Grammar

List of Grammar Rules
1. Subject-Verb Agreement
2. Subject-Pronoun Agreement
3. Parallel Sentence Structure
4. Subject/Object of a Sentence
5. Proper Verb Tense
6. Incorrect Comparisons
7. Comparative/Superlative
8. Proper Number Agreement
9. Unclear Pronouns
10. Adverbs
11. Comma Splice
12. Dangling Modifier
13. Word Choice/Confusing Words
14. Logic
15. Redundancy
16. Words that Go Together
17. Other, less common rules (e.g., double negative, subjunctive mood, subject-auxiliary inversion, etc.)

You can download the list of grammar rules here (last updated September 27, 2013). The list is a slightly more succinct version of what you will read below. You can mess around with the list however you want. As I am always looking for rare or difficult SAT writing problems (which serve as excellent study material for those of you who scored above 650), the list may be updated in the future.
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1. Subject-Verb Agreement 
(i) "Each" = singular

(ii) "Every" = singular

(iii) "All" = can be singular or plural, depending on the context

(iv) "His or her" = singular

Wrong: "Before boarding, passengers must purchase his or her tickets in the main concourse of the bus terminal because tickets are not sold on the bus."
Correct: "Before boarding, passengers must purchase their tickets in the main concourse of the bus terminal because tickets are not sold on the bus."

(v) "And" = usually plural (!)

Two subjects combined with the conjunction "and" usually form a plural subject. However, there are exceptions. See 1-vi (the subsequent subsection) for more information.

12. The convenience and widespread availability of watercolor paint account for its popularity with amateur artists.
(A) Account for its popularity
(B) Account for their popularity
(C) Accounts for its popularity
(D) Is why it is popular
(E) Are a reason for its popularity

The correct answer is (A). Convenience is one thing, and availability is another. 1 + 1 = 2. The main subject of the sentence is therefore plural and "account" should be used, rather than "accounts". Having eliminated answer (C) for that reason, we can eliminate (B) because the pronoun "their", which is supposed to refer to the singular noun "watercolor paint", is plural. (D) contains the ambiguous pronoun (it), and (E) contains the word "are", which does not appropriately correspond to its subject, "watercolor paint". (D) and (E) are thus wrong.

(vi) "And": the singular exception (!)

Consider the following sentence, extracted from an SAT test:

Correct: Introducing new ideas and replacing old ones is always a highly controversial matter, especially when there is already tension between an older and a younger generation.

The sentence is correct because "introducing new ideas" and "replacing old ones" are (1) two directly linked ideas and thus form (2) a controversial matter (rather than many controversial matters). Now take, for example, the following sentence, taken from this College Confidential discussion:

Correct: Licking lollipops and shooting deer are always highly controversial matters. 

This is a good example of two ideas that are not connected, and the noun "matters" is thus plural. The verb "are" (instead of "is") would therefore be appropriate in this case.

Subject-Verb Agreement Distractions:

(vii) Things that only appear to be the subject of a sentence.
of*, which*, that*, between, who, whom, whose, where, in which, appositives ( S , ____ , V)*

Wrong: "The relationship between goby fish and striped shrimp are truly symbiotic, for neither can survive without the other."
Correct: "The relationship between goby fish and striped shrimp is truly symbiotic, for neither can survive without the other".

Wrong: "Careful analysis of pictures of the moon reveal that parts of the Moon's surface are markedly similar to parts of the Earth's."
Correct: "Careful analysis of pictures of the moon reveals that parts of the Moon's surface are markedly similar to parts of the Earth's."

(viii) Sentences that contain "or"
"He or she is the culprit".

(ix) Sentences that make you invoke the Proximity Rule (rare):
"Tom or his friends are the culprits".
 "The students or the teacher is the culprit".

(x) Flippy sentences:

Wrong: "In the barn is a dog and a cat."
Both correct: "The dog and the cat are in the barn." --> "In the barn are a dog and a cat."

Wrong: "Only by tapping their last reserves of energy was the team members able to salvage what was beginning to look like a lost cause."
Both correct: "Only by tapping their last reserves of energy were the team members able to salvage what was beginning to look like a lost cause." --> "The team members were able to salvage what was beginning to look like a lost cause only by tapping their last reserves of energy."

(xi) A group or class of items

"A large number of infectious bacteria" (singular)

"A population of ..." (singular)

"The [name of animal] ... " (singular, even though the sentence is about a whole class of animals)

(xii) Special nouns (rare)

Plural nouns: media, phenomena, bacteria, analyses, hypotheses

Singular nouns: medium, phenomenon, bacterium, The United States, The Philippines, analysis, hypothesis

Can be singular and plural: means*, fish, deer, moose, aircraft, pants, shorts, species, offspring

(xiii) "which" and "that"

Subject and verb after the word, "that"
Experiments have shown that human skin provides natural protection against a surprisingly large number of infectious bacteria.



2. Subject-Pronoun Agreement
(i) Gender

If she's a girl, use "she", "her", "hers" or "herself".
If he's a guy, use "he", "him", "his", or "himself". If it's an animal, use "it", "its", or "itself".
If it's more than one person, use "they", "them", "their" or "themselves".

(ii) Number

Wrong: "The university fired all of their professors".
Correct:  "The university fired all of its professors".

(iii) Ambiguity

Wrong: "Neither Ms. Perez nor Ms. Tanaka believes that watching as much television as her son Sam does will lead to anything productive."

3. Parallel Sentence Structure

(i) Do you see commas? There might be a list!


(ii) Do you see a conjunction? There might be two or more items that need to grammatically equivalent.

Wrong: "Explaining modern art is impossible, partly because of its complexity but largely because of it rapidly changing."
Correct: "Explaining modern art is impossible, partly because of its (1) complexity but largely because of (2) the rapidity with which it changes".

Wrong: "Curiosity about other people, about the ways they think and act, has caused Jeff to meet some fascinating characters as well as people which also really bore him."
Correct: "Curiosity about other people, about the way they think and act, has caused Jeff to meet some (1) fascinating characters as well as (2) some very boring people.

4. Subject/Object of Sentence

The following is an example of a typical subject/object question:

Wrong: "Carlos cherished the memory of the day when him and his sister Rosa were presented with awards in recognition of meritorious service to the community."
Correct: "Carlos cherished the memory of the day when he and his sister Rosa were presented with wards in recognition of meritorious service to the community."

Who/whom
In my experience, the who/whom problem has not come up often in the SAT writing section, but some of my students ask me questions about it. Simply put, "who" is a subject and "whom" is an object.

"Governor Chuang is the candidate whom we want to elect."
(We want to elect Governor Chuang. We want to elect him. Use "whom")

"Governor Chuang is the candidate who we think will win."
(We think Governor Chuang will win the election. We think that he will win. Use "who")

Tip: If the word "who" or "whom" corresponds to a preposition, always use "whom".
E.g., "To whom it may concern...",

"To whom should I write the letter?",

 "Whom should I write the letter to?"

I should write the letter to him/her/them. Therefore, use "whom".

"Whom is this gift for?" (This gift is for him/her/them)

The gift is for him/her/them. Therefore, use "whom".

"Whom should I go to the party with?"  or "With whom should I go to the party?"

I'm going to the party with him/her/them. Therefore, use "whom".

This grammatical rule also sheds some light on why the phrase "between you and me", instead of "between you and I", is correct. ("Between" is a preposition, which must correspond to the object, "me/her/him/them", and not the subject, "I/she/he/they".)

5. Proper Verb Tense

(i) "Since" rule: Sentences containing the word "since" (must be in the present perfect tense)

(ii) Specific point in time: Sentences that refer to a specific point in time must not be written in the present perfect, past perfect, or future perfect tense.

(iii) Historical Event: Sentences referring to historical events are always written in the past (and, sometimes, past perfect) tense.

(iv) Fiction: Sentences referring to a work of fiction may not be written in the past tense.

15. Jerome often referred (A) to art history textbooks (B) while he was sculpting; whenever he learned a new method in art class, he (C) seeks out the work of sculptors who (D) had used it in the past. (E) No error

Answer: C (Sought)

6. Incorrect Comparisons

Wrong: "One reasons that an insect can walk on walls while a human cannot is that the mass of its tiny body is far lower than humans".
Correct: "One reason that an insect can walk on walls while a human cannot is that the mass of its tiny body is far lower than that of a human's body."

7. Comparative/Superlative

When comparing two items or classes of items, use the comparative form (i.e., the "-er" form)

Wrong: "Lions and tigers may be identical in size, but the tiger is the fiercer animal and the lion the strongest."
Correct: "Lions and tigers may be identical in size, but the tiger is the fiercer animal and the lion the stronger."

When comparing three or more items or classes of items, use the superlative form (i.e., the "-est" form)

Tip: Do not eliminate answer choices that contain the word "lesser" simply because you think the word "lesser" sounds strange. The term "lesser" can mean "not so great or important as the others or the rest" or "lower in terms of rank or quality." It is a comparative adjective, so it can be used appropriately under certain circumstances. For instance, we can say (1) "He was convicted of a lesser assault charge." and (2) "I choose the lesser of two evils."


8. Proper Number Agreement

Wrong: "In the aggressive society created by William Golding in Lord of the Flies, both Ralph and Jack emerge early on as the leader of the lost boys".
Correct: "In the aggressive society created by William Golding in Lord of the Flies, both Ralph and Jack emerge early on as leaders of the lost boys".

9. Unclear Pronouns

Wrong: "In the 1980's, the median price of a house more than doubled, generally this outdistanced the rate of inflation". (This sentence also contains a comma splice problem)
Correct: "In the 1980's, the median price of a house more than doubled, generally outdistancing the rate of inflation."

5. When the Berlin Wall, long a symbol of the Cold War, began to be torn down in 1989, five million people went to Berlin to celebrate that.
(A) to celebrate that
(B) for its celebration
(C) to celebrate
(D) in celebration of that
(E) in celebrating

In the above example, answer choices containing the ambiguous word "that" should be eliminated. Answer choices (A) and (D) are out.

10. Adverbs

Wrong: "The ambassador was entertained lavish by Hartwright, whose company has a monetary interest in the industrial development of the new country."
Correct: "The ambassador was entertained lavishly by Hartwright, whose company has a monetary interest in the industrial development of the new country."

Wrong: "Experiments have shown that human skin provides natural protection against a surprising large number of infectious bacteria."
Correct: "Experiments have shown that human skin provides natural protection against a surprisingly large number of infectious bacteria."

Wrong: "Not many authors have described the effects of environmental pollution as effective as Rachel Carson, whose work is still a model for nature writers."
Correct: "Not many authors have described the effects of environmental pollution as effectively as Rachel Carson, whose work is still a model for nature writers."

11. Comma splice

The phrase "Tom is a boy" is an independent clause (i.e., a complete sentence). The phrase "Mary is a girl" is an independent clause. It is always wrong to combine two independent clauses with a comma only. Either add a semicolon or add a conjunction.

Wrong: "Although a native of Jamaica, the poet Claude McKay spent most of his life in the United States, he wrote some of his poems in the Jamaican dialect."
Correct: "Although the poet Claude McKay spent most of his life in the United States, he was a narrative of Jamaica and wrote some of his poems in the Jamaican dialect."

Wrong: "In the 1980's, the median price of a house more than doubled, the general rate of inflation was thus outdistanced."
Correct: "In the 1980's, the median price of a house more than doubled, generally outdistancing the rate of inflation."

12. Dangling Modifiers
Is the dependent clause referring to a person, thing or place? In the following question, answer choices (A), (B), and (C) can immediately be eliminated because the word "number" does not serve as an appropriate main subject, which in this case needs to be "young people". (Ask yourself, who is able to "feel" that "their votes do not matter", "numbers" or "young people"?)

14. Feeling, perhaps, that their votes do not matter, the number of young people going to the polls are becoming increasingly smaller.

(A) the number of young people going to the polls are becoming increasingly smaller (mod/s-v)

(B) the number of young people going to the polls is increasingly smaller (dang mod)

(C) increasingly smaller numbers of young people are going to the polls (dang mod)

(D) young people are going to the polls in increasingly smaller numbers

(E) young people, who in increasingly smaller numbers are going to the polls (no verb)

13. Word Choice/Confusing Words

Desirous =/= Desirable*
Imminent =/= Eminent =/= Immanent*
Acrid =/= Arid
Ingenuous (noun, ingenuousness) =/= Ingenious (noun, ingenuity)
Indecisive =/= Undecided*
Uninterested =/= Disinterested
Proceed =/= Precede*
Wary =/= Weary
Epithet =/= epitaph =/= epigram =/= epigraph
Demure =/= Demur
Complaisant =/= Complacent
Impel =/= Impale
Aliment =/= Ailment
Compliment =/= Complement
Dissatisfied =/= Unsatisfied

*Word choice problem has appeared on the SAT.

14. Logic

(i) Contradictory information

Wrong: "For months the press had praised Thatcher's handling of the international crisis, and editorial views changed quickly when the domestic economy worsened."
Correct: "For months the press had praised Thatcher's handling of the international crisis, but editorial views changed quickly when the domestic economy worsened."

(ii) Cause and Effect

Wrong: "The African tsetse fly does not need a brain whereas everything it has to do in life is programmed into its nervous system".
Correct: "The African tsetse fly does not need a brain, for everything it has to do in life is programmed into its nervous system".

Explanation: The word "for" in the correct answer choice is synonymous with "because". Because the African tsetse fly is already programmed into its nervous system, the fly doesn't need a brain.


15. Redundancy

Grammatical redundancy:
(i) Although ... but (wrong!)

(ii) more (verb)-er (wrong!)

Wrong: "The country found that its economy was growing more stronger, with an improved outlook and more opportunities for training and employment."
Correct: "The country found that its economy was growing stronger, with an improved outlook and more opportunities for training and employment."

(iii) Word choice redundancy (wrong!)
Wrong: Annual ... every year
Imminent ... happening soon

16. Words that Go Together
All of the phrases below have appeared in one form another on the SAT writing section.

Preoccupied / Preoccupation with
Contribute/Contribution to
Inconsistent with
Between ... and
Both ... and
Regarded as
Either ... or
Neither ... nor
Reason ... That
Just as ... so
Insight into
Capable of
Able to
Prevent from
Attribute / attributable to
Condemn as

The television station has received many complaints about the clothing advertisements, which some viewers condemn to be as tasteless.

Offer to

Tend / Tendency to

The famous filmmaker had a tendency of to changing his recollections, perhaps out of boredom at having to tell interviewers the same story over and over.

Succeeded in:

"It was a Chinese American grower who finally succeeded with in adapting the now familiar orange tree to the American Climate."

Opposite of
Synonym for, Synonymous with (and, conversely, antonym of)

(Part of an experimental section)
10. Digital technology, as every marketer knows, is synonymous to speed, precision, and the future.
(A) To
(B) Of
(C) With
(D) For
(E) Through

Schedule for
Mistake/mistook/mistaken for (may not have appeared on the SAT)
Hardly anyone/anything (NOT "hardly no one" or "hardly nothing")


17. Subjunctive Mood
Since this topic is a bit complex, please read this post instead.