PSAT Writing : Identifying Sentence Errors
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Example Questions
Example Question #163 : Psat Writing Skills
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
There are two things Jean knows how to do well: how to cook and mountain-climbing. No error
knows
No error
mountain-climbing
are
how to
mountain-climbing
The sentence needs to remain parallel. If it had said "cooking," "mountain-climbing" would be ok.
Example Question #41 : Identifying Other Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
At the deli, the sandwiches are very similar to the cafeteria, except they are slightly larger and contain less fat. No error
slightly larger
No error
similar to the cafeteria
except
less fat
similar to the cafeteria
This is a faulty comparison. "Sandwiches" cannot be compared to a cafeteria. Use "similar to those at the cafeteria" or something like that instead to correct the sentence's error.
Example Question #42 : Identifying Other Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
I must admit that your mom's chocolate chip cookies are quite tasty, but they are not as good as my grandmother—hers are the best! No error
as my grandmother
must admit
as good
No error
at the mall
as my grandmother
When making comparisons you must be careful to compare like things. In this case, the sentence as written makes a comparison between "cookies" and "my grandmother." You want to compare cookies to cookies. You can fix this error by making "grandmother" into a possessive, singular noun, "grandmother's." This way, it is inferred that the subject being spoken about is the speaker's grandmother's cookies, not the speaker's grandmother herself.
Example Question #43 : Identifying Other Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The woman slowly became fascinated by the aliens’ strange culture, their intelligence, and their telling of hilarious jokes. No error
No error
strange
slowly
telling of hilarious jokes
became fascinated by
telling of hilarious jokes
This sentence lacks parallel structure between the elements in the list. Items in a list should be formatted in the same way grammatically. The corrected sentence reads, "The woman slowly became fascinated by the aliens’ strange culture, their intelligence, and their hilarious jokes."
Example Question #44 : Identifying Other Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
My apartment is on a higher floor than my boss. No error
higher
boss
is
my
No error
boss
Only like things can be compared. "My apartment" can be compared to "that of my boss" or my "boss'."
Example Question #45 : Identifying Other Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Napa Valley is known for having amazing food, high quality wine, and attracts a wealthy clientele. No error
No error
for
having
attracts
is
attracts
It is important for a sentence to use correct parallelism, which means that listed items should take on the same grammatical form. Here, the first two listed items are nouns ("amazing food" and "high quality wine"). Therefore, the third item should also be a noun; however, “attracts” is a verb, and therefore is incorrect. To fix the sentence, one might omit the word "attracts," leaving simply "amazing food, high quality wine, and a wealthy clientele," three nouns.
Example Question #151 : Identifying Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
There was outrage in the elementary school; the childrens’ recess was shortened by a full ten minutes. No error.
shortened by a full ten minutes.
There was
school; the
childrens' recess
No error.
childrens' recess
Because “children” is an irregularly formed plural, the normal apostrophe rules do not apply. The apostrophe goes before the "s": "There was outrage in the elementary school; the children’s recess was shortened by a full ten minutes."
Example Question #2 : Identifying Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The football teams near defeat instigated riots through the streets of the city. No error
instigated
No error
football teams
through the streets
near defeat
football teams
This sentence has an apostrophe mistake. Since "football teams defeat" has a possesive in it, it needs an "'s" ending. The corrected sentence reads, "The football team's near defeat instigated riots through the streets of the city."
Example Question #3 : Identifying Punctuation Errors: Other Punctuation
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The boy's teacher had forgotten to correct their homework; she had spent the entire night planning the new geography lesson. No error
homework; she
planning
No error
The boy's
had forgotten
The boy's
Be watchful of possessive plural nouns: here, the correct apostrophe will be at the end of the word: "boys'" is correct because the subject is plural.
Example Question #152 : Identifying Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The Scottish highland cow is infamous for it’s prodigious methane production. No error
No error
is
it's prodigious
Scottish
infamous for
it's prodigious
Here, the wrong form of “its/it’s” is used. With the apostrophe, "it's" means “it is.” The possessive form of "it" is "its." The corrected sentence reads: "The Scottish highland cow is infamous for its prodigious methane production."
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