Language Conventions and Grammar
What the questions test
This domain covers sentence structure, agreement, pronoun case and reference, verb tense consistency, modification, punctuation, and parallelism. You need to recognize fragments and run-ons, ensure subjects and verbs agree even across interrupting phrases, keep pronouns agreeing with antecedents in number, and use commas, semicolons, and colons according to their functions.
Traps to watch for
- Interrupting phrases: in "The list of items was long," the verb agrees with list, not items. Prepositional phrases between subject and verb are the classic trap.
- Indefinite pronouns: each, everyone, neither are typically singular.
- Comma splices: two independent clauses need a semicolon, a period, or a conjunction-not a bare comma.
- Dangling modifiers: an introductory phrase must describe the subject that follows it.
- Faulty parallelism: items in a series or after correlative conjunctions (not only… but also) must share grammatical form.
- Colon use: a colon must follow an independent clause.
Rule of thumb
When a sentence sounds acceptable, strip it down: remove interrupting phrases, find the true subject and verb, and check agreement. Then check that introductory modifiers describe the subject immediately following the comma.
Worked example
"Walking through the museum, the paintings impressed Maya." The introductory phrase describes Maya, but the subject is paintings, producing a dangling modifier. Corrected: "Walking through the museum, Maya was impressed by the paintings."