SAT WRITING: ERROR IDENTIFICATIONGrammar class 1

THE SEVEN ESSENTIAL ERROR CATEGORIES

1. Pronouns2. Subject-Verb Agreement3. Tenses4. Parallelism5. Adverbs and Adjectives6. Gerunds7. Idioms, Wrong Words, and Double Negatives

1. PRONOUN: ERROR TYPES

A. Pronoun AgreementB. Pronoun CaseC. Pronoun ShiftD. Ambiguous PronounsE. Comparisons Using Pronouns

1. A. PRONOUN AGREEMENT

Pronouns must agree in number with noun Ernie (noun) He (pronoun).

1. A. PRONOUN AGREEMENT

Pronouns must agree in number with noun

1. A. PRONOUN AGREEMENT

Pronouns must agree in number with noun

1. B. PRONOUN CASE

Pronouns have different forms depending on their cases.

Subjective Case Pronouns

Objective Case Pronouns

Possessive Case Pronouns

I Me My, Mine

You You Your, Yours

He, She, It Him, Her, It His, Her, Hers

We Us Our, Ours

They Them Their, Theirs

Who Whom Whose

1. B. PRONOUN CASE

Pronouns have different forms depending on their cases.

1. B. PRONOUN CASE “ME VS. I”

Pronouns have different forms depending on their cases. The case of “me vs. I”

1. B. PRONOUN CASE “ME VS. MY”

Pronouns have different forms depending on their cases. The case of “me vs. my”

1. C. PRONOUN SHIFT

Pronoun shift occurs when the pronoun type changes over the course of the sentence.

1. D. AMBIGUOUS PRONOUN

A pronoun is called “ambiguous” when it’s not absolutely clear what the pronoun refers to.

1. E. COMPARISONS USING PRONOUNS When a pronoun is involved in a comparison,

it must match the case of the other pronoun involved:

2. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: ERROR TYPES

If you have a singular subject, you must use a singular verb. If you have a plural subject, you must use a plural verb.

A. When the subject comes after the verb.B. When the subject and verb are separated.C. When you have an either / or, or, neither /

nor construction. D. When the subject seems plural but isn’t.

2. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT:

Usually Subject precedes the verb Identify the subjects and verbs in this

sentence.

2. A. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: WHEN THE SUBJECT COMES AFTER THE VERB

Identify the subjects and verbs in this sentence.

2. B. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: SUBJECT AND VERB ARE SEPARATED

Identify the subjects and verbs in this sentence.

2. C. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: EITHER / OR AND NEITHER / NOR

Singular or plural subject?

2. D. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: WHEN SUBJECT SEEMS PLURAL BUT ISN’T

Singular subjects that seem plural

Anybody Either Audience Nobody

Anyone Group Each None

America Number Everybody No One

Amount Neither Everyone

2. D. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: WHEN SUBJECT SEEMS PLURAL BUT ISN’T

2. D. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: WHEN SUBJECT SEEMS PLURAL BUT ISN’T

3. TENSES: ERROR TYPES

A. Annoying verbsB. Illogical tense switchesC. The conditional

3. A. TENSES: ANNOYING VERBS

Examples: You LIE down for a nap. You LAY something down on the table. You LAY down yesterday. You SWIM across the English Channel. You SWAM across the Atlantic Ocean last

year. You had SWUM across the bathtub as a child. You DRINK a glass of water every morning. You DRANK a glass of water yesterday. You have DRUNK three gallons of water this

week.

3. A. TENSES: ANNOYING VERBS

3. B. TENSES: TENSE SWITCH

Handout on tenses.

3. C. TENSES: THE CONDITIONAL

To be: “If I were a good student, I would get good grades.”

use the correct conjugation: “If . . . were . . . would.”

4. PARALLELISM Parallelism in writing means that the different

components of a sentence start, continue, and end in the same way.

5. ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES

Adverbs are words used to describe verbs or other adverbs. Adverbs often end in –ly(breathlessly, angrily). I ate the spaghetti quickly.

Confusing Adverbs with Adjectives

5. A. ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES: CONFUSING ADVERBS WITH ADJECTIVES

Adverbs are words used to describe verbs or other adverbs. Adverbs often end in –ly(breathlessly, angrily). I ate the spaghetti quickly.

5. A. ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES: CONFUSING ADVERBS WITH ADJECTIVES

5. B. ADVERB OR ADJECTIVE MISUSE IN COMPARISONS

When you see a comparison or an implied comparison, check to make sure all of the adverbs and adjectives are used correctly

 Of the two cars I drive ,I like the Lamborghini

A B C

Diablo best .No error 

D

COMMON COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE MODIFIER FORMS

Adjective Comparative Modifier

Superlative Modifier

fast Faster fastest

big Bigger biggest

healthy healthier healthiest

tough tougher toughest

smart smarter smartest

good Better best

few Fewer fewest

different more different most different

luxurious more luxurious most luxurious

6. GERUNDS

A verb form that ends in –ing, such as prancing, divulging, stuffing, and so on.

 In my family Thanksgiving dinner usually

A

causes two or more family members to engage in a

B

screaming match, thus preventing the meal to be

C

completed . No error 

D

To keep your engine running in the freezing cold

A B

is a good way to keep the car’s C

interior warm and cozy. No error  D

7. IDIOMS, WRONG WORDS, AND DOUBLE NEGATIVES

7.A. Idiom A form of speech that is unique to itself, has its own

grammatical construction, and is usually pretty hard to understand just on its own.

• He can’t abide by the no-spitting rule.• Winona accused me of stealing.• I agreed to eat the rotten broccoli.• I apologized for losing the hamsters in the heating vent.• She applied for another credit card.• My mother pretends to approve of my boyfriend.

While the principal of the high school is relatively laid back, the

A B

vice principal is often accused to be too harsh with the students. No

C D

error 

7.B. WRONG WORDS

7.B.I WORDS THAT SOUND THE SAME BUT MEAN DIFFERENT

THINGS

• ALLUSION/ILLUSION• ALTERNATE/ALTERNATIVE• APPRAISE/APPRISE• BREATH/BREATHE• CONSCIENCE/CONSCIOUS/CONSCIENTIOUS• DESERT/DESSERT• EFFECT/AFFECT• EMINENT/IMMINENT• LOSE/LOOSE• PRINCIPAL/PRINCIPLE• STATIONARY/STATIONERY

7.B.II IMAGINARY WORDS AND PHRASES

A LOT/ALOT COULD’VE/COULD OF REGARDLESS/IRREGARDLESS SHOULD’VE/SHOULD OF SUPPOSED TO/SUPPOSE TO USED TO/USE TO ITS/IT’S THEIR/THEY’RE/THERE WHOSE/WHO’S YOUR/YOU’RE

7.B.III WHICH WORD WHEN?

NUMBER/AMOUNT FEWER/LESS AGGRAVATE/IRRITATE FAMOUS/INFAMOUS DISINTERESTED/UNINTERESTED

7.C. DOUBLE NEGATIVES

A double negative is a phrase that uses two negative words instead of one. Double negatives are used very effectively by people like Tony Soprano—“I don’t take nothin’ from nobody”

Hardly, barely, or scarcely

Katie can’t scarcely stand to wear her

A

running shoes without socks. No error. 

B C