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.
A substantial share of the district's residents ______ opposed to the proposed toll increase.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A — are. 'A share of' followed by a plural noun takes a plural verb. Here, 'residents' are plural, so 'are' is correct.
The data gathered from the soil samples ______ analyzed by a team of geologists before the drilling permit was approved.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A — were. In formal Standard English, 'data' is treated as a plural noun (the plural of 'datum'), requiring the plural past-tense verb 'were.'
The oversight commission, unlike the individual agencies it monitors, ______ required to publish its findings publicly each quarter.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
D — is. 'Commission' is a singular collective noun acting as a unit; the interrupting phrase 'unlike the individual agencies it monitors' does not change the subject's number, so the singular verb 'is' is correct.
By next December, the construction crew ______ the new stadium for over two years, well past the original completion deadline.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A — will have been building. The phrase 'By next December' signals an action continuing up to a specific point in the future, which requires the future perfect progressive tense, 'will have been building.'
By next autumn, the restoration crew ______ the mural for well over a year, far longer than the original estimate suggested.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
C — will have been restoring. The phrase 'By next autumn' signals an action continuing up to a specific point in the future, which requires the future perfect progressive tense, 'will have been restoring.'
By next June, the survey crew ______ the coastline for close to four years, well beyond what the original funding cycle anticipated.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
B — will have been mapping. The phrase 'By next June' signals an action continuing up to a specific point in the future, which requires the future perfect progressive tense, 'will have been mapping.'
By next fall, the conservation team ______ the wetland for close to three years, longer than the original grant timeline allowed.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
D — will have been monitoring. The phrase 'By next fall' signals an action continuing up to a specific point in the future, which requires the future perfect progressive tense, 'will have been monitoring.'
By next winter, the survey team ______ the coastline for nearly two years, considerably longer than the initial grant period allowed.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A — will have been surveying. The phrase 'By next winter' signals an action continuing up to a specific point in the future, which requires the future perfect progressive tense, 'will have been surveying.'
By next spring, the excavation team ______ the site for nearly three years, well beyond what the original grant proposal anticipated.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A — will have been excavating. The phrase 'By next spring' signals an action continuing up to a specific point in the future, which requires the future perfect progressive tense, 'will have been excavating.'
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.