Question type

Unnecessary punctuation on the SAT

If the blank falls between a subject and its verb, a verb and its object, or a preposition and its object, the correct answer has no punctuation. Commas, colons and dashes there break the sentence's core apart, even if you would pause while reading it.

The choices offer a comma, a colon, a semicolon and nothing at all, and nothing is correct.

College Board's question bank has 54 of these, with about 40% rated Hard: a long subject makes a pause before the verb feel natural.

54 in College Board's question bank, 41% rated Hard
Reading it aloud misleads

Why students miss it

The comma after a long subject. "Colors prepared from this scarce mineral, were" puts a comma between the subject and its verb.

Assuming every choice needs punctuation because three of the four have some.

A colon before a list that is the object of a verb.

How to spot it

A blank right before a verb whose subject is long.
Three choices with punctuation and one without.

The method

Find the core

Locate the subject, the verb and the object around the blank.

Between subject and verb: no punctuation.
Between verb and object: no punctuation.
Before a restrictive clause or phrase: no punctuation.

Does reading it aloud help?

You naturally pause after a long subject, which is exactly where the comma does not go.

Strip the sentence to its subject and verb: "Colors were reserved". Nothing can go between them.

Two real questions

From the 1500prep bank, the way the app shows them. Answer first, then open the explanation.

1Question 1 of 2#1190Conv

Medieval painters imported lapis lazuli from mines in what is now Afghanistan, grinding the brilliant blue stone into a pigment that cost more than gold. Colors prepared from this scarce were therefore reserved for the robes of the most important figures, while cheaper blues filled the sky.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Pick an answer, then check it.

Show the answer and explanation

"This scarce mineral" is the object of the preposition "from" and belongs to the subject phrase "Colors prepared from this scarce mineral." The main verb of the sentence is "were ... reserved." Punctuation shouldn't separate a subject from its verb, and none is needed between a prepositional phrase's object and the verb that follows. The answer is "mineral," with no punctuation.

2Question 2 of 2#1992Conv

The North American wood frog survives a remarkable winter ordeal: approximately two-thirds of its body water crystallizes into ice, and its heartbeat and respiration cease entirely. As temperatures fall, a surge of glucose mobilized from the animal's lowers the freezing point within its cells, sheltering delicate tissues from the sharp crystals accumulating outside them.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Pick an answer, then check it.

Show the answer and explanation

The blank comes between the subject and its verb. The subject is "a surge of glucose mobilized from the animal's liver," and the verb is "lowers." No punctuation should separate a subject from its verb, so the correct choice uses none.

Questions students ask

Can a comma go between a subject and a verb?

No, not a single comma, however long the subject is. A pair of commas can enclose an aside between them, but one comma cannot separate the subject from its verb.

Is "no punctuation" ever the right answer on the SAT?

Often. College Board's question bank has 54 questions where the correct choice has no punctuation at all.

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