Overview
This lecture covers all key SAT grammar question types, focusing on apostrophes, pronoun use, modifiers, and verb agreement/tense, outlining the core rules and strategies for each.
Apostrophes & Possession
- Apostrophes show possession and form contractions.
- For singular nouns, add 's (e.g., Juliana's cat).
- For singular nouns ending in s, use either s' or s's (e.g., James' cat or James's cat).
- For regular plural nouns ending in s, add just an apostrophe (e.g., cats' tails).
- For irregular plurals not ending in s, add 's (e.g., children's toys).
- For joint possession, only put an apostrophe on the last noun (e.g., Jim and Lucas's house).
- For individual possession, show possession for each noun (e.g., Maria's and Omar's cats).
- Apostrophes in contractions replace missing letters (e.g., I'm = I am).
- For pronouns, contractions take the apostrophe (it's = it is, its = possessive).
Pronouns & Antecedents
- The antecedent is the noun a pronoun replaces.
- Match the pronoun in number and type to its antecedent (singular/plural, person/thing).
- For possessive pronouns, remember: its = possessive, it's = it is; their = possessive, they're = they are; whose = possessive, who's = who is.
Modifiers & Misplaced Modifiers
- A modifier before a comma must describe the noun or subject immediately following the comma.
- The correct answer is the one where the modified noun comes directly after the comma.
Subject-Verb Agreement & Verb Tense
- Use the "odd verb out" trick: substitute "they" and "it" to identify if a verb is incorrectly singular or plural.
- If all verbs agree, check the tense by matching context (past, present, future) with the rest of the sentence.
- Use past perfect ("had done") when noting an action completed before another past action.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Apostrophe — punctuation mark showing possession or contractions.
- Antecedent — the noun or phrase a pronoun refers to.
- Modifier — descriptive phrase placed before a noun; must be next to what it describes.
- Subject-Verb Agreement — the subject and verb must match in number (singular/plural).
- Verb Tense — shows when an action happens (past, present, future).
- Contraction — a shortened form of words with omitted letters (e.g., don't = do not).
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review these core rules and practice identifying apostrophes, pronoun antecedents, proper modifiers, and verb tense/agreement in sample sentences.
- Complete any assigned practice problems or review related materials as prompted by your instructor.