SAT Study Guide Test 9, Section 3 (page 892) Review
Most Missed Questions:
Question 9 (30 percent correct):
Because economic hardship is the real source of many other problems is the reason
why the revolutionary government attacked inflation first.
PROBLEM: Excessive wordiness. Writers should practice economy: Using as few
words as possible to make their points.
Because economic hardship is the real source of many other problems is the reason
why the revolutionary government attacked inflation first.
Notice how the words in blue add NOTHING to the sentence. “Is the reason why” is
already captured by the word “Because.”
Correct Answer: (B.) Because economic hardship is the real source of many other
problems, the revolutionary government attacked inflation first.
BUT 40 percent of GCISD students picked this answer choice:
(D.) As a result of economic hardship causing many other problems, the
revolutionary government attacked inflation first.
What is wrong with this sentence?
Notice the parts in blue:
As a result of economic hardship causing many other problems, the revolutionary
government attacked inflation first.
A bit wordy repetitious, eh?
But even more so, reword the sentence:
The revolutionary government attacked inflation first as a result of economic
hardship causing many other problems.
The revolutionary government attacked inflation first because economic hardship is
the real source of many other problems.
Note that the second sentence gives a better, more direct answer—particulary via
the words “the real source.”
Remember in this section: Choose the most effective sentence.
Question 11 (57 percent correct):
In the wild, pygmy chimpanzees are found only in an inaccessible region south of
the Zaire River, since such is the case, very few are in captivity.
Ah! The compound or compound-complex sentence. The College Board loves to test
your knowledge of how to correctly combine two sentences.
There are four ways:
1. Joined with a semi-colon.
2. Joined with a colon.
3. Joined with a comma + conjunction.
One thing you can absolutely never, ever do (and the check your awareness of this
rule repeatedly): You can never join two sentences with a comma. –But that’s what
this sentence just did!
Look again:
In the wild, pygmy chimpanzees are found only in an inaccessible region south of
the Zaire River, since such is the case, very few are in captivity.
The sentence is worded terribly—but, at its foundation, it is an example of the
dreaded “comma splice”—or two sentences joined by a comma.
Students who picked “A” fell into this trap. Those who picked “C” fared no better as
the problem was NOT corrected. Look:
In the wild, pygmy chimpanzees are found only in an inaccessible region south of
the Zaire River, no more than a few are in captivity as a result.
Question 24 (43 percent correct):
Far away from having been a diehard conservative, Hoover was, some scholars now
contend, the leading progressive of his day.
Most students picked “E”, or “no error.” However, look at the phrase “Far away
from.” How is “far away from” different from “Far from”? Does not the word far
suggest away?
It is idiomatic in our language to say “far away from,” but—grammatically
speaking—that is redundant. It would be correct to simply say “Far from.”
The answer was A.
Question 25 (61 percent correct):
For the past hundred years or more, Yellowstone National Park was a kind of
sociological laboratory in which North Americans have been exploring the meaning
of the national-park concept.
30 percent of respondents chose “E” (no error).
But look at the underlined verbs. They do not match! “Have been exploring”
suggests exploration began in the past and continues to this day (the present). The
past tense verb “was” suggests only something that ended in the past. The sense of
time must be consistent!
As “was” was underlined in the sentence, it must be changed to “has been,” which
suggests something that began in the past and continues to this day.
Question 26 (35 percent correct):
Alerted by the nervousness and evasiveness of the witness, the jurors were quick to
perceive that his statements were inconsistent to those he had made earlier.
61 percent of students picked E, or “no error.” But, consider the phrase “statements
were inconsistent to those he had made earlier.” The preposition to connects words
to an endpoint or a destination (some type of place). In this sentence, we are not
arriving at a place—instead, we are comparing two things side-by-side: One
statement with another. The phrase should be “his statements were inconsistent
with those he had made earlier.”
Question 28 (52 percent correct):
Between the sales manager and I existed an easy cooperative working relationship;
neither of us hesitated to discuss problems.
Once again, most students picked E (no error) as the wrong answer.
This question contains a common pronoun error.
In pronoun usage, there is subjective case (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) and objective
case (me, you, him, her, it, us, them).
It is called “subjective case” because these pronouns are only used as subjects.
Necessarily, a verb must follow them.
Objective case pronouns are used in situations in which the noun receives action.
For example, I threw the ball to him. –“Him” is objective pronoun, receiving action
(the throw) from the subjective pronoun “I.”
So look at this sentence again:
Between the sales manager and I existed an easy cooperative working relationship
If you missed this question, you were fooled by the words “I existed” appearing
together. Subject-verb, right?
WRONG.
Put the sentence into normal order:
An easy cooperative working relationship existed between the sales manager and
me.
The “me” is receiving action—not doing any action. That is why the objective case is
correct, and the subjective case “I” is wrong.
Students often miss questions in which a sentence is put into reverse order; that is,
the verb comes before the subject.
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Grammatical Rule: Subject-Verb Agreement
Please visit my website for a quick review of Subject-Verb Agreement located under the link
“SAT Course” in the left-hand margin.
The problem: When a subject and a verb are placed side-by-side, native speakers ALWAYS
choose the correct verb form. But, place distracting words in between the subject and the
verb—or place the subject AFTER the verb—and suddenly native speakers make mistakes.
Five of the thirty-five questions contains an error in subject-verb agreement. Even though
students average about 80 percent correctness across these five questions—the
performance should be 100 percent correctness.
Never miss a subject-verb agreement question.
Strategies:
1. Know that the words “here” or “there” can NEVER be the subject of a sentence. If
they appear in front of the verb (usually is, was, or are) then the subject comes
AFTER the verb. Look for it!
2. Identify the one word subject and the verb. Cross out any words in between. Make
sure that the subject and verb agree. Note in the examples below that the word in
front of the verb often agrees—but that word is NOT the subject.
Question 4 (91 percent correct):
For months, one of the most popular breakfast foods were selling for so little that
people thought something was wrong.
For months, one of the most popular breakfast foods were [was] selling for so little
that people thought something was wrong.
Question 14 (78 percent correct):
During the night, there is usually two German shepherds at the warehouse to guard
against robbery attempts.
During the night, there is [are] usually two German shepherds at the warehouse to
guard against robbery attempts.
Question 18 (83 percent):
Although naturalists have identified six hundred different forms of the corion snail,
there is actually no more than two true species within this genus.
Although naturalists have identified six hundred different forms of the corion snail,
there is [are] actually no more than two true species within this genus.
Question 21 (87 percent correct):
Many nations and the United Nations itself has issued stamps that commemorate
the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the UN charter.
Many nations and the United Nations itself has [have] issued stamps that
commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the UN charter.
Question 23 (61 percent correct):
Observation of diverse animal species show that the most successful in the struggle
for survival are those which are most adaptable to changes in their world.
Observation of diverse animal species show [shows] that the most successful in the
struggle for survival are those which are most adaptable to changes in their world.