Help with grammar!

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Hello, everyone!</p>

<p>English is not my first language and I have been having a lot of trouble with grammar as I study for the SAT. Can you tell me if all three of these sentence variations are grammatical? If they aren't, can you tell me why they are not?</p>

<p>-Thank you! </p>

<p>I have two cars, one located in San Francisco and the other located in New York.
I have two cars: one located in San Francisco and the other located in New York.
I have two cars— one located in San Francisco and the located located in New York.</p>

2

<p>I have two cars— one located in San Francisco and the other* located in New York.</p>

3

<p>The first one, "
I have two cars, one located in San Francisco and the other located in New York. " is grammatical. The comma is appropriate because it links a dependent clause with an independent clause. “I have two cars” is a complete sentence (independent) while “one located in… New York” is dependent because, without the “I have two cars,” one does not know what is being referred to.</p>

<p>I have two cars: one located in San Francisco and the other located in New York is also correct. The colon here is used properly. You should use a colon to add further information to an independent clause. Here, “I have two cars” is independent. It is a sentence. The colon then acts as a gate to introduce new information, namely where the cars are located. You should NOT use a colon to add new information to a dependent clause (a clause that can not stand alone as a sentence) example: My favorite foods are: steak, pizza, and salads. The colon is NOT correct here, as “My favorite foods are” is dependent - it is not a sentence (what are the foods?)</p>

<p>The last sentence is correct as well! A dash simply takes the place of a colon and is less formal. It links information with an independent clause, and is used to make a point. Again, don’t use a dash with a dependent antecedent (as with the my favorite foods example)</p>

4

<p>Does the SAT test for punctuation? My understanding is that it doesn’t.</p>

<p>Anyway, in common usage the best variant is the first – simplified a bit.</p>

<p>I have two cars, one in San Francisco and the other in New York.</p>

<p>Since you name the cities (i.e. the locations) “located” is implicit.</p>

5

<p>The SAT claims not to test for punctuation, but semicolons and colons are often on the test. They are usually in Improving Sentences questions and the errors are in the answer choices. Understanding them can help you eliminate wrong answers quickly.</p>