PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) Writing and Standard English Conventions Syllabus

Do compound subjects joined by 'and' take a singular or plural verb?

Plural: 'Tom and Jerry are friends.' (Exception: a single unit like 'macaroni and cheese is.')

With subjects joined by 'or'/'nor' (or 'either...or'), what determines the verb's number?

The verb agrees with the subject nearer to it: 'Neither the teacher nor the students were ready.'

Are indefinite pronouns like 'each,' 'everyone,' 'either,' 'neither,' and 'anybody' singular or plural?

Singular; they take singular verbs: 'Each of the players is ready.'

When does a collective noun (team, jury, group) take a singular vs. plural verb?

Singular when acting as one unit ('The team wins'); plural when members act individually ('The team disagree among themselves'). On the SAT, usually singular.

In 'There are several reasons,' what does the verb agree with?

The verb agrees with the noun that follows it ('reasons'), since 'there' is not the subject.

What does verb tense indicate, and why must it stay consistent?

Tense shows the time of an action (past, present, future). Tenses should remain consistent within a passage unless the time frame genuinely changes.

What is the present perfect tense and when is it used?

Formed with 'has/have' + past participle; it links a past action to the present or describes an action continuing to now: 'She has lived here for years.'

What is the past perfect tense and when is it used?

Formed with 'had' + past participle; it shows an action completed before another past action: 'By the time we arrived, the show had ended.'

Give the three principal parts (base, past, past participle) of the irregular verbs 'to lie' (recline) and 'to lay' (place).

Lie: lie, lay, lain (no object). Lay: lay, laid, laid (takes an object).

What is the principal-parts pattern for 'to go,' 'to do,' and 'to see'?

go/went/gone; do/did/done; see/saw/seen. The past participle (gone, done, seen) needs a helping verb.

What is pronoun-antecedent agreement?

A pronoun must match its antecedent (the noun it replaces) in number and gender: a singular antecedent takes a singular pronoun.

What pronoun number do indefinite pronouns like 'everyone,' 'each,' and 'somebody' require?

Singular, so they take singular pronouns: 'Everyone must bring his or her ID.'

What makes a pronoun reference unclear (ambiguous), and how is it fixed?

When a pronoun could refer to more than one noun, e.g., 'Jen told Amy she was late.' Fix by replacing the pronoun with the specific noun.

What are the subjective (nominative) case pronouns?

I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who — used as the subject of a verb or as a predicate nominative.

What are the objective case pronouns?

me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom — used as the object of a verb or preposition.

How do you choose between 'who' and 'whom'?

Use 'who' as a subject (he/she substitution works); use 'whom' as an object (him/her substitution works): 'To whom did you speak?'

In compound objects like 'between you and ___,' which pronoun case is correct?

Objective case: 'between you and me' (object of preposition 'between'), never 'between you and I.'

How do you pick the right pronoun case in 'He is taller than (I/me)'?

Complete the implied clause: 'taller than I [am].' The subjective case 'I' is correct.

What are the possessive pronouns, and do they use apostrophes?

my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, our/ours, their/theirs — none use apostrophes ('its' possessive has no apostrophe).

When are commas used with items in a series?

Separate three or more items with commas; the SAT uses the Oxford (serial) comma before 'and': 'red, white, and blue.'

When do you use commas with a nonessential (nonrestrictive) element?

Surround it with commas when it adds extra, removable information: 'My brother, who lives in Ohio, is visiting.'

Why are commas NOT used around an essential (restrictive) element?

Because the element is needed to identify the noun; removing it changes the meaning: 'The student who studies hardest will win.'

Do you use commas to separate coordinate adjectives? How do you test for them?

Yes, if you can insert 'and' or reverse them and the sentence still works: 'a long, boring lecture.'

When is a comma needed after an introductory word, phrase, or clause?

Place a comma after introductory elements: 'After the game, we ate.' / 'However, I disagreed.'

State one comma rule the SAT tests as a 'do NOT' between subject and verb.

Never place a single comma between a subject and its verb: 'The book on the shelf [no comma] is mine.'

What is the primary use of a semicolon?

To join two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction: 'The test was hard; I still passed.'

Besides joining clauses, when else is a semicolon used?

To separate items in a series when the items themselves contain commas: 'We visited Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Bern, Switzerland.'

What is the rule for using a colon?

A colon must follow a complete independent clause and introduces a list, explanation, or example: 'Bring three things: a pen, paper, and ID.'

How do apostrophes show possession for singular vs. plural nouns?

Singular: add 's ('the dog's bone'). Plural ending in s: add only an apostrophe ('the dogs' bones'). Irregular plural: add 's ('children's').

What is the difference between 'its' and 'it's,' and 'their/there/they're'?

'Its' = possessive, 'it's' = it is/has. 'Their' = possessive, 'there' = place, 'they're' = they are.

How are em dashes and parentheses used to set off nonessential information, and how must dashes be paired?

Both can enclose nonessential information mid-sentence; dashes add emphasis, parentheses downplay. A dash must be matched with a dash and a parenthesis with a parenthesis (never mix a dash with a comma or parenthesis as a pair).