SAT · Reading and Writing · Standard English Conventions

Form, Structure, and Sense

Form, Structure, and Sense is part of Standard English Conventions in the SAT Reading and Writing section. The questions below are written in the style of the real test, each with the answer and a worked explanation.

Question types you will see here include agreement past an interrupter, agreement in inverted sentences, tense consistency and pronoun and antecedent agreement.

Common traps: verb matches the nearest noun, not the subject; plural verb for a singular head noun; singular verb for a compound subject.

Sample questions

Question 1
The results of the soil analysis that the field needs more nitrogen.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  suggest
- B.
  has suggested
- C.
  suggests
- D.
  is suggesting
Answer: A. suggest
The subject is the plural noun "results," so the plural verb "suggest" is required.
Question 2
The guild of glassmakers on Murano protected its trade secrets closely, and members were forbidden by Venetian law to leave the republic.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  its
- B.
  their
- C.
  it's
- D.
  one's
Answer: A. its
The antecedent "guild" is a singular collective noun, so the matching possessive is "its" (A). B is plural, C is the contraction of "it is," and D shifts to an indefinite person that has no antecedent in the sentence.
Question 3
The team of geologists who mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge a striking pattern of alternating magnetic stripes on the seafloor.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  have discovered
- B.
  were discovering
- C.
  discovered
- D.
  discover
Answer: C. discovered
The subject is the team (singular collective noun); the intervening phrase of geologists who mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge contains the plural noun geologists, which might attract a plural verb. Because team is the true subject and refers to a single unit, the verb must be singular and past tense. Discovered (C) is singular past tense and matches the subject correctly. Have discovered (A) is present perfect and inconsistent with the narrative past. Were discovering (B) is plural past progressive, failing to agree with the singular subject team. Discover (D) is present tense, inconsistent with the historical context.
Question 4
Cave-dwelling populations of a single fish species, which live in permanent darkness, have eyes much smaller than those of river-dwelling relatives.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  there
- B.
  they're
- C.
  its
- D.
  their
Answer: D. their
The possessive plural pronoun "their" refers back to the plural "populations": (D). "There" (A) is an adverb of place. "They're" (B) means "they are." "Its" (C) is singular and does not agree with the plural "populations."
Question 5
Russian speakers, language has separate basic words for light blue and dark blue, tend to sort shades across that boundary faster than English speakers do.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  who's
- B.
  whose
- C.
  whom
- D.
  which
Answer: B. whose
The word modifies "language" and shows possession, so the possessive "whose" is needed: B. A is the contraction of "who is", C is an object form that cannot show possession, and D refers to things rather than the speakers.

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