SAT Writing : Correcting Word Usage Errors
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Example Questions
Example Question #182 : Improving Sentences
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Unlike his contemporaries, the painter sticking closely to shapes that could exist in reality.
the painter stuck closely
the painter sticking close
the painter sticking closely
a painter sticking closely
the painter sticking closer
the painter stuck closely
The use of the verb form "sticking," a past participle," makes the action of the sentence unclear, as such forms usually need an extra verb to clarify the action. The verb form should be change to an active tense. Thus, "the painter stuck closely" is the correct answer choice.
Example Question #571 : Correcting Word Usage Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
The girls having a party commemorating the end of the school year.
The girls are having a party
The girls having the party
The girls having party
The girls having some party
The girls having a party
The girls are having a party
The sentence as constructed does not actually contain a verb. "Having" in this sentence is the present participle, which always needs a form of the verb "to be." In this sentence, the appropriate form is "are," the plural form, making "The girls are having a party" the correct answer.
Example Question #101 : Correcting Verb Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
The battalion marching towards the battlefield on their way to the conflict.
The battalion marching towards the battlefield on there way to the conflict.
The battalion marching towards the battlefield on their way to the conflict.
The battalion marching towards the battlefield on their way against the conflict.
The battalion marches towards the battlefield on their way to the conflict.
The battalion marching toward the battlefield on their way to the conflict.
The battalion marches towards the battlefield on their way to the conflict.
The use of "marching" makes the sentence not have a verb, as the participle form always needs some form of the verb "to be" used immediately before it to make it a complete verb. (For example, it's not grammatically correct to say "The fish swimming across the lake." Anyone who heard this might ask, "The fish swimming across the lake did what?" since "swimming" is a participle—a verb acting like an adjective. Instead, the correct way to say this would be, "The fish was swimming across the lake," or, alternatively, use a different verb form altogether, such as "The fish swam across the lake." To correct the problem's sentence, either the participle "marching" needs to be preceded by some form of the verb "to be," or it should be changed to some other form than the present participle to avoid functioning as an adjective and instead clearly function as the sentence's verb. The only answer choice that uses either of these options is "The battalion marches towards the battlefield on their way to the conflict."
Example Question #813 : Psat Writing Skills
Issues began cropping up as soon as the new software was introduced, having angering consumers who bought the initial run of the product.
having anger consumers
having angry consumers
having angering consumers
have angering consumers
angering consumers
angering consumers
"Having angering" is a universally incorrect construction, and needs to be made appropriate grammatically. The -ing verb form following a comma that ends a complete thought is a participial modifier, which modifies the result of that clause. Here the result of "issues began cropping up" is that consumers became angry (at those issues). Using "angering" as the modifier, then, makes complete sense: the issues angered the consumers, so "angering consumers" properly uses a participial modifier to describe the effect of the action that takes place before the comma. "angering consumers" is correct.
Example Question #2101 : Correcting Grammatical Errors
For a long time, the man having issues with his wife that they could not resolve.
the man having issues
the man having had issues
the man has issues
the man had issues
the man have issues
the man had issues
The use of the patriciple form "having" is incorrect in the sentence, as the participle cannot stand on its own as the verb of the sentence. The word needs to be changed, and must match the later use of the past tense construction "that they could not." The correct answer, therefore, is "the man had issues."
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