SAT English Conventions: method and traps

Conventions is the most learnable area on the test, because the rules are finite and the same handful is tested again and again. Nearly every question resolves once you have identified the subject and the main verb, which is why that identification is the first move rather than a last resort.

Practise the 112 questions Play a timed round

This area at a glance

6 worked examples · 6 traps

112

questions

  • Foundation 9
  • Standard 87
  • Challenge 16

What this area asks for

  • Sentence boundaries and comma splices
  • Commas, colons, semicolons and dashes
  • Subject-verb agreement
  • Verb tense and sequence
  • Modifier placement
  • Pronoun clarity and possessives

The method

One routine that applies across the whole area, rather than a rule for each question type.

  1. 1

    Find the subject and the main verb first

    Cross out the phrases between them. "The collection of early maps" has the singular subject "collection"; "of early maps" is a modifier that cannot change the verb. Most agreement questions collapse the moment the intervening phrase is removed.

  2. 2

    Test each side of the punctuation for completeness

    If both sides are complete sentences, you need a full stop, a semicolon, or a comma plus a conjunction. If only the first side is complete and a list follows, you need a colon. This one test decides the majority of punctuation questions.

  3. 3

    Ask who is performing the opening action

    A sentence beginning with a participial phrase attributes that action to whatever noun follows the comma. If that noun could not have performed it, the modifier is misplaced and the choice with its own subject and verb is correct.

  4. 4

    Count the owners before placing the apostrophe

    One owner takes an apostrophe then s. More than one owner, where the plural already ends in s, takes the apostrophe after the s. Deciding how many owners there are is the entire question.

Worked examples

Each one is worked to the point where the next move is obvious, not to the answer alone.

1

The box of tools _____ kept beside the door. Which verb form is correct?

  1. 1.Identify the subject: "box", not "tools".
  2. 2.Remove the modifier "of tools" and read the sentence again.
  3. 3.A singular subject takes a singular verb.

is

2

The rehearsal ran late _____ the hall had to be locked by ten. Which punctuation is correct?

  1. 1.Test the first half: "The rehearsal ran late" is a complete sentence.
  2. 2.Test the second half: "the hall had to be locked by ten" is also complete.
  3. 3.Two complete sentences cannot be joined by a comma alone.

a semicolon

3

_____, the path became slippery. Which opening is correct?

  1. 1.The subject of the main clause is "the path".
  2. 2.A participial opening would say the path performed the action, which it cannot.
  3. 3.Choose the opening that carries its own subject and verb.

After the rain fell (rather than "Falling steadily")

4

The archive of letters, together with three ledgers, ___ held in the county record office. Which verb form is correct?

  1. 1.Find the subject by removing the modifiers: 'the archive'.
  2. 2.'Of letters' and 'together with three ledgers' add information without adding a subject.
  3. 3.A singular subject takes a singular verb, however many plural nouns intervene.

is

5

Sealed since 1912, ___ . Which completion avoids a dangling modifier?

  1. 1.An opening participial phrase attaches to whatever noun follows the comma.
  2. 2.Ask what was sealed: the tomb, not the archaeologists and not an empty 'it'.
  3. 3.Choose the completion that puts that noun first, even if it requires the passive.

the tomb was opened by archaeologists

6

The kiln reached temperature at four ___ the potters had been feeding it since noon. Which punctuation is correct?

  1. 1.Test each side: both are complete sentences.
  2. 2.A comma alone between two complete sentences is a splice; no punctuation fuses them.
  3. 3.A semicolon joins two complete sentences without a conjunction; a comma plus 'and' would also work.

a semicolon

Where marks are lost

Each of these has a matching wrong answer waiting among the four choices.

Agreeing with the nearest noun

The noun immediately before the verb is often inside a modifying phrase and is not the subject. This is the single most tested trap in the area.

The comma splice

Two complete sentences joined by a comma is always wrong, and the comma choice is always offered because it feels natural in speech.

A dangling participle that reads smoothly

"Walking to the shop, the rain started" is wrong even though everyone understands it. The rain was not walking.

Pronouns with two possible referents

When two singular nouns precede a pronoun, no pronoun is clear. The correct choice usually repeats the noun, which feels clumsy and is right.

Phrases that look like they join the subject

'The archive of letters, together with three ledgers, is held...' — 'together with', 'as well as' and 'in addition to' add information without adding a subject, so the verb stays singular. Only 'and' actually makes a subject plural.

Letting an opening phrase land on the wrong noun

A phrase like 'Sealed since 1912' attaches to whatever noun follows the comma. If that noun is not the thing sealed, the sentence says something false, and the fix is often a passive construction — which is correct here rather than a weakness.

This is the area where practice converts to marks fastest, because the rule set is small and closed. Twenty questions worked with the subject and verb identified each time will do more than an hour of reading about grammar.

Now work the questions

112 Standard English Conventions questions with a worked explanation for each, on the SAT Reading & Writing page.

Open SAT English Conventions practice

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SAT® English Conventions: Method | IQ Test Center