GRAMMAR SECTION OVERVIEW - 紫铭SAT、TOEFL教师博客群

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GRAMMAR SECTION OVERVIEW

Identifying Sentence Errors questions, or Error IDs, are the quickest of the three question types on the writing section. As the name implies, your job is simply to find errors in grammar and usage. Every Error ID question presents a sentence with four underlined words or phrases. Below each underlined part will be a corresponding letter, A through D. At the end of each sentence will be an additional choice, "no error", corresponding to the letter E. You job is to identify whether the sentence actually contains an error, and, if so, which underlined word or phrase is ungrammatical. If there is no error, the correct answer choice is E (no error). A couple of important details about the error ID questions on the SAT:
•Each sentence contains either one error or no errors. No sentence contains more than one error.
•Answer choice E (no error) is correct on approximately 20 percent of the error ID questions.

Error ID Structure
There are 18 error ID questions on the SAT, and these should be done before the other question types on the writing section. Though these questions are not explicitly arranged by order of difficulty, they do tend to get harder as the section progresses. Like much of the SAT, the error ID questions are very conducive to an aggressive Process of Elimination . Once you have determined that an underlined section of a sentence is correct, eliminate it. Since you should be able to eliminate at least one letter on every error ID questions, you should answer all of the error ID questions on the SAT.
EXAMPLE 1:
Question:
Because eachA of the Identifying Sentence Errors sentences contain*** either one or zero errors, do not feel compelled toC identify an actual error onD every single question. No errorE Answer:
The above Error ID question contains no error; thus the credited response is E. B, the distracter answer (or "trick" answer), is actually correct, since the verb contains refers to the singular subject each .
Normally, your ear is an asset and friend on error ID questions. When you read each sentence quickly but carefully, an error will often "jump out" at you. When this happens, simply select the letter beneath the incorrect underlined portion of the sentence and move on. More often, however, an error will not be so easy to identify. When this happens, return to the underlined sections of the sentence and examine each one more carefully. Develop the habit of looking for the most common grammatical mistakes on the SAT (all of which will be discussed throughout this lesson). As you prove each underlined section correct, eliminate the corresponding letter as an answer choice. If you still cannot prove a grammatical error after examining each underlined section, choose E. A few things to remember:
•The SAT uses standard written English. Don't choose answers simply because they "sound weird". Sometimes, standard written English sounds different from the way we speak with our friends and family.
•Look for the most common grammatical mistakes (discussed throughout this lesson).
•If a sentence sounds really weird but you can't prove any grammatical errors in the underlined sections of the sentence, E is very possibly the correct response. Remember, the test makers are trying to trick you into choosing the incorrect answer. When there is actually no error, the only way to keep you from choosing E is to make the other parts of the sentence sound weird!

Process your Process
Developing a consistent process for each section of the SAT will greatly enhance your ability to answer each type of question correctly. Studying with XLPrep.com will help you get there. On the error ID questions, the process is as follows:
Step 1 : Read each sentence quickly but carefully. While you read, listen for obvious grammatical errors. If any obvious error exists, select the letter that corresponds to the error.
Step 2 : If you cannot identify an obvious grammatical error, examine each underlined section of the sentence. Look for the most common grammatical mistakes on the SAT, and eliminate any answer choices that you know are correct.
Step 3 : If you are unable to prove a grammatical error in any of the four underlined sections of the sentence, select E and move to the next question.
Become a Grammar Guy or Gal
The best way to excel on the error ID section is to become intimately familiar with the most commonly tested rules of grammar on the SAT. The remainder of this lesson will focus on these most important grammatical rules.
The Verb Verb Verb, The Verb Is The Word
Verbs are words that express an action or a state of being. Normally, they explain what the subject of the sentence is doing. On the SAT, verb errors most frequently occur in one of two ways: subject-verb agreement or verb tense.
Let's Agree To Agree
Learn It: The fundamental rule of subject-verb agreement is one that you learned in elementary school:
A singular subject takes a singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural verb.
With a rule so basic, how could the test makers possibly trick us into choosing an incorrect answer? Easily! In fact, the same types of subject-verb errors consistently repeat on the SAT because the test makers know these are the most difficult errors to identify: XLPrep.com is here to help you avoid these errors. Let's have a look at each type.
Eliminate the Middleman
Learn It: One of the oldest grammar tricks in the SAT book is to place the subject of a sentence "here" while putting the verb way over "there". The idea is that, by the time you reach the verb, you will have forgotten the proper subject. You job is to cut through the extra "stuff" in the sentence ý we'll call it the "Middleman" - and properly identify the noun that each verb is referring to.
EXAMPLE 2:
Question:
The responses given byA each of the accused criminals at the hearing wa*** so similar that the police believed the two men undoubtedlyC had conspiredD to commit a crime. No errorE
Answer:
It is very possible that no obvious error "jumped out" during your quick but careful read of the sentence ( Step 1 ). However, as you examine each underlined section of the sentence ( Step 2 ), you will recognize that the singular verb was refers back to the plural subject responses . Since B creates a provable error, it is the credited response for this question.
Hint: If you are having difficulty identifying the proper subject, find the verb and ask "who?" or "what?". For example, in the sentence above, identify the verb was and ask, "What was so similar?" The subject the responses is the answer.
Another common Middleman to look for is the word "of". The SAT often uses prepositional phrases beginning with "of" to separate the verb from its proper subject.
EXAMPLE 3:
Question:
The construction ofA tall skyscrapers in major cities haveB increased dramaticallyC increased duringD the past decade. No errorE
Answer:
Using your test to properly identify the subject, find the verb have increased and ask yourself, " what have increased?" In this case, the construction have increased. However, construction is a singular subject, so it must take the verb has increased. Since B makes a provable error in grammar, it is the credited response

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