Grammar and Language
What Grammar and Language asks
Grammar and Language tests standard English conventions in context. You edit sentences and short passages by choosing the revision that is grammatically correct, clear, and concise. Question types include sentence boundaries, agreement, pronoun reference, verb tense, punctuation, modifiers, parallelism, capitalization, and word choice. The best answer must fix the error without changing the writer's meaning.
Core rules
- Complete sentences. A sentence needs a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. A fragment lacks one of these; a run-on joins independent clauses incorrectly. Fix a comma splice with a period, a semicolon, a coordinating conjunction, or a subordinate clause.
- Agreement. Find the true subject and ignore prepositional phrases. The box of tools is heavy. Compound subjects joined by and take a plural verb; or and nor agree with the nearer subject.
- Pronouns. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent and refer clearly to one noun. Avoid vague this or they.
- Punctuation. Use a comma after an introductory clause, between items in a series, before a coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses, and around nonessential information. Use a semicolon between independent clauses; use a colon after a complete sentence to introduce a list or explanation. Apostrophes show possession or contraction, not plural.
- Modifiers and parallelism. Place modifiers next to the word they describe. Items in a list or comparison must share grammatical form.
Worked example
Original: Walking to the store, the rain soaked Maya.
Problem: The opening phrase Walking to the store describes Maya, but the nearest noun is rain. This is a dangling modifier.
Revision: Walking to the store, Maya was soaked by the rain.
Reasoning: The subject after the comma is now Maya, the person walking. The meaning stays the same, and the modifier is attached to the right noun.
Traps that cost marks
- Using a comma to join two complete sentences.
- Making a verb agree with a noun in a prepositional phrase instead of the subject.
- Putting an apostrophe on a plural noun.
- Leaving a pronoun with no clear antecedent.
- Choosing a wordy or formal-sounding option over the concise one.
- Moving only or almost so that it modifies the wrong word.