GRAMMAR RULES Flashcards
- Use the fewest words possible:
Look for the shortest grammatically correct answer choice that has no repetition or synonyms. Eliminate words that are redundant or unnecessary
(Incorrect) Every year, Jane runs the Boston marathon annually. Delete annually it’s the same as every year.
(Incorrect) George is a person who is angry in nature. George is an angry person.
- Keep your verb tenses consistent:
(Incorrect) Last week, Frank rented a car and drives to Las Vegas - Last week, Frank rented a car and drove to Las Vegas.
- Apostrophes: only two ways to use an apostrophe.
Possession and contractions. Your can not have a word with an apostrophe and then punctuation.
(Incorrect) Its common for selective schools’ to require high scores’.
It’s common for selective schools to require high scores.
- Commas are used to set off a description: it is not essential to the meaning of the sentence and can be removed. What is left will still form a sentence.
Ex: Joe’s parents, who constantly call him, are very overprotective. Removing “who constantly call him” does not changed the meaning of the sentence.
Ex: Val, a Wisconsin native, loves fried cheese.
- Commas can’t separate two sentences: if the two thoughts can stand alone as sentences they can not have a comma in between.
You can add a conjunction (FANBOYS- for, and, nor, but, or yet, so) after the comma.
(Incorrect) Ken likes Madonna, she is his favorite singer. - Ken like Madonna, and she is his favorite singer.
- Commas and Quotes: use a comma before a direct quote, but not before a quoted name or a citation.
A citation moved with the sentence no comma is necessary.
Ex: The teacher stated, “welcome to class.” I was thrilled to see the new movie “Star Wars”.
NYC is a fascinating city “that thrives in the summer,” stated The NY Times.
- Semicolons are used to separate two complete sentences. You can basically replace periods with semicolons.
Ex. Ken like Madonna; she is his favorite singer. They are also used before a conjunctive adverbs like however and therefore.
Ex. London is an old city; however, it has many new buildings.
- A single dash can be used before a list and double dashes are used to set off a description:
Ex. London has many attractions - museums, palaces, and monuments.
Ex. Val - a Wisconsin native - loves fried cheese.
- Colons elaborate what was said before the colon and are used for lists.
They are usually found towards the end of a sentence.
Ex. They believed the common theory: hard work pays off.
Ex. Mary enjoys multiple types of music: alternative, rap, and country.
- Subjects and Verbs must agree:
A singular subject gets a singular verb (ends with an “s”) and a plural subject gets a plural verb.
EX: (incorrect) High School students loves learning grammar. - High School students love learning grammar.
Plural but seems singular:
media, data, criteria, bacteria, phenomena, stimuli, graffiti, parentheses, theses, regalia, rhombi, analyses, alumni, crises, paparazzi.
Singular but seem plural
each, anyone, everybody, committee, panel, company, class, team, squad, political party, research, family, group. Either/Or and Neither/Nor - singular.
- Misplaced Modifiers: whatever comes after the comma must relate to what came before (think subject)
Ex: After eating dinner, the television was turned on by Dan. - After eating dinner, Dan turned on the television.
- Who/Which/Whom:
who “is doing something” (subject - he, she, they) and whom (object of the verb - him, her, them) are used with people. Which is used with things.
- Parallel Construction:
focus on consistency of verb tenses and wording.
(Incorrect) My friends and I enjoy swimming, walking, and to watch sunsets. - My friends and I enjoy swimming, walking, and watching sunsets.
(Incorrect) My teacher told me to bring a book, a pen, and what my password was. - My teacher told me to bring a book, a pen, and a password.
- Transitions Words:
Continuation A: adding info; additionally, also, moreover, furthermore, in fact, similarly, likewise, indeed.
Continuation B: rephrasing; in other words, by the same token.
Contrast: on the other hand, however, nonetheless,/nevertheless, on the contrary, conversely, despite this, instead, regardless, alternately, but.
Cause & Effect: as a result, thus, therefore, consequently, hence, accordingly, to the ends.
Chronological: first, next, meanwhile, subsequently, last, then, finally, in short.
Misc: For Instance: same as For Example.
- Common Singular/Pural Questions
Singular: is its
Plural: are, their
Don’t get suckered and pick it’s (it is) or there (location) !!! Look at whether the subject is singular or plural!!
- When there are three answer choices: one with a period, one with a semicolon, and one with a comma, the correct answer is the COMMA.
A period and a semicolon are the same so you would cross them out. They are also the same as a comma with one of the fanboys.
- No punctuation after the phrase…..
such as
- Always verify that the who or the what is being answered.
If it is not, then the answer choice that adds the who or the will will be correct. Remember the who or the what is the subject.
- Yes/No Questions:
DELETE the info if it is repetitive, irrelevant, or breaks the flow between the sentence before and the sentence after. ADD the info if it flows or provides specific new examples or details.
- Sentence Re-arrangement Question -
Place the sentence in each option and read it with the sentence that comes BEFORE it, but more importantly the sentence comes AFTER it - make sure it flows!!
- Delete Question
If choice D is an option to DELETE, you should select that if what is underlined is repetitive, unnecessary, or breaks the flow. Also, be sure before you delete the who or what is being answered.
- Main Idea Question
the title of the passage is the hint to the Main Idea.
- Sentence Combination Questions
Keep it concise, no repetition, and don’t add unnecessary punctuation.
- Comparison Questions
Look for the words compare, comparable, than and make sure you are comparing the same things. EX; (INCORRECT) The wages of the solar energy installers were comparable to the wages of (those of - P /that of - S) the skilled electricians and plumbers.
- Transition Question -
when you are asked to choose the sentence that is the best transition to the next paragraph or sentence, make sure you read BEFORE and AFTER and find the best match to what was said. Remember you are not the author; find what corresponds to what the author is saying!! Don’t pick a random fact! You will know it’s a transition question because every answer choice will have a completely different sentence.
