<p>Rote learning, the process of memorizing by repetition, (is how) many young children learn the alphabet or the multiplication tables.</p>
<p>Confused with this, the sentence is correct in the answer but I thought the verb "is" must join one noun to the nominative noun or adjective but here it is joined to neither, instead is joined to adverb phrase.
Help me out here by explaining :)</p>
<p>It is a SAT Question of the Day frm CB. I am working through the questions in my inbox tht I “accidentally” forget to do for some months back! Anyway CB’s explanation is not comprehensive for my head to get through.
The question in full:
Rote learning, the process of memorizing by repetition, is how many young children learn the alphabet or the multiplication tables.</p>
<p>A) is how
B) is used for when
C) this is how
D) the way
E) which is used when </p>
<p>Answer A
February 19th question.</p>
<p>“Rote learning” is the subject. “Learning” is used as a gerund, which makes it a noun.</p>
<p>Chedva,
Yes, u are right bout the gerund subject. Since it is being connected with a linking verb, should not a nominative verb or adjective be connected to the gerund instead of the phrase “how …”? That is the part I am having trouble understanding!</p>
<p>linking verbs can also be followed by an adverbial complement:</p>
<p>He is in the National Honor Society.
The meeting is at the Hilton.</p>
<p>That’s how I see it :)</p>
<p>Well, regardless of any rules, none of the other choices make for a complete or even vaguely correct sentence. Remove the clause, remove the adverb, and substitute:</p>
<p>“Rote learning is used for when young children . . .”? Clearly wrong - “used for when” is never correct.</p>
<p>“Rote learning this is how young children . . .”? You don’t need the pronoun “this”, since the subject is in the sentence.</p>
<p>"Rote learning the way young children . . . "? Now you’re missing the verb entirely. (Remember, the sentence is written in the passive voice, which requires the passive form of the verb.)</p>
<p>“Rote learning which is used when young children learn the alphabet or the multiplication tables”? That turns the sentence into an incomplete clause.</p>
<p>The only potentially correct answer is A.</p>
<p>Sometimes, for English grammar, and particularly for the SATs, you have to do the substitution method.</p>
<p>Great explanation Chedva. That’s exactly how you go about finding the answer. :)</p>
<p>Thank u Chedva for the explanation!!</p>
<p>SAT grammar reminds me of some weird Math problems! I don’t understand why everyone says it is easier to improve in Writing, it seems to me the most difficult part of SAT!</p>
<p>Just to add to Chedva’s excellent explanation:</p>
<p>OP, "how many children learn. . . " actually <em>is</em> a noun. It’s a noun clause. </p>
<p>Noun clauses are typically indirect questions such as “how fast he is,” “how old you are,” “where he goes to school,” “how many cookies I ate,” etc. They often follow this pattern: question word + S + V.</p>
<p>These clauses can be subjects, objects, complements, or objects of prepositions, just like nouns.</p>
<p>Think about the sentence “I wondered where he went.” In this case, “where he went” is technically a noun clause acting as a direct object.</p>
<p>You could also say “The best time to drink hot chocolate is when it is snowing.” In this case, “when it is snowing” is a complement.</p>
<p>But this question is much more easily solved by process of elimination, as Chedva demonstrated.</p>
<p>Chedva and lotf629 offered exhaustive explanations, but the urge to show off (I am a non-native speaker) is too strong to resist.
I tried very hard, and here are a couple of useful tips I came up with.</p>
<p>1.
When indirect question is used to form a noun clause [question word + S + V] the word order often changes.</p>
<p>Question: When can I come over?
Noun clause: Tell me when I can come over. (Not: Tell me when can I come over.)</p>
<p>Question: Who is this guy?
Noun clause: I’d like to know who this guy is. (Not: I’d like to know who is this guy).</p>
<p>2.
Misuse of the “is where” and “is when” constructions.
It is wrong to define something as a time or a place when it is neither.</p>
<p>Incorrect: Catharsis is when you purge your emotions and cry, for example, through watching a Greek tragedy.
Correct: Catharsis is the purging of the emotions, for example, through listening to “Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh”.</p>
<p>Incorrect: A surprise in the movie is where the antagonist to the protagonist turns out to be the progenitor.
Correct: A surprise in the opera was the lead singer falling in the orchestra pit.</p>
<p>Just to clarify.
A more precise way to say
“When indirect question is used to form a noun clause [question word + S + V] the word order often changes.”
is
“When who-, what-, which-, etc., how-, how many-, how much- question is turned into indirect question [question word + S + V] to form a noun clause, the word order often changes.”</p>
<p>Thank you lot629 and gcf101 for both of your explanations. The explanations are very helpful!!</p>
<p>whats gerund? =s</p>
<p>A gerund is a verb (usually with the “-ing” ending) used as a noun.</p>