GRAMMAR RULES
SAT REVISION
1. Independent ; Independent
2. Independent . Independent
3. Dependent , Independent
When a sentence starts with a Subordinating conjunction, it will be dependent.
Subordinating Conjunctions( List on pg 81 of SAT books)
1. Although
2. Even though
3. Because
4. Since
5. While
6. When
7. If
Rules of HOWEVER(Complete list on pg 77 of SAT books)
When however is non-essential, there will be a comma before and after however.
…….,however,……
E.g., Ali, however, is late.
1. However,…
2. ….;however,…..
3. ….,however;…..
E.g. “I wanted to go to the park; however, it started raining."
E.g. "I wanted to go to the park. However, it started raining."
In this case:
The comma before "however" separates the two clauses.
The semicolon before "however" links the two independent clauses in a more formal
way, indicating that the second clause is a contrast to the first.
E.g. "I love reading books, however; I don't always have the time to read."
In this case:
The comma before "however" introduces a contrast.
The semicolon after "however" is used to separate the clauses, following the rule that
when "however" is used in this way, it requires a semicolon after it to correctly join two
independent clauses.
List
When there is a detailed list, we prefer using commas to separate the times.
E.g. I went to the store and bought Apples, Mangoes, Oranges and Lemons.
E.g. I went to the store and bought Apples, Mangoes, Oranges, and Lemons.
Colon and Dashes
Colon is used
1. Before a list
2. Before an explanation
You can’t use a colon when the first part of the sentence is dependent.
E.g. I went to the store and bought: Apples, Mangoes, Oranges and Lemons. (Wrong)
E.g. I went to the store and bought a few items: Apples, Mangoes, Oranges and Lemons. (correct)
E.g. This fish looks like a cat: its head is similar to that of a cat (Colon when it comes to explanation)
Dashes have 4 used
1. Before a list
2. Before an explanation
3. To separate non-essential clause
4. To create a pause
E.g. I went to the store and bought a few items - Apples, Mangoes, Oranges and Lemons.
E.g. This fish looks like a cat - its head is similar to that of a cat.
E.g. Ali-who is wearing blue shirt today-seems tired.
FANBOYS Conjunction
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
Rule 1: …….,Fanboys + Subject…..
E.g. Ali is a smart student, but he often makes silly mistakes.
Rule 2: ……..Fanboys + No Subject…..
E.g. Ali is a smart student but often makes silly mistakes.
Subject Verb Agreement
Verb with ‘S’ is singular
Verb without ‘S’ is plural
Runs(singular)
Run(Plural)
Singular Nouns(complete list in SAT books)
1. The number of
2. Someone/somebody
3. Anyone/anybody
4. Everyone/everybody
5. None of
Plural Nouns(complete list in SAT books)
1. A number of
2. Both A and B
Collective nouns
All collective nouns are singular
E.g. group, team, bunch, collection, stack, herd
Modifiers
Subject will be right after comma
E.g. Sitting in the classroom, Ali was bored.
E.g. Feeling exhausted, Sara wasn’t able to drive.
E.g. Excited by the news, she ran to tell her friends.
Apostrophes
Singular possessive
E.g. The boy’s notebook.
E.g. The researcher’s paper
Plural possessive
E.g. The researchers’ papers
E.g. The boys’ notebooks.
