Grade: Grade 11 Subject: English Language Arts Unit: Advanced Grammar SAT: StandardEnglishConventions ACT: English

Grammar Deep Dive

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Standard English Conventions

The SAT and ACT test your knowledge of Standard English Conventions—the grammar, punctuation, and usage rules that govern formal written English. This lesson covers the most frequently tested concepts at an advanced level.

Subject-Verb Agreement: Complex Cases

While basic agreement is straightforward, tests focus on tricky situations:

Situation Rule Example
Intervening phrases Ignore phrases between subject and verb "The box of chocolates is on the table." (box is, not chocolates are)
Inverted sentences Find the true subject "Among the ruins stands a single column." (column stands)
Compound subjects with "or"/"nor" Verb agrees with closer subject "Neither the students nor the teacher was prepared."
Collective nouns Usually singular (the group acts as one) "The committee has reached its decision."
Indefinite pronouns Each, everyone, nobody = singular; few, many = plural "Everyone has a responsibility." "Few were chosen."

Pronoun Agreement and Reference

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and gender.

  • Wrong: "Each student should bring their book." (each = singular)
  • Correct: "Each student should bring his or her book." OR "All students should bring their books."

Ambiguous Pronoun Reference

It must be clear which noun a pronoun refers to.

  • Ambiguous: "When Sarah met Maria, she was nervous." (Who was nervous?)
  • Clear: "Sarah was nervous when she met Maria."

Verb Tense Consistency

Maintain consistent tense unless there's a logical reason to shift.

Issue Incorrect Correct
Unnecessary shift "She walked to the store and buys milk." "She walked to the store and bought milk."
Sequence of tenses "He said that he is tired." "He said that he was tired."
Conditional mood "If I was rich, I will travel." "If I were rich, I would travel."

Punctuation: Commas

Essential Comma Rules

  1. Items in a series: "red, white, and blue"
  2. After introductory elements: "However, the data suggests..."
  3. Before coordinating conjunctions joining independent clauses: "She studied hard, and she passed the exam."
  4. Around nonessential (nonrestrictive) elements: "My brother, who lives in Boston, is visiting."
  5. NO comma before essential (restrictive) elements: "The student who studied hardest won." (no commas)

Restrictive vs. Nonrestrictive

Restrictive (essential): Identifies which one; no commas. "Students who study hard succeed."

Nonrestrictive (extra info): Adds information but isn't essential; use commas. "My sister, who is a doctor, gave advice."

Test: If you can remove it without changing the essential meaning, use commas.

Punctuation: Semicolons and Colons

Semicolon (;)

  • Joins two independent clauses without a conjunction: "She studied all night; she passed the exam."
  • Separates items in a list when items contain commas: "We visited Paris, France; London, England; and Rome, Italy."

Colon (:)

  • Introduces a list, explanation, or elaboration after an independent clause: "She had one goal: winning."
  • Must follow a complete sentence: NOT "The colors are: red, blue, green."
  • Correct: "The colors are as follows: red, blue, and green." OR "The colors are red, blue, and green."

Sentence Structure: Fragments and Run-ons

Sentence Fragment

A fragment lacks a subject, a verb, or doesn't express a complete thought.

  • Fragment: "Because she was tired."
  • Complete: "She went to bed because she was tired."

Run-on Sentence (Comma Splice)

Two independent clauses joined incorrectly.

  • Run-on: "She studied hard, she passed."
  • Fix 1 (period): "She studied hard. She passed."
  • Fix 2 (semicolon): "She studied hard; she passed."
  • Fix 3 (comma + conjunction): "She studied hard, and she passed."
  • Fix 4 (subordination): "Because she studied hard, she passed."

Modifier Placement

Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

Modifiers should be placed next to what they modify.

  • Dangling: "Walking through the park, the flowers were beautiful." (Flowers weren't walking)
  • Correct: "Walking through the park, I noticed the beautiful flowers."
  • Misplaced: "She served sandwiches to the guests on paper plates." (Guests on plates?)
  • Correct: "She served sandwiches on paper plates to the guests."

Parallelism

Parallel Structure

Items in a series or comparison should have the same grammatical form.

  • Not parallel: "She likes swimming, to run, and biking."
  • Parallel: "She likes swimming, running, and biking."
  • Not parallel: "The coach told us to work hard and that we should practice daily."
  • Parallel: "The coach told us to work hard and to practice daily."

Commonly Confused Words

Words Distinction
its / it's its = possessive; it's = it is
their / there / they're their = possessive; there = place; they're = they are
who / whom who = subject; whom = object (whom did you see?)
affect / effect affect = verb (usually); effect = noun (usually)
less / fewer less = uncountable; fewer = countable items
between / among between = two items; among = three or more

đź’ˇ Examples

Example 1: Subject-Verb Agreement

Question: Choose the correct verb: "The collection of rare stamps (is/are) valuable."

Answer: is

The subject is "collection" (singular), not "stamps." The prepositional phrase "of rare stamps" doesn't change the subject's number.

Example 2: Pronoun Reference

Question: Correct this sentence: "When the manager met with the employee, he was concerned about the deadline."

Problem: "He" is ambiguous—could refer to manager or employee.

Correction: "When the manager met with the employee, the manager was concerned about the deadline." OR "The manager, concerned about the deadline, met with the employee."

Example 3: Comma Usage

Question: Add commas where needed: "The scientist who discovered the cure received an award."

Answer: No commas needed

"Who discovered the cure" is restrictive—it identifies which scientist. It's essential information, so no commas. Compare: "Dr. Smith, who discovered the cure, received an award." (Here, Dr. Smith already identifies the person, so the clause is nonrestrictive.)

Example 4: Fixing a Run-on

Question: Fix this sentence: "The experiment failed, the researchers tried again."

This is a comma splice. Options:

  • "The experiment failed. The researchers tried again."
  • "The experiment failed; the researchers tried again."
  • "The experiment failed, so the researchers tried again."
  • "After the experiment failed, the researchers tried again."

Example 5: Parallelism

Question: Correct this sentence: "The job requires attention to detail, working independently, and a positive attitude."

Problem: Mixed forms—noun phrase, gerund phrase, noun phrase.

Options:

  • All nouns: "The job requires attention to detail, independence, and a positive attitude."
  • All gerunds: "The job requires paying attention to detail, working independently, and maintaining a positive attitude."

✏️ Practice

Test your grammar knowledge with these SAT/ACT-style questions.

Problem 1: Choose the correct verb: "Neither the teacher nor the students (was/were) prepared for the fire drill."

Problem 2: Identify the error: "Each of the participants were given a certificate."

Problem 3: Fix the dangling modifier: "After finishing the assignment, the TV was turned on."

Problem 4: Choose the correct punctuation: "The museum has three sections: ancient art modern art and contemporary art."

Problem 5: Fix the pronoun error: "Everyone should bring their own lunch to the picnic."

Problem 6: Correct the parallelism: "The candidate promised to lower taxes, creating jobs, and that she would improve schools."

Problem 7: Choose the correct word: "The decision will (affect/effect) thousands of employees."

Problem 8: Fix the comma splice: "The concert was sold out, we couldn't get tickets."

Problem 9: Add commas if needed: "My brother who lives in Chicago is visiting next week."

Problem 10: Choose the correct pronoun: "Between you and (I/me), I think she's wrong."

Click to reveal answers
  1. were — With "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the closer subject (students = plural).
  2. Error: "were" should be "was" — "Each" is singular, requiring "was given."
  3. "After finishing the assignment, I turned on the TV." — The subject doing the finishing must appear right after the comma.
  4. "The museum has three sections: ancient art, modern art, and contemporary art." — Items in a series need commas.
  5. "Everyone should bring his or her own lunch" OR rewrite: "All participants should bring their own lunches."
  6. "The candidate promised to lower taxes, to create jobs, and to improve schools." — All infinitives.
  7. affect — "Affect" is usually the verb; "effect" is usually the noun.
  8. "The concert was sold out, so we couldn't get tickets." OR use semicolon or period.
  9. Depends on meaning. If you have only one brother: "My brother, who lives in Chicago, is visiting" (nonrestrictive). If you have multiple brothers: "My brother who lives in Chicago is visiting" (restrictive, identifying which one).
  10. me — "Between" is a preposition requiring the object form "me," not the subject form "I."

âś… Check Your Understanding

Question 1: How do you determine subject-verb agreement when there's a phrase between the subject and verb?

Show answer

Mentally remove or ignore the intervening phrase (usually a prepositional phrase) to find the true subject. The verb must agree with that subject, not with nouns in the intervening phrase. Example: "The box [of chocolates] is..." — "box" is singular, so use "is," not "are."

Question 2: What's the difference between a comma splice and proper comma usage with a conjunction?

Show answer

A comma splice uses only a comma to join two independent clauses: "I ran, I won." This is incorrect. Proper usage adds a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so): "I ran, and I won." A comma alone cannot join two complete sentences.

Question 3: How do you identify a dangling modifier?

Show answer

A dangling modifier doesn't logically connect to the subject that follows it. Check: Does the subject right after the comma actually perform the action in the modifier? "Walking through the park, the flowers bloomed." Flowers can't walk—this dangles. "Walking through the park, I admired the flowers." I can walk—this is correct.

Question 4: When should you use a semicolon versus a colon?

Show answer

Semicolon: Joins two independent clauses (complete sentences) that are closely related but don't have a conjunction. Each side must be able to stand alone. Colon: Introduces something (a list, explanation, or elaboration) that follows an independent clause. What comes before the colon must be a complete sentence; what comes after doesn't have to be.

🚀 Next Steps

  • Review any concepts that felt challenging
  • Move on to the next lesson when ready
  • Return to practice problems periodically for review