SAT Sentence Structure & Punctuation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Choose the correct use of a colon.
- She needed three things: focus, time, and rest. (Correct answer)
- She needed three things, focus, time, and rest.
- She needed: three things focus, time, and rest.
- She needed three: things focus, time, and rest.
Correct answer: She needed three things: focus, time, and rest.
A colon follows a complete clause to introduce a list.
Question 2: Which sentence correctly uses a dash to set off a parenthetical element?
- The result—surprising to everyone—changed the study. (Correct answer)
- The result—surprising to everyone, changed the study.
- The result, surprising to everyone—changed the study.
- The result surprising—to everyone—changed the study.
Correct answer: The result—surprising to everyone—changed the study.
A matched pair of dashes correctly brackets the interrupting phrase.
Question 3: Identify the sentence fragment.
- Because the experiment failed twice. (Correct answer)
- The experiment failed twice.
- It failed twice.
- The experiment, which failed twice, was redone.
Correct answer: Because the experiment failed twice.
A dependent clause beginning with "because" cannot stand alone.
Question 4: Which choice corrects the run-on? "The museum was crowded we left early."
- crowded, so we (Correct answer)
- crowded we
- crowded, we
- crowded; we left, early
Correct answer: crowded, so we
Adding a comma and "so" properly joins the two clauses.
Question 5: Choose the correct possessive form: "The ___ decision affected the whole team." (one coach)
- coach's (Correct answer)
- coachs'
- coaches'
- coachs
Correct answer: coach's
A singular noun forms the possessive with apostrophe plus s.
Question 6: Which sentence places the modifier correctly?
- She nearly read the entire book in one night.
- She read nearly the entire book in one night. (Correct answer)
- She read the entire nearly book in one night.
- Nearly she read the entire book in one night.
Correct answer: She read nearly the entire book in one night.
"Nearly" should modify "the entire book," the amount she read.
Question 7: Which choice correctly punctuates the introductory element? "___ the team began the experiment."
- After the equipment arrived, (Correct answer)
- After the equipment arrived
- After, the equipment arrived
- After the equipment, arrived
Correct answer: After the equipment arrived,
An introductory dependent clause is followed by a comma.
SAT Sentence Structure & Punctuation 3
Choose the correct use of a colon.