Last+Minute+Language+Tips

=media type="custom" key="8663252"= =Last Minute Tips for the Language Subtest= After you have studied for the test, use this page as a last-minute reminder of some common errors.

1. **Know your enemy**. Think of the test as an enemy. The people who created the test are there to try to trick you. They are __not__ your friends. Here is what you need to know about the test: 2. **Know your rules, but know your exceptions better.** __Noun form exceptions__
 * There are five questions for each objective, except the last one: paragraph structure (there are 10 of these).
 * You will only be tested on one objective at a time. No question will have a comma error in one choice and a plural noun error in another one.
 * The biggest trick on the test is that directions change often. Always make sure you know whether you are looking for the correct sentence or the incorrect sentence (error).
 * Words that end in "f" are USUALLY changed to "ves" to make them plural, but there are several exceptions. Here is a list of the most common exceptions: roofs, dwarfs, beliefs, chiefs, chefs, sheriffs, cliffs, proofs.
 * MOST plural nouns have an "s" on the end, but some nouns change forms completely, and some do not change at all. Plural nouns without an "s" are women, men, feet, freshmen, geese, lice, mice, children, teeth.
 * Nouns that are the same (singular and plural) are deer, moose, gold, silver, cotton.
 * Some nouns have more than one correct plural: indexes/indices, cactuses/cacti, appendixes/appendices, octopuses/octopi.

__Subject-verb agreement/Pronoun-antecedent agreement exceptions__ 3. **Know what to ignore.**
 * Subjects joined by the conjunction "and" are plural __unless__ the word refers to one item like macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, ham and cheese sandwich. Always ask yourself how many people or things they are talking about. For example, macaroni and cheese is one food.
 * Prepositional phrases will confuse you when you are looking for the subject (subject-verb agreement) or antedecent (pronoun-antecedent agreement). Cross them out __unless__ you have an indefinite pronoun that can be singular or plural (all, any, more, most, none, some). (See the Vocabulary Page for a list of common prepositions)
 * Appositives are separated by the sentence by a comma (most of the time) and can be confusing. Examples of words that begin appositives are //as well as//, //accompanied by//, and //in addition to//.
 * Ex. The teacher, in addition to her students, is going to the Shakeseare Festival. Ignore the phrase "in addition to her students" and make the verb (is) agree with the subject (teacher).
 * Ignore what "sounds right," especially in verb form and pronoun case. On these objectives, what "sound right" is almost always wrong.