SAT ACT TOEFL college prep English practice : English vocabulary, usage, comprehension, and composition preparation for college and college placement exams

This book is intended for English speakers or advanced ESL speakers who want to augment their vocabulary and improve their language and writing skills in preparation for college, college entrance exams or for writing and publishing in English. Table of ContentsWHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?...............................................................VIIINTRODUCTION.........................................................................................XVWHATIS CORRECT ENGLISH?..............................................................................XVIA COMPREHENSIVE TREATMENTOF CURRENT LANGUAGE USAGE.............................XVIIACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................XXICONVENTIONS USED.................................................................................XXIVERBAL PHRASESAND COLLOCATION..................................................................XXIIITAKING COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMS........................................................XXVTHE SAT........................................................................................................XXVCritical Reading........................................................................................xxviThe Writing Section, Multiple Choice Questions...................................xxviiThe Essay Section...................................................................................xxviiiPracticing for the SAT..............................................................................xxixTHE ACT........................................................................................................XXXEnglish......................................................................................................xxxReading.....................................................................................................xxxTHE TOEFL INTERNET BASED TEST.....................................................................XXXReading....................................................................................................xxxiListening..................................................................................................xxxiSpeaking..................................................................................................xxxiWriting.....................................................................................................xxxiCHAPTER 1...................................................................................................1VOCABULARY: BOADICEA ARRIVESON STICHWORT CAMPUS.......................................1GLOSSARY.........................................................................................................7QUIZ..............................................................................................................10ANSWERS........................................................................................................11LANGUAGE NOTES............................................................................................12The World's Largest Usage Dictionary......................................................12Searching for Usage on the Web...............................................................12Searching for Usage in Academic Sites......................................................14 Preposition Matching and Collocation Searching.....................................15Quiz: Preposition Matching and Searching Practice.................................16Answers.....................................................................................................17Context Searches:.............................................................................................18PROJECTS........................................................................................................19CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................21VOCABULARY: BABY BEARANDTHE YARD SCULPTURE.............................................21GLOSSARY.......................................................................................................23QUIZ..............................................................................................................26ANSWERS........................................................................................................27LANGUAGE NOTES............................................................................................28Common Errors: Singular and Plural.........................................................28Either/Neither............................................................................................29The Number/A Number.............................................................................29Quiz............................................................................................................30Answers.....................................................................................................31Verb Conjugation and Phrase Construction..............................................33Verb Phrase Playsheet...............................................................................33Archaic Usages..........................................................................................35PROJECTS........................................................................................................35CHAPTER 3.................................................................................................37VOCABULARY: STICHWORT COLLEGE WEATHERSTHE STORM....................................37GLOSSARY.......................................................................................................44QUIZ..............................................................................................................46ANSWERS........................................................................................................48LANGUAGE NOTES............................................................................................48Articles.......................................................................................................48Exceptions to the Rule Requiring Articles for Singular Nouns in English...50PROJECTS........................................................................................................54CHAPTER 4.................................................................................................55VOCABULARY: BABY BEARANDTHE BIG CHEESE.....................................................55GLOSSARY.......................................................................................................59QUIZ..............................................................................................................62ANSWERS........................................................................................................64LANGUAGE NOTES............................................................................................64Commonly Confused Verb Pairs................................................................64Lay and Lie........................................................................................................64Lie/Lay..............................................................................................................65Other Oft-Mangled Pairs...........................................................................65Fell/Fall.............................................................................................................65 Table of Contents xiRaise/Rise.........................................................................................................65Hang/Hang........................................................................................................66Lie / Lay Playsheet.....................................................................................67Answers.....................................................................................................67Avoiding Repetition...................................................................................68PROJECTS........................................................................................................69CHAPTER 5.................................................................................................71VOCABULARY: THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF, THE SEQUEL..............................................71GLOSSARY.......................................................................................................74QUIZ..............................................................................................................76ANSWERS:.......................................................................................................78LANGUAGE NOTES............................................................................................79Common Errors: Sentence Fragments.......................................................79Common Errors: the Run-on Sentence......................................................79Varied Sentence Structure.........................................................................80The Dependent Clause...............................................................................81Combining Sentences.................................................................................82PROJECTS........................................................................................................83CHAPTER 6.................................................................................................85VOCABULARY: THE JURASSIC CAVALCADE..............................................................85GLOSSARY.......................................................................................................88QUIZ..............................................................................................................90ANSWERS........................................................................................................92LANGUAGE NOTES............................................................................................92Count Nouns and Non-Countable (Mass) Nouns.......................................92The Web Searching Solution......................................................................94Some Mass Nouns.....................................................................................96Count and Mass Noun Usage....................................................................97Count Nouns and Mass Nouns Playsheet..................................................98Answers.....................................................................................................99PROJECTS......................................................................................................100CHAPTER 7...............................................................................................103VOCABULARY: THE PRINCE...............................................................................103GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................106QUIZ............................................................................................................108ANSWERS......................................................................................................110LANGUAGE NOTES..........................................................................................111Lists, Coordination and Parallelism........................................................111Spoken Language in the USA...................................................................113Parallelism Playsheet...............................................................................115xi xii SAT College Prep English PracticeAnswers...................................................................................................116PROJECTS......................................................................................................118CHAPTER 8...............................................................................................119VOCABULARY: CINDERELLA...............................................................................119GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................121QUIZ............................................................................................................122ANSWERS......................................................................................................124LANGUAGE NOTES..........................................................................................125An Auditory Approach To English Language Skills Acquisition. Speaking Well Is The Key To Writing Well. How To Improve One's Feel For Lan-guage.......................................................................................................125A Few Very Useful Resources..........................................................................127Subjunctive Voice.....................................................................................127Past Subjunctive.............................................................................................128Present Subjunctive........................................................................................129Subjunctive Playsheet..............................................................................130Answers...................................................................................................132PROJECTS......................................................................................................133CHAPTER 9...............................................................................................135VOCABULARY: THE FOX, THE OWL, ANDTHE SPINACH LASAGNA.............................135GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................137QUIZ............................................................................................................138ANSWERS......................................................................................................139LANGUAGE NOTES..........................................................................................140Common Errors: Troubles with Case.......................................................140Pronoun Declension.................................................................................140Case Quiz.................................................................................................142Answers...................................................................................................144Who and Whom.......................................................................................147Choose the Correct Who/Whom Pronoun...............................................148Answers...................................................................................................149Harder Who/Whom Practice...................................................................149Answers...................................................................................................151PROJECTS......................................................................................................151CHAPTER 10..............................................................................................153VOCABULARY: THE BATANDTHE SANDWICH, PART 1...........................................153GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................156QUIZ............................................................................................................160ANSWERS......................................................................................................162LANGUAGE NOTES..........................................................................................162 Table of Contents xiiiCommon Errors: Modifiers......................................................................162Quiz: Ambiguous or Unresolved References............................................163Answers...................................................................................................164Misplaced Modifiers................................................................................165Modifiers and Antecedents Playsheet.....................................................166Answers...................................................................................................167Adverbs and Adjectives............................................................................168Adverbs and Adjectives Playsheet...........................................................169Answers...................................................................................................170PROJECTS......................................................................................................173CHAPTER 11..............................................................................................175VOCABULARY: THE BATANDTHE SANDWICH, PART 2...........................................175GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................178QUIZ............................................................................................................180ANSWERS......................................................................................................182LANGUAGE NOTES..........................................................................................182Metaphors...............................................................................................182Mixed Metaphors....................................................................................183Similes......................................................................................................183Excessive Audible Punctuation – the “Like” Problem..............................184“Like” Playsheet.......................................................................................185Answers...................................................................................................186PROJECTS......................................................................................................187CHAPTER 12..............................................................................................189VOCABULARY: THE TROLL, THE WOLF, ANDTHE EGG WHISK..................................189GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................193QUIZ............................................................................................................195ANSWERS......................................................................................................197LANGUAGE NOTES..........................................................................................197Definitions of Good English?....................................................................197Errors and Non-Errors to Avoid...............................................................197Formal Written English............................................................................199Disputed Aspects of English Grammar....................................................200The Synesis Error............................................................................................200Which Language to Choose.....................................................................204Our Strange Language.............................................................................205PROJECTS......................................................................................................206EPILOGUE.................................................................................................207xiii xiv SAT College Prep English PracticeTRADITIONALAND NONTRADITIONAL WRITING CLASSES.........................................207A DIFFERENT APPROACHTOTHE ACQUISITIONOF WRITING SKILLS..........................207ONE EXAMPLEOFAN ALTERNATIVETOTHE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM.....................208APPENDIX A.............................................................................................211GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................211APPENDIX B..............................................................................................239PARTSOF SPEECH...........................................................................................239Nouns.......................................................................................................239Pronouns..................................................................................................239Personal Pronoun Declension.........................................................................240Prepositions.............................................................................................240Verbs........................................................................................................241Verb Conjugation Rules..................................................................................241Irregular Verb List...........................................................................................242Prefixes Used with Irregular Verbs..................................................................244Verb Forms.....................................................................................................245Rules for Creating Verb Phrases in Perfect, Progressive, and Passive.............245Adjectives.................................................................................................251Adverbs....................................................................................................252Conjunctions............................................................................................252Articles.....................................................................................................252Interjections.............................................................................................253APPENDIX C..............................................................................................255FUNDAMENTAL GREEKAND LATIN ROOTS...........................................................255APPENDIX D.............................................................................................273ONLINE RESOURCES........................................................................................273Index........................................................................................................275 English vocabulary, usage, comprehension, and composition preparation for college and college placement exams. This is a book for the serious college-bound student with little time, limited patience and a low boredom threshold. Vocabulary learnt in meaningful and entertaining context, grammar demonstrated in highly memorable examples and writing style devices illustrated and practiced throughout the book teach essential language skills, mastery over which will benefit college students throughout their academic careers as well as lead to high scores on college entrance exams. The author's experience translating and editing the papers of non-native English speakers for publication in academic journals, together with teaching college, high school, homeschool and ESL students is brought to bear in addressing the language problems which confound both English and non-English speaking students - from colloquialisms of the American teen to the misusages peculiar to foreign professors. Emphasis is upon acquiring the habit of and skills for identifying and employing those language devices that will most clearly and accurately convey the message and desired impression of the writer/speaker to the intended reader or audience - whatever audience that might be, but with emphasis on the academic world. The student learns how to determine what the "correct grammar" for a particular purpose is, quickly and easily, by sampling common usage within academia or elsewhere and emulating the appropriate level of formality.