Need help with SAT grammar!

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<li>Critics contend that reforms in welfare has not managed to bring the high percentage of our nation’s children living in poverty the economic security that they need to thrive. No Error</li>
</ol>

<p>I first went with “to thrive” as the wrong one, but it says its B “has not managed”… can anyone explain what’s wrong and how to correct?</p>

<p>(p.539)</p>

<li>The numbers of awards given this year to biochemists accentuate the significant gains being made in the study of chemistry of living organisms. No error</li>
</ol>

<p>How is “accentuate” wrong? What would be correct then?</p>

<p>(p.540)</p>

<li>The Papago Indians of southern Arizona take justifiable pride in their traditional craft of basket-weaving, an art that has brought them fame throughout the Southwest. No error</li>
</ol>

<p>Please explain why there isn’t an error here… I was certain that “has brought” would be the answer…</p>

<p>(p.603)</p>

<li>The dolls in the collection, all more than two hundred years old, had been carefully carved for children long since gone. No error</li>
</ol>

<p>I thought “long since” kind of didn’t flow well, but it isn’t the answer… and can “all more than” make sense in this case?? The answer’s “no error”…</p>

<p>(p.661)</p>

<li>Finding a wide variety of financial services in a small city is usually not as easy as it is in metropolitan areas.
(a) it is
(b) is that
(c) for those
(d) for that
(e) are those</li>
</ol>

<p>I dont normally know how to approach these types of questions involving “as … as”… Can anyone explain the grammatical functions used… the answer btw is (A)</p>

<p>(p.723)</p>

<li>Some of the workers who resent the supervisor’s authority would probably feel uncomfortable if they were to acquire the independence that they demand. No error</li>
</ol>

<p>The answer is (e)… but i kinda feel that (a) is wrong… Could someone explain how “who” and “whom” is exactly used in SAT sentences??</p>

<p>(p.725)</p>

<p>oh and ignore the page references… those are for myself to look back…lol
Please help with these grammar problems! I would be really thankful!</p>

2

<ol>
<li>Critics contend that reforms in welfare has not managed to bring the high percentage of our nation's children living in poverty the economic security that they need to thrive. No Error</li>
</ol>

<p>Here the problem is that has (a singular verb) is describing reforms (plural). It should be reforms in welfare HAVE not managed...</p>

<ol>
<li>The numbers of awards given this year to biochemists accentuate the significant gains being made in the study of chemistry of living organisms. No error</li>
</ol>

<p>I think you copied it wrong it should be "The number of awards..".
The number (is the singular noun) and the verb is accentuate (<-- which is plural). It should be The number...accentuates</p>

<ol>
<li>The Papago Indians of southern Arizona take justifiable pride in their traditional craft of basket-weaving, an art that has brought them fame throughout the Southwest. No error</li>
</ol>

<p>"has" is the verb for art. an art that has is fine because both are singular</p>

3

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>can anyone please explain the others for me?? im so confused...</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
29. The dolls in the collection, all more than two hundred years old, had been carefully carved for children long since gone. No error</p>

<p>I thought "long since" kind of didn't flow well, but it isn't the answer... and can "all more than" make sense in this case?? The answer's "no error"...</p>

<p>(p.661)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This problem exemplifies one of the most crucial strategies in the writing section, which is not to go looking for diction errors. 99% of the time when you see a weird phrase that doesn't flow, like "long since gone," it is grammatically correct. Problems like this exist in order to force you to not rely on your ears, but on your knowledge of grammar. If you can't pinpoint why something is incorrect, it's correct.</p>

<p>
[quote]
7. Finding a wide variety of financial services in a small city is usually not as easy as it is in metropolitan areas.
(a) it is
(b) is that
(c) for those
(d) for that
(e) are those</p>

<p>I dont normally know how to approach these types of questions involving "as ... as"... Can anyone explain the grammatical functions used... the answer btw is (A)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The "as as" construction is used to compare two things (in this case, "finding"), and is formulated like "thing 1 is/is not as adjective as thing 2 (is)." The last "is" is not necessary, but it is always implied--just like "I am better than he" implies "I am better than he is."</p>

<p>Here, there are two issues: the pronoun "it" and the verb "to be." (You know that choices d and c are incorrect because "for" is not apart of the "as as" construction). The first thing you need to do is identify the antecedent, what the pronoun refers to, which in this case is "finding." Although finding is generally a verb, this is a case in which the gerund (the -ing verb) is used as a noun--such as in "seeing is believing." "Finding" is singular, and so choice e is incorrect. Choice b is obviously incorrect, and choice a fits perfectly.</p>

<p>
[quote]
22. Some of the workers who resent the supervisor's authority would probably feel uncomfortable if they were to acquire the independence that they demand. No error</p>

<p>The answer is (e)... but i kinda feel that (a) is wrong... Could someone explain how "who" and "whom" is exactly used in SAT sentences??

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The easiest way to illustrate the difference between who and whom is through example:</p>

<ol>
<li>Who gave him the gift?</li>
<li>For whom did he buy the gift?</li>
<li>To whom did he speak?</li>
<li>The people who died were buried. (This is the construction used in your example, and in these, when it's "the noun who/that the verb," whom is never used.)</li>
</ol>

<p>Who is used when you're talking about whoever did the action, whereas whom is used when you're talking about whomever the action was done to.</p>