SAT Grammar 6.1

The Boston Saloon was one of the most popular African American–owned establishments in nineteenth-century Nevada. ________ by businessman William A.G. Brown, the saloon was known to offer elegant accommodations and an inclusive environment. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• Created

• Creates

• Creating

• Create

Louise Bennett (1919–2006), also known as “Miss Lou,” was an influential Jamaican poet and folklorist. Her innovative poems ________ the use of Jamaican Creole (a spoken language) in literature. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• popularized;

• popularized,

• popularized:

• popularized

“He was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man.” This line is from Frederick Douglass’s autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845). It’s an example of antimetabole, a writing technique that ________ emphasis by repeating a statement in a reversed order. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• create

• are creating

• have created

• creates

Researchers Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley investigated how ________. In a series of experiments conducted in 2022, they found that people performing small acts of kindness underestimated the positive effect their actions had on others. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• do people perceive acts of kindness?

• people perceive acts of kindness?

• people perceive acts of kindness in different cultures.

• do people perceive acts of kindness.

• people perceive acts of kindness.

In a painting titled “The Milkmaid” by Johannes Vermeer, the artist prominently features a bread basket, milk pitcher, and bowl. Such quotidian objects, depicted in exquisite detail by Vermeer, a painter celebrated for his naturalism, _______ the daily minutiae of a seventeenth-century Dutch household. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) was revealing

• B) has revealed

• C) reveals

• D) reveal

Jamaican British artist Willard Wigan is known for his remarkable _______ so small that they are best viewed through a microscope, Wigan’s sculptures are made from tiny natural materials, such as spiderweb strands. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) microsculptures creations

• B) microsculptures, creations

• C) microsculptures. Creations

• D) microsculptures and creations

Consider the mechanics of the pinhole camera: light passes through a small hole, resulting in a focused projected image. A ray diagram reveals how this _______ the hole’s small size restricts light to a single ray, all light passing through the hole can only arrive at a single destination, eliminating diffraction and ensuring a clear image. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) works because

• B) works. Because

• C) works, it’s because

• D) works: it’s because

In the search for extraterrestrial life, astrobiologists Stuart Bartlett and Michael L. Wong propose that scientists avoid using the term “life.” _________ researchers should use another word: “lyfe.” This new term, they argue, could be used to draw distinctions between the known characteristics of life on Earth and the potentially differing characteristics of lyfe on other planets. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• A) Previously,

• B) Regardless,

• C) There,

• D) Instead,

Before it unveiled a massive new gallery in 2009, the Art Institute of Chicago was only able to display about 5% of its art collection. _______ the museum is able to display close to 30% of its collection. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• Additionally,

• For example,

• Nevertheless,

• Today,

Working together with the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources, Dr. Lani Tsinajinnie analyzed data about snowpack levels in the Chuska Mountains. She found that the snowpack (the amount of snow on the ground) was deepest in early March at lower elevations. At higher elevations, _______ the snowpack was deepest in mid-March. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• in other words,

• for instance,

• on the other hand,

• in summary,