Topics Definitions
What do the terms concision and redundancy mean?
Concision means to be as short and succinct as possible, while redundancy means repeating phrases or words that mean the same thing.
My ancestors are those who proceeded me.
My ancestors are those who preceded me.
How do we differentiate between when to use a gerund or an infinitive for an idiom?
Rely on what sounds right
Create one sentence with "such as"
I have many hobbies, such as reading, writing, and biking.
What are homophones?
Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different spellings or meanings.
When do we combine simple sentences? (there are two scenarios)
When they are too short and simple, or when the sentences are related to each other
"I would very much like to be friend you!" she said in a manner of friendliness.
(hint: remember how to be concise!)
"I would very much like to befriend you!" she said in a friendly manner.
A compliment is a praise. A complement is something that goes well with or completes something else.
Create a sentence with an idiom (it must be with one of the idioms we learned).
Harry used the mirror as a means of communicating with Sirius.
Explain the following terms: noun, adjective, verb, adverb, and subject.
Noun - an object, person, place, or thing
Adjective - A word used to describe a noun
Verb - an action
Adverb - A word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb
Subject - the main focus of a sentence or clause
What are conjunctions?
Conjunctions are words or phrases that can connect or relate two parts of a sentence or two entire sentences.
Because crayons are a medium generally reserved for young children, professional artists have used them to great effect.
Although crayons are a medium generally reserved for young children, professional artists have used them to great effect.
Come up with two informal language phrases that shouldn't be used in the SAT.
"got to [verb]" and "a bunch of" and "very bad"
Create two sentences: a sentence with a conjunction and another sentence before it (twenty seconds to answer)
I did not want to leave the Shire to venture out into the unknown. Nevertheless, I persevered, wearing the One Ring around my neck.
Give me three examples of when to use commas.
1. Before "such as"
2. For lists
3. Before conjunctions that are linking to independent clauses together
When do we add dashes?
We add dashes around a digressive thought or a list of examples that isn't directly related to the main focus of the sentence.
An "Iltizam" was a 17th century Egyptian farmland that earned the wealthy landowner a great deal of profit; therefore, he left only pennies to the peasants who actually cultivated the farm.
An "Iltizam" was a 17th century Egyptian farmland that earned the wealthy landowner a great deal of profit, but left only pennies to the peasants who actually cultivated the farm.
Choose the correct idiom: "as a means of" or "as a means through"
as a means of
Create a sentence with a colon.
I own the following pets: a cat, a dog, and a mini lop rabbit.
To whom did you give this matcha powder tea packet?
Who is at the door?
What are idioms? What are the two/three types of idioms that we need to know for the SAT?
Idioms are phrases that don't conform to or follow usual rules. Two types: prepositional idioms, idioms with gerunds, idioms with infinitives
I had a lot for breakfast; oats, fruit, and french toast.
I used the stationery bike as a means through exercise.
I had a lot for breakfast: oats, fruit, and french toast.
I used the stationary bike as a means of exercise.
Give me one difference between using a semicolon and using a colon.
Semicolons aren't used to indicate that a list follows, while colons can indicate that a list follows.
A sentence with semicolon(s) and dashes (thirty seconds to answer)
Example: I thought I had memorized the names of all the human bones in the body--all 206 of them--for an anatomy quiz; however, I still failed the quiz because I forgot to memorize the seven extra ones that are present at birth.
What is a direct object, and what is an indirect object?
A direct object is a phrase that answers the "what" of an action. An indirect object answers the "to whom", "for what", etc. of that action.
Example: I am doing this for you.
"This" is the direct object and "you" is the indirect object.