PSAT/NMSQT Prep 2022 - Eggert M.D., Strelka A. 2022
Reflect
Spotting and fixing errors: sentence structure, punctuation, and agreement
PSAT Reading
Directions: Take a few minutes to recall what you’ve learned and what you’ve been practicing in this chapter. Consider the following questions, jot down your best answer for each one, and then compare your reflections to the expert responses on the following page. Use your level of confidence to determine what to do next.
Name at least three ways to correct a run-on sentence.
How does the PSAT test subject-verb agreement and parallelism?
What are the three different pronoun forms? When do you use each one?
What is the difference between an adjective and an adverb?
What are the three ways that apostrophes are tested on the PSAT?
Which commonly confused words do you need to be especially careful to look out for?
Expert Responses
Name at least three ways to correct a run-on sentence.
There are a number of ways to fix a run-on sentence on the PSAT. The six ways that you are likely to see are: 1) use a period to create two separate sentences, 2) use a semicolon between the two independent clauses, 3) use a colon between the two independent clauses, 4) make one clause dependent, 5) add a FANBOYS conjunctionafter the comma, or 6) use a dash between the two independent clauses.
How does the PSAT test subject-verb agreement and parallelism?
A subject and verb must always agree in person (first, second, or third) and number (singular or plural). You will need to be able to spot subject-verb mismatches and correct them. Parallelism requires that all items in a list, a compound, or a comparison are in parallel form. The PSAT may test lists or comparisons in which one item is in the wrong form.
What are the three different pronoun forms? When do you use each one?
The three forms are subjective (when the pronoun is the subject), objective (when the pronoun is the object of a verb or preposition), and possessive (when the pronoun expresses ownership).
What is the difference between an adjective and an adverb?
An adjective is a single word that modifies a noun or a pronoun, while an adverb is a single word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
What are the three ways that apostrophes are tested on the PSAT?
Apostrophes on the PSAT are used to 1) indicate the possessive form of a singular noun (’s), 2) indicate the possessive form of a plural noun (s’), or 3) indicate a contraction (don’t = do not).
Which commonly confused words do you need to be especially careful to look out for?
The answer to this question is specific to you. If you have concerns about more than half of the words out of the list of 24, consider making flash cards to help you practice. The extra effort will ensure that you do not confuse any of the commonly confused words on test day.
Next Steps
If you answered most questions correctly in the “How Much Have You Learned?” section, and if your responses to the Reflect questions were similar to those of the PSAT expert, then consider Sentence Structure, Punctuation, and Agreement areas of strength and move on to the next chapter. Come back to these topics periodically to prevent yourself from getting rusty.
If you don’t yet feel confident, review those parts of this chapter that you have not yet mastered. In particular, review punctuation usage in the Sentence Structure: The Basics and Commas, Dashes, and Colons lessons, as well as how to select the appropriate pronoun or modifier in the Agreement: Pronouns and Agreement: Modifiers lessons. Then try the questions you missed again. As always, be sure to review the explanations closely.
* fresco: a style of painting on plaster using water-based pigments
Answers and Explanations
1. Review the Explanation portion of the Sentence Structure: The Basics lesson.
2. C
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: As written, the first sentence is a fragment: it does not express a complete thought. Eliminate (A). Also eliminate (D), since a semicolon joins two independent clauses. (B) is incorrect because it uses the conjunction “and” incorrectly, turning the entire sentence into a fragment. (C) is correct because it uses a comma to join the dependent clause beginning “Since” to the independent clause “he noticed. . .”
3. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: As written, the sentence uses a semicolon to join the sentence’s parts. The first part of the sentence is an independent clause with subject-verb “He decided.” The second part does not contain a subject or express a complete thought, so eliminate any answer choices that punctuates the sentence as if it contains two independent clauses: (A), a semicolon; (C), a comma and FANBOYS conjunction; and (D), a period that results in two sentences. (B) is correct because the word “and” joins the compound verb “decided... and found”; no extra punctuation is necessary.
4. D
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: The part of the sentence before the underline is an independent clause; it expresses a complete thought with subject “Some people” and verb “are.” The part after the underline, however, is a dependent clause because it does not express a complete thought: “Though the number. . .” The word “though” subordinates the second clause. You need to find a way to join the independent clause to the subordinate (dependent) clause that follows it. (D) is correct because a comma is the appropriate way to join an independent clause and a dependent, subordinate clause. (A) and (C) are incorrect because they punctuate the sentence as though the second part were an independent clause. (B) is incorrect because it creates a run-on.
5. D
Difficulty: Hard
Getting to the Answer: The underlined section contains part of a long list of side effects. Normally, you would separate items in a list with commas, but when a list contains sublists, the sublists must be separated by semicolons and the items within them must be separated by commas. (D) is correct because it correctly punctuates the list by using commas between the items in the sublists of side effects and semicolons between the distinct groups of side effects.
6. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: The parts of the sentence before and after the underline are both independent clauses. Each expresses a complete thought and has a subject and predicate verb (“problem... is” and “these bacteria cannot be”). Eliminate any answer choices that are not ways to combine two independent clauses. (A) incorrectly uses a comma. (C) is incorrect because the lack of any punctuation between independent clauses results in a run-on. (D) is incorrect because the word “although” turns the second clause into a subordinate clause, so the clauses cannot be joined by a semicolon. (B) is correct because it joins two independent clauses with a semicolon.
7. Review the Explanation portion of the Sentence Structure: Commas, Dashes, and Colons lesson.
8. C
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the Answer: As written, the colon is used improperly: a colon can follow an independent clause only. Eliminate (A). The words before the punctuation mark, “A practical man,” form an introductory phrase. An introductory phrase should be followed by a comma, so (C) is correct. (B) is incorrect because it runs the phrases together, and the use of the dash in (D) is incorrect for the same reason as is the colon in (A).
9. D
Difficulty: Hard
Getting to the Answer: This sentence is complicated, so break it down into its component parts so you can determine which punctuation is correct. The subject of the sentence is “He” and the verb is “would... accept.” The phrases after “layers” are prepositional phrases that describe the layers. The underline appears in one of these prepositional phrases: “from candles, and incense burned during religious functions.” Punctuation should not separate a preposition from its object, even when the preposition (“from”) has a compound object (“candles and incense”). Therefore, eliminate any choices that separate the preposition from the objects. (D) is the only one that doesn’t separate them, so it is correct.
10. D
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: This underline contains two nouns (“solvents” and “equipment”) and their descriptive adjectives. When more than one adjective modifies a noun, there should be commas between the adjectives only if you could change the order of the adjectives without changing the meaning. For the first noun here, “solvents,” the word “cleaning” specifies the type of solvents. Thus, “special” is actually modifying “cleaning solvents.” You cannot change the order of the adjectives without changing the meaning—“cleaning special solvents” does not make sense. Therefore, eliminate (A), which adds a comma between “special” and “cleaning.” Perform the same analysis on “equipment.” Switching the order of the adjectives would result in an illogical phrase (“analysis computerized equipment”), so “analysis” specifies the type of “equipment,” and no comma is necessary. Eliminate (B). There is no reason to separate the nouns “solvents” and “equipment” with a comma as in choice (C), so (D) is correct.
11. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: Remember that punctuation must be used to set off parenthetical information. In this sentence, the phrase “as they claimed” is parenthetical in the sentence—without this nonessential phrase, the essential idea of the sentence, “the restorers did not achieve this effect merely by removing the dirt... from the frescoes” still makes logical sense. Since punctuation must set off parenthetical information, (B) is correct because it is the only choice that uses a comma at both the beginning and the end of the phrase.
12. A
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: Analyze both the types of clauses and the relationship between their ideas to determine how they should be punctuated. The clause before the punctuation is an independent clause, a complete thought with subject-verb: “the restorers did not achieve.” The clause after the punctuation is also an independent clause with subject-verb: “the team removed.” The ideas of the clauses are closely related: the first sentence states that the “effect” was not “merely” the result of “removing the dirt and animal glue,” and the second sentence explains what else was done to achieve the effect (“remov[ing] Michelangelo’s final touches”). Since the part of the sentence before the punctuation is an independent clause and the second part helps to explain the first, a colon effectively punctuates these two closely related clauses, so (A) is correct. The other choices create run-on sentences by improperly joining two independent clauses.
13. A
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the Answer: Items in a series should be separated by commas. This series is lengthy, but the rule is the same. The underlined portion lists the things that the “solvents” did: “stripped,” “reacted,” and “produced.” These should be separated by commas, so (A) is correct. Semicolons, as in (C) and (D), are required only in series to separate groups of related items; when this occurs, the related items are separated by commas.
14. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: This sentence begins with a subordinating clause (“Since the layers... protection”). Because this clause is not a complete thought, it is a dependent clause that must be joined to the rest of the sentence with a comma, so (B) is correct. (A) runs the clauses together, while (C) and (D) punctuate the sentence as though it consisted of two independent clauses.
15. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: The phrase “an extensive climate-control system” is parenthetical to the meaning of the sentence. Although it provides clarifying information about what “the measure” is, the sentence would still be logical even if the phrase were removed. Parenthetical information must be set off by a pair of matching punctuation marks, such as commas or dashes, so (B) is correct. (A) and (C) are incorrect because they include mismatched punctuation marks around the phrase. (D) is incorrect because semicolons cannot be used to set off parenthetical information.
16. Review the Explanation portion of the Agreement: Verbs lesson.
17. A
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: Make sure that the underlined verb matches the tense of the surrounding context and agrees with its subject. The verb should be in the present tense since it refers to the “current image,” so eliminate (B) and (C). The subject of the verb “capture” is the compound subject, “The woolly mammoth and the mastodon.” Since a compound subject is treated as a plural, the singular verb in (D) is incorrect. Only (A) is left and is correct because it has the correct tense and agrees with its subject.
18. C
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: Check whether the subject of the underlined verb is singular or plural. Finding the subject is complicated by the fact that a prepositional phrase (“to the modern-day elephant”) separates the verb from its subject, “precursors.” This subject is plural, so eliminate the singular verbs in (A) and (D). You know that these animals are “now-extinct,” so you need a past tense verb; eliminate (B). Only (C) is left and is correct.
19. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: The verb’s subject is the singular “team,” and the action happened in the past, as indicated by verbs “descended” and “helped” in the surrounding sentences. Eliminate (C), which is not in the past tense, and (D), which is a plural verb form. One of the remaining choices, (A), is a verb form that indicates an action that occurred before another past action, “had completed.” This action did not occur before another action in the sentence, but rather occurred “after” the other events described. Thus, the simple past tense, (B), is correct.
20. D
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: Comparisons on the PSAT must be written in parallel form. This comparison identifies two “scientific theories”: “meteor showers” and “massive volcanic eruptions.” Be very careful that the wording you choose directly compares these two ideas. The comparison begins after the word “ranged” and fits into the pattern “from... to. . .” So, as written, the sentence compares “meteor showers” to “suggestions of massive volcanic eruptions.” This comparison is not parallel, so eliminate (A). (B) and (C) make similar errors, comparing the “meteor showers” to “suggesting” and “theories,” respectively. (D) completes the comparison logically.
21. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: This underlined verb has the subject “community.” Although this noun refers to numerous people, the collective noun itself is treated as singular. Eliminate any answer choices that use a plural verb: (A) and (D). Using the -ing form of the verb, as in (C), results in a sentence fragment. (B) appropriately uses a present tense, singular verb and is therefore correct.
22. D
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the Answer: Use context to determine the appropriate tense for the underlined verb. Although the scientists’ action, “consider,” is in present tense, the verbs referring to the mammoths, which “died out” according to the previous sentence, must be in past tense. Only (D) is in the past tense, so it is correct.
23. Review the Explanation portion of the Agreement: Pronouns lesson.
24. C
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: When a pronoun is underlined, make sure it agrees with its antecedent and is in the correct form based on its placement in the sentence. The underlined pronoun refers to people (“authors”), not things, so eliminate the pronoun “which,” choice (B). The subjective form of the pronoun is required since the pronoun is part of the subject of the verb “were.” Therefore, the subjective pronoun “who,” choice (C), is correct.
25. D
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: An underlined pronoun must match the pronouns used in the surrounding context. Determine who the writer is referring to in saying that these authors “compelled” someone. In surrounding sentences, the writer uses the pronouns “we” and “ours” to refer to those impacted by these authors; the writer thus includes both the reader and herself in this designation. This pronoun should include the same groups, so the first-person plural “us,” (D), is correct. (B) is incorrect because it includes only the writer, which does not match the other surrounding pronouns. (A) is incorrect because it is in the second person, and (C) is incorrect because it is in the third person, neither of which is used elsewhere in the passage.
26. C
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: The pronoun “they” sounds correct in this usage, and the writer uses this pronoun in the previous sentence to refer to the authors, but carefully check to make sure this underlined pronoun has a clear antecedent. The pronoun is meant to refer to the authors, as indicated later in the sentence by the reference to “their writings.” However, the nearest antecedent for the pronoun “they” is “readers” in the previous sentence. Even though you may understand the intended meaning, the pronoun here is ambiguous and thus incorrect. (C) is correct because it is the only choice that clarifies the subject.
27. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: Determine the antecedent of the underlined pronoun. The pronoun is possessive, indicating that the “readings” of Ulysses belong to someone. The sentence previously refers to the plural “literary critics,” so this pronoun should be plural as well; eliminate (C). Although the writer clearly read Ulysses and refers to her opinion about it in the remainder of the paragraph, these readings belong only to other literary critics, so eliminate (A) and (D). (B) is correct.
28. C
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: The underlined pronoun is possessive, indicating that the “book” either belongs to or was written by someone. The antecedent is unclear, as the sentence previously refers to The Odyssey, written by Homer, and The Odyssey’s “hero.” However, the context indicates that the “book” referred to in this case is the “opposite” of The Odyssey, so it must be the book written by Joyce. Although you can logically determine the pronoun’s antecedent, the writer should eliminate the grammatical ambiguity by using Joyce’s name rather than a pronoun, so (C) is correct.
29. A
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: Besides matching their antecedent, pronouns must also be in the correct form: subjective, objective, or possessive. The underlined pronoun should be in the objective form since it is the object of the preposition “of.” (A) is correct. (B) and (D) are incorrect because they use pronoun forms that are not appropriate for the context. (C) is incorrect because it is not a grammatically correct pronoun form.
30. Review the Explanation portion of the Agreement: Modifiers lesson.
31. A
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: The answer choices contain frequently confused versions of possessive pronouns and contractions, so carefully assess the context of the sentence to determine which is correct. A possessive pronoun is appropriate because the sentence is referring to the “medium” that belongs to the “novel,” so eliminate the contractions “it’s” and “they’re,” which mean “it is” and “they are,” respectively. The “novel” is singular, so the singular possessive pronoun “its,” (A), is correct.
32. C
Difficulty: Hard
Getting to the Answer: The placement of a modifying phrase affects the meaning of a sentence, so make sure every phrase is placed correctly. The writer intends to use the modifying phrase “becoming cruel, shortsighted, and constantly dissatisfied with real life” to describe Emma; however, as written, the phrase describes her “friends and family.” Eliminate (A). Only (C) places the modifying phrase next to “Emma,” so it is correct.
33. B
Difficulty: Hard
Getting to the Answer: The underlined words modify the noun “fashion.” Unless one of the adjectives is a defining modifier of the noun (as in the phrase “red dump truck,” which could not be written “dump red truck”), two adjectives cannot be placed together without a comma between them, so (A) and (C) are incorrect. Only (B) uses the modifiers correctly, the adverb “gloriously” describing the adjective “dramatic” and the adjective “dramatic” describing the noun “fashion.” (D) is incorrect because it uses an adverb, “dramatically,” to modify a noun, “fashion.”
34. B
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: Sometimes the trickiest modifier placement questions concern the shortest words, such as “only.” In such cases, carefully analyze the writer’s intended meaning. The writer is comparing Emma with the other characters in the novel, making the point that no other character “habitually reads for pleasure.” Therefore, it is Emma who is “the only character” who reads in this way, so (B) is correct. (A) is incorrect because it unnecessarily repeats the modifier “only.” (C) and (D) both change the intended meaning. (C) singles out “novel,” as though more than one novel were being discussed. (D) implies that Emma only does one thing: “habitually reads for pleasure.”
35. A
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the Answer: When you see an underlined comparison, determine how many things are being compared. The underlined modifier compares “the characters making up the novel’s non-reading population” with “Emma” in regard to social responsibility. Since only two groups are part of the comparison, a comparative word is appropriate, so (A), “more,” is correct. (B) and (C) both result in an improperly worded comparison, and (D) is incorrect because “most” is a superlative, used when comparing three or more items.
36. A
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: This question concerns correct apostrophe placement in a possessive noun. You know the underlined word must be in a possessive form because the sentence is referring to the “unwillingness” of the characters; eliminate (C). There are many other characters in Madame Bovary— her husband, her household, and her family are all mentioned in the passage. (A) is correct because it is the correct way to punctuate a plural possessive: place the apostrophe immediately after the letter that makes the word plural. (B) is incorrect because it is a singular possessive. (D) is not written with the correct structure for a plural possessive.
37. Review the Explanation portion of the Agreement: Idioms lesson.
38. B
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the Answer: This question is testing two commonly confused words: accept and except. Except denotes an exclusion, while accept can mean to either receive or recognize something. In this context, “art historians” are recognizing the status of an art movement, so eliminate any choice containing “except”: (A) and (C). The -ed form of the word fits in this context, so (B) is correct.
39. A
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the Answer: You need to identify the correct preposition for the idiom influenced ____ something. Since the correct idiom is influenced by, (A) is correct.
40. B
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the Answer: This question is testing two commonly confused words: affect and effect. Affect means “to influence” and is most often used as a verb. While effect can be used as a verb (meaning “to bring something about,” as in effected a solution), it is usually used as a noun meaning “result.” In this sentence, the word is used as a noun (try substituting the word result—if you can, you can use effect), so effect must be correct. Adding the -ing ending does not make sense in context, so (B) is correct.
41. B
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the Answer: The correct preposition can often only be determined in the context of the sentence. This sentence states that the Hudson River School was suited to the task of competing with Europe. The function of the prepositional phrase is to explain how that was accomplished, and the phrase “by providing” best serves that function, so (B) is correct.
42. C
Difficulty: Hard
Getting to the Answer: This question is testing two commonly confused words: that and which. That is used with essential, or defining, information. Which is used with nonessential, or parenthetical, information. In this case, that is correct because it is necessary to specify that the “art” is “unmistakably American.” The phrase “art, which was unmistakably American” indicates that all art is unmistakably American, which is clearly not the intended meaning. (C) is correct. (B) and (D) result in ungrammatical sentences.
43. D
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: While explicit double negatives are easier to catch and avoid, you must also be on the lookout for implicit double negatives. Hardly is a word that cannot be directly paired with a negative, such as not. The only answer choice that avoids an implicit double negative construction is (D), so it is correct.
44. A
Difficulty: Medium
Getting to the Answer: This question requires you to select the correct construction of the idiomatic expression neither... nor. (C) and (D) use the phrasing “neither ... or,” so eliminate them. The preposition “to” must be consistently placed in the expression. As written, the word “to” appears after each word in the expression: “neither to embellish nor to idealize,” so (A) is correct. (B) incorrectly places the word “to” both before and within the phrase: “to neither embellish nor to idealize.”
45. B
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Sentence Structure: Commas, Dashes, and Colons
Getting to the Answer: The sentence creates a series: attributes of locations in space that help the reader picture Antarctica. Each item in the series is worded “as (adjective) as Moon/Saturn/Mars.” Basic series should be punctuated with commas between each of the items, so (B) is correct. (A) and (C) each omit necessary commas from the series, and (D) incorrectly omits the word “as” in the second series item.
46. B
Difficulty: Hard
Category: Agreement: Pronouns
Getting to the Answer: Always check underlined pronouns for ambiguity. In this case, the antecedent of the pronoun is unclear: although the writer is clearly describing qualities of Antarctica, the nearest antecedent is “Mars.” After eliminating the pronouns that are ambiguous, you’re left with (B), which correctly clarifies the intended location. Note that even if a pronoun in this location were not ambiguous, (C) would be incorrect because it is plural and (D) would be incorrect because it is the contraction of it is.
47. D
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Sentence Structure: The Basics
Getting to the Answer: The underlined comma separates two independent clauses, each expressing a complete thought with a subject and predicate verb (“Scientists estimate” and “sea levels might rise”). Remember that semicolons combine two independent clauses, while commas can join independent clauses only when followed by a FANBOYS conjunction. Choice (D) is correct because it properly joins the independent clauses with a semicolon. The other answer choices are not valid ways to join independent clauses. (A) creates a run-on because it joins independent clauses with only a comma. (B) adds an unnecessary “and” after the semicolon. (C) omits the necessary comma before “and.”
48. A
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Idioms
Getting to the Answer: The word their and theirs are possessive pronouns, but “their’s” is never correct, so eliminate (B). The singular “a town” that follows the underlined portion for this question requires a singular verb. Only (A) offers the singular verb “is” and is therefore correct. The remaining choices are incorrect because they use the plural verb “are” either outright as (C) does, or hidden in a contraction, as in (D), where “they’re” is a shortened version of they are.
49. D
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Idioms
Getting to the Answer: The underlined phrase contains an idiomatic expression. The writer is identifying things that are not in Antarctica, not expressing that the continent could logically only have either a town or vegetation, so eliminate (B). The correct idiomatic expression is “neither... nor.” Only correct answer (D) uses this structure.
50. C
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Modifiers
Getting to the Answer: When modifiers are underlined, make sure they are in the correct format to modify the intended word. The underlined modifiers are in the last part of a sentence that describes the impact of Antarctic water. The modifier “ultimate” is not intended to modify “weather patterns,” as written, but to indicate that the creation of these weather patterns is the final part of a process; eliminate (A). Only (C) structures the modifiers so that “ultimately” modifies the verb “create” and “complex” modifies “weather patterns,” so (C) is correct. (D) is incorrect because it alters the original intended meaning of the sentence.
51. D
Difficulty: Hard
Category: Sentence Structure: Commas, Dashes, and Colons
Getting to the Answer: You must determine what punctuation is correct around this long phrase that appears in the middle of a sentence. As written, the descriptive phrase that begins “giving these waters” confusingly runs into the previous part of the sentence, so eliminate (A). The underlined prepositional phrases are best viewed as parenthetical information that describes the type of life in Antarctic seas. If the phrases were removed, the sentence would still stand on its own: “Antarctic seas teem with life,... giving these waters a vital status among the Earth’s ecosystems.” Look for an answer choice that punctuates the parenthetical information appropriately, using either a pair of commas or dashes to set off the nonessential phrase. (D) does this with commas and is correct. (B) and (C) are incorrect because the use of a semicolon would indicate that two independent clauses are being joined, but each creates one dependent clause.
52. C
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Modifiers
Getting to the Answer: The answer choices place the descriptive phrase “some found nowhere else on the planet” in different locations. The phrase should be placed near “unique species of birds and mammals,” since it describes these living creatures rather than “frigid waters” or “the continent’s edge.” Only correct answer (C) places these phrases together.
53. B
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Verbs
Getting to the Answer: Check underlined verbs for tense consistency and agreement with their subjects. The context of the paragraph makes it clear that research in Antarctica occurs “today,” so eliminate (C), which confines the action to only the past. To determine which present tense verb is correct, find the verb’s subject. Although the noun “Antarctica” is nearest, the subject is actually the compound “relative inaccessibility and near pristine state.” Compound subjects with and should be treated as plural, so the plural verb “make,” (B), is correct.
54. A
Difficulty: Medium
Category: Agreement: Verbs
Getting to the Answer: Determine the subject of the underlined verb so you can ensure the subject and verb are in agreement. Although there are many words in between, the subject of the verb is “discovery”; all the words in between are prepositional or descriptive phrases that describe the discovery or its location. Since “discovery” is singular, the singular “provides,” (A), is correct. (B) and (C) are incorrect because they are plural verbs. (D) is incorrect because it would result in a sentence fragment.
55. D
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Sentence Structure: The Basics
Getting to the Answer: A sentence is a run-on if it has two improperly joined independent clauses that could be stand-alone sentences. The parts of the sentence before and after the underline are both independent clauses that express complete thoughts. Both a comma and a FANBOYS conjunction are required when combining two independent clauses. Eliminate (A) and (B) because they are missing the comma, and eliminate (C) because it is missing a FANBOYS conjunction. Choice (D) correctly divides the two independent clauses into two separate sentences.