Writing Question! HELP

Test Preparation
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<ol>
<li><p>(A)"Set" in South Carolina in 1964, the novel the secret life of bee (B) "is" not about bees (C)"but about" Lily, a fourteen year old who (D)"runs" away from home. (E)No Error</p></li>
<li><p>The habitat (A)"in which" sequoia trees grow, (B)"extends" from southern Oregon to northern California, is (C)"kept" damp year-round by (D)"heavy" sensational rains, coal coastal air, and fog. (E)"No Error"</p></li>
</ol>

<p>The answers are E and B, respectively. </p>

<p>Can anyone explain why, for the first one, D's tense is correctly used (runs).
Also, why is "extends" wrong?</p>

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<p>Hi JokeJoke, </p>

<p>In the first sentence, “runs” is correct because the noun is singular (Lily) and the sentence is talking in the present tense (hence “runs” instead of “ran”).</p>

<p>In the second sentence, “extends” is the incorrect word. Personally, I think it should be “extending” because it’s in a modifying phrase (jn between two commas modifying “the habitat”). </p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>Ops question is why can’t the tense be “ran”, or “had run”, or “will run”, etc. Do we really have context that allows us to pick? Since we don’t have context, and the question writer does not expect that we read the book, all of the above verb forms, as well as “runs” are correct. Someone may argue that (in American English?) it is common to use the present tense when talking about a character in a book not yet read. The SAT does not expect you to try to figure all this out – just simply to pick the right answer. So since runs is not incorrect, then E. By the way, the question “runs” or “ran” has appeared before on this forum. My opinion is that this particular question will never appear on the SAT because of the ambiguity. Kaplan sometimes has poor examples. This is one of them.</p>

<p>For the second question I agree with BlueJay – “extending” rather than “extends”.</p>

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<p>It’s generally acknowledged that book plots are talked about in present tense. “Had run” and “ran” imply that she’d already run away before the book starts. “Will run” implies that she plans to run away, but still hasn’t actually done it by the end of the book. Of those three, the option that changes the meaning of the sentence the least is “ran,” which would probably also be considered entirely grammatically correct. However, the question is “where is the error?”, not “could you replace this word and have it still be correct?”. </p>

<p>For the second, you could also correct the problem by saying “which extends.”</p>

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<p>Thanks for the clarification guys :smiley:
It is always good that I’ve learned something important from a practice test xD. </p>

<p>Ugh… but can use guys clarify the modification error just a little bit more? What can be used in a non-essential clause to modify something? What cannot be used?
I know which (The jacket, “which is black”, is cool. ), who (Bob, “who has black skins”, is cool ), and nouns (Bob, “a black person”, is cool) can be used as nonessential clause.
Other than these, I am not familiar with other types of non essential clause, so I may be easily tricked on the SAT.</p>

<p>Thanks xD</p>

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<p>This is just to add to what has already been said…</p>

<p>The adjective clause "in which Sequoia trees grow’ is restrictive (because it is essential in order to understand which habitat the author is referring to) and is not set off by commas. The next construction, “extends…California,” acts as an adjective modifying the noun ‘habitat’. The verb form ‘extends’ would turn that modifying phrase into the predicate of habitat, thus turning the sentence into one with a compound predicate which would require deleting a comma and inserting a conjunction ‘and’ in a place where one is not given the option to make changes. (between ‘California,’ and ‘is’) Since that option is not allowed, the only other choice is to change the word ‘extends’ into a present participle ‘extending’ and making the participial phrase 'extending…California, into an adjective modifying the subject of the sentence and the rest of the sentence (is kept moist, etc.) into a single predicate. </p>

<p>The difference between essential and nonessential clauses is determined by whether or not the information the clause contains is essential to understand the writer’s meaning. Subordinate clauses that act as adjectives are the ones that require this distinction. An example:</p>

<p>Situation one: I am talking about a man who is standing in a group of men.</p>

<p>“The man who is wearing a red hat is my uncle.” This clause is essential because one needs the information in order to understand which of the men I am referring to.</p>

<p>Situation two: Now I am talking about a man who is standing alone.</p>

<p>“The man, who is wearing a red hat, is my uncle.” This clause is nonessential because the information only tells you that I am amazed by his taste in hats, but it is not essential to know which man I am referring to.</p>

<p>It may be that your problem is not really about essential and nonessential clauses, but about when to use the relative pronouns ‘which’, ‘that’ and ‘who’. ‘Who’ only refers to people, ‘which’ only refers to things, and ‘that’ can refer to either.</p>

<p>FWIW The term "historical present’ is used to describe the tense used when describing the action of novels and movies. The idea is that the book exists in the present, so what happens in the book is spoken of as if it is happening in the present.</p>

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<p>@Wood</p>

<p>WOW Thanks !!! Hope I will spot errors with clauses next time :P</p>

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<p>the first is E for sure, but i am not sure why the second is b???</p>

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<p>JokeJoke, if you’re willing to make the investment, Erica Meltzer’s [Ultimate</a> Guide to SAT Grammar](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Guide-SAT-Grammar/dp/1463599889/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344209296&sr=8-1&keywords=erica+meltzer]Ultimate”>http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Guide-SAT-Grammar/dp/1463599889/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344209296&sr=8-1&keywords=erica+meltzer) would probably help. It is amazingly thorough - she goes through each type of problem that comes up on the SAT and explains them all in detail.</p>

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<p>@Dodger: Haha i have that book and I skimmed through it like a month ago! Indeed, it is a pretty detailed and comprehensive book. I will read it thoroughly later :D</p>