SAT Grammar Cheat Sheet
This free SAT grammar cheat sheet summarizes essential grammar and punctuation rules on two printable pages. It includes original examples, common mistakes, and a table showing what to check when the answer choices change. Use it for review or keep it beside you while you practice.
Download the SAT Grammar Cheat Sheet (PDF)
Two pages, formatted to print front and back on letter paper. No sign-up or email required.
Teachers and tutors are welcome to print and share this sheet with students. Please keep the author line intact.
How to use this cheat sheet
SAT grammar questions don’t say which rule they’re testing. The stem is always the same: “Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?” The clue is in the answer choices. Compare them and notice what changes from one to the next. Those differences tell you what to check, and the decoder table at the top of the sheet maps the most common differences to the rules involved.
This sheet is a review companion, not a course. It assumes you’ve seen these rules before and need a fast, accurate reminder while you practice. For fuller explanations of 38 rules with an SAT tip for each, use the complete SAT grammar rules guide. To practice applying the rules in SAT-style questions, work through the 30 hard Standard English Conventions drills, each with a full explanation for every answer choice.
The SAT Grammar Cheat Sheet
The rules and examples below follow the PDF, with minor adjustments for reading online. Rule numbers match the numbered blocks on the printed sheet.
What changes in the answer choices?
| If the choices differ in… | Check | See |
|---|---|---|
| Punctuation | Sentence boundaries, interruptions, and lists. | Rules 1–6 |
| Verb forms | Agreement, the main verb, and timing. | Rules 7–9 |
| Pronouns | The noun each pronoun replaces. | Rule 10 |
| Noun after an opening phrase | Who or what the description fits. | Rule 11 |
| Apostrophes or noun endings | Number and possession. | Rule 12 |
First, find the sentence. A sentence needs a subject, a complete main verb, and a complete thought. The kettle whistles is a sentence. Although the kettle whistles is a fragment. Read the whole sentence before deciding.
Page 1 · PunctuationFind the sentence
1. Join complete sentences
Join complete thoughts with a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction.
The mural faded. Its outline remained.
The mural faded; its outline remained.
The mural faded, but its outline remained.
Wrong: The mural faded, its outline remained.
A comma alone is a comma splice; no punctuation is a run-on. FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. A colon also works when the second thought explains the first (see rule 5).
2. Punctuate however
Between complete thoughts: semicolon + however + comma. A period can replace the semicolon.
Correct: The recipe looked simple; however, the dough required hours of rest.
Wrong: The recipe looked simple, however, the dough required hours of rest.
Within one clause: The dough, however, needed rest.
3. Set off extra information
Use matching punctuation around a mid-sentence aside: commas, dashes, or parentheses.
The atlas, a retirement gift, lay open.
The atlas—a retirement gift—lay open.
Without the aside: The atlas lay open. Do not pair a comma with a dash.
4. Keep identifying details attached
A name, title, or description that tells which person or thing is meant takes no surrounding commas.
Mira’s novel Harbor Lights arrived today.
Mira’s first novel, Harbor Lights, arrived today.
The tents that leaked were replaced.
The tents, which leaked, were replaced.
First already identifies the novel. For the tents, that identifies a subset; the which clause adds an aside about all of them.
5. Finish the setup before a colon
A colon follows a complete sentence and introduces a list, example, or explanation.
Correct: The kit lacked one item: a compass.
Wrong: The kit lacked: a compass.
A single dash can also introduce an explanation: The kit lacked one item—a compass.
After a colon, a full sentence is allowed but not required. A colon cannot join unrelated statements.
6. Give each comma a job
Commas mark introductions and list items.
When the fog lifted, we packed ropes, lamps, and gloves.
Nora folded the map and left.
Stops included Bend, Oregon; Taos, New Mexico; and Ely, Nevada.
No lone comma between subject and verb or verb and object. No comma before and when the second verb shares the subject. Use semicolons between list items that contain commas.
Practice rules 1 through 6: Boundary Blitz is a free two-minute punctuation game that drills sentence joins, commas, semicolons, colons, and dashes, with the rule shown after every card.
Page 2 · GrammarMatch the parts
Check the subject, the complete verb, and the meaning before choosing an answer.
7. Find the main verb
An -ing form or to + verb cannot serve alone as a sentence’s main verb.
Fragment: The balcony having two exits.
Sentence: The balcony has two exits.
Fragment: The railing being loose.
Sentence: The railing is loose.
A descriptive clause still needs a main clause: The balcony that faces the harbor has two exits. Having can be correct in a phrase: Having checked both exits, we entered.
8. Match the verb to its subject
Ignore intervening descriptions when checking whether the subject is singular or plural.
The label on the jars is faded.
The jars beside the sink are empty.
Each of the lanterns needs a battery.
The lamp and radio need batteries.
Behind the curtains stand two ladders.
The subject can follow the verb. Ask what is doing or being something; the closest noun may not be the subject.
9. Follow the timeline
Use time clues and context. Verbs need not share a tense when the actions happen at different times.
Finished past: The ferry stopped running in 2008.
Past to present: Volunteers have maintained the dock since 2009.
Earlier past: By the time repairs began, the tide had risen.
Had + past participle places an event before a past reference point. Do not simply copy a nearby verb’s tense.
10. Trace each pronoun
Find the noun the pronoun replaces, even if it appears in the previous sentence. Match its number.
The carousel needs repairs to its roof.
The carousels need repairs to their roofs.
The drawings in the portfolio are fragile, so they must stay flat.
Watch for a distracting nearby noun: they refers to the drawings, not the portfolio. Check what the pronoun means, not just what comes before it.
11. Attach descriptions correctly
After an opening descriptive phrase, name the person or thing it describes.
Wrong: Wrapped in brown paper, Theo carried the vase upstairs.
Correct: Wrapped in brown paper, the vase arrived intact.
Ask: What was wrapped? The vase, not Theo. When choices begin with different nouns after an opening phrase, test each noun against that description.
12. Separate number from ownership
Check number first, then possession.
Plural: the pilots
One owner: the pilot’s checklist
Several owners: the pilots’ checklists
Irregular plural: the children’s drawings
its = possession; it’s = it is / it has. their = possession; they’re = they are; there = a place. whose = possession; who’s = who is / who has. Expand contractions to check them. Never its’.
Scope: the College Board’s Standard English Conventions framework. All examples are original.
What the sheet covers
The two pages follow the College Board’s two Standard English Conventions skill areas, as described on its Reading and Writing content domains page.
- Boundaries (page 1): punctuation between and within sentences, including sentence joins, fragments, commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, identifying details, interruptions, and lists.
- Form, Structure, and Sense (page 2): the grammar inside the sentence. Main verbs versus verbals, subject-verb agreement, tense, pronoun agreement, modifier placement, and plurals versus possessives.
Choosing a transition word by meaning is covered separately, because the SAT tests it under Expression of Ideas rather than Conventions; see the 30 hard transitions drills. This sheet does cover how to punctuate transition words such as however, which is a Boundaries question.
Put the rules to work
Knowing a rule and recognizing it inside a long SAT sentence are different skills, and the drills build the second one. After you review the sheet, work through a drill. For each question you miss, note the rule number from the sheet you should have applied. The rules that come up repeatedly are the ones to study next.
Frequently asked questions
How many grammar questions are on the digital SAT?
The College Board’s specifications list 11 to 15 scored Standard English Conventions questions, about 26% of the scored Reading and Writing questions. They appear in each module after the reading questions and before the Expression of Ideas questions.
Is this cheat sheet for the digital SAT?
Yes. It is organized around the two Standard English Conventions skill areas the College Board uses for the digital SAT: Boundaries, and Form, Structure, and Sense. The rules themselves did not change when the test went digital, but the question format did, and the sheet’s decoder table is built for that format.
Why isn’t choosing transition words on the sheet?
The SAT tests transition choice under Expression of Ideas, not Standard English Conventions. It is a different skill: picking the word that fits the logical relationship between sentences rather than applying a grammar rule. The hard transitions drills cover it. The sheet does cover how to punctuate words like however, because that is a Boundaries question.
Does the sheet cover parallelism, who versus whom, or logical comparisons?
Not on the two printed pages. The College Board’s Standard English Conventions framework does not list them as separate testing points, so they are outside the scope of this two-page reference. They are included in the complete grammar rules guide for students who want them.
Can I print and share this?
Yes. Print it, hand it out, post it in your classroom. The only request is that you keep the author and source line on the page.
Does this apply to the ACT?
This download is for the SAT. Many of its rules also apply to ACT English, and Boundary Blitz drills the punctuation for both tests. See the ACT grammar rules guide for the additional rules the ACT tests.