Parallelism, Comparisons, and Possessives
SAT Reading & WritingStandard English ConventionsHard
Keep coordinated ideas in matching forms and distinguish plural from possessive endings.
What you need to know
- Items in a series should share grammatical form.
- Comparisons must compare equivalent things.
- Singular possession usually adds ’s; plural nouns ending in s usually add only an apostrophe.
- Its, whose, and theirs are possessive without apostrophes.
The AYLOTI method
- Locate the list or comparison frame.
- Reduce each item to its grammatical skeleton.
- Make the forms parallel and the compared nouns equivalent.
- For apostrophes, first decide plural versus possession.
AYLOTI • Sir Hunain Zia • SAT Score 1594/1600 • 154 Total A Grades (Personal), 11 World Records, 7 Distinctions
Worked example
The internship required collecting data, analysis of results, and to present findings. Revise.
- The items use -ing, noun phrase, and infinitive forms.
- Choose one consistent form.
- Three -ing verbs create clear parallelism.
Answer: The internship required collecting data, analyzing results, and presenting findings.
Common SAT traps
- Adding apostrophes to simple plurals.
- Comparing a city’s rainfall with another city rather than its rainfall.
- Mixing gerunds and infinitives in a list.
Quick check
Write the possessive form for maps belonging to several explorers.
“The explorers’ maps.”
Before you move on
- Explain the core rule without looking back.
- Redo the worked example using your own steps.
- Write the trap you are most likely to fall for.
