<p>The first step in creating a study schedule with which to prepare for the SAT would be to determine how much time you can devote to test preparation each week. No error</p>
<p>I thought the answer was D - to determine.</p>
<p>Can someone explain why to determine should not be changed to determining?</p>
<p>“With which” seems redundant.</p>
<p>“The first step would be to determine…” sounds OK.</p>
<p>I think the sentence isn’t written very well, though. It needs editing! “Prepare” and “preparation” in the same sentence, hmm.</p>
<p>The correct answer is E. </p>
<p>I don’t think there is anything wrong with with witch. I don’t see a better way to phrase it either without radically changing the sentence. I also don’t see what’s wrong with having prepare and preparation in the sentence. </p>
<p>Thanks for the comments :).</p>
<p>But if someone could explain the first question to me, that would be great :)!</p>
<p>^ Hard SAT question looooooooool</p>
<p>“with which” is fine: “which” is a relative pronoun linking “study schedule” to the descriptive adjectival phrase “to prepare for the SAT [with].” We can move the preposition to before the pronoun if we wish, creating “with which.”</p>
<p>“to determine” and “determining” both work because we simply need a phrase that functions as a noun there. They are both verbals, but they are respectively an infinitive and a gerund, both of which are functional nouns.</p>
<p>Having “prepare” and “preparation” in the same sentence does not preclude eloquence and is, of course, not ungrammatical. Redundancy is wrong only when it results in illogicality; this is certainly not the case here.</p>
<p>Thank you silverturtle! I will now review infinitives and gerunds using your guide :).</p>
<p>Is "to prepare for the SAT’’ an infinitive adjectival phrase ?
Is ‘‘with which’’ a prepositional phrase or is the ‘‘with’’ at the end of the phrase and it ‘‘moved’’ before the ‘‘which’’.</p>
<p>@Silverturtle Please tell me about a good grammar book.</p>
<p>@Iceqube
Isbn of nitty picky grammar book.</p>
<p>realityisadream: 978-0898159660</p>
<p>I would have said that “A” was incorrect. The first step “to creating” not “in creating” but maybe I’m spotting errors that don’t exist ;)</p>
<p>The first step … would be to determine</p>
<p>The first step … would be determining</p>
<p>I think they are both correct… I remember reading in a grammar guide about how there are some cases where both a gerund and an infinitive work. I could be wrong.</p>
<p>^What grammar books did you use, Kieran0696?</p>
<p>Erica L. Meltzer’s “The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar”</p>
<p>It says:
“Sometimes, both a gerund and an infinitive are acceptable. In such cases, neither will be considered and error.”</p>
<p>Correct: Today, the members of Mrs. Moreno’s physics class will begin (to review/reviewing) for the final exam.</p>
<p>“Sometimes it is necessary to rely on your ear to determine whether the gerund or the infinitive is correct. There is no rule that governs which one is used, and gerunds and infinitives tested are fairly random.”</p>
<p>Hope it helped.</p>
<p>^Yes, that helped A TON :)!!</p>
<p>Meltzer’s book looks to be a winner!</p>