LCAT Verbal, Standard English Conventions
Modifiers, comparisons and possessives on the LCAT
When a sentence opens with a describing phrase ("Walking into the hall,"), the words right after the comma must name the person or thing it describes. Comparisons must compare like with like: a phone with a phone, colonies with colonies. Use an apostrophe only for ownership: one owner ’s, several owners s’.
Loading practice…
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| Walking into the hall, a skeleton greeted the visitors. | Walking into the hall, the visitors saw a skeleton. |
| Unlike the older model, the new phone’s battery… | Unlike the older model, the new phone… |
| Many farmer’s grow apricots. | Many farmers grow apricots. |
| The two scientist’s findings | The two scientists’ findings |
Read the opening phrase together with the next two words. If it describes the wrong thing, the choice is wrong.
Common mistakes
Dangling modifiers"Designed to withstand winds, engineers…" makes the engineers designed.
Possessive of a person’s thing"Dr. Khan’s report" is not Dr. Khan.
Apostrophes for pluralsPlurals without ownership never take an apostrophe.
Sample questions with answers
1. Walking into the museum’s main hall, ______
- a giant skeleton greeted the visitors.
- the visitors saw a giant skeleton. (correct)
- the skeleton was seen by the visitors.
- there was a skeleton.
The visitors are the ones walking.
2. Unlike the older model, ______
- the new phone’s battery lasts two days.
- the new phone has a battery that lasts two days. (correct)
- the battery lasts two days.
- two days is the battery life.
Compare a model with a model.
3. The two ______ findings were published together.
- scientist’s
- scientists
- scientists’ (correct)
- scientists’s
Plural owners: scientists’.
Frequently asked questions
What is an illogical comparison?
Comparing two different kinds of things, such as a phone model with a battery.
When do I use s’ versus ’s?
’s for one owner, s’ for several owners ending in s, and no apostrophe for plurals that own nothing.
Is modifiers and possessives tested on the LCAT?
Yes. It falls under Standard English Conventions, one of the content domains LUMS lists for the LCAT in its official sample questions.