PSAT/NMSQT Prep 2022 - Eggert M.D., Strelka A. 2022
How much do you know?
Spotting and fixing errors: sentence structure, punctuation, and agreement
PSAT Reading
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
· Determine the correct punctuation and/or conjunctions to form a complete sentence
· Identify and correct inappropriate uses of semicolons
· Identify and correct inappropriate uses of commas, dashes, and colons
· Use punctuation to set off simple parenthetical elements
· Identify and correct verb agreement issues
· Identify and correct pronoun agreement issues
· Identify and correct modifier agreement issues
· Identify and correct inappropriate uses of apostrophes
· Identify and correct expressions that deviate from idiomatic English
· Determine the appropriate word in frequently confused pairs
145/600 SmartPoints®:
Sentence Structure and Punctuation, 85/300 (Very High Yield)
Agreement, 60/300 (High Yield, especially Verbs and Pronouns)
How much do you know?
Directions: Try the questions that follow. The “Category” heading in the explanation for each question gives the title of the lesson that covers how to answer it. If you answered the question(s) for a given lesson correctly, you may be able to move quickly through that lesson. If you answered incorrectly, you may want to take your time on that lesson.
Questions 1—11 refer to the following passage.
Economic Regulation
1 First introduced by Senator John Sherman of Ohio, the U.S. Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. The Act made illegal “every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in the restraint of trade.” However, many critics of the time charged that the decidedly vague wording introduced by the pro-business senators who rewrote the act before its final approval 2 results in the emasculation of the law’s anti-monopoly intent. Nevertheless, the Act was the first law to fight, even symbolically, against economic monopolies in the “open” market economy of the United States.
From the nation’s beginning, many politicians and 3 influential, business leaders had maintained that the ideal economy in a democracy was one in which the government played a very limited role in regulating commerce. They argued that, by permitting businesses to pursue their own interests, the government actually promoted the interests of the nation as a whole. A quote often attributed to 4 Charles E. Wilson, a former chairperson of General Motors, accurately captured the prevailing attitude of big 5 business. “What’s good for General Motors is good for the nation.” Many of the leaders of trusts and monopolies in the 1800s co-opted the then cutting-edge terminology of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, 6 they argued that in an unrestrained economy, power and wealth would naturally flow to the most capable according to the principles of “social Darwinism.” Their monopolies were thus natural and efficient outcomes of economic development.
Toward the close of the 1800s, however, an increasingly large and vocal number of lower- and middle-class dissenters felt that these hands-off economic policies of the federal government allowed monopolies like Standard Oil to manipulate consumers by fixing prices, 7 exploiting workers by cutting wages, and threaten democracy by corrupting politicians. Most directly, the trusts and monopolies completely destroyed the opportunities for competitors in their industries to do business effectively. The concerns of these working-class dissenters thus created a groundswell of support for the Sherman Antitrust 8 Act, and attempted to outlaw these monopolies and trusts. Even more important 9 then the direct effects of the Act, however, was the shift toward a new era of reform against monopolistic economic corruption and the rise of deliberate economic regulation in America. The federal government 10 realizing finally that 11 they had to take a more active role in the economy in order to protect the interests and rights of consumers, workers, and small businesses while tempering the dominating power of big business.
1.
A. NO CHANGE
B.In 1890, first introduced by Senator John Sherman of Ohio, the U.S. Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act.
C.The U.S. Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act, first introduced by Senator John Sherman of Ohio, in 1890.
D. The U.S. Congress, first introduced by Senator John Sherman of Ohio, passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890.
2.
A. NO CHANGE
B.will result
C.resulted
D. has resulted
3.
A. NO CHANGE
B.influentially business leaders
C.influential business leaders
D. influential business, leaders
4.
A. NO CHANGE
B.Charles E. Wilson a former chairperson of General Motors
C.Charles E. Wilson—a former chairperson of General Motors
D. Charles E. Wilson a former chairperson of General Motors,
5. Which choice most effectively combines the two sentences at the underlined portion?
A. business, and
B.business;
C.business
D. business:
6.
A. NO CHANGE
B.arguing
C.they argue
D. to argue
7.
A. NO CHANGE
B.exploit
C.exploits
D. exploited
8.
A. NO CHANGE
B.Act, which were attempting
C.Act, which attempted
D. Act, and attempting
9.
A. NO CHANGE
B.against
C.and
D. than
10.
A. NO CHANGE
B.finally realizing
C.finally will have realized
D. had finally realized
11.
A. NO CHANGE
B.we
C.it
D. one
Check Your Work
1. C
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Modifiers
Getting to the Answer: Modifying phrases must be placed as close as possible to what they modify. The intended meaning is not that the U.S. Congress was “first introduced by Senator John Sherman of Ohio”; rather, the phrase describes the Sherman Antitrust Act. Only (C) correctly places the modifying phrase adjacent to the Act, so (C) is correct.
2. C
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Agreement: Verbs
Getting to the Answer: Unless the context in the passage indicates that the time frame has changed, verb tenses should be consistent. The context makes clear that everything described in this sentence happened in the past. Choice (C), which is in the simple past tense like the other verbs in the sentence (“charged” and “rewrote”), corrects the unnecessary shift in verb tense. The other answer choices are incorrect because they are in other verb tenses: (A) is in present tense, (B) is in future tense, and (D) indicates an action that occurred in the past but has present consequences.
3. C
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Modifiers
Getting to the Answer: This question tests how to use the words “influential” and “business” to modify “leaders” in a way that maintains the intended meaning. In this context, “business” defines the type of “leaders.” You can test this by reversing the order of the modifiers: “business influential leaders” does not make logical sense. “Influential” is thus modifying “business leaders,” not just “leaders,” so no comma is needed between the modifiers. (C) is correct. (B) is incorrect because the phrase “business leaders” functions as a noun, so you need an adjective, not an adverb, to modify it.
4. A
Difficulty: Hard
Category: Sentence Structure: Commas, Dashes, and Colons
Getting to the Answer: Parenthetical information in a sentence must be set off by punctuation, while essential information does not require punctuation. This question tests whether the descriptive phrase “a former chairperson of General Motors” is essential in this sentence. Although the phrase adds relevant information, removing the phrase still results in a sentence that makes logical sense: the reader still knows precisely who (Charles E. Wilson) is associated with the quote. Since the phrase is parenthetical, it should be set off by a pair of commas, dashes, or parentheses—(A) is correct. The other choices are incorrect because they either omit the necessary punctuation entirely, as in (B), or use only one punctuation mark instead of a pair, as in (C) and (D).
5. D
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Sentence Structure: Commas, Dashes, and Colons
Getting to the Answer: You must determine the correct punctuation to use between these two independent clauses. Since several of the answer choices are technically correct, evaluate the content of the sentences to determine the relationship between them. The first sentence refers to a “quote,” and the second sentence is the actual quote. Since the first sentence introduces the quote, a colon is appropriate, so (D) is correct. (A) and (B) are technically correct ways to join independent clauses, but they are incorrect in this context, in which the first clause introduces the second. (C) results in a run-on.
6. B
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Sentence Structure: The Basics
Getting to the Answer: The underlined portion links two independent clauses, each containing a subject and verb (“Many... co-opted” and “they... argued”) and expressing a complete thought. As written, a comma without a FANBOYS conjunction (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So) between two independent clauses creates a run-on sentence; eliminate (A). None of the other answer choices contains a FANBOYS conjunction, so look for another way to correct the run-on. Since the comma is not underlined, look for the choice that makes the second clause dependent—in this case, choice (B).
7. B
Difficulty: Hard
Category: Agreement: Verbs
Getting to the Answer: Whenever you see a series, make sure that all of the items are in parallel form. This is a series of three verb phrases that describe what “monopolies” were allowed to do. The entire series begins with “to,” and the non-underlined verb phrases begin with present tense verbs: “manipulate consumers” and “threaten democracy.” As written, the second item is “exploit ing workers,” so it is not parallel with “manipulate” and “threaten.” Choice (B) follows the pattern of the other verb phrases and is correct.
8. C
Difficulty: Hard
Category: Sentence Structure: The Basics
Getting to the Answer: Check underlined verbs for their subjects. Make sure that the sentence makes logical sense. Often, the subject of a verb can be found much earlier in the sentence. As written, the underlined segment seems to have “concerns” as its subject, but it doesn’t make logical sense that the “concerns” “attempted” anything. Reading carefully, you will see that the phrase provides additional information about the Sherman Antitrust Act and should be subordinate to the main clause. Choice (C) fixes the issue and correctly uses the verb “attempted” to match the singular noun “Sherman Antitrust Act.”
9. D
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Agreement: Idioms
Getting to the Answer: Analyze the sentence so you can determine which word is correct in context. The underlined word helps set up a comparison between the Act’s “direct effects” and “a new era of reform.” The correct word to use in a comparison phrase such as “more than” is than, so (D) is correct. Choice (A), “then,” which is frequently confused with than, refers to sequence or to causation in “if/then” statements. Neither (B) nor (C) is idiomatically correct when used with the comparison “more.”
10. D
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Sentence Structure: The Basics
Getting to the Answer: Read long sentences carefully to make sure they contain a subject and a predicate verb and express a complete thought. As written, this sentence is a fragment because it lacks a predicate verb for the subject “the federal government.” Replacing the underlined segment with (D) adds a predicate verb and forms a complete sentence. (B) fails to fix the initial error. While (C) results in a complete sentence, it is incorrect because its verb tense does not match the context.
11. C
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Pronouns
Getting to the Answer: When you see an underlined pronoun, read around the underlined segment to identify its antecedent so you can determine whether they are in agreement. Reading from the beginning of the sentence, you can see that the pronoun “they” stands in for “government.” Although the government consists of many people, the noun “government” is singular, so (C) is correct.