Verb forms, voice and mood — Digital SAT Reading & Writing practice
Past vs past participle, finite vs non-finite, active vs passive, subjunctive.
Key ideas to know
Past vs past participle
Choose the correct forms: “She has ___ across the lake twice, and last summer she ___ it in record time.” (A) swum / swam (B) swam / swum (C) swum / swum (D) swam / swam
A. After has, have or had use the past participle (swum). For a finished event in the past use the simple past (swam).
Watch out: Using the simple past after has (has swam, has wrote) or the participle on its own (she swum).
Finite verbs
Which version is a complete sentence? A) After finishing his homework, going to the library to study. B) After finishing his homework, he went to the library to study. C) After finishing his homework, to go to the library to study.
B. A sentence needs a subject and a finite verb (he went). Going and to go are non-finite forms and cannot be the main verb.
Watch out: Treating an -ing word or a to + verb phrase as the main verb of the sentence.
Non-finite Verbs as Subjects
Which sentence correctly uses a non-finite verb form to act as the grammatical subject? A) To solve this equation quickly is difficult. B) Solving this equation quickly is difficult. C) Both are correct. D) Neither is correct.
C) Both are correct. Gerunds (-ing as nouns) and infinitives (to + verb) can both function as subjects or objects in a sentence.
Watch out: Assuming only gerunds can be subjects because they look like verbs, while forgetting that infinitives also act as nouns in this position.
Choosing Active or Passive Voice
When is passive voice the best choice for a sentence? A) Always, for formal writing B) Only when the doer is unknown or unimportant C) Never, it weakens clarity D) When the subject performs the action
B) Only when the doer is unknown or unimportant. Use passive voice when focusing on the receiver of the action matters more than who performed it.
Watch out: Overusing passive voice to avoid naming a subject, which often makes writing wordy and unclear when active voice would work better.
Subjunctive After Suggest/Demand
Identify the error and choose the fix: The manager insisted that the report was submitted by Friday. A) Change insisted to insists B) Change was to be C) Change submitted to submitting D) No change
B) Change was to be. After verbs like suggest, demand, or insist, use the base form of the verb (subjunctive mood), so it must be be submitted.
Watch out: Using a regular past tense or conjugated verb after suggest/demand/insist instead of keeping the base form in the subjunctive clause.
Sample questions
Question 1
By the time the expedition reached base camp, the storm ______ most of their supply cache.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- destroys
- had destroyed
- will destroy
- destroying
Show answer and explanation
Answer: had destroyed
'By the time' + past ('reached') signals an action completed before another past action — past perfect: 'had destroyed.'
Question 2
The collection of rare manuscripts, including several medieval psalters, ______ housed in the library's climate-controlled vault.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- are
- were
- is
- have been
Show answer and explanation
Answer: is
The subject is 'collection' (singular); 'of rare manuscripts, including several medieval psalters' is a prepositional interrupter. Singular subject takes 'is.'
Question 3
______ the telescope's mirror was able to capture light from galaxies more than ten billion light-years away.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- Polished to within nanometers of its ideal shape,
- Having polished to within nanometers of its ideal shape,
- Polishing to within nanometers of its ideal shape,
- To polish within nanometers of its ideal shape,
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Polished to within nanometers of its ideal shape,
The mirror was polished (passive) — the past participle 'Polished...' correctly modifies 'the telescope's mirror.' The other options make the mirror the one doing the polishing.