the reference is ambiguous.
The museum returned the fossil because the university had documented the site.
The wrong choice: The museum returned the fossil because it had documented the site.
Its is possessive; it's is "it is"
When it applies: Read the sentence with "it is" substituted. If it breaks, you need "its".
The society published its findings.
Plural possessive puts the apostrophe after the s
When it applies: Count the owners first, then place the apostrophe.
One heron's nest; several herons' nesting sites.
Transitions, grouped by job
Four transitions always read smoothly, which is why fluency is no guide. Decide the relationship first, then pick from that group only.
Cause and effect
When it applies: The second sentence is a result of the first.
therefore · as a result · consequently · for this reason · thus
Contrast
When it applies: The second sentence cuts against the first.
however · by contrast · nevertheless · even so · on the other hand
Addition
When it applies: The second sentence adds a point of the same kind.
moreover · in addition · furthermore · similarly · likewise
Example
When it applies: The second sentence is an instance of the first.
for example · for instance · in particular · specifically
Restatement
When it applies: The second sentence says the first again, more plainly.
in other words · that is · put differently
Alternative
When it applies: The second sentence offers a different option rather than a consequence.
alternatively · instead · rather
Sequence
When it applies: The sentences are steps or stages in an order.
first · next · then · finally · meanwhile
Concession
When it applies: The writer grants a point before pushing back on it.
admittedly · granted · to be sure · of course
Words in context
These questions do not test vocabulary breadth. They test whether you let the sentence, rather than the dictionary, decide the meaning.
Cover the choices and supply your own word
When it applies: Read the sentence with a blank and say what belongs there before looking at any option.
A word of your own is the only defence against a real synonym that is wrong here.
The punctuation after the word is the evidence
When it applies: A colon, a dash, or a "because" clause is the passage defining the word for you.
The notebooks are "crowded": margins filled with sketches, corrections over corrections.
Distrust the most common definition
When it applies: Tested words are chosen because their everyday sense is not the one in play.
"Modest" plan means limited in scope, not shy. "Economical" colouring means achieving much with little, not cheap.
A contrast in the sentence fixes the meaning
When it applies: When the sentence sets the word against something, the answer is the opposite of that something.
Records "eloquent" about finances and silent about members: eloquent means highly informative.
Register is not evidence
When it applies: The more formal-sounding option is not more likely to be correct.
Match what the sentence supports, not what sounds most literary.
Rules are quick; recognising them is not
This page can be read in fifteen minutes. What takes practice is spotting which rule a sentence is testing before you read the four choices.