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SAT Grammar Cheat SheetRemember, when parsing grammar, find the main verb first. Then, you can branch out to find the other parts of a sentence by asking the following questions:Sentence: “He threw his friend a party.”To find the subject: “Who’s doing the verb?””Who’s throwing?””He”To find the direct object: “Threw what” “a party.”To find the indirect object: “To whom or to what” “his friend”Parallel StructureIn lists and with compound subjects/verbs/direct objects keep parallel structure by keeping the verbs and items consistent:All gerunds: I like skiing, reading, and listening to musicAll infinitives: I went to ski, to watch a movie, and to have a meal.Verb tense: I bought a new bike and saw a movie with a friend.Colons: 63500037211000065405022098000654050140843000Semicolons9144002527935Quotation marks Apostrophe Types of phrases (phrase: group of words with either a noun or a verb but not both)Appositive: 6794509779068580015748000Participial phraseVerbadjectivePresent participle: add ~ing to a verb: crycryingcrying babyPast Participle: add ~nt,~nd,~ed: fallfallenfallen leavesParticiples must stand as close as possible to the noun it modifies. Be aware of the dangling participle:Wrong: Walking through the woods, the birds chirped loudly.Correct: Walking through the woods, I heard the birds chirp loudly. Gerund phraseVerbnounAdd ~ing:Reading is my favorite past time (subject of the sentence)I like reading (direct object of the verb like)I came from playing basketball (object of the preposition from)Infinitive phraseTo + a verbTo run, to play, to readTo hit the ball well (whole phrase)Do not split the infinitive: to happily runto run happily.Prepositional phrase (do not end a sentence with a preposition. You can use a clause word to shift the preposition to the middle of the sentence: He is the friend with whom I went to the party.This is the time by which you must arrive at the party.Clauses (group of words with a subject and a predicate. Independent clause will form a complete thought—synonym of complete sentence; dependent clause will not for a complete thought)Subordinate clauseAdjective clauseThat: for objects (essential clause, no commas)Which: for objects (nonessential clause, commas)Who: for people. Subjective case.Whom: for people. Objective caseWhose: for people. Possessive. To determine when to use who or whom.Subjective personal pronouns: I, we, he, she, they, it, you.Objective personal pronouns: me, us, him, her, it, you. When you come across a who/whom, ask the question. Begin with who and use the language in the sentence. Then, hypothetically answer the question using a personal pronoun. If you need to use a subjective personal pronoun, then you need to use “who.” If you use an objective personal pronoun, then you need to use “whom.”Example: “A person who is born in the US will become a US citizen.”“Who is born?””She is”subjective pronoun was used, so use “who.”Example: “The person whom he liked sat over there.”“Who did he like?”He liked himobjective pronoun was used, so use “whom.”Essential/Nonessential clauses and phrasesIf you remove essential clauses and phrases, you change the fundamental meaning of the sentence.“All books that are damaged go in these boxes.”If you remove nonessential clauses and phrases, you do not change the fundamental meaning of the sentence.“Spaghetti, which I like best, is on the menu.”Essential clauses and phrases DO NOT get commas.Nonessential clauses and phrases DO get commas. AgreementPronoun-Antecedent agreementAntecedent: the word replaced by the pronouns.“My friend is Bill. I gave him a present.”“Bill” is the antecedent. “Him” is the pronoun.Singular antecedents get singular pronouns.Plural antecedents get plural pronouns. Subject Verb agreementSingular subjects get singular verbsPlural subjects get plural verbs CommasBe aware of the comma splice. Commas cannot connect two independent clauses.Coordinating adjectives/Cumulative adjectives (when to place commas between adjectives)Coordinating: Adjectives in a row that each separately and equally modify the noun that follows: “The long, winding road.” Use a comma.If you replace the comma with “and,” the sentence still makes sense.The long and winding road.If you switch the order, the sentence still makes sense.The winding, long road. Cumulative: The adjectives build on each other: “beautiful custom houseboat.” No commas.“custom” modifies “houseboat.” “custom houseboat” now becomes a unit.“beautiful” modifies that unit “custom houseboat.”Cannot place “and” between them. Cannot switch the order. Examples:Coordinating: I see a brown haired, blue eyed singer on stage.Cumulative: We ate two oversized pancakes for breakfast.Coordinating: The spoiled, fat cats lazed in the sun.Cumulative: Their tasteful ten-foot camping tents were assembled easily. Active/Passive voice.Active: Carson threw the ball.The doer of the action, Carson, is the subject of the sentence, in front of the verb.Passive: The ball was thrown by Carson.The doer of the action, Carson, is not the subject, buried at the end of the sentence.Avoid passive voice, because it can make sentences wordy and awkward. Red flag for passive voice:A to-be verb (is are, was, were, be, being, been) next to an action verb, AND the doer of the action after the verb.The song was sung by Neil.To be verb “was” is next to an action verb “sung.” The doer of the action, “Neil,” is after the verb. Passive voice.He is running.To be verb “is” is next to an action verb “running,” but the doer of the verb, “He” is in front of the verb. NOT passive voice. This is the present progressive tense. 299593029210000Verb tenseslefttopConjunctionsCoordinating conjunctions. FANBOYS.For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, SoUsed to join two independent clauses. Preceded by a commas.“I like pizza, and I like pastrami sandwiches.”“I don’t like cheese, but I like cheese fries.”Correlative conjunctions: used in pairs.Either…orNeither…norBoth…andNot only…but alsoConjunctive adverbHowever, consequently, therefore, nevertheless, moreover, otherwise.Preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma.“I wanted to go the movie; however, I was broke.”“The mechanic has a manual for most vehicles; otherwise, he would not have the necessary information he needs to fix cars.”“We have been friends for years; nevertheless, I feel at times you don’t understand me.”ListsUse a comma to separate items in a list:I like chicken wings, pastrami, and ribs.Use a semicolon to separate items in a list that also contains commas:I lived in Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Voorhees, New Jersey; and Fukui City, Japan.Using Etcetera:When in the middle of a sentence, use a comma:“Tennis, soccer, baseball, etc., are outdoor games.”“He bought some apples, oranges, grapefruits, etc., for his fruit salad.”When at the end of the sentence, just use a period.“I wanted to play basketball, football, soccer, etc.” No “and” before paratives and SuperlativesComparatives compare two items.She is smarter than he is.He is the stronger of the two.This is more valuable than that is.Be aware of comparatives that don’t use “than.”He is different from me. Superlatives are used for more than two items.He is the most handsome.469128299891She is the smartest of the three.58381021102Combining sentencesReduce clauses to phrases, single words, prepositional phrases.Participial phrasesAppositivesAdjective clause (that, which, who, whom, whose)Subordinate clause (after, although, as, because, since, so that, unless, when, whenever, in order to) Commonly confused words/ idiomsFurther: figurative distance “I will get further annoyed if you don’t put your phones away.”Farther: physical distance “He ran farther than she did.” Actual distance traveled.Less: Not countable There is less water in this tank than that one.Fewer: CountableI have fewer pencils that she does.Among: for more than two itemsPass this out among the studentsBetween: for only two itemsPut the chair between you and me.Then: for time I went to the store. Then I went to the bank. Than: for comparisons I am taller than she is.Affect: verb. This affects me poorly.Effect: noun. The bad effects of cigarettes are widely known. Lie/LayLogical comparisonsWhere to place sentences logically, keep/delete sentences, etc.Have a strategy:Look for transitional wordsLook for any pronouns or antecedents that connect to other sentencesConsider the content.SkimDon’t just read quickly. Skimming means that you land on key words in sentences—usually nouns and verbs. Your eyes will glance over all the words, but only land on key words. Doing so will enable you to get the main idea. Consider this passage. I highlighted words I used when skimming.Czech novelist Milan Kundera cited Tolstoy as the last novelist who could?be possessing?the sum of his era's human knowledge. This may seem like an odd claim. Some people may be very intelligent, others may be know-it-alls, but is it really possible to know everything? A book like War and Peace makes the case that it is possible to know it all, or at least that it was possible,?alongside Tolstoy's other great novels and non-fiction writings.?Shakespeare?seemed to have?an emotional vocabulary that was advanced for his age, but Tolstoy lived in?an era of facts and discoveries,?and his novels show the fruits of his vast study. It is frankly conceivable that a man with Tolstoy's leisure, intelligence, and curiosity?learns about his age's most current findings in literature, politics, religion, and science.Main ideas: Tolstoy knows a lot, knowing facts vs. emotional knowledge, intelligence. ................
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