ACT TEST PREP ENGLISH TEST
5, 45, 75
IMPORTANT FACTS • 5 passages • 45 minutes • 75 questions • Tested on punctuation, grammar & usage, sentence construction, writing strategies, organization & style
GENERAL ACT ENGLISH TIPS • Skim the passage • Answer the questions in the ORDER that they appear • Use POE – Process of elimination • Last option — Educated guess • ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS
PUNCTUATION
PUNCTUATION: COMMAS Commas separate Independent Clauses • Lesley wanted to sit outside, but it was raining. • Henry could tie the shoe himself, or he could ask Amanda to tie his shoe.
PUNCTUATION: COMMAS Commas in a Series: A series contains three or more items separated by • commas. The items can either be nouns (such as “dog”) or verb phrases (such as “get in the car”). The hungry athlete devoured a piece of chicken, a • pound of pasta, and a slice of chocolate cake.
PUNCTUATION: COMMAS Commas are needed to set off appositives — phrases that describe nouns or pronouns. • Samantha Higgins, the defense counsel, marched into the courtroom. • The judge, Mr. Peterson, arrived late.
PUNCTUATION : COMMAS Commas with Interrupters: Use commas surrounding words such as therefore and however when they are used as interrupters. Examples: I would, therefore, like a response. I would be happy, however, to volunteer for the Red Cross.
PUNCTUATION: COMMAS Commas set off Clauses and Phrases from a Complete Sentence. • After preparing an elaborate meal for herself, Anne was too tired to eat. (prepositional phrase)
PUNCTUATION: COMMAS Commas Separate Adjectives: A comma can separate adjectives only if they can be in reverse order and still makes sense and/or if they can be joined by the conjunction “and.” • My neighbor’s new dog has long, silky hair. (comma needed) • Robert and Elizabeth live in the house on the corner with the white picket fence. (no comma needed).
PUNCTUATION: COMMAS Comma Splice: When Not to Use a Comma • Don’t use a comma between two independent clauses because each clause has a subject and verb and, therefore, can stand alone as a complete sentence. Comma Splice: Connie’s mom got a new job in Baltimore, this means that Connie will be attending a different high school. (This would be incorrect use of comma.)
PRACTICE SENTENCES FOR COMMMAS (See handout)
PRACTICE SENTENCES: COMMAS — ANSWERS 1. Rowan , regrettably , was omitted from the roster. (interrupters) 2. Stacey better call her mom on Mother’s Day , or she’ll be in big trouble. (independent clauses) 3. Jill’s brother , the one who lives in New Jersey , is coming to visit next week. (appositives) 4. Rosie’s car needs new tires , a battery, a muffler , and an oil change. (items in a series) 5. Todd asked for an extension on the assignment ; however , the teacher turned him down (comma splice)
LET’S TRY A FEW TEST QUESTIONS. . . OPEN YOUR TEST BOOKLET. READ THE PASSAGE AND COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: # 1, 2, AND 12 YOU HAVE 1 MINUTE AND 30 SECONDS
PUNCTUATION: SEMICOLON Semicolons separate two related but independent clauses. Julie ate five brownies; Eileen ate seven. • Josh needed to buy peas; he ran to the market. •
PUNCTUATION: SEMICOLON Frequently, two independent clauses will be joined by a semicolon and a transitional adverb (such as however, consequently, furthermore, nevertheless, etc.) Julie ate five brownies; however, Eileen ate seven. • Josh needed to buy peas; therefore, he ran to the • market.
PUNCTUATION: COLON • Colons are used after complete sentences to introduce related information that comes in the form of a list, an explanation, or a quotation. • When a colon is used, expect to see elaborating information.
PUNCTUATION: COLON List: The wedding had all the elements to make it a classic: the elegant bride, the weeping mother, and the fainting bridesmaid. Explanation: The wedding had all the elements to make it a classic: the elegant bride beamed as her mother wept and as the bridesmaid fainted. Quotation: The mother’s exclamation best summed up the wedding : “If only the bridesmaids hadn’t fainted!”
LET’S TRY A COUPLE MORE TEST QUESTIONS. . . OPEN YOUR TEST BOOKLET. READ THE PASSAGE AND COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: # 62 AND #69 YOU HAVE 1 MINUTE AND 30 SECONDS
GRAMMAR AND USAGE
GRAMMAR: SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT Singular verbs must accompany singular subjects. • Plural verbs must accompany plural subjects. • Hint: Singular verbs usually end in “s.” Examples: • The man wears four ties. • His favorite college is in Nebraska. • Matt , along with his friends, goes to Coney Island. • The men wear four ties each. • His favorite colleges are in Nebraska. • Matt and his friends go to Coney Island.
GRAMMAR: SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT An audience of thousands of expectant people who have come from afar to listen to live music in an outdoor setting seem terrifying to a nervous performer. A. No Change What is the subject? B. seems C. have seemed D. to seem
GRAMMAR: SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT Collective Nouns: Hint: “The” is usually singular/“A” is usually plural • Singular: The number of people waiting in line varies hour to hour. Plural: A number of people living in Florida vary the time of year they head to cooler weather. Singular: Today the class starts its semester final exam at 2:00. Plural: After taking a test, the class start their papers on Shakespeare’s sonnets.
GRAMMAR: PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT An antecedent is a word to which a later pronoun refers. When the pronoun does not agree in gender or number with its antecedent, there’s an agreement error.
Pronoun-Antecedent Example: Whether its bright and jaunty or haunting and melancholic, the music of the Andes highlands has a mellow sound unique in the musical world. A. no change B. t hey’re C. i t’s D. its ’
PRACTICE SENTENCES SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT AND PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT (See handout)
PRACTICE SENTENCE ANSWERS SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: 1. Many teachers and parents agree that new policies in the school have had a positive effect on morale. 2. Arthur Miller , along with his contemporary Tennessee Williams, is among the most impressive playwrights. 3. Katie Green , one of the best pianists in the school, and her brother Gene , who also plays extremely well, have been invited to provide musical accompaniment. 4. Here are the costumes that were used last year. 5. On second thought, either Brian or Cory is going to be the male lead in the play.
PRACTICE SENTENCES PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT
PRACTICE SENTENCE ANSWERS PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT 1. The library put its collection of rare books on display. 2. Each of the horses in the procession followed its rider down to the creek. 3. The school’s chess team has just won its first match. 4. The teacher announced that everyone in the class must turn in his or her paper no later than Friday. 5. The person chosen as team captain will find himself working very hard.
MODIFIER AGREEMENT Modifiers come in two forms, and must agree with the word that they are describing. • Comparative – compares one thing to another -er or more • Superlative – tells you how one thing compares to everything else. -est or most
MODIFIER EXAMPLE: The Andean panpipe has its origins in the Incan civilization, once the more richer and more powerful empire in South America. A. No change B. richer and most C. richest and most D. richer and more
SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION These questions test your knowledge of how sentences and ideas should be joined, separated, or put together. These errors will typically be tested through clauses. • INDEPENDENT CLAUSES = stand alone • DEPENDENT CLAUSES = cannot stand alone
SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION: RUN-ONS AND FRAGMENTS Run-on sentences are usually pretty easy to spot because it will be immediately clear that the sentence is long and confusing! The run-on sentence occurs when independent clauses are joined without any punctuation. Fragments are incomplete sentences.
EXAMPLE At the very low tides of the full moon, when almost all the water was sucked away, we found the hideaways where crabs, snails, starfish, and sea urchins hid. A. No change B. away. Then we C. away. We D. away; we
EXAMPLE Due to the limited number of notes that can be played on an antara early musicians’ most likely worked in groups, coordinating the timing and pitch of their instruments to extend the range of sounds produced. A. No change B. antara, early musicians C. antara , early musicians’ D. antara early musician’s
SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION: MISPLACED MODIFIERS Modifiers are descriptive words or phrases that are used to add depth or dimension to the phrase that they modify. Modifiers are misplaced if they do not actually refer to what they are modifying. Modifiers are dangling if you are unsure of what they modify.
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