Language Notes
Revision notes for the Standard English Conventions section of the digital SAT — punctuation, grammar, and sentence-level editing.
Sentence Boundaries
The digital SAT tests whether you can recognise where one sentence ends and another begins.
Three ways to join two independent clauses — all correct:
- Period — full stop. New sentence.
- Semicolon — joins two closely related independent clauses.
- Comma + coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) — for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Two things that are always wrong:
- Comma splice — joining two independent clauses with only a comma.
- Run-on — joining two independent clauses with no punctuation.
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| The study was long, it was worth it. | The study was long; it was worth it. |
| She finished early she left. | She finished early, so she left. |
Conjunctive adverbs (however, therefore, consequently, nevertheless, furthermore) are NOT conjunctions. You cannot use them with just a comma.
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| She was tired, however she continued. | She was tired; however, she continued. |
Colons and Semicolons
Colon (:) — introduces a list, explanation, or elaboration. What comes before the colon must be a complete sentence.
The team had one goal: win the championship.
Semicolon (;) — joins two complete, related sentences. What comes on both sides must be a complete sentence.
The data was inconclusive; the team decided to run another trial.
A semicolon never introduces a list — that is the colon's job.
Verb Tense and Form
Match the verb tense to the time frame established in the sentence.
| Tense | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple past | Completed action | She published the findings. |
| Past perfect | Completed before another past event | She had published the findings before the conference. |
| Simple present | Ongoing fact or habit | The heart pumps blood. |
| Future | Action not yet happened | The results will be announced Friday. |
| Past continuous | Action in progress at a past moment | They were discussing the proposal when she arrived. |
Watch for: by the time + past event → the other verb needs past perfect (had done).
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must agree with its grammatical subject, not the nearest noun.
Common traps:
| Pattern | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Collective noun | Singular verb | The committee is reviewing the proposal. |
| Neither…nor / either…or | Verb agrees with the closer subject | Neither the students nor the teacher was prepared. |
| Each / every / one | Always singular | Each of the proposals was reviewed. |
| The number of | Singular | The number of errors is declining. |
| A number of | Plural | A number of errors were found. |
| Intervening phrase | Ignore it | The results of the study support the hypothesis. |
Pronouns
Case: use I, he, she, they, we as subjects; me, him, her, them, us as objects.
Between you and me, … (object of preposition — never I)
Pronoun-antecedent agreement: the pronoun must match its antecedent in number.
The company updated its policy. (not their — company is singular)
Ambiguous pronouns: if it is unclear what the pronoun refers to, replace it with the noun.
Modifiers
A modifier must be placed immediately next to what it modifies.
Dangling modifier — the thing being modified is absent from the sentence.
Running through the park, the flowers were beautiful.Running through the park, she noticed the flowers were beautiful.
Misplaced modifier — the modifier is in the wrong place.
She only ate vegetables on Tuesdays.She ate vegetables only on Tuesdays.
Tip: If a sentence starts with a verb-ing phrase, the grammatical subject of the main clause must be the one doing that action.
Parallel Structure
Items in a list or comparison must use the same grammatical form.
The job requires attention to detail, meeting deadlines, and communicating clearly. ✓
The job requires attention to detail, meeting deadlines, and to communicate clearly.✗
Watch for: both X and Y, not only X but also Y, either X or Y — all require matching forms.
Transitions
Choose the transition that reflects the logical relationship between the sentences.
| Relationship | Transitions |
|---|---|
| Addition | furthermore, in addition, moreover, also |
| Contrast | however, nevertheless, on the other hand, in contrast, yet |
| Cause/effect | therefore, consequently, as a result, thus |
| Concession | although, even though, while, despite this |
| Example | for instance, for example, specifically, indeed |
| Sequence | first, then, subsequently, finally |
Tip: Read both sentences and ask: is the second sentence agreeing, contradicting, or explaining the first?
Concision
The SAT rewards the shortest, clearest option that preserves the meaning.
Common redundancies to cut:
| Redundant phrase | Fix |
|---|---|
| final conclusion | conclusion |
| new innovation | innovation |
| returned back | returned |
| past history | history |
| advance planning | planning |
| completely eliminate | eliminate |
If two answer choices mean the same thing, the shorter one is usually correct.
Apostrophes
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Possession (singular) | noun + 's | the student**'s** essay |
| Possession (plural ending in s) | noun + ' | the students**'** essays |
| Contraction | missing letters | it**'s** (it is) / they**'re** (they are) |
| Possessive pronoun | no apostrophe | its / their / whose |
Common traps: its (possessive) vs it's (it is) · whose (possessive) vs who's (who is) · their vs they're vs there
Commonly Confused Words
| Pair | Rule |
|---|---|
| affect (verb) / effect (noun) | The rain affected the game. The effect was significant. |
| imply / infer | The speaker implies; the listener infers. |
| fewer / less | Fewer for countable things; less for uncountable. |
| number / amount | Number for countable; amount for uncountable. |
| who / whom | Who = subject; whom = object. (Swap with he/him to test.) |
| that / which | That for essential clauses (no comma); which for non-essential (add comma). |