On the SAT Writing, an “idiom” is a recognized grammatical construction that is a rule simply because of tradition. The idiom constitutes the ultimate tautology: we say something a certain way because, well, that’s how we say it. It’s a bit like when you ask your parents why they enforce a certain rule, and they answer “because I said so:” even though the answer does not satisfy your question, you must still obey the rule. Idioms, the “because I said so’s” of the grammar world, are no different, and the SAT Writing is no more forgiving.

On the SAT Writing, most of the idioms you will face will involve preposition usage. Why do I listen “to” the radio instead of listen “at” the radio? Simple–because I said so. Or, more precisely, we say “listen to” because that is how English speakers have said it for hundreds of years. We like it that way, and we are not willing to change. Got it? We’re a stubborn little bunch, aren’t we?

For some students, idiom errors can be the easiest to spot on the exam. To these students, an idiom error sticks out like a sore thumb. When they read something like “listen at the radio,” they hear dissonance. The only way to restore grammatical harmony is to replace the grating “at” with the soothing “to.” Balance is restored.

Not everybody thinks this way. For many who learned English as a second language, and even for those who have a purely logical–as opposed to intuitive–understanding of language, idiom errors are extremely difficult to detect. After all, there is no logical explanation for why we say “listen to” instead of “listen at.”

Even if you think you know English idioms like the back of your hand, take a glance at the following list of verbs, adjectives, and nouns and the prepositions that accompany them. You may find that you’ve been saying something incorrectly all this time (gasp!).

While most of the word pairs in the list above will be obvious to you, try to find those with which you are not so familiar. Even better, if you find a preposition that sounds weird to you or even wrong, practice writing sentences with its correct usage and use the phrase in everyday speech. The more familiar these constructions become, the easier it will be to identify when they are being used incorrectly.

Here are a few examples to exercise your new idiom savvy:

1. I am preoccupied about my studies.
2. She had a fondness toward dolls when she was little.
3. The SAT consists in three sections: Math, Reading, and Writing.
4. John’s hatred for the Los Angeles Lakers fueled his love for the San Antonio Spurs.

Fixes:

1. I am preoccupied with my studies.
2. She had a fondness for dolls when she was little.
3. The SAT consists of three sections: Math, Reading, and Writing.
4. John’s hatred of the Los Angeles Lakers fueled his love of the San Antonio Spurs.

Now check out the Grockit Blog for more tips and practice identifying idiom errors on Grockit!

A common writing mistake is thinking that gerunds are verbs. GERUNDS ARE NOT VERBS. Gerunds typically involve using a verb (in the -ing form) as a noun. Just because it looks like a verb + “ing”, does not mean it is a verb. Often times, SAT questions try to take advantage of this misconception by giving you sentences with gerunds but no verb. For example, Listening to his ipod, John skiing down the slope.

As a noun, gerunds can either be the subject or the direct object of a sentence. Let’s use the verb “to read” as an example. The gerund of “to read” is “reading” and it can be used as a subject in a sentence like
Reading Shakespeare is compulsory for every high school in America.
Or it can be used as a direct object in a sentence like
I enjoy reading Shakespeare in my English class. (Here, the verb is “enjoy” and the object is “reading”)

Now that you know how to use gerunds, you need to bear in mind three main types of mistakes involving gerunds.

Mistake 1
The first is the one mentioned in the first paragraph – the presence of a gerund but a lack of a verb. Using the previous sentence as an example, Listening to his ipod, John studying for the SAT should be Listening to his ipod, John skiis down the slope.

This mistake is a little harder to spot when there is a modifying clause that has a verb in it. For example, Sarah walking down the street, her head bent in thought. Just because there is a verb “bent” in the sentence does not make the sentence grammatical. The main clause in the sentence is “Sarah walking down the street” and this lacks a verb. The second part, “her head bent in thought” describes Sarah and is a modifier. For the sentence to be grammatical, it would have to be Sarah walked down the street, her head bent in thought.

Here are some faulty sentences. What’s wrong with them?
Many of the best kids’ movies, including both “The Labyrinth” and “The Dark Crystal,” originating in the mind of Jim Henson.
If you ignore the clause that is between the commas (“including both… Dark Crystal”), you will realize the the main sentence is “Many of the best kids’ movies originating in the mind of Jim Henson”. The problem is, this sentence needs a verb, so “originating” has to be changed to “originated”.

Shakespeare writing some of the best tragedies, such as Romeo and Juliet, which is read by just about every high school student.
As before, it is always a good habit to strip away the modifiers and identify the main part of the sentence. Romeo and Juliet is an example and “which is read by just about every high school student” is a modifier referring to Romeo and Juliet. So the main sentence here is “Shakespeare writing some of the best tragedies”. Again, this is lacking a verb so “writing” should be changed to “wrote”.

Mistake 2
The second type of mistake is a lot harder to spot unless you have a good command of English. There are some verbs that must always be followed by gerunds.

For example, admit, consider, stop, deny, appreciate are all followed by gerunds.
He admitted to having a cigarette or two during my lunch break.
Seeing as he was so lonely, I considered setting him up with a friend.
Sally stopped singing in the shower when she realized her roommates could hear her.
She denied breaking the exquisite vase on the table.
I appreciate hearing a good voice sing the national anthem.

Certain verbs are frequently used with a preposition that must also be followed by a gerund.
For example,
He complains ABOUT having to work long hours.
He insisted ON paying for the meal.
I object TO using violence to solve problems.
She looks forward TO seeing her boyfriend at Christmas.
The politician has a habit OF rewording your speeches at the last minute.

In general, it is fairly safe to assume that prepositions should be followed by gerunds.

Mistake 3
This is the “being” mistake. Being is not a verb. Try saying “I being, you being, he being, she being”. It sounds wrong doesn’t it? Being can be correctly used in the passive voice, but more often than not, being is used to create overly wordy sentences that are not the answer.

Take a look at this sentence.
Tom was punished by his teacher, not for his tardiness, but for his being extremely disrespectful towards her.

In addition to the original phrase, it is common to see a choice like “the reason being for his extreme disrespect towards her”. The presence of “being” should sound an alarm in your head immediately. Read through it quickly, and if it sounds awkward and clumsy, eliminate those choices. Go for the simplest choice such as “but for his extreme disrespect towards her”.

Check out Grockit for more SAT verbal practice with Amanda!