PSAT/NMSQT Prep 2022 - Eggert M.D., Strelka A. 2022
Agreement: verbs
Spotting and fixing errors: sentence structure, punctuation, and agreement
PSAT Reading
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
After this lesson, you will be able to:
· Identify and correct verb agreement issues
To answer a question like this:
The astronauts of Apollo 13 16 have performed a routine maintenance check on the ship’s equipment immediately before an explosion occurred that forced them to cancel a moon landing and greatly endangered the lives of the crew.
16.
A. NO CHANGE
B.will have performed
C.had performed
D. was performing
You need to know this:
Verb Tense
Verb tense indicates when an action or state of being took place: past, present, or future. The tense of the verb must fit the context of the passage. Each tense can express three different types of action.
|
Type of Action |
Past |
Present |
Future |
Single action occurring only once |
Connor planted vegetables in the community garden. |
Connor plants vegetables in the community garden. |
Connor will plant vegetables in the community garden. |
Action that is ongoing at some point in time |
Connor was planting vegetables in the community garden this morning before noon. |
Connor is planting vegetables in the community garden this morning before noon. |
Connor will be planting vegetables in the community garden this morning before noon. |
Action that is completed before some other action |
Connor had planted vegetables in the community garden every year until he gave his job to Jasmine. |
Connor has planted vegetables in the community garden since it started five years ago. |
Connor will have planted vegetables in the community garden by the time the growing season starts. |
Subject-Verb Agreement
A verb must agree with its subject in person and number:
· Person (first, second, or third)
o First: I ask a question.
o Second: You ask a question.
o Third: She asks a question.
· Number (singular or plural)
o Singular: The apple tastes delicious.
o Plural: Apples taste delicious.
The noun closest to the verb is not always the subject: The chair with the lion feet is an antique. The singular verb in this sentence, “is,” is closest to the plural noun “feet.” However, the verb’s actual subject is the singular noun “chair,” so the sentence is correct as written.
When a sentence includes two nouns, only the conjunction and forms a compound subject requiring a plural verb form:
· Plural: Saliyah and Taylor are in the running club.
· Singular: Either Saliyah or Taylor is in the running club.
· Singular: Neither Saliyah nor Taylor is in the running club.
Collective nouns are nouns that name entities with more than one member, such as group, team, and family. Even though these nouns represent more than one person, they are grammatically singular and require singular verb forms:
· The collection of paintings is one of the most popular art exhibits in recent years.
· The team looks promising this year.
Parallelism
Verbs in a list, a compound, or a comparison must be parallel in form.
|
Feature |
Example |
Parallel Form |
A list |
Chloe formulated a question, conducted background research, and constructed a hypothesis before starting the experiment. |
3 simple past verb phrases |
A compound |
Hunting and fishing were essential to the survival of Midwestern Native American tribes such as the Omaha. |
2 -ing verb forms |
A comparison |
Garrett enjoys sculpting as much as painting . |
2 -ing verb forms |
Note that parallelism may be tested using other parts of speech besides verbs. In general, any items in a list, compound, or comparison must be in parallel form. For example, if a list starts with a noun, the other items in the list must also be nouns; if it starts with an adjective, the other items must be adjectives, etc.
|
Incorrect |
Correct |
Naomi likes pumpkin pie and to drink coffee on chilly weekend afternoons. |
Naomi likes pumpkin pie and coffee on chilly weekend afternoons. |
Which of the dogs is the most docile and better behaved? |
Which of the dogs is the most docile and best behaved? |
You need to do this:
If the underlined portion includes a verb, check that the verb:
· Reflects the correct tense: does it fit the context?
· Agrees with the subject in person and number
· Is parallel in form with other verbs in a series, list, or compound if there is one in the sentence
Explanation:
Check underlined verbs to make sure they agree with their subjects and match the tense of the passage. The subject of the underlined verb is “astronauts,” so a plural verb is required; eliminate (D). Check the surrounding context to determine the correct tense. The actions of the sentence happened in the past (“occurred,” “endangered”), but this performance of a maintenance check happened before another past action in the sentence: the explosion. “Had performed” is the appropriate way to indicate the sequence of these past actions, so (C) is correct. The other choices are not appropriate ways to express a single past action that happened before another past action.
If verbs give you trouble, study the information above and try the following Drill questions before completing the Try on Your Own questions that follow. Edit each sentence to correct the verb issue. Answers to the Drill can be found after the Try on Your Own questions.
Drill
a. The delicious flavors offered by the new ice cream shop (ensure/ensures) that many customers are typically lined up waiting to buy a scoop.
b. The manga club and the quiz team (meet/meets) in the student union on alternating Tuesdays.
c. Neither the teacher nor the student (was/were) adequately prepared for class.
d. By the time the toddler finally finished his dinner, everyone else (finished/had finished) eating dessert.
e. Katrina’s favorite activities at the amusement park include riding the wooden roller coasters, driving the bumper cars, and (eating/to eat) the caramel candy apples.
Try on Your Own
Directions: Take as much time as you need on these questions. Work carefully and methodically. There will be an opportunity for timed practice at the end of the chapter.
Questions 17—22 refer to the following passage.
Woolly Mammoth
The woolly mammoth and the mastodon probably best 17 capture the public’s current image of prehistoric Ice Age animals. Typically, these now-extinct, herbivorous precursors to the modern-day elephant 18 was about 10 feet tall at the shoulders and weighed nearly 6,000 pounds.
Although paleontologists have discovered remains of many woolly mammoths over the years, none has been found better preserved than the “Jarkov Mammoth” found on Siberia’s Taimyr Peninsula in 1997. Soon after a 9-year-old boy out playing in the snowy hills first spotted the remains, scientists descended on the site. Then, after battling weeks of frigid weather and approximately 20,000 years’ worth of dense frost coating the entire body of the mammoth, the assembled team finally 19 had completed a successful excavation. Important for numerous scientific reasons, the Jarkov Mammoth, in particular, has helped scientists settle a debate that has been raging for many years concerning the possible reasons behind the sudden extinction of these ancient giants.
Woolly mammoths roamed the cold northern plains of the globe for much of the last 2 million years, including most of the Ice Age that began roughly 70,000 years ago. Then, quite suddenly, 10,000 years ago, a time that corresponds with the end of the Ice Age, the mammoths disappeared. Scientific theories explaining this rapid extinction ranged from meteor showers pelting Earth to 20 suggestions of massive volcanic eruptions. Today, however, partially due to evidence taken from the Jarkov Mammoth, the scientific community generally 21 agree that these creatures died out from a combination of changing climate, hunting pressures from humans, and probably even disease. In fact, scientists consider it likely that the rising temperatures accompanying the end of the Ice Age 22 will work against the evolutionary adaptations of the mammoths, including their signature woolly coats of dense fur. Indeed, the demise of the Jarkov Mammoth seems to have involved a deep patch of mud, perhaps a sign that these behemoths were unaccustomed to treading on increasingly softer ground.
17.
A. NO CHANGE
B.captured
C.will have captured
D. captures
18.
A. NO CHANGE
B.are
C.were
D. is
19.
A. NO CHANGE
B.completed
C.is completing
D. have completed
20.
A. NO CHANGE
B.suggesting massive volcanic eruptions.
C.theories of massive volcanic eruptions.
D. massive volcanic eruptions.
21.
A. NO CHANGE
B.agrees
C.agreeing
D. have agreed
22.
A. NO CHANGE
B.work
C.working
D. worked
Drill answers from before:
a. The delicious flavors offered by the new ice cream shop ensure that many customers are typically lined up waiting to buy a scoop.
b. The manga club and the quiz team meet in the student union on alternating Tuesdays.
c. Neither the teacher nor the student was adequately prepared for class.
d. By the time the toddler finally finished his dinner, everyone else had finished eating dessert.
e. Katrina’s favorite activities at the amusement park include riding the wooden roller coasters, driving the bumper cars, and eating the caramel candy apples.