SAT Grammar Question

Question

anonymous · Answer

attachment

anonymous · Answer

It says that the answer is D, but I don't understand why

wach · Answer

Out of curiousity, which choice did you choose?

wach · Answer

Let's clear this up: A lot of the options use the -ing form of the verb 'to pilot'. Ie 'piloting'. 
However, you can only use the -ing form as a verb when coupled with the verb 'to be' in some form.  
You can't say: 
She piloting .. 
You must say: 
She is/was piloting. 
The other way to use it is as an adjective, ie 'The woman piloting the plane was..' 

Anywho. Let's go across the answers: 
a. For one, 'doing' is used as an adjective to describe Harriet. When using this form, however, 'doing' needs to be right next to the noun it's describing. Another thing is that in this context of the past tense, we should also use past tense verbs; 'Piloted' or 'did'. 
The pronoun 'it' is ambiguous - does it refer to the English Channel, the plane, or piloting? 
b. We are missing a 'was' or comma between Quimby and the clause describing her. Using 'who' again is really repetitive, because we are already talking about her.
c. Again, the pronoun 'it' is ambiguous. What does it refer to? 
d. The correct answer; where the correct -ing form of 'to accomplish' is used to further describe Quimby. 
e. 'Piloting' needs the verb 'to be' in order to be used as a verb.

wach · Answer

Does that kind of make sense? :) The writing section is tricky because you have to keep a bunch of grammar rules in mind when doing it. DX

anonymous · Answer

Wow, you are amazing and in depth. With your help, I might dominate the SAT.

wach · Answer

Oh, thank you! When I studied for my SAT test, I went over all the sections really deeply, so I  know the content very well. And I'm also a grammar nerd, which is useful.

anonymous · Answer

Do you recommend any books for the SAT?

wach · Answer

Not specifically. There are a lot of free resources on the SAT/Collegeboard website (which is down right now, but still), including practice tests and questions, and basically the 'rules' of the SAT, as in, what Collegeboard is looking for. 
What really helps, though, is having a book full of practice tests with a key. Collegeboard produces some SAT study guides w/tests, as do other companies. Year/edition doesn't really matter and they're both invaluable and inexpensive. 
You can also find a lot of books at the public library pertaining to the SAT :)

anonymous · Answer

Thanks