SAT Vocabulary: Time and Change

The first bus left without Malik, and the subsequent one pulled up twenty minutes after that in the rain.

Aunt Lila had taped an oven card to the fridge on a prior visit, and it was still there.

We missed the matinee, so we bought seats for the following show and shared a bag of pretzels.

The window held a blue coat and a red scarf, and the former was marked half off.

Jonah planted tulips and daffodils along the fence, and the latter opened a week afterward.

Ms. Chen kept the original drawing in a folder and asked the class to try the scene again in color.

After three drills, the coach called the final lap and waved the team toward the water bottles.

Her initial email went out at eight, and two more notes arrived before lunch.

When the town clock struck midnight, that chime was the ultimate sound before the square went quiet.

At the beginning of the school year, the hallways smelled like fresh notebooks and floor wax.

We packed the blanket at the end of the picnic and walked back toward the park gate.

Leah reached the farm early and had the eggs gathered before anyone else came into the barn.

The ferry was late, so the crowd on the dock kept glancing at the gray water.

In the library basement, an ancient map curled at the edges beneath a sheet of glass.

The play was set in a medieval castle, with wooden swords and long wool cloaks.

Beside the old portraits hung a contemporary painting of the same town square at noon.

A plaque marked the historic meeting that once filled the square under the town clock.

A recent shower left the garden path dark and the tomato leaves shining.

The class wrote letters to their future selves and sealed the envelopes until June.

Grandpa told stories from the past while the soup cooled on the stove.

In the present, the apartment is quiet, though old photos cover one wall.

Their lasting friendship began on a park bench and still fills their Saturday walks.

A fleeting silence held the room. Then the theater burst into applause.

From the apartment roof, the stars looked eternal above the dark streets.

There was a momentary hush when the bus stopped, and then the talking started again.

The ongoing repair of the library roof left blue tarps over the reading tables.

The puzzle on the apartment table was finished before dinner, with every piece snapped in place.

His request for extra hours was pending, so he kept his usual desk at the office.

The library book was overdue, so Priya paid the fine and tucked the receipt in her notebook.

The shop window changed with a seasonal display of pumpkins, gourds, and wool scarves.

The annual school fair filled the gym with booths, popcorn, and a ring-toss game.

Feeding the chickens was a daily chore, and the eggs were in the basket before the bus.

The team held a weekly meeting on Thursday to sketch plays for the next game.

Rent on the apartment was monthly, and the check went out on the first.

The nightly show began when the house lights dimmed and the curtain rustled.

A short welcome will precede the play once everyone has found a seat.

Once the speaker closes her notebook, a question period will follow the talk in the library.

Math class had just reached the warm-up problems when a fire drill began to interrupt the lesson.

When the alarm stopped, the class was able to resume at the problem still on the board.

We had to pause the watering when a bee landed on the garden hose.

Riders stayed in their seats because the bus was going to continue beyond the park to the library.

At the front desk, Sam asked to renew his library card before June.

From the back row of the theater, someone called for the choir to repeat the last line.

The team had to postpone the game because puddles covered the white lines.

Please schedule the meeting for Thursday, right after the morning mail run.

She stopped at the counter because her bus pass was about to expire on Friday.

Deep roots help the oak in the park endure winter after winter.

Over one summer, the shop sign began to evolve from a paper notice into a painted board.

Overnight, the crew managed to transform the stage from a cramped kitchen into a sunny garden.

Tomato vines were crowding the path, so we decided to expand the garden bed.

After one hot tumble in the apartment dryer, the wool sweater began to shrink.

With water each morning, the basil on the kitchen sill has started to grow.

Once the new stop opened beside the park, the number of riders began to increase.

After the copy machine moved to the back room, office noise began to decrease.

The bread dough will rise under a clean towel before it goes into the oven.

Afternoon wind sent the leaves into a tumble, and they began to fall across the park path.

A gray shape began to emerge from the fog near the dock, and someone on the pier pointed.

By midmorning the mist started to vanish from the garden rows.

Light rain may persist through practice, so the team stuffed extra towels in the bag.

In the quiet library, she was able to progress through the chapter before closing time.

After a week away from the gym, his free throws began to regress.

A few careful lines each evening helped her handwriting improve.

Running on the soaked grass made the ache in his knee worsen.

She hopes to recover before the school play opens, and she is resting at home today.

He returned to practice too soon and began to relapse before the cough was gone.

Salt air has started to age the wooden dock, turning the planks a soft gray.

Nobody gathered the apples on the ground, so they began to decay in the orchard grass.

On Saturday, volunteers gathered to restore the park bench with a fresh coat of green.

Before the spring festival, workers came to replace the cracked glass on the town clock.

The shelves were moved, but the green lamp would remain on the library desk.

When the sun hit the stall, we had to shift the flower buckets into the shade.

Berry prices were fluctuating at the farm stand as the afternoon turned hotter.

We waited for the tent to stabilize in the wind before setting out the sandwiches.

Her steps began to quicken as the bus pulled up to the curb by the school.

Pins lined the hem while the tailor worked to lengthen the costume for the stage.

To be done before nine, the director chose to shorten the opening speech of the play.

Students asked the library to extend the due date for the group project.

A second cup of tea would prolong their talk at the kitchen table.

Seeing dark clouds, we began to hasten our walk back from the dock.

Because two members had not read the notes, the committee chose to defer the vote.

Travelers await the evening train on the wooden bench by the ticket window.

An hour must elapse before the dough is puffy enough for the oven.

That muddy spot will recur by the garden gate after every hard rain.

Keep to the sequence on the recipe card so the sauce thickens instead of scorching.

The wash cycle on the apartment machine hums for about forty minutes.

Those black-and-white pictures belong to an era before the school had a gym.

The bakery has stood on this corner for a decade, and the door bell still rings.

The stone bridge has carried wagons, carts, and cars for a century.

It took a generation for the oak to spread shade over the whole yard.

There is a short interval between the lunch bell and the next class period.

The duration of the film is two hours, so we can leave the theater before ten.

The frequency of the downtown bus is higher after three in the afternoon.

The drum line kept a clear rhythm as the team ran out under the lights.

The teacher slowed the tempo so the whole class could learn the new step.

She kept a calm pace through the chapter and closed the book before the bell.

At noon the school bell and the town clock gave a simultaneous chime.

The team celebrated three consecutive wins and taped the score sheets inside the lockers.

On alternate mornings, the shop opens an hour afterward so deliveries can come in.

People ducked into the park shelter during sporadic showers, then wandered back onto the grass.

The town clock kept a steady tick that neighbors used to time their walks.

The bus times were erratic, so students left home with extra minutes to spare.

A chronic squeak in the apartment stair became louder each evening.

An acute headache sent him off the field, and the pain faded before the game was over.

The paint spill on the stage floor was irreversible, so the crew covered it with a rug.

The roster change is reversible if the coaches meet again on Monday.

The bus map by the stop was outdated and still showed a route that had closed.

A forthcoming musical will use the small theater for three weekends in May.