• 48 questions

SAT Grammar Practice Test

Unofficial punctuation and usage questions for the domain the College Board calls Standard English Conventions.

The museum's oldest map hung for years in a back ______ noticed that its coastline matched no known survey until a student pointed it out. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the College Board, which owns the SAT. Bank checked October 9, 2026.

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All 48 questions

Boundaries: between sentences 6

  • After the factory added a night shift, buses began running every twenty ______ ride from the station took longer, but workers said they did not mind. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, between sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses, comma splices and sentence fragments.
  • Few visitors climb to the top of the bell ______ who do are rewarded with a view of three islands. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, between sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Run-ons, Comma Splices, Fused Sentences, two independent clauses.
  • Marta entered her first chess tournament at ______ eleven she was teaching the game to her classmates. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, between sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses, comma splices.
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Boundaries: between sentences, continued

  • The museum's oldest map hung for years in a back ______ noticed that its coastline matched no known survey until a student pointed it out. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, between sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses, comma splices and fused sentences.
  • The orchestra rehearsed in the school gym all ______ the roof of the concert hall was being repaired. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, between sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments, dependent clauses written as sentences.
  • The printer jammed twice during the first ______ editors sent the remaining pages to a shop across town. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, between sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 2, introductory elements.

Boundaries: within sentences 14

  • After weeks of testing, the team found the cause of the ______ single loose wire behind the control panel. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Brief Overview of Punctuation, colon.
  • Although the forecast called for ______ decided to hold the picnic outdoors. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 2, introductory clauses.
  • The bicycles ______ are kept in the shed behind the gym. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 4, essential elements.
  • The committee expected about fifty people at the ______ more than two hundred arrived. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Commas vs. Semicolons in Compound Sentences, conjunctive adverbs.
  • The ferry will not ______ the fog lifts. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 15, comma abuse.
  • The first experiment supported the hypothesis. The second experiment, ______ produced the opposite result. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 3, nonessential words.
  • For the hike, each student packed water, a ______ a rain jacket. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 5, items in a series.
  • The garden's three oldest trees—a pear, a fig, and a ______ planted before the house was built. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Brief Overview of Punctuation, dash.
  • The glaze looked dull when it went into the ______ it came out a deep, glassy blue. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 1.
  • The interns collected water samples from the ______ them to the lab that afternoon. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 13, comma abuse.
  • The kit holds everything a beginner ______ trowel, a hand fork, gloves, and three packets of seed. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Brief Overview of Punctuation, colon.
  • The recipe calls for ripe ______ fruit will make the jam too tart. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Commas vs. Semicolons in Compound Sentences, semicolon.
  • The students who finished the survey ______ a free pass to the science fair. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 12, comma abuse.
  • The town's first schoolhouse, which was built from river ______ stands behind the fire station. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Boundaries, within sentences. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 3, nonessential elements.

Subject-verb agreement 5

  • The committee, along with its two advisers, ______ every Thursday. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-verb agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, rules 10 and 11.
  • Each of the paintings in the two upstairs galleries ______ a label written by the artist. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-verb agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, rule 6.
  • Neither the director nor the actors ______ sure when the stage set will be finished. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-verb agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, rule 3.
  • The shelves along the back wall of the workshop ______ every tool the class owns. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-verb agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, rule 5.
  • There ______ still a few seats left in the front row of the balcony. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-verb agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, rule 9.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement 4

  • Both reports reach the same conclusion, though each relies on ______ own data. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, pronoun-antecedent agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly, point 1, agree in number.
  • The dancers hung ______ costumes backstage and went out to greet the audience. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, pronoun-antecedent agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly, point 1, agree in number.
  • If visitors want to see the tower, ______ should arrive before noon. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, pronoun-antecedent agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly, point 2, agree in person.
  • The museum's two new galleries opened in May, and ______ have drawn large crowds ever since. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, pronoun-antecedent agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly, point 1, agree in number.

Verb finiteness 4

  • Built in a single summer, the stage ______ the town's concerts for forty years. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb finiteness. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments, no main verb.
  • For decades the harbor pilot's log, a record of every ship he guided in, ______ in a drawer at the customs house. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb finiteness. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments, no main verb.
  • ______ the old depot into a market took the town three years. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb finiteness. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Gerunds, gerund as subject.
  • The volunteers ______ the trail every spring, clearing fallen branches and repainting the markers. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb finiteness. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments, no main verb.

Verb tense and aspect 5

  • By the time the guests arrived, the cooks ______ the bread. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb tense and aspect. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency, past perfect example.
  • Every morning before the shop opens, Mr. Osei ______ the front steps and waters the window boxes. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb tense and aspect. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency, no shift within one time frame.
  • Last season the theater staged four plays, and next season it ______ six. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb tense and aspect. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency, shifting tense for a change in time frame.
  • Since the garden opened in 2015, volunteers ______ more than a thousand native shrubs there. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb tense and aspect. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Introduction to Verb Tenses, present perfect.
  • When the curtain opened, the lights dimmed, the audience hushed, and the first violin ______ a single long note. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, verb tense and aspect. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency, no shift within one time frame.

Subject-modifier placement 5

  • A gifted mimic, ______ Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-modifier placement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Appositives, appositive before the noun.
  • Having studied the map for an hour, ______ Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-modifier placement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them, strategy 1.
  • Sealed since the day it was delivered, ______ Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-modifier placement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them, strategy 1.
  • To reach the island before dark, ______ Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-modifier placement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them, strategy 1.
  • While sorting donations at the food bank, ______ Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, subject-modifier placement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them, strategy 1.

Genitives and plurals 5

  • The ______ relay team set a school record on Friday. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, genitives and plurals. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe, forming possessives of nouns.
  • ______ no reason to rush; the train does not leave for an hour. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, genitives and plurals. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe, showing omission of letters.
  • The oak has dropped most of ______ leaves, though it is only September. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, genitives and plurals. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe, no apostrophes for possessive pronouns.
  • The school has two swimming coaches, and the two ______ offices are at the end of the hall. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, genitives and plurals. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe, forming possessives of nouns.
  • The shop sells ______ from six local farms. Which choice fills the blank in keeping with the conventions of Standard English? College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Table A34: Form, Structure, and Sense, genitives and plurals. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe, no apostrophes for noun plurals.

How this list was compiled: Our own texts and questions, written to the College Board's published description of Standard English Conventions in the SAT Reading and Writing section (https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/whats-on-the-test/reading-writing and https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/practice/content-domains, read 2026-10-09) and to its Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Tables 10 and A34 (https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/assessment-framework-for-digital-sat-suite.pdf): about 26% of the section, 11 to 15 scored questions, in two skills, Boundaries and Form, Structure, and Sense, with the eight testing points this bank is sorted by. Each rule of punctuation and usage was read in the page of the Purdue Online Writing Lab (owl.purdue.edu) that the question names (read 2026-10-09). Licence: Texts, questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This free SAT grammar practice test has 48 questions of our own on punctuation and usage, each with its answer and rule. It is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the College Board, which owns the SAT.

Read the full guide

What the SAT calls grammar

The College Board's outline, read October 9, 2026, names the domain Standard English Conventions: sentence structure, usage and punctuation. It is about 26% of the Reading and Writing section and has two skills, Boundaries and Form, Structure, and Sense.

Eight rule groups

Boundaries is punctuation: where a sentence ends (6 questions) and how clauses, lists and asides join inside one (14). Form, Structure, and Sense is usage (28): subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement, verb forms, tense, modifier placement, and plurals and possessives.

Timed round

Exam mode draws 27 questions for 32 minutes, the length and time of one real module. A real module mixes grammar with reading; the SAT reading practice test covers that half.

  • A comma alone cannot join two complete sentences. Use a period, a semicolon, or a comma with a word such as "and" or "but."
  • Words between a subject and its verb do not change the verb: "the shelves along the wall hold," not "holds."

Questions and answers

Is there grammar on the SAT?

Yes. Standard English Conventions questions are part of the Reading and Writing section. Each gives a short text with a blank and asks which choice makes its sentence structure, usage and punctuation conventional.

What grammar rules are on the SAT?

The College Board's framework lists them: sentence boundaries, punctuation within sentences, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb forms, verb tense, modifier placement, and plural and possessive forms. Each rule here names the Purdue Online Writing Lab page it was checked against.

How many grammar questions are on the SAT?

About 11 to 15 of the section's scored questions, by the College Board's framework. The section has 54 questions in 64 minutes, and the rest test reading and revising.

Is this SAT grammar practice test the real exam?

No. Every text and question was written for this site from the College Board's published description. None repeats or rewords a real, released or sample question, and a result here does not forecast a score.

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