USE INFINITIVES AND GERUNDS CORRECTLY.ARIES; PARTS OF SPEECH; AND P...
5. Use infinitives and gerunds correctly.
aries; parts of speech; and parallel structure.
Approximately one-third of the questions on the GED
Indefinite Pronouns
writing test will be about sentence structure. Here are
To remember singular indefinite pronouns, note that
some tips for tackling questions about sentence structure:
someone, anyone, everyone, and no one all contain the
word one. One, of course, is singular. Indefinite pronouns
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Look for words that signal relationships and
beginning with some, any, every and no are all singular.
make connections: subordinating conjunctions,
coordinating conjunctions, and conjunctive
Agreement
adverbs. These words help describe the relation-
When it comes to agreement, think of sentences as a scale
ship between ideas and determine sentence
with subjects on one side and verbs on the other, or with
boundaries and punctuation.
antecedents on one side and pronouns on the other. The
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Look carefully at word order. Are modifiers close
subjects and verbs need to agree in order for the scale to
to the things they modify?
be balanced. Likewise, the pronouns need to agree with
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Look for grammatical patterns. Is there—or
their antecedents to balance the scale.
should there be—parallel structure at work in the
sentence?
Pronouns
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Could sentences be combined effectively?
It’s so easy to make a mistake with pronouns and con-
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If you suspect a sentence fragment, isolate that
tractions because we show possession of nouns with an
sentence and see if it makes sense on its own. If
apostrophe (Ralph’s car). With pronouns, however, pos-
not, it probably needs to be combined with
session does not require an apostrophe. If you get con-
another sentence or revised to be complete.
fused, think of a possessive pronoun that doesn’t get
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If you suspect a run-on sentence, look at each
confused with contractions, like my or our. These do not
clause. Is it independent? If so, is there strong
have apostrophes; other possessive pronouns shouldn’t,
enough punctuation or connecting words
either.
between the clauses?
And here’s one way to remember to use that when
referring to things: both words begin with the letter t.
U s a g e
Prepositional Idioms
If prepositional idioms tend to give you problems, try
Another third of the questions on Part I will be about
writing sentences with the idioms to give yourself extra
usage: the rules that govern the form of the words we use
practice. Create a worksheet for yourself or someone else
and how we put those words together in sentences.
who may also need extra idiom review.
Chapter 7 reviewed the usage rules you should know for
the exam. Here are some specific tips for questions about
usage.
M e c h a n i c s
Verbs
About one-fourth of the questions on Part I will be
Because verbs are the driving force in every sentence, and
about mechanics: the rules that govern punctuation,
because verbs can take so many different forms, you can
capitalization, and spelling. Chapter 8 reviewed punctu-
be sure that many usage questions will be about verbs.
ation guidelines, rules for correct capitalization, and
Here are five tips to help you prepare for those questions:
–T I P S A N D S T R AT E G I E S F O R T H E G E D L A N G U A G E A R T S , W R I T I N G E X A M–For example:
spelling for contractions and possessive pronouns as well
as homonyms. Here are some specific tips for handling
questions about mechanics.
stationary vs. stationery: Remember that
“stationery” is the one to write on because it’s
spelled with an “er” like the letter you are
Punctuation
writing.
Remember that punctuation marks are used to separate
sentences, show the relationships between ideas, reveal
(See page 22 for more about mnemonic devices.)
tone, and clarify meaning. Each punctuation mark has a
For a list of over 700 pairs of homonyms, visit
specific function and should only be used in specific sit-
uations. Take the time to memorize the uses for each
https://traloihay.net. You can also
find homonym quizzes and worksheets at https://traloihay.net
punctuation mark. Here are some tips to help you learn
.com/language/Homonyms.htm.
them:
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Pay attention to how punctuation is used as you
read. Now that you know the rules, the more you
O r g a n i z a t i o n
see them in action, the easier it will be to remem-
ber them.
Finally, a smaller portion of the questions on Part I will
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Write your own sentences with each punctuation
be about organization: how writers arrange their ideas.
mark and each comma rule. Notice how punctua-
Chapter 9 reviewed essay structure and organizational
tion can change the impact and meaning of
patterns, effective paragraphs, and transitions. When you
sentences.
encounter a GED question about organization, these
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