Conventions of Standard English
What the test rewards
Standard English questions ask you to apply fixed rules, not personal preference. Know these areas: subject–verb agreement, pronoun–antecedent agreement and pronoun case, verb tense consistency, punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes), modifier placement, parallelism, and capitalization.
Traps to expect
The most common trap is a subject separated from its verb by a prepositional phrase or parenthetical: in “The box of old photographs (was/were) in the attic,” the subject is box, so was is correct. Indefinite pronouns such as each, everyone, and neither are singular; collective nouns like team are usually singular in American English. Watch pronoun case after prepositions-between you and me, not between you and I-and check that pronouns match antecedents in number. Comma splices and run-ons are frequent: a comma alone cannot join two independent clauses. Use a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction. Also distinguish its/it’s, their/there/they’re, and who/whom; test who by substituting he and whom by substituting him.
Worked example
“The list of supplies, including batteries and tape, (was/were) left on the table.” Cross out the prepositional phrase “of supplies” and the parenthetical “including batteries and tape.” The subject is list, singular, so choose was. The interrupting material never changes the verb.
Rule of thumb
Find the true subject, then make the verb agree; find the boundary between clauses, then punctuate it. When two rules seem to conflict, choose the answer that keeps the sentence grammatically complete and unambiguous.