Adjective vs Adverb

•The trapped rabbit reacted A. violent when we b. tried to free its foot from the c. old snare, so we covered its eyes with a blanket to D.quickly reduce its anxiety. E. No error

• A violently

• Another grammar concept that is repeatedly asked on the SAT is called diction. Diction basically means word choice. Here is a sentence that contains a diction error:

When the opera finally came A to a conclusion at nine, we still had not eaten dinner

and wanted to decide B. quick what type C of food everyone would be Dhappy with. No error• .

• B

• The main tourist attraction A.in the B. rather small village is the C. surprising large abbey; built in the seventh century, it remains one of the D. largest churches in Oxfordshire. E. No error

• C. Surprisingly

MISPLACED MODIFERS • Because they eat mice, farmers keep cats on

their farms.

• Because they eat mice, cats are kept by many farmers.

• An introductory clause must be followed by the referent.

• Documenting the trial, it was discovered by the reporter that the eyewitness was related to the defendant’s kilted ex-wife, thus discrediting the testimony.

• A. it was discovered by the reporter that the eyewitness was related to the defendant’s kilted ex-wife, thus

• B. the eyewitness was discovered by the reporter to be related to the defendant’s ex-wife, therefore

• C. the reporter discovered that they eyewitness was related to the defendant’s jilted ex-wife, thus

• C

• Produced in London, Alfred Hitchcock directed his first film, The Pleasure Garden, for Gains Pictures.

• A. Produced in London, Alfred Hitchcock directed his first film, The Pleasure Garden,

• B. Hitchcock produced in London directed his first film.

• C. The Pleasure Garden, Hitchcock’s first directed film, was produced in London.

• C

Misplaced relative clauses

• Clauses that begin with that and which should occur after the word they modify.

• Yogi Bear, which is a rock on Mars, was named for its resemblance to Yogi Bear.

• Applications that are incomplete will be thrown away.

• The concierge gave us directions to the museum on the outskirts of the city, which is located next to the old theater.

• A. museum on the outskirts of the city, which is located next to the old theater.

B. Museum on the outskirts of the city, located next to the old theaterC. museum, which is located next to the old theater, on the outskirts of the city.

• C

Dangling Modifier. • Intro clause or phrase is not connected to the

sentence.Driving to Florida, the dog needed to stop often.

• Using the Fujita Scale, a tornado’s intensity can be rated on a scale of zero to six in order to predict possible damage and warn people in its path.

A. A tornado's intensity can be ratedB. The rating of a tornado's intensityC. The rating of a tornado's intensity can be

doneD. Scientist can rate a tornado's intensity

• D

• Believing for the first time that she could win the race, Amy's speed increased despite her utter exhaustion.

A. Amy's speed increased despite her utter exhaustionB. Amy found the strength to increase her speed despite her exhaustionC. Amy's utter exhaustion did not stop her from speeding upD. her exhaustion could not stop Amy from running fasterE.Amy increasing her speed despite being exhausted

• B

• Formerly the lead singer of the popular band Soul Coughing, it was no surprise that the release of Mike Doughty's first solo record was highly anticipated.

A it was no surprise that the release of Mike Doughty'sB Mike Doughty'sC Mike Doughty's solo career began well when hisD Mike Doughty should not have been surprised that hisE nobody was surprised when Mike Doughty's

• Answer: (D). WHO used to be the lead singer of Soul Coughing? MIKE DOUGHTY. So that's what needs to come after the comma. Note that "Mike Doughty's solo career" and "Mike Doughty's first solo record" are not the same as "Mike Doughty."

• Having consumed nothing but smoothies for three days, Kerri was ecstatic when the surgeon told her she could eat solid food again.A. Kerri was ecstatic when the surgeon told her

B Kerri's excitement was understandable when the surgeon told herC. the surgeon was used to reactions like Kerri's when he saidD Kerri will be ecstatic when the surgeon tells herE excitement overwhelmed her when the surgeon told Kerri

• Answer: (A). WHO consumed nothing but smoothies for three days? KERRI. So again, that's what needs to come after the comma. Choice (D) also has "Kerri" after the comma, but has a verb tense problem: "will be ecstatic when the surgeon tells" doesn't go with "could" in the non-underlined bit.

• Speaking to reporters about the night's loss, the manager said the complete meltdown of the relief pitching staff.

A. Speaking to reporters about the night's loss, the manager said

B. The manager said to the reporters that the reason for the night's loss was because ofC. Speaking to reporters after the game, the manager blamed the night's loss onD. Asking questions about the night's loss, the manager answered the reporters by blamingE. Inquiring about the reason for the loss, the manager told reporters it was because of

• Answer: (C). This is a trickier Dangling Modifier question because you have the option to change both the modifier before the comma and the subject after it. (D) and (E) don't work because the manager wasn't asking about the loss, the reporters were. (B) doesn't have a modifier at all, which doesn't make it wrong necessarily; (B) is wrong because of redundancy: it uses "the reason" and "because" in the same sentence, which is not necessary. (A) is wrong because it's a fragment (or a quotation missing quotes, but the SAT doesn't test that kind of thing).

• Accustomed to traveling with bodyguards, fans surprised the actress when she was alone in the airport and she was rude to them, paparazzi caught the incident on video.

A fans surprised the actress when she was alone in the airport and she was rude to them,

B fans surprised the actress when she was alone in the airport and she was rude to them;C the surprised actress was rude to the fans who found her alone in the airport, and D the actress was surprised when, being alone, she was approached by and was rude to fans;E the actress was alone when she was approached by fans and was therefore rude to them,

• Answer: (C). There's a lot going on here, too. First: WHO was accustomed to traveling with bodyguards? The ACTRESS. (D) is wrong because it contains "being" unnecessarily, and seems in general to meander a bit too much. (E) is wrong because it creates a run-on: the clauses before and after that last comma could both stand on their own as sentences. Watch out! The SAT will often combine rules like this. Note, finally, that (C) begins with "the surprised actress," not just "the actress." It's OK to put an adjective in front of the subject in a dangling modifier, just not another noun.