Review and reference
Use the reference sections below while studying. Worksheets, logs, and blank records are optional reference resources. Record your notes separately.
Reference sections
Clause and punctuation checks
IC means independent clause; DC means dependent clause. Identify each clause's subject and finite predicate. A verb inside a relative clause may not complete the main sentence. Check which grammatical units the punctuation actually separates.
Structure | A valid pattern | Check before choosing |
|---|---|---|
Two complete statements | IC. IC. / IC; IC. | Both sides must stand independently. Capitalize the next sentence after a period. A semicolon is not the only possible valid separator. |
Coordinated clauses | IC, but IC. / IC, and IC. | The conjunction joins two independent clauses. A shared subject with two predicates is a different structure. |
Subordination | DC, IC. / Although the test ended, analysis continued. | An introductory adverbial dependent clause takes a comma before the main clause. A dependent clause cannot stand as a complete sentence by itself. |
Conjunctive adverb | IC; however, IC. / IC. However, IC. | However and therefore do not do the same grammatical job as and or but. Their position and use matter. |
Colon introduction | Complete introduction: explanation. | The material before the colon must stand as a complete clause. The explanation may be a phrase, list, or clause. |
Single explanatory dash | Complete statement—explanation. | A dash can introduce an emphatic expansion. Do not assume that a colon is always the uniquely valid alternative. |
Inserted supplement | Core, supplement, core. | A medial supplement needs a complete punctuation pair. Paired dashes or parentheses can also enclose supplementary material. |
Essential material | Core with identifying material. | Do not set off information that restricts the intended referent. Identification depends on context. |
Uninterrupted core | Subject + verb + complement. | No separator belongs between a subject and its verb, an auxiliary and main verb, a verb and its object, or a preposition and its object merely because the unit is long. |
Agreement and form checks
Decision | Reliable check | Model |
|---|---|---|
Subject-verb agreement | Locate the subject head; ignore the number of nouns inside its modifiers. | The box of samples is sealed. The samples in the box are sealed. |
Inversion | Find the subject even when it follows the verb. | Behind the curtain stand two statues. There is one entrance. |
Additive phrases | Together with and as well as do not create an and-compound subject. | The curator, together with two assistants, is preparing the exhibit. |
Pronoun agreement | Identify the antecedent and its intended number. Do not impose gender absent from the text. | The notebooks retained their labels. A participant may revise their response. Singular they is standard usage. |
Verb finiteness | Determine whether the clause has a complete finite predicate. | Walking is nonfinite by itself; is walking is a finite verb phrase. To walk cannot replace walks as the main predicate. |
Time and aspect | Anchor each action to the stated reference time. Use context, not a rule that all tenses must match. | The team measured the sample yesterday and is analyzing it now. |
Perfect / progressive / passive | Check the auxiliary and the required next form. | has written; is writing; was written. The auxiliaries establish different relationships. |
Ownership | Determine how many owners there are and whether ownership is shared. Then apply the possessive form. | one artist: the artist's studio; several artists: the artists' studios; irregular plural: the children's books. |
Modifier attachment | Ask who or what actually performs the opening action or has the stated property. | After comparing the drafts, the editor chose the shorter version. The editor performed the comparison. |
Common forms and close calls
Form | Use | Expansion test |
|---|---|---|
its / it's | The instrument retained its label. It's fragile. | it's = it is or it has; possessive its has no apostrophe. |
their / they're / there | Their notes are clear. They're ready. Put it there. | they're = they are; their shows possession; there indicates a location or introduces a construction such as there is. |
your / you're | Your notes are ready. You're prepared. | you're = you are; your shows possession. |
whose / who's | Whose notes are these? Who's arrived? | who's = who is or who has; whose shows possession. |
Do not infer an error from passive voice, a justified change of tense, a long subject, or the use of singular they. Identify the actual structural or meaning problem.
Punctuation pair check
The maps—some of which were incomplete—were scanned. Removing the supplement leaves The maps were scanned. The second dash closes the interruption; it does not separate two independent clauses. In The maps were scanned—a slow process, the single dash introduces an explanation at the end. Count the marks and identify their jobs before applying a rule.
A valid repair is not always unique
An editing drill can admit several correct revisions. A carefully constructed multiple-choice item has only one choice that works with the exact surrounding text. Never reject a grammatically valid sentence merely because you would have written it differently. When two choices appear valid, check capitalization, conjunctions, paired marks, sentence completeness, and meaning again.
Review and retest worksheet
A useful error note records the assumption that failed and the words that should have controlled the decision. Use the examples below as models, then complete the blank rows for missed or uncertain items.
Error pattern | Precise diagnosis | Next action |
|---|---|---|
I chose are because of samples. | The subject was box; of samples only modified it. | Reduce the sentence to subject head + finite verb. |
I chose a comma before however. | Both sides were independent clauses; however did not coordinate them. | Classify both sides before selecting a separator. |
I chose the noun closest to an opening modifier. | The modifier described the person doing the work, not the object produced. | Name the logical actor before comparing the options. |
My review record
Item / confidence | My mistaken assumption | Decisive words and rule | Action / retest date |
|---|---|---|---|
Retest by reconstructing, not remembering
- For a boundary item, underline each subject and finite verb, then label the units on both sides of the blank. Explain why the closest wrong punctuation fails.
- For an agreement or tense item, name the controlling subject or reference time. Change that feature and explain how the answer would change.
- For a possessive or modifier item, restate the intended ownership or attachment in plain language before choosing a form.
Sources and coverage
College Board's published framework defines the scope of this volume. The lessons, scenarios, worked examples, and practice questions are original. The references below establish test alignment and support general grammar guidance; no official test questions or published literary excerpts have been copied.
[1] College Board. The Reading and Writing Section.
Official passage format and subject areas, with links to official practice.
[2] College Board. What Are Content Domains?.
The Reading and Writing domains and their component skills.
[3] College Board. Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, version 3.01.
Standard English Conventions: section 3.5.4; section 5.2.1.5; Appendix B, Table A33.
Grammar references. Purdue Online Writing Lab: Independent and Dependent Clauses; Subject/Verb Agreement; Dangling Modifiers and How to Correct Them.
Used as supporting references for clause boundaries, subject identification, and introductory modifier attachment. Style-variable constructions are not used as the decisive basis of questions in this guide.
Official sources checked September 11, 2026.
Official skill | Coverage in this guide |
|---|---|
Boundaries | Chapter 1: sentence completeness, coordination, subordination, clause separators, conjunctive adverbs, colons, and explanatory dashes. Chapter 2: supplementary material, punctuation pairs, introductory elements, series, and punctuation that must be omitted. |
Form, Structure, and Sense | Chapter 3: subject-verb agreement, verb finiteness, tense, and aspect. Chapter 4: pronoun-antecedent agreement, genitives and plurals, possessives and contractions, and subject-modifier placement. |
The guide contains 32 worked examples and 120 independent practice items: 16 short drills and 104 multiple-choice questions. Practice comprises a 16-question diagnostic, 20 items in each of four chapters, and a 24-question cumulative review. Every multiple-choice worked example and practice item explains the key and all three alternatives.
Standard English Conventions is one domain within SAT Reading and Writing. Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure, and Expression of Ideas require separate preparation.