Pronouns and Modifiers — Digital SAT SAT Reading and Writing revision notes
A 4-page visual revision sheet for Pronouns and Modifiers, written for Digital SAT SAT Reading and Writing. Formulas, diagrams and the traps that cost marks, laid out to be read the night before rather than the term before. Free, and it opens inside CapCompass.
Page 1 as PDF
Pronouns and Modifiers in one look
every pronoun points at a noun, every opening phrase describes the next one
What these questions look like
- the same shape as the rest of this domain: a passage of roughly 25 to 150 words with its own blank, and the conventions stem word for word
- the four options are usually four pronouns, or four spellings of one word, or four ways of starting the same main clause
- nothing about the passage's argument matters. What matters is which noun the blank has to line up with
- these sit among the fastest questions on the section. Answering them in well under the 71 second average is what funds the slow ones
- there is no negative marking, so a pronoun question is answered even when two options survive the elimination
The pronoun rule, in three moves
- name the antecedent: say out loud which noun the pronoun stands in for. If you cannot name it, the option is already wrong
- match the number: a singular noun takes it, this, that; a plural noun takes they, these, those
- match the job: a pronoun doing the acting takes the subject form, a pronoun being acted on takes the object form
- a pronoun with two possible antecedents is ambiguous, and an option that leaves the reference unclear is never the answer
- the verb sitting right after the blank often gives the number away for free: has demands a singular pronoun, have a plural one
The spellings that are really one question
- its is possessive, it's is it is. A possessive pronoun never takes an apostrophe, not one of them
- their is possessive, there is a place, they're is they are
- whose is possessive, who's is who is
- your is possessive, you're is you are
- when all four options are spellings of the same sound, this is the entire question. Decide what the slot needs, then spell it
Read the four options first. What kind of thing are they?
- four different pronouns — Agreement question: name the noun, then match number
- four spellings of one sound — Apostrophe question: decide possessive or short form
- four ways to start the main clause — Modifier question: ask what the opening phrase describes
Page 1 of 4. The full sheet, all 4 pages, opens free in the app.
What this Pronouns and Modifiers sheet covers
- What these questions look like
- The pronoun rule, in three moves
- The spellings that are really one question
- Pronoun forms, by the job they do
- Nouns: plural, possessive, or both
- A pronoun question, fully worked
- Words that decide the number for you
- Each, every
- Everyone, nobody
- Both, several, few
- A team, a jury
- Modifiers: the phrase describes what comes next
- A modifier question, fully worked
- Which clause, and which mark
- That
- Which
- Parallel and comparable: the same rule twice
- Traps that cost marks
- Tricks that save time
How CapCompass uses this sheet
These notes are not a standalone PDF. CapCompass plans SAT Reading and Writing chapter by chapter against your real exam dates and free hours, and when the plan reaches Pronouns and Modifiers the sheet opens inside the study block itself — at the page covering the sub-topic that block is on, with the timer still running. Revision arrives at the moment the plan says revise, instead of having to be gone looking for.