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SAT (Fall 2023)
Course: SAT (Fall 2023) > Unit 11
Lesson 3: Writing: Grammar- Writing: Setting Up Ideas — Video Lesson
- Setting up ideas | Quick guide
- Writing: Strong Support — Video lesson
- Strong support | Quick guide
- Writing: Relevant Information — Video lesson
- Relevant information | Quick guide
- Writing: Sequencing sentences — Video lesson
- Sequencing sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Words — Video lesson
- Transition words and phrases | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Sentences — Video Lesson
- Transition sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Introductions — Video lesson
- Writing: Conclusions — Video lesson
- Introductions and conclusions | Quick guide
- Writing: Interpreting Graphs and Data — Video lesson
- Interpreting graphs and data | Quick guide
- Writing: Precision — Video Lesson
- Precise word choice | Quick guide
- Writing: Concision — Video lesson
- Concision | Quick guide
- Writing: Formal and Informal Language — Video Lesson
- Writing: Formal vs. casual language — Example
- Formal vs. casual language | Quick guide
- Writing: Syntax — Example
- Writing: Sentence Fragments — Video Lesson
- Writing: Sentence Boundaries — Example 1
- Writing: Sentence boundaries — Example 2
- Sentence fragments | Quick guide
- Writing: Subordination and coordination — Example
- Writing: Combining Sentences — Video Lesson
- Linking clauses | Quick guide
- Writing: Parallel Structure — Video lesson
- Writing: Parallel structure — Example
- Parallel structure | Quick guide
- Writing: Modifier Placement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Modifier placement — Example
- Modifier placement | Quick guide
- Writing: Verb Tense and Mood — Video Lesson
- Writing: Shift in verb tense and mood — Example
- Verb tense and mood | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Clarity — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun clarity — Example
- Pronoun clarity | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun-antecedent agreement — Example
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 1
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 2
- Writing: It’s/Its Confusion — Video Lesson
- Confusion with "its" and "their" | Quick guide
- Writing: Subject-Verb Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Subject-verb agreement — Example
- Subject-verb agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Noun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Noun agreement — Basic example
- Noun agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Frequently Confused Words — Video Lesson
- Writing: Frequently confused words — Example
- Frequently confused words | Quick guide
- Writing: Conventional Expressions — Video Lesson
- Writing: Conventional expression — Example
- Conventional expressions | Quick guide
- Writing: Logical Comparison — Video Lesson
- Writing: Logical comparison — Example
- Logical comparison | Quick guide
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 1
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 2
- Writing: Commas — Video Lesson
- Commas | Quick guide
- Writing: Semicolons — Video Lesson
- Semicolons | Quick guide
- Writing: Colons — Video lesson
- Colons | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive Pronouns — Example
- Writing: Possessive Nouns — Video Lesson
- Making nouns possessive | Quick guide
- Writing: Items in a series — Example
- Writing: Punctuating Lists — Video Lesson
- Lists and punctuation | Quick guide
- Writing: Nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements — Example
- Writing: Nonessential Elements — Video Lesson
- Nonessential elements | Quick guide
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Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 1
Watch Sal work through a basic possessive determiners question from the SAT Writing and Language Test.
Want to join the conversation?
- when will 'your'work in a sentence?(1 vote)
- I love your sock monkeys.
Did you lose your gecko?
I didn't crash your car!(10 votes)
- How come "you" doesn't work?(0 votes)
- The sentence used "sitting," not "sit." The resulting sentence would be "only when you sitting next to me." This sentence is missing the linking verb "are," which would make the underlined portion "you are," or "you're," which is the answer.(6 votes)
- This sentence is wrong because the word they use,"your" which is possessive, right?(2 votes)
- Yes, the sentence is wrong because the option provided is "your," which is possessive. This is wrong because there is nothing possessive in the sentence.(3 votes)
- How come the quote in the example sentence doesn’t have a comma preceding it? Is a comma even required for a casual quote, like one you might see in a newspaper or when paraphrasing?(2 votes)
- You do not need a comma before a quote if it blends into the rest of the sentence (as it does above) or if it is introduced by a conjunction like "if" or "that."(1 vote)
- Why do we have both "you are" and "you're". Like why would you ever prefer one over the other. And if both of these works in the context of the problem, why do we need two version of the same things in grammar??(1 vote)
- how come "you" doesn't work(0 votes)
- "You" does not work because when you insert it into the sentence, you are left with "only when you sitting next to me." This is missing the linking verb "are," which would make the underlined word "you are" or "you're," which is the answer.(2 votes)
Video transcript
- [Instructor] When my father told me that I was a bad driver, I responded with, "Only when your sitting next to me." All right, so let's think about this. We have your underlined. So what are we trying to say? Only when your sitting next to me. So it sounds okay, but
really when we're saying your sitting next to me,
we're trying to say you're, as short for you are, sitting next to me. Only when you are sitting next to me. And that wouldn't be
this your, that would be the contraction, you,
Y-O-U apostrophe R-E. This is you are. This is the contraction for you are, so this is what we would want here. We wouldn't want this. We would want, and they sound the same, that's your, you would
pronounce this you're, as well. Only when you're, you
are, sitting next to me. We don't want Y-O-U-R,
Y-O-U-R, this is second person, referring to you, but it's
something that you have, your. So it's second person possessive. So this is a second person possessive. So this is if we're talking
about something that you had or I responded with, if they're
talking to their father, it's something that their
father had only when, I don't know, your watch is on, or something that, it's indicating
some type of possession. So this is second person
possessive right over here, which we do not want over there. This is one of those mistakes
that I know I've done, even though I know it if
someone points it to me, or even if I look carefully, I, of course, this is you are while this is possessive. But sometimes when you're
typing emails really fast, this is a very easy mistake to do. Because sometimes you
just type as things sound. But this, we definitely
wanna go with you are. We wanna go with you're,
the contraction for you are.