SAT modifiers and possessives practice

A worked example

Walking into the gallery, Mina noticed a new painting. Mina is doing the walking, so she is the correct subject after the modifier.

A common trap

A sentence may describe a plausible event while accidentally assigning the action to an object.

For a longer walkthrough, read SAT grammar: find the subject, then check the sentence.

By Sentence Practice editorial team · Reviewed 2026-09-05

All 8 questions, with explanations

Work on paper or read at your own pace. Open each explanation after choosing an answer. These are the same original questions used in the interactive tool.

1. 1. Walking through the greenhouse, ____. Which choice completes the text according to Standard English conventions?

   1. Leah noticed several unfamiliar plants
   2. several unfamiliar plants caught Leah's attention
   3. the unfamiliar plants were noticed by Leah
   4. there were several plants that Leah noticed
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: A. Leah noticed several unfamiliar plants

   Leah is walking through the greenhouse. Placing Leah immediately after the modifier makes that relationship clear. Plants and there cannot logically perform the opening action.

2. 2. Designed to operate in shallow water, ____. Which choice completes the text according to Standard English conventions?

   1. the shoreline could be approached by the vessel
   2. researchers approached the shore in the vessel
   3. there was a vessel near the shoreline
   4. the small research vessel could approach the shoreline
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. the small research vessel could approach the shoreline

   The vessel was designed to operate in shallow water. It must be the subject immediately following the descriptive phrase. The shoreline and researchers are not the thing designed.

3. 3. One researcher kept all her field notes in a single notebook. The ____ cover was blue. Which choice completes the text according to Standard English conventions?

   1. researcher's notebooks
   2. researchers' notebooks
   3. researcher's notebook's
   4. researchers notebook's
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: C. researcher's notebook's

   There is one researcher and one notebook. Researcher's marks ownership of the notebook; notebook's marks ownership of its cover. The nested possessives are grammatical, although a rewrite could be smoother.

4. 4. The two architects presented their shared proposal. The ____ design included a public courtyard. Which choice completes the text according to Standard English conventions?

   1. architect
   2. architects'
   3. architect's
   4. architects
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. architects'

   The design belongs to two architects. Add an apostrophe after the s of the regular plural architects. Architect's would indicate a single architect.

5. 5. The workshop teaches students to measure accurately, to record observations, and ____. Which choice completes the text according to Standard English conventions?

   1. to interpret results
   2. interpreting results
   3. results are interpreted
   4. interpretation of results
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: A. to interpret results

   The list uses parallel infinitive phrases: to measure, to record, and to interpret. The other choices switch grammatical form midway through the list.

6. 6. After comparing the two manuscripts, ____. Which choice completes the text according to Standard English conventions?

   1. several revisions became clear to the historian
   2. the manuscripts revealed several revisions
   3. there were revisions in the manuscripts
   4. the historian identified several revisions
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. the historian identified several revisions

   The historian performed the comparison. The subject following After comparing must identify that person, not the revisions or manuscripts.

7. 7. The device has lost ____ connection to the main server. Which choice completes the text according to Standard English conventions?

   1. its'
   2. their
   3. its
   4. it's
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: C. its

   Its is the possessive form for the singular device. It's means it is or it has, which does not fit before connection. Its' is not a standard possessive form.

8. 8. The researcher is known for careful observation, precise measurement, and ____. Which choice completes the text according to Standard English conventions?

   1. she analyzes thoroughly
   2. thorough analysis
   3. analyzing thoroughly
   4. to analyze thoroughly
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. thorough analysis

   Careful observation and precise measurement are noun phrases. Thorough analysis supplies a third noun phrase, keeping the three items parallel.

Scope reference: College Board’s section overview. Questions are independently authored and are not official exam material.