SAT Grammar and Punctuation Practice Flashcards

Which choice most effectively combines the following two sentences? "The committee's findings were inconclusive. They were nonetheless published in the journal's special edition." (A) The committee's findings were inconclusive; they were nonetheless published in the journal's special edition. (B) The committee's findings were inconclusive, they were nonetheless published in the journal's special edition. (C) The committee's findings were inconclusive: they were nonetheless published in the journal's special edition. (D) The committee's findings were inconclusive, and nonetheless they were published in the journal's special edition.

Answer: The committee's findings were inconclusive; they were nonetheless published in the journal's special edition.

Choice A is correct. A semicolon properly joins two independent clauses that are closely related but contrast in meaning. Choice B creates a comma splice — a major error when joining two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction. Choice C uses a colon incorrectly; colons introduce explanations or lists that follow logically, but this sentence presents a contrast, not an elaboration. Choice D is grammatically passable but awkward — 'and nonetheless' is redundant because 'and' signals addition while 'nonetheless' signals contrast.

The physicist's lecture — which drew scholars from three continents — focused on the paradox that time, ______ its role as the universe's most fundamental dimension, remains poorly understood at the quantum level. (A) despite (B) regardless of (C) notwithstanding (D) even with

Answer: notwithstanding

Choice C, 'notwithstanding,' is correct. When used as a preposition immediately following the noun it modifies ('time, notwithstanding its role'), 'notwithstanding' functions in a postpositive construction that the SAT tests. 'Despite' and 'regardless of' require the prepositional phrase to precede or directly follow 'time' but sound natural only in different sentence constructions. 'Even with' is informal and imprecise. 'Notwithstanding its role' correctly indicates that despite time's role, it remains poorly understood — the postpositive placement is the advanced usage being tested here.

Read the following sentence and identify the error: "Each of the senators who voted against the bill have since reversed their positions, citing new economic data provided by the Federal Reserve's economists." (A) 'senators' should be 'senator' (B) 'have' should be 'has' (C) 'their' should be 'his or her' (D) 'economists'' should be 'economists's'

Answer: 'have' should be 'has'

Choice B is correct. The subject of the main verb is 'Each,' not 'senators.' 'Each' is always singular, regardless of the prepositional phrase ('of the senators') that follows. The verb must agree with 'Each,' so 'has' is required, not 'have.' The intervening relative clause ('who voted against the bill') and the prepositional phrase create a trap — students often anchor the verb to 'senators' instead of 'Each.' Choice C is tempting but modern SAT accepts 'their' as a singular gender-neutral pronoun. Choice D is wrong; 'economists'' is the correct plural possessive.

The following sentence contains an issue with modifier placement. Which revision corrects it? Original: "Having studied the manuscripts for decades, the authenticity of the documents was finally confirmed by the archivist." (A) Having studied the manuscripts for decades, the archivist finally confirmed the authenticity of the documents. (B) The archivist, having studied the manuscripts for decades, the authenticity of the documents was finally confirmed. (C) After decades of studying the manuscripts, the authenticity of the documents was finally confirmed by the archivist. (D) The authenticity of the documents, having been studied for decades, was finally confirmed by the archivist.

Answer: Having studied the manuscripts for decades, the archivist finally confirmed the authenticity of the documents.

Choice A is correct. The participial phrase 'Having studied the manuscripts for decades' is a dangling modifier in the original — it must directly precede the noun it modifies, and the one who studied the manuscripts is the archivist. In Choice A, the archivist immediately follows the comma, so the modifier correctly attaches to its logical subject. Choice B places 'the archivist' correctly but then creates a sentence without a main verb attached to the archivist. Choice C replaces the participial phrase with a prepositional phrase but still dangles it — 'the authenticity' didn't study anything. Choice D absurdly implies the documents studied themselves.

Which punctuation correctly completes the sentence below? "The treaty addressed three long-standing disputes______ fishing rights in the northern waters, tariff structures for imported goods, and the disputed border near the mountain range." (A) ; (B) — (C) : (D) ,

Answer: :

Choice C is correct. A colon is used to introduce a list or explanation that follows a grammatically complete independent clause. 'The treaty addressed three long-standing disputes' is a complete clause, and what follows is a list that directly explains those disputes. A semicolon (Choice A) joins two independent clauses — what follows the semicolon here is not an independent clause. A dash (Choice B) can introduce a list but is stylistically informal; the SAT prefers colons in formal writing when introducing a formal list after a complete clause. A comma (Choice D) is too weak to formally introduce a list that elaborates on a preceding complete clause.

In the sentence below, which underlined portion contains an error? "The board of directors, [A] along with its three newly appointed advisors, [B] were unanimous in [C] their decision to postpone [D] the merger indefinitely." (A) A (B) B (C) C (D) D

Answer: B — 'were' should be 'was'

Choice B is correct: 'were' should be 'was.' The subject is 'The board of directors,' which is a collective noun treated as singular in American English. The phrase 'along with its three newly appointed advisors' is a parenthetical modifier set off by commas — it does not change the subject or make it plural. Therefore, the verb must be singular: 'was unanimous.' This is a classic SAT trap where an intervening prepositional or participial phrase makes the plural noun ('advisors') feel like the subject. Choice A is actually correct — 'its' properly refers to the singular 'board.' Choice C 'their' is also acceptable as a plural reference to the board members collectively in context.