The digital SAT's Reading and Writing section contains questions that test your knowledge of grammar and writing style. By learning the grammar rules that are tested on SAT Reading and Writing, you'll be preparing yourself to do exceptionally well on this section, and you'll be one step closer to achieving your target score.
In this article, I'll explain the most important SAT grammar rules and provide related examples from the official practice tests.
How to Use This Guide
The SAT Writing and Language section contains 54 questions in total. About 12 to 15 of the questions on the digital SAT will relate to punctuation and/or grammar. Based on the content of the practice tests released by the College Board, many of these grammatical rules are likely to be tested on every SAT.
In this guide, I'll provide explanations and examples for the grammar rules that are tested most often on the digital SAT. Each of the practice questions comes from Khan Academy, which is a great resource to learn about different concepts tested on every section of the SAT.
The Grammar Rules You Must Know for the Digital SAT
Here are the nine SAT grammar rules that you need to learn and understand before test day.
#1: Keep Verb Tenses Consistent
The general rule regarding verb consistency is that verbs should remain consistent in tense or form throughout a sentence. Here's an example of a consistency error:
Last week, Frank rented a car and drives to Las Vegas.
The verb "drives" should be in the past tense. Not only should "drives" be consistent with the past tense "rented," but also the phrase "Last week" indicates that this was something that happened in the past. This is the corrected version of the sentence:
Last week, Frank rented a car and drove to Las Vegas.
Also, on the SAT, the verb tenses of surrounding sentences can provide context clues for the proper tense to use in a given sentence to maintain consistency. Here's another example of a consistency error:
Trenton lives in a rural area. He enjoyed the peace and quiet.
The shift from the present tense "lives" to the past tense "enjoyed" doesn't make sense in context. Here is a corrected version of the sentence:
Trenton lives in a rural area. He enjoys the peace and quiet.
SAT Example
In this example, the simple present tense "cover" is the standard way to express statements of fact. Simple present tense also corresponds with the tense of the other verbs in the passage like "use" and "capture". Therefore, the correct answer is A.
#2: Subjects and Verbs Must Agree
Subjects and verbs must agree, meaning that you must use the singular form of a verb with a singular subject and the plural form of a verb with a plural subject. Here's an example:
Incorrect: High school students loves learning grammar rules.
Correct: High school students love learning grammar rules.
If the verb is in the present tense and the subject is in the third person (he/she/it/they), the verb usually ends in "s" in the singular form and doesn't in the plural form. In the example sentence, the subject is "students," which is plural; therefore the verb should be in the plural form.
On the SAT, subject verb agreement questions can be more difficult because there may be a phrase separating the subject from the verb. Check out this example:
Incorrect: The members of the committee meets every Tuesday.
Correct: The members of the committee meet every Tuesday.
The subject of the sentence is "members," which is plural. Therefore, the verb should be in the plural form. The prepositional phrase "of the committee" separates the subject from the verb. If a verb is underlined on the SAT, make sure that you identify the subject that corresponds with that verb to ensure that the subject and verb agree. Also, keep in mind that a subject can never be part of a prepositional phrase.
SAT Example
To determine if there's a subject verb agreement error, we have to identify the subject that corresponds with the verb "skimps." What rarely skimps? The restaurants. The subject, restaurants, is plural, therefore the verb phrase must also be plural. "Skimps," "is" and "has" are also singular forms; only option B, with "skimp" is plural. Therefore, Choice B is the correct answer.
#3: Pronouns Must Agree With Their Antecedents in Number
This rule means that a plural pronoun must refer to a plural noun and a singular pronoun must refer to a singular noun. Here's an example of a pronoun number agreement error:
Kristin sold their car.
The pronoun "their" is referring to the car of Kristin. Because Kristin is one person and "their" is a plural pronoun, this sentence has a pronoun agreement error. This is the corrected version:
Kristin sold her car.
SAT Example
In this example, the antecedent, jurors, is plural. Therefore, the pronoun must also be plural. "Him," "her," and "it" are all singular. "Them" is plural, therefore, Choice B is the correct answer.
#4: Use Apostrophes Correctly to Form Plurals
To make a plural noun that doesn't own anything, add s to the end of a singular noun. You do not use an apostrophe to create plural nouns:
Error: Every morning, many hawk’s circled the field, looking for prey.
Fix: Every morning, many hawks circled the field, looking for prey.
To make a possessive plural noun, add an apostrophe to the end of a plural noun:
Art Deco furniture is marked by the artist’s use of geometric shapes, curves, strong colors, and new materials, such as plastics.
SAT Example
"Advisor" is not plural, but it is possessive, so it needs an apostrophe before the "s." "Talents" is plural, but not possessive, so it needs an "s" at the end with no apostrophe. Choice C is correct because it follows these guidelines.
#5: Use Apostrophes Correctly to Form Possessives
The SAT tests you on how to use apostrophes to correctly form possessives. Luckily, the rules for forming possessives are pretty straightforward. If the word is singular or plural but doesn't end in "s," then you add an "s" after the apostrophe to form a possessive. Here are a couple of examples:
I shall be paying a visit to the men's restroom.
My computer's monitor is rather dirty.
To create a possessive for a plural word that does end in "s," just add an apostrophe after the "s." Check it out:
Juan thinks his parents' rules are too strict.
Also, only use apostrophes for possessives or contractions. Contractions are formed when you combine two words. Examples include it's (it is), don't (do not), and isn't (is not). Don't use apostrophes to create plural nouns.
SAT Example
In this example, "poems" is plural, not possessive, and "novel" is possessive (as it's Batista's novel) but not plural. Therefore, "poems" shouldn't have an apostrophe, but "novels" should have one before the "s." Answer Choice D is correct because it makes "poems" plural and "novel's" possessive.
#6: Surround Non-Restrictive Clauses and Appositives With Commas or Dashes
The SAT tests a number of comma rules, and these are two that you need to know.
Relative Clauses: Restrictive vs. Non-Restrictive
Relative clauses are dependent clauses that describe a noun and start with a relative pronoun or adverb like "who," "that," "which," or "where." The basic rule is that restrictive clauses shouldn't be surrounded by commas or dashes and non-restrictive clauses should be.
What's a Restrictive Clause?
Restrictive clauses are necessary to the meaning of the sentence. You can't take a restrictive clause out of a sentence without effectively changing the meaning of the sentence. Here's an example:
Students who read regularly are prepared for the SAT.
If you remove the clause "who read regularly," the meaning of the sentence would be substantially changed. You'd be left with "Students are prepared for the SAT." Because you can't remove the clause without changing the meaning of the sentence, this clause shouldn't be surrounded by commas.
What's a Non-Restrictive Clause?
A non-restrictive clause isn't essential to the meaning of the sentence. If you got rid of the clause, you'd have less information, but the overall meaning of the sentence would remain the same. Non-restrictive clauses are bookended by commas. Here's an example sentence with the non-restrictive clause underlined.
Joe's parents, who constantly call him, are very overprotective.
The clause "who constantly call him" adds more information about Joe's parents, but if it were removed, the meaning of the sentence would be the same. There would be less information about Joe's parents, but they would still be described as overprotective. This is what the sentence looks like after removing the non-restrictive clause:
Joe's parents are very overprotective.
What Is an Appositive?
An appositive is a descriptive phrase that doesn't include a verb. Similar to a non-restrictive clause, an appositive can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. Here's an example with the appositive underlined:
Val, a Wisconsin native, loves fried cheese curds.
If we get rid of the appositive, the sentence still has the same meaning:
Val loves fried cheese curds.
Fried cheese curds are rather delicious.
Kirk K/flickr
SAT Example
In this sentence, "but after 15 years" is a non-restrictive clause. It adds more detail to the sentence, but the sentence would still make sense without it. Because non-restrictive clauses are surrounded by commas, there should be a comma after "day." The sentence also needs the word "but" to make sense. This means that Choice A is the correct answer because it meets both of those requirements.
#7: Semicolons Separate Two Complete Thoughts
Semicolons function like periods; they separate two independent clauses. You should be able to replace semicolons with periods. On the SAT, you may find a randomly placed semicolon, or you may need to replace a comma with a semicolon to fix a comma splice.
A comma splice is when two independent clauses, or complete thoughts, are separated by a comma, and comma splices create a grammatical error known as a run-on sentence. A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses aren't separated by the correct punctuation.
Here are example sentences with semicolons used correctly and incorrectly:
Incorrect: Because Teresa wanted to please her family; she became a doctor.
Correct: Teresa wanted to please her family; she became a doctor.
The second sentence is correct because the clauses on both sides of the semicolon are independent and could stand alone as sentences.
SAT Example
Both the clause "Drinking water is scare in desert areas like Las Vegas" and the clause "it needs to be shipped from water-rich states" are complete thoughts and could be stand alone sentences. Therefore, they must be separated by a semicolon. Because of this, the correct answer is D. The clause before the semicolon is not a complete thought; therefore, the semicolon is being used incorrectly. Answer choice C unnecessarily adds "and," and answer choice B is wrong because it places a colon after a dependent clause. The correct answer is D.
#8: A Colon Must Come After an Independent Clause
Colons are usually used to introduce lists or explanations. The key rule for colons is that they must come after a complete sentence. If you end the sentence where the colon is placed, the sentence should make sense and be a complete thought.
Incorrect: Meena enjoys multiple genres of music like: alternative, rap, heavy metal, and country.
Correct: Meena enjoys multiple genres of music: alternative, rap, heavy metal, and country.
The first sentence is incorrect because the part of the sentence that comes before the colon isn't a complete thought.
SAT Example
Because the clause before the colon is a complete thought and it's setting up a list, the colon is being used correctly. The accomplishment listed after the colon isn't a complete thought, so you can't use a semicolon in place of the colon. The correct answer is A as this choice correctly uses a colon after an independent clause to set off and identify the "one major accomplishment".
Colons do more than just form an essential part of the happy face emoji.
#9: Modifiers Must Be Next to What They're Modifying
The general rule regarding modifiers is that they must be next to what they're modifying. The most common type of modifier error on the SAT is a dangling modifier. When a sentence begins with a modifying phrase, the introductory phrase must be immediately followed by a comma and then the noun the phrase is describing. Here's an example of a dangling modifier:
A determined writer, Jessica's goal is to get her first novel published this year.
The way the sentence is written makes it seem like Jessica's goal is a determined writer. There are a couple of ways to fix the sentence. You can place the noun that is being modified right after the comma:
A determined writer, Jessica has a goal of getting her first novel published this year.
Or you can place the subject in the introductory phrase:
Because Jessica is a determined writer, her goal is to get her first novel published this year.
SAT Example
In its current state, this sentence makes it seem like it's the science fiction that was barred from attending school as a child, which doesn't make sense. Begum Rokeya was barred from attending school. Therefore, "Begum Rokeya" must be as close to the modifier as possible. Choice C is the correct answer as it's the only option that does this.
What's Next?
What counts as a great, average, or poor result on the new digital SAT? Our expert guides explain which scores to aim for and the minimum scores needed for college admission.
Want to improve your SAT score quickly? Try our 20-hour SAT prep plan or our one-month SAT study plan, depending on how much time you have left before test day.
Finally, as you're preparing for the SAT, learn the pros and cons of different test prep methods.
