<p>I’m not sure on these two questions from the 2008 PSAT.</p>
<p>31) The illuminated manuscripts in the rare-books collection, all more than five hundred years old, are the products of a scribal art long since lost.</p>
<p>The correct answer is no error, but I’m not sure why “all more than” is not an error. It can possibly refer to both the illuminated manuscripts or the rare books collection, and should be a possible source of confusion.</p>
<p>Also,</p>
<p>34) Unlike Roman art, which depicted human beings as naturalistically as possible, the Egyptians depicted them in a deliberately stylized manner.</p>
<p>The correct answer is “the Egyptians”, but I’m not too sure what’s wrong with that.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>31–All refers to the manuscripts. It would have a slightly different meaning without all in the sentence, but either construction would be incorrect.</p>
<p>34–Not parallel. Unlike Roman art, Egyptian art…</p>
<p>Thanks, 34 makes sense because it’s not parallel.</p>
<p>How is the reader supposed to know that “all” refers to the manuscripts and not the books in the rare-books collection? I still see the “all more than” reference as ambiguous.</p>
<p>“rare-books collection” is the object of the prepositional phrase “in the rare-books collection”. In order for “all” to refer to the rare-books collection, you’ll need to add ‘which’ before all.</p>
<p>The first sentence question is obvious: “all” is plural, and the “rare-books collection” is singular. “All” can only refer to “manuscripts.”</p>
<p>Eh, collective nouns are tricky. In this case, I see “rare-books collection” as singular; but when you’re in a rush, it’s not so easy to detect. The SAT doesn’t really test collective nouns. I think percussionboy’s explanation hits the nail on the head.</p>