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Invertebrates are animals without vertebrae. Arthropods, including arachnids that has eight legs, are in this phylum. Some species in this phylum include scorpions, spiders, and ticks. There are over 45,000 known species of spiders; however, scientists estimate that the same number are still undiscovered.
With plural nouns, you need to make sure your verb agrees with your subject. In this modifier, "arachnids" is the subject, meaning the verb tense of "to have" needs to be conjugated to agree with the plural subject of "arachnids." "Have" is the only appropriate answer to this question because it not only agrees with the plural subject; it also carries the correct tense, which in this sentence is the present tense. "Have had" and "Had" are both in the past tense and do not work with this passage's tense and meaning. "Has" is incorrect because it does not agree with the plural "arachnids."
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Florida was first discovered by Europeans in 1513 by Juan Ponce de Leon. Its first city, St. Augustine, found shortly after in 1565. St. Augustine is known to be the oldest continuously inhabited European establishment. Prior to the colonization of Florida, many indigenous tribes resided there, such as the Apalachee, Seminoles, Timucua, and Creek.
Whenever the verbs in the passage are in the past tense, any verbs that follow need to keep with the same verb tense to create a meaning that is logical. This passage is written in the past tense, so the verbs need to agree with the past tense. “Founded” is the correct answer because this means “to found,” or establish something, such as a company or in this case: a city. “Find” and “Finds” are both in the present tense and would not agree with the sentence. “Found” is incorrect because, while still in the past tense, it expresses a different, illogical meaning.
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John and James were both invited to the regional cross country tournament, but only he participated in the competitive 5k event.
This example tests us on pronoun ambiguity. In the original construction, it is unclear whether “he” refers back to John or James. Since we do not have a clear antecedent for our pronoun, any answer choice that utilizes “he” can be eliminated. In fact, in many cases, we correct pronoun ambiguity by eliminating the pronoun entirely, as the correct answer, “but only the former” has done. By referring to “the former,” the sentence has made it clear that we’re referring to John. The correct answer also includes the logical coordinating conjunction “but” after the comma to connect the two independent clauses in the sentence. Our final incorrect answer, “only the former” fails to include this conjunction and creates a comma splice.
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There are two different ways to consider the so-called “Dark Ages.” On the one hand, you can think of the period directly after the fall of the Roman Empire, when civilization began to collapse throughout the Western Empire. On the other hand, you can consider the period that followed this initial collapse of society. It is a gross simplification too use the adjective dark to describe the civilization of either of these periods.
As regards the first period, it is quite a simplification to consider this period to be a single historical moment. It is not as though the civilization switched off like a lightbulb. At one moment light and then, at the next, dark. Instead, the decline of civilization occurred over a period of numerous decades and was, in fact, already occurring for many years before the so-called period of darkness. Thus, the decline of civilization was not a rapid collapse into barbarism, but instead, was a slow alteration of the cultural milieu of a partition of Europe. Indeed, the Eastern Roman Empire retained much of it’s cultural status during these years of decline!
More importantly, the period following the slow collapse of the Western Empire was much less “dark” than almost every popular telling states. Indeed, even during the period of decline, the seeds for cultural restoration was being sown. A key element of this cultural revival were the formation of monastic communities throughout the countryside of what we now know as Europe. Although these were not the only positive force during these centuries, the monasteries had played an important role in preserving and advancing the cause of culture through at least the thirteenth century and arguably until the Renaissance.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
The issue with the sentence as written is the fact that its main verb does not match the number of the sentence's subject. The subject is "seeds." Think of a simple sentence to check the verb: "The seeds were . . ." If you were to say, "The seeds was," you would immediately be aware of the error! The intervening expression "for cultural restoration" can distract you if you are not careful. Now, no additional commas are necessary. The "for" is a preposition, not a conjunction.
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Jazz music originated in late 19th century New Orleans, where it gained it’s inspiration from ragtime and blues music, popular genres of that time, and region.
This question primarily tests us on reference and the use of the proper, possessive form “its.” In the sentence, it would be illogical to use the contraction “it’s,” as the sentence is not attempting to say “it gained it is inspiration.” Instead, if we use “its,” the single possessive pronoun to refer to the inspiration Jazz gained. It is also important that we begin the underlined portion with “where,” as “which” illogically refers back to New Orleans and implies that New Orleans gained its inspiration from ragtime and blues. The correct answer, “where it gained its” correctly addresses that New Orleans is the location where Jazz gained the inspiration it possesses.
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To be considered true niche constructors, however, earthworms must change the environment in such a way as to alter the evolution of another species. One of the easiest ways to measure this effect on evolution has been in the effect that the number of earthworms 1 have on soil fertility, a measure of how hospitable an environment is to plant growth. Even the least fertile soil has around 62 worms per square meter, and as the number of worms increases so does soil fertility. As worms move through the different layers of soil, they eat, digest, and excrete massive amounts of organic matter. They leave their excretions behind in the form of nutrient-rich droppings known as casings. As these casings decompose, they release nutrients into the soil. is process not only moves nutrients from one layer of the soil to another but also converts the nutrients to forms that plants can absorb and process more easily.
The error in the original sentence is one of subject-verb agreement. The subject is “the number,” with “of earthworms” serving as a prepositional modifier that tells us more about the number. So the correct phrasing should be “the effect that the number (of earthworms) has on soil fertility…” Note that this occurs often on the SAT, with the authors of these questions adding descriptions (often in the form of prepositional modifiers) that include nouns, making your job of determining which subject goes with the verb a difficult one.
"Has on" is therefore correct. Among the other answer choices, "it has on" is incorrect because of the pronoun “it” between the subject, number of earthworms, and verb, has. And "can be to" uses improper diction: something can have an effect on something else, but to say that “its effect can be to” is an improper sentence structure.
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The traditional view of archaeologists usually involves a college professor who spends much of his or her time digging and researching in ancient foreign libraries or a museum curator who works every day to preserve the artifacts the museum holds. While this view isn’t completely incorrect, it is incomplete, both in terms of the types of jobs available to archaeologists and in the types of work within those jobs. For example, college professors may spend summers at dig sites, but much of their time is also spent writing grants, teaching students, and writing about their research projects. Additionally, although there are still many people who work in archaeology as professors and museum curators, the demand for these jobs far outstrips the number of positions available, making the positions difficult to acquire.
This problem asks you to find the proper form of the verb “work,” and showcases a handful of important lessons. For one, note that the verb “works” follows the relative pronoun “who” - this means that this verb applies specifically to the word that “who” is modifying, which is “curator.” So while this sentence involves many nouns, the only one that matters here is “curator.” For that reason, the noun must be singular, eliminating choices "work" and "do work", which are plural.
"Worked" is also incorrect, as the past tense implies that this curator in question has completed this work. Note that everything else in the sentence is ongoing: the traditional view “involves,” the professor “spends.” Therefore to suggest that this one action is completed while the others are ongoing is illogical, making this incorrect. The correct answer is "NO CHANGE", which uses a singular, ongoing verb “works.”
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Even today, lions can be seen ruling the African plains, hunting almost any animal that crosses its path and intimidating all but the most intrepid hunters.
In this example, we need to seek out relevant cues from outside the underlined portion of the sentence to identify what is needed out of the underline. Here, the singular vs. plural nature of the subject, lion vs. lions, is at question. If we continue to the latter portion of the sentence, we find the pronoun “its.” Since “its” refers back to the subject and is singular in nature, the subject, “the lion,” must also be singular. This leaves us with only “the lion rules,” our correct answer, as “lions can be seen ruling,” “lions are able to be seen ruling,” and “lions rule” all utilize the plural subject, “lions.”
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The damage caused by the series of storms was relatively minimal, but among the casualties were a cluster of farmhouses on the western outskirts of the town.
In this example, we are being tested on subject-verb agreement. In order to effectively eliminate wrong answers and arrive at the correct answer, we’ll need to determine the subject by addressing who or what “was/where/are/have been among the casualties. This case is particularly tricky, as it involves subject-verb inversion - where the subject comes after the verb. The subject of the sentence that is referred to as “among the casualties” is “a cluster.” We describe the cluster as “a cluster of farmhouses” to provide additional context, but the subject “a cluster” itself is singular, despite being accompanied by a plural noun in its modifying context. With this in mind, the only answer option that agrees with the singular subject “a cluster” is “was.” “Were,” “are,” and “have been” are all plural verbs that would require a plural subject.
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The North American bald eagle is no longer threatened with imminent extinction in the United States, primarily because prohibitions on hunting and the ban of a poisonous pesticide have led to a rebound in the eagle population.
This example tests us on meaning and pronoun ambiguity. In the original construction, we can clearly see that two things have led to a rebound in the eagle population: prohibitions and the ban of a pesticide. However, our incorrect constructions introduce either the singular pronoun “it” or “its,” or the plural possessive pronoun “their.” This is illogical, as it is unclear whether the pronoun should refer to the bald eagle (an illogical construction) or the United States (a more logical but unclear antecedent. Additionally, “because it has prohibited” introduces a sentence construction error by forming the underlined portion as a verb phrase that does not parallel the rest of the sentence as intended. This leaves us with our original answer, “because prohibitions on.”
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The quality of the new products that ACME Corporation has developed over the past year and that has recently arrived on retailers’ shelves worry many investors.
In this example, we are being tested on subject-verb agreement. In order to effectively eliminate wrong answers and arrive at the correct answer, we’ll need to determine the subject by addressing who or what takes on each of our verbs: “have/has” at the start of our answer choices and “worry/worries” at the end. Using both logic and sentence structure, we can identify that what “have recently arrived on retailers’ shelves” are the products. So, the plural verb “have” is appropriate here, and we can eliminate all options that use the singular “has.”
From here, we’ll want to look to the subject taking on the verb “worry/worries.” If we read past or eliminate the modifying phrase “of the new products that ACME Corporation has developed over the past year and that \[have\] recently arrived on retailers’ shelves,” the core of the sentence reads “the quality worry.” Since quality is singular, the verb we need is “worries,” and we can eliminate any answer option that uses the plural “worry.” This leaves us with our correct answer: “have recently arrived on retailers’ shelves worries.”
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Each of the members of the board have at least ten years of experience working in nonprofit organizations.
In this example, we are being tested on subject-verb agreement. In order to effectively eliminate wrong answers and arrive at the correct answer, we’ll need to determine the subject by addressing who or what takes on the verb “have/has/have had/had.” If we break down the construction of the sentence, “of the members of the board” is a modifying phrase referring back to the singular noun, “each.” Since “each” is singular, we need singular agreement with our verb. Only “has” provides us with singular agreement, as all other options either use the plural “have” or seem to imply that each member had experience, but does not anymore, an illogical construction.
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The long-term effects of a high-sugar diet poses several consequences that should be considered when planning one’s trip to the grocery store.
In this example, we are being tested on subject-verb agreement. In order to effectively eliminate wrong answers and arrive at the correct answer, we’ll need to determine the subject by addressing who or what takes on the verb “pose/poses/has posed/has the potential to pose.” In this case, “of a high-sugar diet” is a modifying phrase. The core of the sentence reads “effects poses.” since “effects” are plural, we need the plural verb “pose.” Each of our incorrect answers incorrectly utilizes a singular verb in some form, which does not agree with the plural term “effects.”
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The number of applicants to top colleges and universities are increasing each year, even though there have been fewer high school graduates in each graduating class for the last seven years.
In this example, we are being tested on subject-verb agreement. In order to effectively eliminate wrong answers and arrive at the correct answer, we’ll need to determine the subject by addressing who or what takes on the verb “are increasing,” or its alternative options. Here, “of applicants” and “to top colleges and universities” are both modifying phrases. The subject of the sentence taking on the verb is “the number.” Since “the number” is singular, we need singular agreement, and only the option “is increasing” provides us with this singular agreement. We can also use logic for much of this question. Is the sentence trying to say that the universities are physically getting bigger? That the applicants are physically growing? Since both of these constructions are illogical, logic can point us to the correct and logical subject “the number.”
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Australia is known not only for its diverse landscapes, but also for their unique and often dangerous indigenous species.
In this example, we are being tested on noun-pronoun agreement and parallelism. In order to effectively eliminate wrong answers and arrive at the correct answer, we’ll need to determine the subject by addressing who or what we’re referring to with the pronoun “its/their.” In this case, we have a powerful hint in the non-underlined portion - we already refer to Australia using the pronoun “its.” So, we can see that the collective noun, Australia, is singular. We also need to maintain parallel structure between what follows “not only” and what follows “but also.” Our correct answer, “but also for its” correctly refers to Australia using the singular possessive pronoun “its,” and introduces the phrase that follows the “but also” with the preposition “for” followed by the possessive pronoun and the object of possession - the same structure that follows the “not only” in the sentence.
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The Sagrada Familia has stood, incomplete, as part of the Barcelona skyline since the early 1 phase's of it's construction in 1882. The project, originally intended to be a cathedral in the gothic style, was begun by the bookseller Joseph Maria Bocabella under the direction of the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Del Villar and Bocabella imagined a basilica modeled on the Gothic revival churches Bocabella had seen on trips to Italy. However, Bocabella’s ideal basilica never came to be. In 1883 del Villar resigned from the project, and 30-year old Antoni Gaudi, a young but already well-known architect from Catalonia, took over as lead architect.
This question has two distinct decision points: between "phases" and "phase's" and between "its" and "it's." In both cases, the correct answer hinges on whether the word is meant to be possessive. The word "phase" should be plural rather than possessive (the phase of the construction can't possess anything), so the correct form of the word is "phases." Between "its" and "it's," you need to determine whether the word should be possessive (its) or the contraction "it is" (it's). Since you are looking at the construction of the Sagrada Familia, you need the possessive form "its."
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Since 1988, the mission of molecular gastronomy has shifted. Kurti and This originally sought to investigate “kitchen old wives’ tales,” invent new recipes, improve old ones, and make the case to the public that science was a useful part of everyday life. Even if 1 their experiments weren’t intended to be replicated in home kitchens, they were intended to encourage home cooks to experiment. Today, molecular gastronomists seek to explore the social, artistic, and technical aspects of food preparation. Some have argued that this shift in focus, along with the fact that techniques in molecular gastronomy have so far surpassed what any home cook could do, means that molecular gastronomy has lost its ability to impact how the world cooks at home.
The first decision you should make with this problem is whether you need to use the possessive. Since the experiments in question were the ones done by This and Kurti, you need a possessive pronoun to indicate this fact, eliminating "there" and "it's". And since the experiments were done by two people, you need a plural pronoun. Eliminate "its" since it is both singular and refers to non-humans. "Their" is correct since it is possessive and refers to an item belonging to multiple people.
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The traditional view of archaeologists usually involves a college professor who spends much of his or her time digging and researching in ancient foreign libraries or a museum curator who works every day to preserve the artifacts the museum holds. While this view isn’t completely incorrect, it is incomplete, both in terms of the types of jobs available to archaeologists and in terms of the types of work within those jobs. For example, college professors may spend summers at dig sites, but much of their time is also spent writing grants, teaching students, and writing about their research projects. Additionally, although there are still many people who work in archaeology as professors and museum curators, the demand for 1 this job far outstrips the number of positions available, making the positions difficult to acquire.
Whenever the SAT gives you a choice between a singular or a plural noun, it is probably testing some form of noun agreement. Just like pronouns have to agree with the nouns they refer to, nouns must also be consistent. The question you should ask yourself, therefore, is what the noun is referring back to. In this case, the word "job" refers to the positions of curators and museum curators. Because multiple people want these jobs (and because there is more than one job), you must have a plural noun here, making "these jobs," the only viable option.
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The New Kingdom Egyptians, who inhabited ancient Egypt from 1500-1000 B.C., was well known for its impact on the world of movemental dance and the visual arts.
If we look to the answer choices, we can see that this question primarily tests the singular vs. plural nature of the verb was vs. were, and the possessive pronoun its vs. their. Two of our choices, “was well known for their” and “were well known for its” are illogical given that they utilize a plural verb with a singular pronoun, or a singular verb with a plural pronoun. Since both of these terms refer back to the same subject: “Egyptians.” Since “Egyptians” is a plural subject, we need a plural verb and a plural pronoun, so the correct answer is “were well known for their.” Here, if we remove the modifying phrase “who inhabited ancient Egypt from 1500-1000 B.C.” the agreement of “Egyptians” to “were well known for their” becomes more straightforward and clear.
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The company manual specifically outlines rules for employees about contacting managers while they are out of the office on vacation or for personal reasons.
This example tests us on pronoun ambiguity. In the original construction, and in all constructions that utilize the pronoun “they,” the pronoun is ambiguous and creates a reference error. A reference error exists when it is unclear who or what the pronoun refers back to. In this case, the pronoun “they” could refer back to the managers, or to the employees. Does the manual outline rules for employees about contacting managers while the managers are out of the office, or while the employees are? Because we are uncertain of the pronoun’s antecedent, all answers that utilize “they” can be eliminated, and we’re left with “who are.” “Who are” is logical in this case, as the relative clause opener “who” must logically refer back to the noun or noun phrase before, in this case, managers.
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