Mastering the Digital SAT: The 12 Essential Grammar Rules You Need to Know

Introduction: Navigating the Grammar Landscape of the Digital SAT

As the SAT embraces its digital future, understanding the nuances of English grammar becomes more crucial than ever for aspiring college students. The Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section, a cornerstone of the Digital SAT, challenges test-takers to demonstrate a deep understanding of grammar and usage. This guide distills the 12 grammar rules that are absolutely non-negotiable for success on the Digital SAT, ensuring you’re well-equipped to tackle any question with confidence.

The Foundation of SAT Grammar

Before we dive into the specifics, let’s understand why grammar holds such significance in the Digital SAT and how mastering these rules can elevate your score.

The Importance of Grammar in the SAT

Clarity and Precision: Grammar isn’t just about avoiding mistakes; it’s about expressing ideas clearly and precisely. The SAT tests your ability to understand and improve written English, reflecting the skills you’ll need in college and beyond.

1. Subject-Verb Agreement

One of the pillars of digital SAT grammar, subject-verb agreement, is straightforward yet vital. Ensure the verb matches the subject in number (singular or plural).

Key Tips:

Identify the True Subject: Don’t be misled by intervening phrases or clauses. The verb must agree with the main subject.
Watch for Collective Nouns: Understand when collective nouns (e.g., “team,” “group”) are considered singular and when they are plural based on the context of the sentence.

2. Pronoun Consistency and Clarity

Pronouns replace nouns, but they must do so clearly and maintain consistency in number and gender with the antecedent (the noun they refer to).

Strategies for Success:

Clarify Antecedents: Ensure every pronoun clearly refers to a specific noun. Ambiguity can lead to confusion.
Maintain Consistency: Shifts in number or gender without a logical reason can disrupt the flow and clarity of a sentence.

3. Verb Tense and Aspect

The digital SAT expects you to choose the correct verb tense and aspect to match the context of the passage.

Perfecting Verb Tense:

Contextual Clues: Pay attention to temporal clues within the sentence or surrounding sentences to select the appropriate tense.
Sequence of Events: Use the perfect tenses to indicate actions completed at a specific time or to show the sequence of events.

4. Parallel Structure

Maintaining a consistent structure within lists or comparisons ensures clarity and readability, a principle tested frequently on the SAT.

Strategies for Parallelism:

Consistency in Form: When listing items or linking ideas with conjunctions, maintain the same grammatical form (e.g., all nouns, gerunds, or clauses).
Check Comparisons: Ensure items compared are in the same grammatical form for a smooth, logical flow.

5. Modifier Placement

Modifiers describe or provide more information about a noun or verb. Misplaced modifiers can create confusion or unintended meanings.

Mastering Modifiers:

Keep It Close: Place modifiers near the word they’re intended to describe to avoid ambiguity.
Dangling Modifiers: Watch out for sentences that start with a modifying phrase but don’t provide a clear subject for that modifier. Ensure the sentence begins with the entity performing the action.

6. Comma Usage

The digital SAT tests your ability to use commas correctly, a fundamental aspect of punctuation that affects the meaning and readability of sentences.

Key Comma Rules:

List Separation: Use commas to separate items in a series.
Non-essential Information: Enclose clauses or phrases that aren’t essential to the main sentence with commas.
Before Conjunctions: Use a comma before conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) when they link two independent clauses.

7. Apostrophes

Apostrophes can denote possession or form contractions. Their misuse is a common error that the digital SAT may test.

Apostrophe Essentials:

Possession: Place apostrophes correctly to show possession (e.g., “the student’s book” for singular possession and “the students’ book” for plural possession).
Contractions: Understand the difference between its (possessive form of “it”) and it’s (contraction for “it is” or “it has”).

8. Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences

The ability to recognize and correct incomplete sentences (fragments) and excessively long, improperly connected sentences (run-on sentences) is crucial for digital SAT success.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls:

Complete Thoughts: Ensure every sentence contains a subject, verb, and expresses a complete thought.
Proper Connection: Use conjunctions, semicolons, or periods to connect clauses correctly, avoiding run-on sentences.

9. Agreement in Complex Sentences

Ensuring subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement in complex sentences is tested frequently, requiring a keen eye for detail.

Navigating Complexity:

Identify the Main Subject: In sentences with multiple clauses, identify the main subject and ensure verbs and pronouns agree accordingly.
Subordinate Clauses: Recognize subordinate clauses and ensure they do not affect the agreement of the main clause.

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