Improving Sentences - PSAT Writing

The phrase "known as the Magnificent Interrupter" is an interrupting phrase, a phrase that provides information, but is not necessary to the structure of the sentence. Such clauses need to be set apart from the sentence by commas, so the correct answer is to leave the sentence as it is written.

The underlined phrase perfectly fits the sentence. The preposition "for" refers appropriately to the condition of the sentence. The use of the reflexive pronoun "myself" is also correct as the subject of the sentence is the first person pronoun "I," and "myself" can refer to the subject of the sentence when used in an introductory phrase.

The original sentence, which contains an appositive noun phrase, is best. The other options lead to illogical statements or sentence fragments.

This sentence contains no error. A semicolon is the most appropriate punctuation in this case. The semicolon separates two independent clauses that are closely related.

This sentence contains no error. The colon is the best punctuation for denoting a list of things that do not form a complete sentence.

The original sentence is grammatically correct and reads well. The other choices say the same thing but with more words. The most concise version (the original) is the best.

The original sentence is grammatically correct and reads well. The other choices complicate the sentence by switching the first half to present tense, making the first half into a fragment, or unnecessarily switching the word order.

The gerund ("-ing" verb acting as a noun) has no place here because all of the actions in this sentence are completed and definite. The gerund is reserved for ongoing actions or actions that are viewed as a process.

The original text is fine. It correctly uses the singular predicate "offers" with the singular subject "The museum."

"The museum, which has a sizeable collection of contemporary works of art, have offered several different membership options" is incorrect becuase it contains a plural verb "have offered" with a singular subject "The museum."

"The museum, which has a sizeable collection to contemporary works of art, offers several different membership options." is incorrect becuase it says "collection to" instead of "collection of"—an error in preposition usage.

"The museum has a sizeable collection of contemporary works of art, it offers several different membership options." is incorrect becuase it incorrectly combines two independent clauses with a comma, creating a comma splice.

"The museum has a sizeable collection of contemporary works of art; they offer several different membership options. " is incorrect becuase "they" is a vague pronoun—we don't know who the antecedent is.

An appositive phrase sits next to a noun and renames it. An appositive phrase is surrounded by commas, and the sentence would still be grammatically correct if it were taken out. Because the appositive phrase "the biggest bully in school" renames "Butch" it should have a comma at the beginning and a comma at the end, making the correct sentence "Jimmy was afraid that Butch, the biggest bully in school, wanted to fight him on the playground; Jimmy did not have a death wish!" Note that while a period would not be incorrect in this instance, the exclamation point is also, technically, grammatically correct, and also note that a semicolon is correctly used to connect two independent clauses.

An appositive phrase sits next to a noun and renames it. An appositive phrase is surrounded by commas, and the sentence would still be grammatically correct if it were taken out. Because the appositive phrase "one of the leading activists in America's Civil Rights Movement" renames "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," it should have a comma at the beginning and a comma at the end, making the correct sentence "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the leading activists in America's Civil Rights Movement, delivered speeches that continue to inspire listeners more than 40 years later." In the example sentence, the comma was incorrectly placed after a word that was not a part of the appositive phrase.

We must compare the chefs to my mother, not to the home-cooked meals.

We use comparative adjectives when comparing two people or things (bigger, worse); we use superlative adjectives when comparing one person or thing with three or more people or things (the biggest, the worse).

Calories can be counted, and so we use the word "fewer." "Less" is for quantities that cannot be counted, such as water.

We use comparative adjectives when comparing two people or things (bigger, worse, etc.); we use superlative adjectives when comparing one person or thing with three or more people or things (the biggest, the worst, etc.). Thus, here we use the superlative adjective “the shortest.” In the first clause, we use “me” instead of “I” because “me” is an object pronoun, and “me” is the indirect object of the verb “look.”.

The use of the form "strongest" is a superlative that indicates the peak of an adjective; therefore, there can be only one "strongest boy," and the phrase needs a definite article, "the," instead of the indefinite article, "a."

As the question compares two people, a comparative form of the adjective in question must be used, meaning that "few," the regular form of the adjective, and "least" and "fewest," which are each superlative forms, are incorrect. While "fewer" and "less" might each look like a potentially correct answer, "fewer" is used to distinguish between countable nouns, while "less" is used to distinguish between uncountable nouns, like "water." (You can tell if a noun is countable or not if you could precede it with a number, and "seven water" doesn't make sense, given how "water" is used here.) So, "less" is the correct answer.

The use of "they're" is incorrect in the sentence. "They're" is a contraction for "they are," while the sentence needs the third person plural possessive pronoun, "their." "Fewer people threw their support" is the correct answer choice.

Whenever you are comparing only two things, use the comparative form (usually words ending in "-er"—better, smarter, faster, and so forth). If there are three or more items, use the superlative form (usually ending in "-est"—best, smartest, fastest . . .) to designate the best one.

When comparing more than two items, you should use superlative adjectives. So, in this case, you should use the word "best."