Standardized Test: English Section

1. Standardized Test: English Section • Common Areas on the Test

2. Verbs • Subject - Verb Agreement • Active vs. Passive Voice • Tense Shifts • Voice • Mood

3. Subject-Verb Agreement • A subject must agree with its verb. • This means that if the subject is singular, the verb must be singular: • My sister, Grace, makes the best cookies.

4. Subject-Verb Agreement • If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural: • Sisters are great secret keepers.

5. Subject-Verb Agreement • Students normally understand subject and verb agreement. The words sound misplaced if they do not agree. • A standardized test will provide sentences that have phrases or clauses between the subject and verb. • Other sentences on the test will have collective nouns.

6. Collective Nouns • A collective noun is a noun that seems to be comprised of more than one person, but they act as one, requiring a singular verb. • A group of birds gains hatred for ruining public statues. • “Group” - acting together because they ruin statues together. “Gains” is correct.

7. Collective Nouns • Common collective nouns include: team, flock, crew, family, committee, board, class, choir, herd, bunch.

8. Separation of S & V • The subject and verb are normally next to each other. • Words, phrases, or clauses can separate a subject and verb, confusing a test taker. • Eliminate these “extras” to determine if the subject and verb agree.

9. Example 1: Question • We, the people who need the most help dealing with homework, has decided to stay late after school. • What is the subject and verb? Do they agree?

10. Example 1: Answer • They do not agree: “We”and its verb is “has decided.” • A clause separates the subject and verb. “Homework” is next to the verb, and it is singular- but it is not the subject. • The verb should be “have decided.”

11. Example 2: Question • The people who need the most help with homework and test preparation (perhaps organizing and creating a sleep schedule) has already committed to extra study time. • What is the subject and verb? Do they agree?

12. Example 2: Answer • They do not agree: “people”and its verb is “has committed.” • A long clause and several phrases stand between the subject and verb. • The verb should be “have committed.” • Note: “people” is not a collective noun.

13. Example 3: Question • The staff at Staples meet every other Saturday morning. • What is the subject and verb? Do they agree?

14. Example 3: Answer • They do not agree: “staff”and its verb is “meet.” • “Staff” is a collective noun. Decide if the people are acting as one, or as a whole. • The people on staff are meeting as one group, not individually. • The verb should be “meets,” singular.

15. Subject-Verb Agreement Review • Find the subject and verb of the sentence. • Words may separate the subject and verb. • A subject will not be in a phrase or dependent clause. • Note if nouns are collective or not as well.

16. Active & Passive Voice • A verb is active when the subject completes the action. • Bill put the milk in the fridge. • “Bill” did “put.” • Writers typically write in active voice.

17. Active & Passive Voice • A verb is passive when the subject does not complete the action. • The milk was put in the fridge. • “Milk” is the subject, but it did not put itself in the fridge.

18. Active & Passive Voice • It helps to identify a passive verb by adding the prepositional phrase “by _” to the end. • The milk was put in the fridge by Bill.

19. Active & Passive Voice • Writers use passive voice for specific reasons - like when it is unknown who or what is doing the action. • Look for passive verbs where the subject is known. • Also note the other verbs in the sentence; if an non-underlined portion is active, and an underlined verb is passive, correct it.

20. Example 4: Question • The clothes were hung on the clothesline around noon. • Who hung the clothes? Did they hang themselves?

21. Example 4: Answer • “were hung” is in the passive voice. • If you add a “by” prepositional phrase, the sentence could be: The clothes were hung on the clothesline by mom. • To make the verb active voice, change the subject: • Mom hung the clothes on the clothesline.

22. Review • When a standardized test question has underlined verbs, the question may pertain to active and passive voice. • Verbs normally are in the active voice - especially if the other verbs in the sentence are in active voice.

23. Verb Tense • Verb tenses must agree. • Recognize the different types of verb tenses. If the test has a verb underlined in the language portion, the tense may be incorrect.

24. Verb Tenses • Simple present: I talk. • Present perfect: I have talked. • Simple past: I talked. • Past perfect: I had talked. • Future: I will talk. • Future perfect: I will have talked.

25. Verb Tense • Keep the verb tense the same in a sentence, paragraph, and essay. • If a writer uses a shift tense, it will happen purposefully.

26. Example 5: Question • Thom and Ty were good friends. They both knew where the hidden key was for their houses. They spoke on the phone daily. It recently had appeared that a disagreement broke them apart. • Note the verbs: were, knew, was, spoke, had appeared, broke.

27. Example 5: Answer • “had appeared” is not the same tense as the other verbs. • If a portion of the verb is analyzed, always look at the other verbs in the paragraph. The verb tense should not change; the underlined verb should be in the same tense as the non-underlined verbs.

28. Example 6: Question • Elsa gave the boy a hug and although he cared for her, his stubborn attitude and cold demeanor shows nothing. • Look at all the verbs: gave, cared, shows.

29. Example 6: Answer • Elsa gave the boy a hug and although he cared for her, his stubborn attitude and cold demeanor showed nothing. • The verb, “shows” is present tense; the verb should be “showed.”

30. Moods in Verbs • Verbs have different “moods.” • Like voice and tense in verbs, moods should be consistent with the meaning and rest of the writing.

31. Moods in Verbs • Interrogative Mood: asks questions. • Will you loan me a dollar? • Indicative Mood: gives a fact or statement. • I do not have a dollar.

32. Moods in Verbs • Imperative Mood: gives a command. • Give me a dollar! • Conditional Mood: shows that something will be done if a condition happens. • I would give you a dollar if I had one.

33. Moods in Verbs • Subjective Mood: shows a hypothetical situation. • If I were rich, I would have a dollar for you.

34. Example 7: Question • If sights of happy children could be seen around the park, the parents carried bags and juice boxes. • Look at the verbs - “could be seen” and “carried.” Do their moods match? • “Could be seen” is conditional & “carried” is indicative.

35. Example 7: Answer • Their moods do not match, and the sentence does not make sense. • An option is: Sights of happy children and burdened parents could be seen around the park.

36. Example 8: Question • Bake that pizza and then will you cut it? • What are the verbs? Do their moods match?

37. Example 8: Answer • The verbs are “bake” (imperative) and “will cut” (interrogative). Make them the same. • An option is: Please bake the pizza and then cut it for me.

38. Verb Voice, Tense, & Mood Review • When you cross an underlined verb on a standardized test: • Note the voice, tense, and mood. • Look at other, non-underlined verbs in the sentence/ paragraph. • If the underlined verb’s voice, tense, and mood do not match the other verbs, choose an answer to change it.

39. Pronouns • Pronoun - Antecedent Agreement • Pronouns as subjects + verb agreement • Number, Gender, Case, and Person Agreement

40. Pronoun - Antecedent Agreement • A pronoun takes the place of a noun. • An antecedent is the noun the pronoun refers back to. • Pronouns and their antecedents must agree.

41. Indefinite Pronouns • Familiarize yourself with indefinite pronouns. • Questions pertaining to pronoun usage often focus on indefinite pronouns because they are easily confused.

42. Indefinite Pronouns • all, some, none, most, any • These indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural, dependent upon the context.

43. Example 9: Question • None of the homeworks was done. • What is the indefinite pronoun? • Is it singular or plural?

44. Example 9: Answer • “None” is the indefinite pronoun. • Are several “homeworks” done, or is the “homework” acting as one? • “Homework” is one idea, so “homeworks” should be “homework,” for its antecedent “none.”

45. Pronoun + Verb Agreement • Remember the subject - verb agreement rules. • Take particular notice when the subject is an indefinite pronoun.

46. Example 10: Question • Many of the people who weigh themselves daily is not getting an accurate health picture. • What is the indefinite pronoun - the independent clauses’ subject? • Is it singular or plural? • Is the verb correct?

47. Example 10: Answer • “Many” is the indefinite pronoun. • Are “many” people weighing themselves as one, or are “many” individuals weighing themselves? • More than one person is weighing - the verb “is” should be “are,” plural.

48. Agreement • Familiarize yourself with pronoun cases: nominative, objective, and possessive. • Do not switch pronoun case, number, gender, or person.

49. Example 11: Question • Is one of the students ready to present their paper? • Look at the underlined pronoun’s antecedent, as well as the non-underlined verb. Are they singular or plural? Use these clues to choose the correct answer.

50. Example 11: Answer • Is one of the students ready to present her paper? • “Is” is singular - and “one” is the antecedent. Only one student is presenting her paper - the antecedent is singular.