SAT WRITING: ERROR IDENTIFICATIONGrammar class 1

THE SEVEN ESSENTIAL ERROR CATEGORIES

1. Pronouns2. Subject-Verb Agreement3. Tenses4. Parallelism5. Adverbs and Adjectives6. Gerunds7. Idioms, Wrong Words, and Double Negatives

1. PRONOUN: ERROR TYPES

A. Pronoun AgreementB. Pronoun CaseC. Pronoun ShiftD. Ambiguous PronounsE. Comparisons Using Pronouns

1. A. PRONOUN AGREEMENT

Pronouns must agree in number with noun Ernie (noun) He (pronoun).

1. A. PRONOUN AGREEMENT

Pronouns must agree in number with noun

1. A. PRONOUN AGREEMENT

Pronouns must agree in number with noun

1. B. PRONOUN CASE

Pronouns have different forms depending on their cases.

Subjective Case Pronouns

Objective Case Pronouns

Possessive Case Pronouns

I Me My, Mine

You You Your, Yours

He, She, It Him, Her, It His, Her, Hers

We Us Our, Ours

They Them Their, Theirs

Who Whom Whose

1. B. PRONOUN CASE

Pronouns have different forms depending on their cases.

1. B. PRONOUN CASE “ME VS. I”

Pronouns have different forms depending on their cases. The case of “me vs. I”

1. B. PRONOUN CASE “ME VS. MY”

Pronouns have different forms depending on their cases. The case of “me vs. my”

1. C. PRONOUN SHIFT

Pronoun shift occurs when the pronoun type changes over the course of the sentence.

1. D. AMBIGUOUS PRONOUN

A pronoun is called “ambiguous” when it’s not absolutely clear what the pronoun refers to.

1. E. COMPARISONS USING PRONOUNS When a pronoun is involved in a comparison,

it must match the case of the other pronoun involved:

2. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: ERROR TYPES

If you have a singular subject, you must use a singular verb. If you have a plural subject, you must use a plural verb.

A. When the subject comes after the verb.B. When the subject and verb are separated.C. When you have an either / or, or, neither /

nor construction. D. When the subject seems plural but isn’t.

2. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT:

Usually Subject precedes the verb Identify the subjects and verbs in this

sentence.

2. A. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: WHEN THE SUBJECT COMES AFTER THE VERB

Identify the subjects and verbs in this sentence.

2. B. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: SUBJECT AND VERB ARE SEPARATED

Identify the subjects and verbs in this sentence.

2. C. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: EITHER / OR AND NEITHER / NOR

Singular or plural subject?

2. D. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: WHEN SUBJECT SEEMS PLURAL BUT ISN’T

Singular subjects that seem plural

Anybody Either Audience Nobody

Anyone Group Each None

America Number Everybody No One

Amount Neither Everyone

2. D. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: WHEN SUBJECT SEEMS PLURAL BUT ISN’T

2. D. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: WHEN SUBJECT SEEMS PLURAL BUT ISN’T

3. TENSES: ERROR TYPES

A. Annoying verbsB. Illogical tense switchesC. The conditional

3. A. TENSES: ANNOYING VERBS

Examples: You LIE down for a nap. You LAY something down on the table. You LAY down yesterday. You SWIM across the English Channel. You SWAM across the Atlantic Ocean last

year. You had SWUM across the bathtub as a child. You DRINK a glass of water every morning. You DRANK a glass of water yesterday. You have DRUNK three gallons of water this

week.

3. A. TENSES: ANNOYING VERBS

3. B. TENSES: TENSE SWITCH

Handout on tenses.

3. C. TENSES: THE CONDITIONAL

To be: “If I were a good student, I would get good grades.”

use the correct conjugation: “If . . . were . . . would.”

4. PARALLELISM Parallelism in writing means that the different

components of a sentence start, continue, and end in the same way.

5. ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES

Adverbs are words used to describe verbs or other adverbs. Adverbs often end in –ly(breathlessly, angrily). I ate the spaghetti quickly.

Confusing Adverbs with Adjectives

5. A. ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES: CONFUSING ADVERBS WITH ADJECTIVES

Adverbs are words used to describe verbs or other adverbs. Adverbs often end in –ly(breathlessly, angrily). I ate the spaghetti quickly.

5. A. ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES: CONFUSING ADVERBS WITH ADJECTIVES