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Idioms – What’s in a Name?

By vivian kerr posted November 30, 2010

Even though Idioms are one of the most-tested concepts on the SAT, they are also one of the least well understood. This is because Idioms are not governed by grammatical rules the way that other parts of speech like Nouns and Verbs are governed. An Idiom is simply an expression. It is something that native speakers of a language can recognize, but is often challenging for those learning English as a secondary language.

Some common Idioms are fun metaphorical expressions like “hitting the hay” or someone having “a chip on his shoulder.” A non-native speaker might be wondering why anyone would beat up a pile of straw or have a potato chip sitting on his/her shoulder, but we know that they are groups of unrelated words that take on new meanings when grouped together.

While the SAT will NOT be testing such Idiomatic expressions like those just mentioned, there are two main types of Idioms they will test.

The first are common two-part Idioms:

Not only…but also

INCORRECT: Not only did we see the Eiffel Tower, but we saw the Louvre.
CORRECT: Not only did we see the Eiffel Tower, but also we saw the Louvre.

Try this SAT Improving Sentences practice question and test your skills today!

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Idioms on the SAT

By amanda chen posted April 23, 2010

When you think of idioms, you might usually think of sayings such as “a pretty penny”, or “an arm and a leg” or “as the crow flies”. These idioms are expressions that have a figurative meaning in addition to what it literally means. For example, if a bottle of wine costs an arm and a leg, it doesn’t literally mean that you need to pay for it with an arm and a leg. It just means that it is expensive.

You generally do not need to know such idioms for the SAT. What you do need to know are prepositional phrases. For example, would you know which one is correct?

A: I can always count on you to come to my rescue.

B: I can always count for you to come to my rescue.

If you are familiar with English, you will automatically feel that something is ‘off’ with sentence B. If English is not your strong suit, here is a very, very limited list of prepositional phrases to learn. I would highly suggest adding to the list as you practice on Grockit .

An essay consists of an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
An essay comprises an introduction, a body and a conclusion. (Note that “comprise” does not require a preposition)
I ran into him at the basketball game.
I ran away from home when I was 10.
I showed up at school in a suit.
She applied to Cornell University.
She applied for a scholarship.
He showed up unannounced on my doorstep.
Compared to a desktop, laptops seem so much better.
What is your excuse for skipping school again?
What do you believe in?
Can I count on you?
I talked him into letting me stay.
I need you to work with me if we are to get this done on time.
I am looking forward to this vacation.
I’m not sure I can rely on anyone but myself.
She has fallen ill with a fever.
I need time to recover from this fever. Illogical structure

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Idioms on the SAT

By jordan schonig posted March 30, 2010

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.”

Put your skills to the test with this SAT Writing question from Grockit!

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