<p>Returning to the ancestral home after 12 years, the house itself seemed much smaller to Joe than it had been when he visited it as a child.</p>
<p>The correction is:</p>
<p>When Joe returned to the ancestral home after 12 years, he thought the house itself much smaller than it had been when he visited it as a child.</p>
<p>Doesn’t it sound awkward? Shouldn’t it be "he thought the house itself was much smaller than it had been when he visited it as a child.</p>
<p>Did you get this from an REA book? Man - I thought nobody used REA SAT books!</p>
<p>Itself is a reflexive pronoun. Such a pronoun refers back to the noun it stands for. It’s mainly for emphasis.</p>
<p>So “was” shouldn’t be added between itself and much? </p>
<p>Oh and it was from the program from REA you told me about :D</p>
<p>Oh :p. I think itself is acceptable here because it is acting as the indirect object of the verb, “thought.”</p>
<p>Shouldn’t the “house” be the object? “He” subject, thought verb, and house object?</p>