Modifiers, comparisons and possessives on the SAT
When a sentence opens with a describing phrase ("Walking into the hall,"), the words right after the comma must name the person or thing it describes. Comparisons must compare like with like: a phone with a phone, colonies with colonies. Use an apostrophe only for ownership: one owner ’s, several owners s’.
Loading practice…
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| Walking into the hall, a skeleton greeted the visitors. | Walking into the hall, the visitors saw a skeleton. |
| Unlike the older model, the new phone’s battery… | Unlike the older model, the new phone… |
| Many farmer’s grow apricots. | Many farmers grow apricots. |
| The two scientist’s findings | The two scientists’ findings |
Common mistakes
Sample questions with answers
1. Walking into the museum’s main hall, ______
- a giant skeleton greeted the visitors.
- the visitors saw a giant skeleton. (correct)
- the skeleton was seen by the visitors.
- there was a skeleton.
The visitors are the ones walking.
2. Unlike the older model, ______
- the new phone’s battery lasts two days.
- the new phone has a battery that lasts two days. (correct)
- the battery lasts two days.
- two days is the battery life.
Compare a model with a model.
3. The two ______ findings were published together.
- scientist’s
- scientists
- scientists’ (correct)
- scientists’s
Plural owners: scientists’.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dangling modifier?
An opening phrase that does not describe the word right after the comma. Standard English Conventions makes up about 26% of the Reading and Writing section, roughly 11 to 15 questions.
What is an illogical comparison?
Comparing two different kinds of things, such as a phone model with a battery.
When do I use s’ versus ’s?
’s for one owner, s’ for several owners ending in s, and no apostrophe for plurals that own nothing.