Master Form, Structure, and Sense Questions on the Digital SAT | Reading and Writing for Digital SAT PDF Download

Introduction

• The question pushes students to deconstruct sentences into parts of speech, reconcile subjects and verbs, and differentiate between different verb conjugations. There's a lot of ground covered here, so let's start with an example.
• Form, Structure and Sense questions are phrased as "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?", but don't get them confused with Boundaries questions, which test mostly punctuations.

Example Question:

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

(A) the Hubble Telescope, with its advanced instruments,

(B) with its advanced instruments, the Hubble Telescope

(C) there is the Hubble Telescope, which with its advanced instruments

(D) having advanced instruments, the Hubble Telescope
Ans: (A)
Correct Answer: Choice A is the best answer. This choice provides a smooth and grammatically correct continuation of the sentence, maintaining the subject ("the Hubble Telescope") and adding additional information about it in a clear and concise manner.

How to Solve Form, Structure, and Sense Questions

Identify the Modifier: The next step is to identify the modifying phrase, which is usually at the beginning of the sentence.

Locate What Is Being Modified: Next, understand what that modifier is describing. The important thing to remember here is that the modifier is providing additional information about a specific noun in the sentence.

Check for Direct Connection: The modifying phrase should directly lead into the noun it's describing, without any unnecessary interruption. This ensures clarity, as the reader understands exactly what's being described without having to guess or reread the sentence.

Review the Choices: Go through each choice and consider if it positions the modifier directly before the appropriate noun. Eliminate choices where there's a disconnect (these are your dangling modifiers).

Grammar Rules

1. Subject-Verb Agreement: The verb must agree with its subject in number. Singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs.

• Correct: The cat jumps onto the sofa.
• Incorrect: The cat jump onto the sofa.

2. Verb Tense Consistency: Maintain the same verb tense throughout a sentence or related sentences to ensure clear chronological context.

• Correct: She walked to the store and bought milk.
• Incorrect: Incorrect: She walked to the store and buys milk.

3. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number, gender, and person.

• Correct: Every student should do their homework.
• Incorrect: Every student should do his homework. (Incorrect in cases requiring gender-inclusivity.)

4. Parallel Structure: When listing items or actions, they should follow the same grammatical format.

• Correct: She likes running, swimming, and biking.
• Incorrect: She likes running, to swim, and biking.

5. Proper Coordination and Subordination: Coordination and subordination join sentences in a way that gives them the correct logical relation to each other.

• Correct: Jane couldn't take the bus, so she called a taxi.
• Jane couldn't take the bus, and she called a taxi. (The sentences need to show cause and effect.)

6. Subjective and Objective Pronouns: Subjective pronouns act as the subject of the sentence (I, you, he, she, it, we, they). Objective pronouns act as the object of a verb or preposition (me, you, him, her, it, us, them).

• Correct: He gave the book to me.
• Incorrect: He gave the book to I.

7. Possessive Usage: Show possession with either an apostrophe or by using the word "of".

• Correct: That is Sarah's book.
• Incorrect: That is the book of Sarah.

Common Mistakes

These are the top 3 mistakes students run into with this question type.
1. Sentence Fragments: A complete sentence requires at least a subject and a verb. Avoid fragments that lack one of these elements.

• Example: Ran fast.
• Corrected: The dog ran fast.

2. Run-on Sentences: Maintain the same verb tense throughout a sentence or related sentences to ensure clear chronological context.

• Example: I went home I felt tired.
• Corrected: I went home; I felt tired.

3. Misplaced Modifiers: Place words or phrases as close as possible to the words they modify to avoid confusion.

• Example: Wearing a jacket, the dog was walked by the man. (It implies the dog is wearing a jacket.)
• Corrected: The man wearing a jacket walked the dog.