Sentence Boundaries
What are the 3 parts of a complete sentence?
subject, verb, complete thought
What punctuation mark introduces a list after a complete sentence?
Colon
Which is correct? The list of supplies (is/are) on the desk.
Is
What’s the trick in this sentence? The bouquet of roses are beautiful.
subject = bouquet, singular → should be “is”
Which word is the subject? The pack of wolves is howling.
The pack
Fix this run-on: I love pizza it’s my favorite food.
add period, semicolon, or comma + FANBOYS)
What’s the rule for using a semicolon? (What does a Semicolon do?)
joins two complete sentences
Which is correct? Each of the players (was/were) ready.
Was
Why is this wrong? My brother, and sister is here.
“and” makes subject plural → should be “are”
Which punctuation is best? The team was nervous __ they had trained all year for this moment.
A. ,
B. ;
C. :
D. —
B. ;
Why is this a fragment? Because I was late.
Which is correct? I need to pack three things __ my toothbrush, my shoes, and my charger.
A. ,
B. ;
C. :
D. —
C. :
Which is correct? Neither the teacher nor the students (is/are) happy.
Are
Which is correct? Neither the books nor the pen (is/are) on the desk.
is → closest subject = pen
Which is correct? Neither the teacher nor the principal (approve/approves) the new rule.
approves → closest subject = principal, singular
Which option fixes this correctly? She studied hard, she earned an A.
A. NO CHANGE
B. She studied hard, and she earned an A.
C. She studied hard, she was earning an A.
D. She studied hard and earned.
B: She studied hard, and she earned an A.
Why is this wrong? She bought apples; and oranges.
semicolon can’t be used with FANBOYS
Which is correct? The teacher and the students (was/were) in the meeting.
Were
Fix this sentence: The meeting lasted for hours, it covered many topics.
add period, semicolon, or comma + FANBOYS
Which option is most concise? Due to the fact that it was raining, we stayed inside.
A. Due to the fact that it was raining
B. Because it was raining
C. Since it was raining outside, we decided to remain indoors
D. Owing to the fact of the rain
B. Because it was raining
Identify the error: Although the game was exciting,
fragment → dependent clause without a complete thought
Which is correct?
A. The teacher gave a speech— it was inspiring.
B. The teacher gave a speech; it was inspiring.
C. The teacher gave a speech, it was inspiring.
D. The teacher gave a speech: it was inspiring.
B — semicolon correctly joins two sentences. D could work if “explanation,” but ACT prefers semicolon in this case.
Which is correct? Neither the players nor the coach (is/are) celebrating yet.
Is
Why is this wrong? Running late to school, the backpack felt heavy.
misplaced modifier → makes it sound like the backpack is running
Identify and fix the error: The scientists has discovered a new planet.
Subject–verb agreement error → should be “have discovered”