Subject Verb Agreement Pronoun Review

SUBJECT VERB-AGREEMENT

Subject verb agreement refers to the fact that the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number. In other words, they both must be singular or they both must be plural. Singular verbs end in a "s," but there are irregular verbs that do not follow this form.

SUBJECT VERB-AGREEMENT

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA), a census tract is identified as a food desert if it satisfies the two conditions of: 1) “low-income communities”, with a poverty rate of 20% or greater or a median family income at or below 80% of the area median family income; and 2) “low-access communities”, based on the determination that at least 500 persons and/or at least 33% of the census tract’s population 8 live more than one mile from a supermarket or a large grocery store. (This refers to number 8 in the passage. Choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the paragraph.)
A. No change
B. lives
C. has lived
D. will live
Choice A is the best answer. The subject of the sentence requires the singular form "live" to maintain subject-verb agreement. 

SUBJECT VERB-AGREEMENT

Researchers 21 thinks that the primitive vascular heat control exhibited in 22 diapsids and in particular these iguanas, could be an ancestral trait and may be similar to the way that dinosaurs heated and cooled themselves. (This refers to number 21 in the passage. Choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the paragraph.)
A. No change
B. think
C. have thought
D. are thinking
Choice B is the best answer. The plural noun “researchers” must be preceded by a plural verb "think."

PRONOUN-ANTECDENT AGREEMENT

Pronouns replace actual nouns in sentences. Antecedents are the nouns to which pronouns reference. Pronoun questions require you to recognize if nouns & pronouns agree numerically (singular and plural) & in person.

PRONOUN-ANTECDENT AGREEMENT

 Individuals with high openness to experience are curious and have a wide array of interests, 1 and it predisposes them to desire new experiences by moving into different jobs and positions. (Choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the sentence.)
A. No change
B. it
C. he or she
D. they
Choice A is the best answer. It properly refers to its singular antecedent “high openness to experience.”

PRONOUN-ANTECDENT AGREEMENT

 They discovered that the piece of cloth was tapered and pleated around the neck and sleeves. The Tarkhan Dress stands out as one of the oldest examples of sewn, tailored and fitted clothing ever found. (Choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the passage.)
A. No change
B. He discovered
C. It discovered
D. Those of them who discovered

Choice A is the best answer. The pronoun “they” agrees with the subject “workers.” They are both plurals.

Verb-Tense

Verb tense refers to many different types of past, present or future tense verbs.
Past tense: describes actions that have already happened
Simple past tense: regular past tense
Past perfect tense: used when an action in the past is no longer being continued or happened
Past continuous: continuing action happening some point in the past
Simple present: used to describe actions currently occurring
Present perfect: verb tense used when an action in the past is being continued or when it occurred at an undefined time
Present continuous: used to describe actions happening now, frequently, or may happen in the future
Future tense
Simple future: used to describe actions that will begin & in the future
Future perfect: used to describe actions that will complete at a certain point in the future
Future continuous: used when an action is expected to occur & be completed in the future

Verb-Tense

Recently, high-resolution scans have suggested that the tomb of Ancient Egypt's boy-king Tutankhamun contains two hidden passage chambers, including what one British archaeologist 4 believes is the last resting place of Queen Nefertiti. (Choose the best option to replace the underlined portion of the sentence.)
A. No change
B. has believed
C. believed
D. will believe
Choice A is correct. It maintains the sentence's consistent verb tense by using present tense.

Verb-Tense

These 20 are the robotic versions of the systems humans have evolved to stay upright when we lose our balance. Getting these highly complex body weight manipulations to work in a robot is a big step forward for this robot. (Choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the sentence.)
A. No Change
B. were
C. is
D. will be

Choice A is correct because it uses the present and plural verb tense consistent with the rest of the sentence.

Diction

Diction refers to the author's choice of words. We typically use diction to determine the tone of a text. It is important to remember that diction does not refer to all of the words used in a text, but rather it refers to the intentional use of specific language to achieve a specific purpose. Homophones are commonly misused diction.

Diction

For example, insufficient access to healthy and affordable food may adversely 1 affect dietary intake and eventually lead to nutrition related negative health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. (Choose the option that best improves underlined portion number 1.)
A. No change
B. effect
C. to effect
D. to affect

Choice A is the best answer. “Affect” is a verb, and “effect” is a noun.

Diction

There have also been attempts to expand the definition and methodology for delineating food deserts for rural areas, urban areas, and by incorporating different measures of accessibility determined by distance, time, and 24 modes of transportation to grocery stores.(Choose the option that best improves underlined portion number 24.)

A. No change
B. moods
C. mode
D. model
Choice A is the best answer. “Mode” means type, and the word uses the correct plural form.

GRAMMATICAL WORD CHOICE

"They," is a plural pronoun. When you have a compound subject, the way to tackle these questions is to drop everything except the pronoun to see if it is correct.
Adjective/adverb swaps: good- adjective describes noun
well- adverb describes verb
"Who" refers to the subject "whom" refers to the object
Apostrophes are used in possessives and contractions
"There" describes location (adjective)
"Their" possessive pronoun
"They're" contraction of they are
"Too" indicates the extent of something, number in existence, additional

GRAMMATICAL WORD CHOICE

9 Its very difficult to not know the course before you get there! If you want to win a golf match, you have to be able to adapt to every new hole 10 in that match. (This question refers to number 9 in the passage. Choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the passage.)
A. No change
B. It's very
C. It be very
D. Isn't it very
Choice B is the best answer. "It's very," refers to "it is," very difficult to not know the course.

GRAMMATICAL WORD CHOICE

When he came back to get me, he was mad, at me. (5) "I couldn't find your doorbell," he shouted, "because there was no name tag on it, so I had gone (6) all the way home to get my phone just to text you!" (7) "Wait a minute," I said, starting to get angry myself, "you're mad at me because you left your phone at home and you couldn't find my doorbell?"
Correct answer: he was mad—at me.
Using the hyphen and the italics best accentuates the speaker's disbelief at being the target of his friend's anger over his friend's mistake.

Organization of ideas

Organization questions ask you to create a clear progression of ideas in the passage. When organized properly, a passage's ideas should build upon each other and progress naturally.
Logic: You may be asked to recognize sentences, or parts of sentences to create the most logical passage within the context. When you encounter numbered sentences, think about answering an organization question. As you read, look for sentences or phrases that are out of place. With organization questions, reread the passage with changes based on each answer choice to see if the meaning is improved.

Organization of ideas

16 [1] Pope Julius II had amassed a court of the most celebrated artists of the day. Having promptly purchased the Laocoön from de’ Freddi and placed it in the Belvedere courtyard, the Pope had his pick of masters to complete the sculpture. [2] The work remained fragmentary until 1510, when the elderly architect Donato Bramante challenged the leading masters to come up with the best solution for the damaged Laocoön. [3] Raphael, a distant relative of Bramante, was elected as the judge. [4] In a few short years, the young artist from Urbino had established himself as the enfant terrible of Rome’s art scene. [5] Having goaded the formerly pre-eminent Michelangelo by winning papal favour and sneaking into his as-yet unfinished Sistine Chapel, Raphael further insulted his Florentine rival in the Laocoön competition. (To make the third paragraph most logical, sentence 1 should be placed)
A. where it is now
B. before sentence 3
C. Before sentence 5
D. Before sentence 6

Choice A is correct because the sentence introduces the main idea of the paragraph in a way that facilitates the logical flow of the idea.

Organization of ideas

[1 ]  Researchers tested the hypothesis that openness to experience positively predicts upward job changes into managerial and professional positions. [ 2 ] Their analysis used data from the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, a national representative panel study that has been conducted annually since 2001 and surveys approximately 20,000 individuals each year. [3  ] The longitudinal design of the HILDA survey enabled investigation of the effects of the Big Five on job changes and the effects of job changes on changes in personality over time. [ 4 ] There was a sample size of 3,489 participants for whom information on personality characteristics in the years 2005 and 2009 as well as job status for all of the measurement waves 2005 through 2009 was available. 18 [5  ] It also allowed researchers to control for a number of confounding variables (age, gender, educational background, and tenure in an occupation). (To make the fifth paragraph most logical, sentence 5 should be placed)
A. where it is now
B. before sentence 3
C. before sentence 4
D. after sentence 1

Choice C is correct because the main idea of this paragraph is to describe a study that was done to test whether openness of experience predict upward job mobility in managerial position. The paragraph goes into detail describing the research methods. Sentence 5 fits into this main idea development by stating that researcher controlled a number of factors. The words “it” and “also” indicates that the sentence is a further expansion of ideas in a previous sentence.  

Deleting irrelevant information

Deletion questions ask you to judge the role and important of a sentence and the potential effects of deleting the sentence. For these questions, first eliminate half of the answer choices by determining the crucial sentences that cannot be deleted. Then, consider the reasoning of the two remaining answer choices. Sentences should be deleted if they are not relevant to the focus of the entire passage. If a sentence is not related to the context or main idea of the passage, it must be deleted.

Deleting irrelevant information

Hotel guests who see cards like these might assume they are just a cheap money-saving strategy thought up by the company. It is true that these messages help hotels save on the labor cost of replacing and washing extra towels and sheets. 2 However, although a hotel's foremost aim in placing these messages may be saving costs, the messages also contribute to a cleaner environment.  (Which option best explains whether the writer should delete the underlined sentence in number 2?)

A. Keep it because it provides specific cases of how hotel saves cost and therefore hotels are motivated to display messages.
B. Keep it because it provides a balanced, two-sided perspective to the topic.

C. Delete it because it runs counter to the main point made in this paragraph that hotels are only displaying cards to contribute to a cleaner environment.
D. Delete it because it interrupts the discussion of how hotels aren’t just displaying cards to save money but also to contribute to a cleaner environment.

Choice B is the best answer. The information should not be deleted because it supports the claim that hotel’s are doubly incentivized to display environmentally friendly messages while addressing consumers concerns that their motivation is purely for profit.

Deleting irrelevant information

Egyptologists frequently rely on scientific analysis to provide answers. Recently, high-resolution scans have suggested that the tomb of Ancient Egypt's boy-king Tutankhamun contains passages two hidden chambers, including what one British archaeologist believes is the last resting place of Queen 4 Nefertiti. (In the above paragraph, the writer is considering revising the underlined portion of the sentence in number 4 to read: Nefertiti, while other great tombs in Ancient Egypt include the Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza and the Mastaba tombs.

Should the writer make this addition here?)

A. Yes, because it provides information that will be explored later on in the passage.
B. Yes, because it provides examples of tombs similar to that discussed in the paragraph.

C. No, because it blurs the focus of the paragraph by introducing irrelevant information.

D. No, because it provides information that undermines claims made in the paragraph.

Choice C is the best answer. The focus of the paragraph is on using scientific analysis to examine the structure of these ancient tombs. The information on the other hand lists examples of tombs that are unrelated to such examination.

Adding relevant information

Added sentences must logically connect to the sentences around them. Added sentences must be relevant to the focus of the passage and support to the passage's ideas. Even if the addition is interesting or eloquent, it must make sense in the context of the passage. Added sentences should reinforce the main idea or author's purpose of the text. If the information does not have a meaningful impact on the focus of the text, then it is not necessary.

Adding relevant information

Plastic pollution is globally distributed across all oceans due to its properties of buoyancy and durability. The absorption of toxic materials into plastic while traveling through the environment have led some researchers to claim that synthetic polymers in the ocean should be regarded as hazardous waste. Through photodegradation 4 (damage due to exposure to sunlight) and other weathering processes, plastics break apart and disperse in the ocean. As they break apart, plastics travel the oceans and form giant masses of plastic called “gyres.” (If the writer were to delete the underlined portion in number 4 (adjusting the capitalization as needed), the sentence would primarily lose:)

A. a detail about light exposure.
B. an explanation of weathering.
C. a visual description of sun damage.
D. a definition of a scientific term.

Choice D is the best answer. It is the best answer because “damage due to exposure to sunlight” is a definition of the term photodegradation. This vocabulary is likely new to the reader, so the author includes it in parentheses.

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C.

Adding relevant information

 2 [1] The reasons for food loss and waste vary by global region. [2] In countries at early stages of development and industrialization, including several countries in Africa, food loss occurs at the earliest point in the supply chain: 3 many countries are affected by this problem. [3] In countries in later stages of development and industrialization, waste occurs closer to the level of the consumer. [4] In these regions, most wastage 4 occurs at supermarkets and in people’s homes. [5]The IME report cites inefficient harvesting, inadequate transportation, and poor infrastructure as the main reasons for food loss in these regions. [6] For example, many people only purchase fruits and vegetables that look fresh and physically attractive, leaving less attractive produce to rot. (Which choice provides the most relevant detail to the underlined portion in number 3?)

A. No change
B. at the level of the farmer and producer
C. this food loss is a problem
D. large amounts of food are lost during this stage

Choice B is the best answer because it clarifies what the earliest point in the supply chain is. The first part of the sentence tells the reader that "food loss occurs at the earliest point in the supply chain." The clause that should follow, "at the level of the farmer and producer," offers a detail that enhances the reader's understanding of the supply chain. 

C.
C.

Transitions

Transition questions will ask you to choose the most appropriate and logical way to shift from one idea to another. These questions make ask you to choose the most appropriate transition between two sentences or clauses. Transitions can be used to show the relationship between sentences or between clauses in a sentence. There are 3 main types of transitions: contrasting, supporting, and cause/effect.

C.

Transitions

Art teachers and art programs cater to specific issues that include professional training, creative development, and students’ learning challenges. 2 Likewise, it can be difficult to balance these pressures while also developing the artistic skills of passionate students. While managing this balancing act, art programs more broadly strive to enable students to experience their environment more fully and to be critical of the visual messages that surround them. (Choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the sentence.)
A. No change
B. Although,
C. However,
D. In addition,

Choice C is the best answer. It creates the appropriate contrasting transition from the fact that art teachers cater to specific issues to the fact that they find these efforts to be difficult.

C.

Transitions

These states reflect the most important points within the represented systems, from which system transitions may occur. 26 Thus, in adapting this approach for making estimates of traffic distributions, a state space should reflect the key points in urban space that most strongly 27 influence traffic redistribution. (This question refers to 26, Choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the passage.)

A. No change
B. However,
C. Moreover,
D. In addition,

   Choice A is the best answer. It provides a transition that logically connects the information in the previous sentence to the information in this one. The information in this sentence is directly related to and is a result of the preceding sentence. "Thus" shows the logical sequence and the relationship in the sentence.

C.