PSAT Study Guide 100% ACCURATE GRADE A+ GUARANTEED

absolute value a numbers distance from zero on a number line domain All possible input values (x values) range All possible output values (y values) integers numbers that have no fractional or decimal parts positive numbers numbers that are greater than zero negative numbers numbers that are less than zero even numbers integers that can be divided by 2 evenly, with no remainder odd numbers integers that cannot be divided evenly by 2 factors numbers that a certain number can be divided by, leaving no remainder multiples numbers that can be divided by a certain number, with no remainder prime numbers numbers that have exactly two distinct factors, themselves and 1 distinct having a different value digit a figure from zero through nine that is used as a place holder consecutive numbers numbers in a row divisible can be divided with no remainder remainder a whole number that is left over after you divide sum the result of addition product the result of multiplication difference the result of subtraction quotient the result of division absolute value a number's distance from zero, always shown as a positive number Tense Make sure all verbs agree with each other... e.g. "No matter where they come from or what their cultural values were, virtually all immigrants to the United States find America a nation of great opportunity and freedom." Obviously you would change "were" to "are" in order to agree with the verbs "come" and "find." Dangling Participles & Misplaced Modifiers These sentences begin with a long string of words followed by a comma and typically appear like the following question, "Having no additional funds to spend, the meeting of the budget committee was promptly concluded." (A) the meeting of the budget committee was promptly concluded (B) the meeting of the budget committee concluded promptly (C) the conclusion of the budget meeting was prompt (D) the budget committee promptly concluded its meeting (E) the budget committee's meeting was promptly concluded The question tries to trick you into thinking "meeting" is the subject after the verb, but in reality, "the budget committee " is and thus, (D) is the correct answer. Ask yourself "Is the person, place, or object listed after the comma the true subject of the sentence? It should be. Faulty Comparisons Within a sentence, objects/peoples/places can only be compared if they are of the same type. Such as in, "Unlike flying squirrels, which may leave their young in a tree cavity while foraging, the babies of flying lemurs are usually carried with them. (A) the babies of flying lemurs are usually carried (B) the flying lemur's babies are usually carried (C) the flying lemur is usually carrying its babies (D) flying lemurs usually carry their babies (E) flying lemurs' babies are usually carried The correct answer choice is obviously D, since you cannot compare flying squirrels with the BABIES of flying lemurs. Choice D allows for like things to be compared. Pronoun Clarity Pronouns can't always be used in place of nouns, because the pronoun within a sentence may be too ambiguous. PSAT example: Internet companies have discovered many advantages in collaborating with them, whether the companies do so directly or indirectly. "them" has no antecedent, and thus that's where the error resides within this sentence. Pronoun Agreement The PSAT loves using subjects like "the high school," "the choir," and "the nation" because students associated these nouns with many people, and therefore think of them as plural. Remember, though: no matter how many hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people live in a country, a university, or a city, each of these subjects is SINGULAR and requires the SINGULAR pronoun, "it!" Make sure you also keep an eye out for words such as "Either," "Neither," "Each," "Anybody," "No One," "Everyone," "Everybody," "Everything," and "Nothing." Each of these words is always SINGULAR! PSAT Example: After months of pressure by the United States, the Russian government has finally agreed to help their poorest citizens by engaging in humanitarian efforts and implementing domestic reform. "their" would need to be changed to "its" Pronoun Consistency Once you begin using a pronoun, all pronouns referring to the same subject, must be consistent with one another. PSAT example: If one is to challenge the authority of a teacher, he should first think about the consequences such an action could bring. The mistake would be "he," which should change to "one" in order to remain consistent with the "one" after "If." Parallel Structure Properly written sentences should have a nice, smooth flow. Parallel structure is most often seen in lists. "She was incredibly beautiful, kind, and smart." Because of parallel structure, all items in that list must be adjectives. You could not put, "She was incredibly beautiful, runs, and an architect." PSAT Example: An exceptionally talented and versatile author, Denise has been a novelist, playwright, and written many essays. The mistake would be "written many essays" which would ruin the parallel structure of the list. A more correct sentence insertion would be "writer of essays." If a sentence lists objects, the items listed must all be nouns, adjectives, or verbs. The sample sentence cannot list two nouns (novelist, playwright), and then suddenly switch to the past tense verb "written many essays" for the third and final item. Adverbs Adverb errors are quite simple, but unfortunate(ly) easy to miss. Many students auto-correct them as they read the sentence. Every time you see an adjective such as rapid, serene, frequent, constant, and gradual underlined in an PSAT grammar question test whether it should be an adverb by appending -ly onto the adjective's end. Also watch out for trickier adverb questions that require changing an adverb into an adjective. PSAT Example: The jurors, eight men and three women, all between the ages of forty and sixty, listened intent as the prosecutor put forth his closing argument. The error would be "intent" which should be changed to "intently." Distracting Phrases One of the PSAT's favorite little tricks is to insert long phrases between a sentence's subject and verb to distract you from subject-verb agreement. Whenever you come across a long distracting phrase in an PSAT grammar question, cross the phrase off. (First, make sure there's no error in the phrase.) Re-read the newly shortened sentence after crossing off the distracting phrase. Chances are, some element will suddenly seem out of place. PSAT Example: A newly formed organization of homeowners and business people have met with the transportation department to voice its concerns about plans for a shopping mall in the community. The mistake is in "have met" since "organization" is singular, and referenced singularly throughout the rest of the sentence, such as in "its." Either-Or, Neither-Nor, Between-And Self-explanatory. "Either" goes with "or;" "Neither" goes with "nor;" and "Between" goes with "and." There's only one teeny, tiny little trick to remember... When you have a singular and a plural comparison, "Neither the tabloids nor my mother" the subject CLOSEST to the verb, determines its tense, so that sentence becomes "Neither the tabloids, nor my mother HAS broken my spirits." PSAT Example: Neither the Captain nor the sailors thinks the fleet of ships is capable of crossing the Atlantic. "thinks" would be changed to "think" in order to agree with "sailors." Logical Agreement Essentially a "singular vs. plural" rule. For instance, you would never say "Many students want to become an astronaut," you would say, "Many students want to become astronauts." PSAT Example: Nursing and physical therapy are (an example of health-care fields that) have shortages in staffing. (A) are an example of health-care fields that (B) are examples where health-care fields (C) are examples of health-care fields that (D) exemplifies a health-care field that (E) exemplify health care fields where they The correct answer would be (C). CONTINUED.......