Sentence Structure (SAT Writing)

Complete Sentences

What Makes a Complete Sentence?

Must have:

1. Subject (who/what)
2. Verb (action/state)
3. Complete thought

Example: ✓ "The dog barked." (complete) ❌ "The dog." (no verb) ❌ "Barked loudly." (no subject) ❌ "When the dog barked." (incomplete thought)

Sentence Fragments

What is a Fragment?

Incomplete sentence missing one of:

• Subject
• Verb
• Complete thought

Common Fragment Types

1. Dependent clause alone ❌ "Because I was tired." ✓ "I left early because I was tired."

2. Missing subject ❌ "Ran to the store." ✓ "She ran to the store."

3. Missing verb ❌ "The students in the library." ✓ "The students are in the library."

4. -ing phrase alone ❌ "Running through the park." ✓ "She was running through the park."

SAT Fragment Questions

"Which choice completes the sentence?"

Look for option that creates complete thought

Run-On Sentences

What is a Run-On?

Two or more complete sentences improperly joined

Types of Run-Ons

1. Fused sentence (no punctuation) ❌ "I studied I passed."

Fixes:

• Period: "I studied. I passed."
• Semicolon: "I studied; I passed."
• Comma + conjunction: "I studied, and I passed."

2. Comma splice (comma alone) ❌ "I studied, I passed."

Wrong: Comma CANNOT join two complete sentences alone

Fixes:

• Replace comma with semicolon
• Add conjunction after comma
• Split into two sentences

Properly Joining Sentences

Method 1: Coordinating Conjunction

FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Use with comma: "I like coffee**,** and she likes tea."

Method 2: Semicolon

Joins related independent clauses

"I studied hard**;** I earned an A."

Method 3: Subordination

Make one clause dependent

"Because I studied, I passed." "I passed because I studied."

Common subordinators:

• although, because, if, since, when, while
• after, before, until, unless

Method 4: Transition + Semicolon

"I studied**; therefore,** I passed."

Transitions: however, therefore, moreover, consequently

Note: Transition alone CANNOT join sentences (needs semicolon before)

Combining Sentences

SAT Questions:

"Which choice most effectively combines the sentences?"

Goals:

• Grammatically correct
• Clear and concise
• Maintains meaning
• Flows well

Techniques:

1. Use relative clauses Before: "The book is on the table. It is red." After: "The book that is on the table is red."

2. Use appositives Before: "Dr. Smith is a scientist. She won the award." After: "Dr. Smith, a scientist, won the award."

3. Use participles Before: "She finished her homework. She went to bed." After: "Having finished her homework, she went to bed."

Modifiers and Placement

Dangling Modifiers

Modifier doesn't clearly modify anything

❌ "Walking to school, the rain started." (The rain wasn't walking!)

✓ "Walking to school, I noticed the rain start."

Misplaced Modifiers

Modifier in wrong position

❌ "I saw a dog driving my car." (The dog wasn't driving!)

✓ "Driving my car, I saw a dog."

SAT Rule:

Modifying phrase at start must describe the subject right after the comma

Parallel Structure

Definition:

Items in a list/comparison must have same grammatical form

❌ "I like swimming, biking, and to run." ✓ "I like swimming, biking, and running."

❌ "The book is long, interesting, and has good characters." ✓ "The book is long, interesting, and well-characterized."

When to Use:

• Lists
• Comparisons
• Correlative conjunctions (either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also)

SAT Strategies

Identify Complete Sentences

Subject + Verb + Complete thought

Spot Run-Ons

If you can put period between, they're two sentences

Fix Comma Splices

Never use comma alone to join two complete sentences

Check Modifiers

Opening phrase describes the subject immediately after

Maintain Parallelism

Items in series should match in form

Common SAT Traps

Trap 1: Comma Splice Looks OK

❌ "She studied hard, she passed." (Feels natural but is wrong!)

Trap 2: Long Dependent Clause Seems Complete

❌ "Although she studied for hours and reviewed all the material." (Has "although" - still dependent!)

Trap 3: Transition Word = Conjunction

❌ "I studied, however, I failed." (However is NOT a FANBOYS conjunction!)

✓ "I studied; however, I failed."

Trap 4: Subject After Modifier Looks Right

❌ "Having finished the test, it was submitted." ("It" didn't finish the test!)

✓ "Having finished the test, I submitted it."

SAT Tips

• Complete sentence = subject + verb + complete thought
• Comma alone cannot join two sentences
• FANBOYS (comma + conjunction) can join sentences
• Semicolon joins related independent clauses
• Opening modifier must describe the subject right after comma
• Parallel structure for lists and comparisons
• "However" is NOT a coordinating conjunction!