9 original Form, Structure and Sense questions, easiest first. Agreement, tense, pronouns, modifiers, parallelism. Answer them all, then submit once to see every answer explained.
By the time the inspectors arrived at the plant, the maintenance crew ______ already repaired the leaking valve.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
C — had. The sentence describes an action (repairing the valve) that was completed before another past action (the inspectors arriving), which requires the past perfect tense. 'Had' correctly forms the past perfect.
The hospital's ethics committee ______ its quarterly review of ongoing clinical trials this coming Friday.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
C — conducts. 'Ethics committee' functions as a singular collective noun acting as a unit, requiring the singular present-tense verb 'conducts.'
A considerable number of the survey's participants ______ skeptical of the new policy's effectiveness.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
D — are. 'A number of' followed by a plural noun takes a plural verb. Here, 'participants' are plural, so 'are' is correct.
A significant number of the town's residents ______ opposed to the proposed shopping center.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
C — are. 'A number of' followed by a plural noun takes a plural verb (as opposed to 'the number of,' which takes a singular verb). Here, 'residents' are plural, so 'are' is correct.
The company's quarterly earnings report, along with several supporting financial documents, ______ released to shareholders yesterday afternoon.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A — was. The subject of the sentence is the singular 'report'; 'along with several supporting financial documents' is a parenthetical phrase that does not change the subject's number. The singular past-tense verb 'was' agrees with 'report.'
Scientists believe that the newly discovered exoplanet, along with two smaller moons, ______ orbiting a star roughly twice the size of the sun.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
D — is. The subject is the singular 'exoplanet'; 'along with two smaller moons' is a parenthetical phrase that does not make the subject plural. The singular verb 'is' correctly agrees with 'exoplanet.'
The panel of judges, after reviewing every entry twice, ______ its final decision by unanimous vote.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
D — reaches. 'Panel' is a singular collective noun acting as a unit, requiring the singular present-tense verb 'reaches'; the interrupting phrase 'after reviewing every entry twice' does not change the subject's number.
The nonprofit's advisory board ______ its annual strategic review this coming March.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A — conducts. 'Advisory board' functions as a singular collective noun acting as a unit, requiring the singular present-tense verb 'conducts.'
Scientists believe that the newly identified moon, along with a faint ring of debris, ______ orbiting the gas giant at a surprisingly close distance.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A — is. The subject is the singular 'moon'; 'along with a faint ring of debris' is a parenthetical phrase that does not make the subject plural. The singular verb 'is' correctly agrees with 'moon.'
Score:
Every question above is now marked up: the correct answer is highlighted, any wrong option you picked is flagged, and each explanation is open.
No. Every question here is original, written to the College Board's published Digital SAT Reading & Writing specification for the Form, Structure and Sense skill. No retired or copyrighted College Board material appears anywhere on this site.
Form, Structure and Sense covers the rest of Standard English Conventions: subject-verb agreement, verb tense and form, pronoun agreement and clarity, modifier placement, and parallel structure within a list or comparison.
For agreement, find the actual subject of the verb and mentally delete every phrase between them — the SAT inserts long prepositional phrases specifically to hide a singular subject behind a plural noun. For tense, find the other verbs and time markers in the passage and match them. For a modifier, check what the phrase sits next to: it modifies that, whether or not that is what the writer meant.
No, and deliberately so. This drill is 9 Form, Structure and Sense questions back to back; a real Reading & Writing module is 27 questions in 32 minutes drawn from all eleven skills. Use a drill to fix one weakness, then take a full module to practice the real thing.
No. The SAT has no penalty for a wrong answer — a blank and a wrong guess both score zero — so answer every question, including the ones you have to guess.