PSAT Writing : Identifying Phrase, Clause, and Sentence Errors
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Rebecca likes to spend time with her son by participating in his activities, like riding bikes, playing video games and she watches his favorite movies. No error
No error
in
she watches
with her son
likes to
she watches
In the list of activities that Rebecca participates in with her son, two items are gerunds, or verbs being used as nouns ("riding" and "playing"), whereas "she watches" is a noun and a verb. Therefore, "she watches" does not fit with the parallel structure of the list, and should instead be changed to "watching."
Example Question #11 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
In her art class, Gina learned how to paint, photograph moving subjects, and molding sculptures. No error
photograph
molding
No error
her
how to
molding
It is important for a sentence containing a list to employ correct parallelism, which means that listed items should take on the same grammatical form. The first two items in the list are infinitives (Gina learned "to paint" and "photograph"). Therefore, “molding” should be changed to the infinitive "mold" so that it matches the other two infinitives in the list.
Example Question #5 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Las Vegas offers its visitors dozens of forms of entertainment, including incredible shows, themed casinos, and they can dance in the evening at clubs. No error
its
themed
they can dance in the evening at clubs
No error
forms of
they can dance in the evening at clubs
It is important for a sentence to have parallelism, which means that listed items take on the same grammatical form. Here, the first two listed items are nouns (incredible shows, themed casinos). Therefore, the third item should also be a noun. However, “they can dance” is an independent clause formed by a noun and a verb, and therefore it is incorrect. Instead, it should be replaced with a noun, as in, "clubs at which they can dance."
Example Question #1 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The children at the summer camp spent their days canoeing, horseback riding, and learned wilderness survival skills. No error
No error
their
horseback
at the
learned
learned
It is important for a sentence to employ correct parallelism, which means that listed items should take on the same grammatical form. The first two items in the sentence's list are gerunds ("canoeing" and "horseback riding"), so the last item, “learned wilderness survival skills,” should be changed to a gerund, "learning wilderness survival skills," to correct the sentence's error.
Example Question #2 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Sarah did many things at the mall, including buying several pairs of socks, eating in the food court, and fun. No error
No error
at the mall, including
several pairs of socks
fun
eating
fun
The issue in this sentence is parallel construction. Each item in a list must be formatted in the same way, but in this sentence, two of these items are gerunds ("buying" and "eating") and the third is a noun ("fun"). So, "fun" contains the sentence's error. The sentence could be corrected by changing "fun" to "having fun."
Example Question #1 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Clark bought a leather jacket, learned to ride a motorcycle, and listens to classic rock so that Jess would find him attractive and start talking to him. No error
to ride
No error
listens
attractive
talking
listens
This sentence contains is an error in parallelism. The sentence lists three things that the subject, Clark, did:
1. bought a leather jacket
2. learned to ride a motorcycle
3. listens to classic rock
These three phrases must have parallel structure. The first two phrases start with past-tense verbs, "bought" and "learned," so the last phrase should start with a past tense verb too. That means that to correct the sentence, "listens" should be changed to "listened."
Example Question #1 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, who was the twenty-sixth president of the United States, enjoyed skinny-dipping, hiking, and wrote about history. No error
skinny-dipping
wrote
No error
enjoyed
who
wrote
This sentence's error is faulty parallelism. The first two of the three things listed as Roosevelt's hobbies are presented in the form of gerunds, verbs that end ing "-ing" and act as nouns. The third hobby should follow the previous examples and be written as "writing about history" instead of "wrote about history."
Example Question #10 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Winning $10,000 would help Cherie build her cupcake business by providing the funds she needs for ingredients, rent, and to afford publicity. No error
help
by
winning
No error
to afford publicity
to afford publicity
This sentence has an error in parallelism.
Here, the money Cherie would win would provide funding for three things: ingredients, rent, and publicity. Imagine the sentence this way:
"Winning $10,000 would help Cherie build her cupcake business by providing the funds she needs for [ingredients], [rent], and [to afford publicity]."
The three objects at the end of the sentence are what she needs funding for, so try expanding the sentence to see if it makes sense:
"providing the funds she needs for ingredients, (for) rent, and (for) to afford publicity."
The final prepositional phrase isn't necessary, since "for" already applies to "publicity." Instead, only the noun "publicity" is needed, as the other two objects are nouns, as well. The correct sentence should be:
"Winning $10,000 would help Cherie build her cupcake business by providing the funds she needs for ingredients, rent, and publicity."
Example Question #11 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Neither Betsy or Sofia could remember how to get to the Indian restaurant, so they had to go home and look up directions. No error
or
could remember
had to go home
restaurant, so
No error
or
This sentence makes a mistake in parallelism. The conjunction that correctly goes with the conjunction "neither" is "nor," not "or." "Either" and "or" are used together, and "neither" and "nor" are used together. The rest of the sentence is correct as is.
Example Question #92 : Identifying Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Important things to remember when adding fractions include creating a common denominator and reduce. No error
to remember
when adding
reduce
No error
include
reduce
The forms of verbs used in a list need to agree for the sentence to use proper parallelism. Because the sentence begins its list of two items with "creating," "reduce" should be changed to "reducing" in order to match the form of "creating." So, the corrected sentence would read, "Important things to remember when adding fractions include creating a common denominator and reducing."
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