<p>How about the infamous lie vs. lay? This actually appeared on the Nov SAT (although it wasn’t a direct testing of past participles).</p>
<p>lie; lay; lain
lay; laid; laid</p>
<p>Many people don’t seem to see the pattern of the “irregular” participles. However, these participles aren’t really that difficult to figure out!</p>
<p>lay; laid; laid
pay; paid; paid
say; said; said</p>
<p>I dug through the past threads, and this is the closest to the original sentence. It appeared as one of the Identifying Sentence Errors questions.</p>
<p>The year 1987 saw the publication of Langston Hughes’s poem, Acceptance, which had lain on the desk for several years.</p>
<p>I don’t remember which words were underlined(I mean, it’s only been 3 months or so…).</p>
<p>2) Is it true that objects of prepositions do not have to mach in number with the noun before the preposition? </p>
<p>To stand in Persepolis in modern Iran and look out, as Darius the First must have done, at the immense sweep of fields and mountains is to grasp the vastness of the ancient Persian Empire.</p>
<p>3) **A similar sentence to the one below has appeared at least once before on an actual SAT … **</p>
<p>Vanessa had a tendency of changing her mind often, so often in fact that her friends gave up expecting her to show up at their parties. </p>
<p>Questions and rules that I need help brushing up on:</p>
<ol>
<li>Most states <a href=“A”>have</a> various levels of football competition in <a href=“B”>their</a> high schools so that schools with <a href=“C”>similar</a> numbers of students compete only against <a href=“D”>them</a>. No error (E)</li>
</ol>
<p>2.Like <a href=“A”>her</a> nonfiction, <a href=“B”>the writer</a> Jean Craighead George draws extensively <a href=“C”>not only from</a> published material but also from her own firsthand <a href=“D”>observations of</a> animals and ecological systems. <a href=“E”>No error</a></p>
<p>Strategy tip for my zealous and ardent and bright followers:</p>
<p>** Prepositional phrases CANNOT serve as subjects.**</p>
<p>Implications?</p>
<p>Armed with this tidbit of knowledge, you are now ready to slice through long sentences like a knife slices through butter. </p>
<p>Examples:</p>
<p>I. The art of many native pre-Columbian and post-Columbian Native American cultures are rooted in a perception that dualities are found everywhere in nature. </p>
<p>Holy crap. That was LONG. But note! “Of many native…” is a prepositional phrase! The subject is simply “art,” which is singular, and therefore the answer is “is rooted.”</p>
<p>II. The list of Mayan … suggest …</p>
<p>B) suggests (correct)</p>
<p>Note - the subject is simply “The list,” which is singular. </p>
<p>I hope you don’t mind if I jump in; I’ve been stalking this thread for a while now but I’ve never gone around to posting before. I have a couple of questions though:</p>
<p>For the most part, in the actions of how an animal behaves, instinct is the main determinant.</p>
<p>I got it down to c) and d):
c) An animal’s actions, as to behavior, are by and large indistinctively determined.
d) An animal’s actions are largely determined by instinct.</p>
<p>Aren’t both of them grammatically correct? I chose c) because it mentions behavior (as is mentioned in the original), but d) is the correct answer. Could anyone care to explain? :)</p>
<p>Most ships <a href=“A”>move</a> through the Suez Canal <a href=“B”>with</a> <a href=“C”>their own</a> power, but large ships <a href=“D”>must be</a> assisted by a tugboat. <a href=“E”>No error</a></p>
<p>B. Change “with” to “using.” I think it makes more sense to say “using” because the ships aren’t traveling with their “power” through the canal; the ships are using their power to move through the canal. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>C is extremely redundant. “By and large” can be excised from C, as well as “as to behavior.”</p>
<p>Yes, the answer is B. I guess this question really required a lot of focus, because I just skimmed right over it. Though, on the other hand, I don’t know if I would have caught this error if I really was concentrating…</p>
<p>I am going to go to sleep now. I cannot emphasize the necessity of sleep enough in one forum post. Tormorrow, I’m going to be studying zealously at school. Hopefully, I’ll be able to power through the two essays I have at school tomorrow and kick ass and raise Cain on this SAT on Saturday :)!</p>
Though, on the other hand, I don’t know if I would have caught this error if I really was concentrating…</p>