SAT Verb-Preposition Idiom Flashcards
What is an idiom error on the SAT writing section?
Idiom errors are when verbs are incorrectly paired with prepositions.
Find an idiom error in the following sentence.
The drunk driver ran through a pedestrian in the crosswalk and was charged for manslaughter.
The correct idioms should be:
- ran over
- charged with
Although “ran through” is a perfectly good idiom, it does not work not in this case; “ran over” is the correct idiom.
“Charged for” is also not correct; it should be “charged with”
What makes idiom errors hard to spot on the SAT?
Idiom errors are challenging because verbs require close checking of form, agreement, and tense as well; idioms often slip past.
How does the SAT confuse you about idiom errors?
The SAT often confuses you by underlining both the verb and preposition, when only the preposition would need to be changed to fix the idiom error.
How should you approach preparing for idiom errors on the SAT?
You should adopt a proactive approach by studying verbs that are common idiom errors on the SAT.
Over 85% of this deck presents those common idioms on the SAT. Learn the way they are paired, but more importantly learn to recogninze the verbs from the list when they occur on the test.
Once you are aware of the idiom error verbs, how do you use that knowledge on the test?
As you read the sentence correction item…
- recognize the verb from the target list
- find the preposition paired with it in the sentence
- check memory or try other prepositions to ID a possible error
What are the most challenging verbs on the idiom verb target list?
The most challenging verbs on the idiom list are verbs that have multiple prepositional partners for different meanings.
What determines which preposition pairs with a verb that has more than one possible partner?
The correct preposition is determined by sentence context.
Though I am of course very similar to my twin brother Robbie, I differ from him a great deal when it comes to politics.
Discriminate + which preposition?
His grandfather, however, was not free of those prejudices that caused him to discriminate (against, about, for, over) immigrants who had joined his community.
discriminate…against
Consist + which prepostion?
The Colonel realized that the strike team needed to consist (in, by, about, of) specialists with plenty of operations experience.
consist…of
Contribute + which prepostion?
Key turnovers, inclimate weather, and a bad call by head coach in the second half all contributed (in, to, into, up) the undefeated team’s first loss.
contribute…to
Respond + which prep?
Despite numerous appeals from the demonstrators, the mayor refused to respond (about, at, over, to) their demands.
respond…to
Recover + which preposition?
Pete couldn’t recover (about, from, into, under) his mistake telling Jackie that he wasn’t ready to marry.
recover…from
Worry + which preposition?
All throughout her husband’s last year of deployment in Iraq, Pilar worried (over, of, with, about) his safety.
worry…about
“Worry over” is also acceptable, though not prefered in most circumstances.
Blame + which preposition?
After the failure of the compromise legislation, both sides blamed the other (about, with, for, in) the impasse.
blame…for
Believe + which preposition?
Edward believed (at, in, over, through) his father’s ability to convince his mother of anything.
believe…in
Accuse + which prepostion?
The police detective accused him (at, in, of, with) a crime without enough evidence even to indict.
accuse…of
Apologize + which preposition?
Though facing death threats, Almon didn’t feel any obligation to apologize (about, after, for, upon) his comments.
apologize…for
Insist + which preposition?
Kelvin insisted (about, upon, on, over) having breakfast cereal with Greek yogurt after reading the article.
insist…on/upon
Approve + which preposition?
The queen could not approve (about, on, of, over) some of the dalliant pursuits of her son, the prince.
approve…of
Arrive + which preposition?
With so many plastic cups in the trash and empty bottles and cans in recycling, mom and dad arrived (at, on, to, upon) the conclusion that their “darling” children had thrown a party without permission.
arrive…at
Cover + which prepostion?
The apples, covered (by, in, over, with) caramel and nuts, stood waiting for the carnival goers to devour them.
cover…with
Complain + which preposition?
The spoiled girl complained (about, at, of, over) every detail of her birthday party.
complain…about
Distinguish + which preposition?
Though customers in the focus group swore their brand tasted the best, they failed to distinguish it (about, for, from, upon) any other brand in a blind test.
distinguish…from
Escape + which preposition?
Presently, the urge to escape (at, for, from, to) the attention Frau Drossler overwhelmed him.
escape…from
Excel + which preposition?
Hilda was chosen to be the spokesperson because she excellled (at, by, on, upon) persuasion and rhetoric.
excel…at
Forget + which preposition?
Oscar was the kind of husband who was likely to forget (about, at, over, to) insults his wife may have said during a heated argument.
forget…about
Forgive + which preposition?
Sebastian would never forgive Elaine (about, for, from, over) the way she embarassed him at the party.
forgive…for
Hide + which preposition?
The curate seeks a place to hide (at, from, into, under) the Martians which attack all human life with their heat ray.
hide…from
Hope + which preposition?
Instead of self-defeating thoughts that can only intensify suffering during the crisis, Cheryl focused on hope (about, for, in, under) better days to come.
hope…for
Object + which preposition?
The lawyer objected (about, at, for, to) what he considered judge’s consistent bias against his client.
object…to
Participate + which preposition?
When the stigmaticism about AIDS was at its zenith, the afflicted were discouraged from participating (at, by, for, in) regular social activities.
participate…in
Pray + which preposition?
The sisters prayed (about, at, for, over) some recognition of their need for proper sepulchral arrangements for members of their order.
pray…for
Prevent + which preposition?
Friar Lawrence ultimately could not prevent Juliet (at, by, from, with) moral destruction.
prevent…from
Prohibit + which preposition?
In that office, all staff were prohibited (at, by, from, with) close personal relationships of a physical nature.
prohibit…from
Protect + which preposition?
The innoculation was designed to protect (against, by, into, over) a certain deadly infection.
Being dipped into the river protects him (at, from, under, with) all harm throughout his life, but leaves his heel vulnerable.
protect. ..against
protect. ..from
These two are almost always interchangeable. Do NOT mark either of these wrong on the test.
Rescue + which preposition?
He was too late to rescue her (above, among, from, onto) her self-destructive behavior.
rescue…from
Stare + which prepositional?
The doe could only stare (against, at, into, through) the headlights until the car struck her.
stare…at
Stop + which preposition?
His friend tried to stop him (at, by, from, with) cutting corners on his research.
stop…from
Subcribe + which preposition?
Ambrose Bierce’s character subscribes (at, into, to, with) to the villianous dictum about love and war.
subscribe…to
Substitute + which preposition?
Through exhaustive trial, the team looked for a substitute (by, for, on, with) the polymer that had hitherto been proved to be toxic.
substitute…for
Succeed + which preposition?
Viv succeeded (at, by, for, in) finding a new apartment with a pleasant roommate much more quickly than she thought possible.
succeed…in
Thank + which preposition?
Mrs. Gifford sent a batch of cookies just to thank the family (about, by, for, on) their support during her husband’s hospitalization.
thank…for
Vote + which preposition?
In the primaries, political parties encourage the citizens to vote (by, for, in, up) candidates that are “electable”.
vote…for
Work + which preposition?
Danny “Sugarland” Moreland worked (by, for, on, toward) improving his footwork in the offseason.
Dr. Reynolds looked forward to working (at, on, through, with) other eminent men in the field.
They worked through the night (at, by, over, toward) an agreement that by morning they were were very close to reaching.
work. ..on (a task)
work. ..with (a person)
work. ..toward (a goal)
Count + with preposition?
Jackson knew that he could count (by, for, on, upon) his friends to protect his reputation.
count. ..on
count. ..upon
These are interchangeable. Either would always be correct.
Decide + which preposition?
The menu had so many of Sam’s favorites that she found it hard to decide (about, from, over, upon) an entree.
decide. ..upon
decide. ..on
There is no difference between “on” or “upon” except individual preferrence.
The SAT will use the “on/upon” trap for students who rely ( on, upon ) ear training to answer all of these errors.
Depend + which preposition?
Just before midterms, Teddy found he could not depends at all (by, for, on, until) his study group to provide good outlines and notes.
depend. ..on
depend. ..upon
Never mark “on” wrong in preference for “upon”.
Insist + which preposition?
The Don tells Tom not to insist (after, at, over, upon) selection of personnel, because their business contact would have thought of that.
insist. ..on
insist. ..upon
Never mark “upon” wrong in preferring “on”.
Rely + which preposition?
In the traveling carnival community, carnies rely (among, for, on, onto) each other for mutual protection.
rely. ..on
rely. ..upon
Abide + which prepositions?
Newcomers to the prison environment learn very quickly to abide (at, by, upon, under) certain rules: written and unspoken.
The survivors of the assault abided (by, in, through, under) the foliage until reinforcements arrived.
abide. ..by
abide. ..in
“Abide by” means “follow the rules”. “Abide in” means “remain, stay”.
“Abide” can also mean “tolerate”, and takes no prepostion to complete its meaning in that sense.
Agree + which prepositions?
Not surprising anyone in the meeting, Horace agreed (at, by, to, with) his supervisor on every point.
The parties agreed (at, by, into, to) set aside the issue of relocation for another day and complete the deal at hand.
agree. ..with (someone)
agree. ..to (something)
Apply + which prepositions?
Celia had too much pride to apply (about, by, for, to) direct abatement of her student loans.
The directions said that for best results the glue should be applied (about, by, for, to) both sides of the contact surface.
apply. ..for (something)
apply. ..to (task, or someone, something)
Argue + which preposition?
Ned, of course, didn’t want to argue (at, about, into, through) his religious upbringing.
On minority initiatives, Gregor argued (about, for, from, with) just about anyone.
argue. ..about/over (a subject)
argue. ..with (a person)
Care + which prepositions?
The members agreed that they needed a leader who cared (at, about, for, to) the cause enough to make significant personal sacrifices.
While running his business, he also spends considerable time caring (at, about, for, to) his three small children.
Grandpa said he didn’t care (at, about, for, to) go to the theater that evening.
care. ..about (something)
care. ..for (someone)
care. ..to (do something)
Charge + which prepositions?
Mr. Wells was charged (about, for, in, with) all of the damages to public and private property as a result of his driving incident.
George Bailey is charged (about, for, in, with) misappropriating funds and malfeasance from the building and loan.
charge. ..for (something to be paid)
charge. ..with (a crime)
Compare + which prepositions?
Hilda compared the bratwursts at the stadium (at, for, to, with) those she remembered eating in Regensburg on her vacation.
Compared (at, for, to, with) a greyhound, an ostrich can run a bit faster.
compared. ..with
compared. ..to
Very small difference here. Use “compare with” when the comparisons are of similar things (like two kinds of bratwurst).
Use “compare to” when the comparisons are of one aspect of different things (greyhound + ostrich compared in running speed only).
Excuse + which prepositions?
Elaine was excused (by, for, from, off) her final exams due to impeccable grades and her hospitalization.
The elder Mr. Dawes refused to accept the excuse (by, for, from, with) Michael’s behavior that caused the run on the bank.
excuse. ..from
excuse. ..for
Arrive + which prepositions?
With the same evidence, Croft managed to arrive (at, by, for, in) the wrong conclusion.
Arriving (at, by, in, with) time to make the train and phone the office put him in the right frame of mind for a productive day.
arrive. ..at (location/specific time)
arrive. ..in (time)
Wait + which preposition?
Due to the power outage at the station, Daphne waited (at, for, in, near) hours for her train.
Because Lydia didn’t show up for her shift, Thomas was forced to wait (at, by, in, on) the patrons of the boutique instead of going on his date.
wait. ..for
wait. ..on
Differ + which prepositions?
There are multivarious varieties of bananas, but they do not differ significantly (about, from, in, with) each other in terms of nutritional content.
The casting director differed (from, on, towards, with) his producer over the choice of the protagonist for the vampire movie.
differ. ..from
differ. ..with
Differ + which prepositions?
The school board members differ (on, over, through, toward) the choice of curriculum materials for 8th grade Math.
In terms of fashion, Gillian and her friends only differ (about, by, from, with) whether or not to wear dresses with glitter and sequins.
differ. ..over
differ. ..about
