Princeton Review - Sentence Correction

Front 1

4 Steps for Sentence Correction

Back 1

1. DO NOT rewrite sentence in head
2. Find grammatical mistakes
3. Use POE (look for 2/3 split)
4. If down to 2 choices, find flaw in wrong one

Front 2

After looking for grammatical errors, check...

Back 2

meaning then style

Front 3

Object Noun

Back 3

Receives the action
(ex. Alx kicked [the ball])

Front 4

Types of Modifiers

Back 4

1. Adjectives
2. Adverbs
3. Adjectival Phrases
4. Prepositional Phrases

Front 5

Adjectives

Back 5

modify nouns

Front 6

Adverbs

Back 6

modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverb

Front 7

Adjectival Phrases

Back 7

=> phrases that modify a noun
=> usually appear at the beginning of a sentence

Front 8

Prepositional Phrases

Back 8

=> start with a preposition, end with a noun
=> ignore when indentifying subject

Front 9

7 Deadly Goofs

Back 9

1. Misplaced Modifiers
2. Pronoun Errors
3. Verb Tense Errors
4. Parallel Constructon Errors
5. Comparing Apples and Oranges
6. Subject/Verb Agreement
7. Idiom Errors

Front 10

Goof #1 - Misplaced Modifiers

Back 10

=> should be next to the words they describe (only applies to phrases...NOT clauses)
=> most common example when sentence has opening phrase followed by a comma

Front 11

Phrase vs Clause

Back 11

=> Phrase: lacks S or V
=> Clause: contains S and V

Front 12

How to spot Misplaced Modfiers

Back 12

=> look for phrase set off by comma at beginning of sentence
=> look to see if the part of the sentence after comm changes in answer choices
=> look to see if phrase changed to clause

Front 13

Goof #2 - Pronoun Errors

Back 13

=> pronoun must agree w/ noun it replaces
=> pronoun must refer directly and unambiguously to noun it replaces
=> look out for 'it' and 'they'

Front 14

How to spot pronoun errors

Back 14

=> look for pronouns changing fom singular to plural in answer choices (and vice versa)
=> pay attention to underlined pronouns
=> watch out for 'it' and 'they'

Front 15

Complex Tenses

Back 15

=> Past perfect tense
=> Present perfect tense
=> Future perfect tense

Front 16

Past Perfect Tense

Back 16

=> Two things happened in the past and you have to show which happened first
=> Use 'had'
=> Never use 'had' unless you have to
=> If only one thing has happened in the past, 'had' is wrong

Front 17

Present Perfect Tense

Back 17

=> Something started in the past and carries up to the present moment
=> Use 'has' or 'have'

Front 18

Future Perfect Tense

Back 18

=> Something will have finished happening at a certin date in the future
=> Use 'will have'

Front 19

How to spot verb tense errors

Back 19

=> Look for verbs changing tense in answer choices
=> Look for underlined verbs thta don't share the same tense as other verbs in the sentence

Front 20

Goof #4 - Parallel Construction Errors

Back 20

=> Items in a list should be parallel in form and structure

Front 21

How to spot parallel construction errors

Back 21

=> Look for items in a list
=> Be alert for inconsistencies in form and sructure

Front 22

Goof #5 - Comparing Apples and Oranges

Back 22

=> Make sure what you're comparing is comparable

Front 23

How to spot apples and oranges comparisons

Back 23

=> Look for things or actions that are compared
=> Look for words that indicate comparison such as like, similar, more than, less than, as big as...

Front 24

Goof #6 - Subject-Verb Agreement

Back 24

=> Verbs must agree with their subjects in number

Front 25

How to spot subject-verb agreement errors

Back 25

=> Look for verbs changing from singular to plural in answer choices
=> Pay attention to underlined verbs
=> Look for tricky pronouns
=> Ignore prepositional phrases

Front 26

A number of vs. The number of

Back 26

=> A number of is plural
=> The number of is singular