The Test
Test Tips
What is Tested
Sample Test Questions
Grab Bag
100
How long do you have to complete the ACT English Test?
What is 45 minutes?
100
This is how you should answer the questions on the ACT English Test.
What is in the order in which they appear?
100
Punctuation show you....
What is how to read and understand sentences?
100
1. Everyone in the bank-including the manager and the tellers, ran to the door when the fire alarm rang. A. tellers, ran B. tellers: ran C. tellers, had run D. tellers-ran E. tellers' ran"
What is 1. D: The modifying phrase inserted between subject and predicate should be set off on both sides by dashes, not just one. Non-matching punctuation marks, like a dash before it but a comma after it [sentence, (A), (C)], or a dash before but a colon after it (B), are incorrect and asymmetrical. An apostrophe (E) indicates possession and is incorrect in a non-possessive plural noun. There is no reason for the incorrect, extraneous close-quotation mark after the verb (E) either.
100
This occurs when two independent clauses are joined together by a comma with no intervening conjunction
What is a comma splice?
200
These are the two types of questions that are asked on the ACT English Test.
What is Usage/Mechanics and Rhetorical Skills?
200
This is why you should guess if you don't know the answer on the ACT English test.
Because the ACT English tests what we already know.
200
These are the most commonly tested punctuation marks on the ACT English Test.
What are commas?
200
In August my parents will be married for twenty-five years. A. will be married for twenty-five years. B. shall have been married for twenty-five years. C. will have been married for twenty-five years. D. will be married for twenty five years. E. will have married for twenty-five years.
What is C: "In August" is the future, requiring the future-tense auxiliary verb "will." "Have been married" is present perfect. Adding "will" to "have been married" makes the tense future perfect. Simple future tense "will be married" [(A), (D)] with "for twenty-five years" literally means they will get married in August and will be married for 25 years thereafter. "Will have married" (E) cannot be "for 25 years": being married is a continuous process; marrying is not.
200
These are the three cases of pronouns.
What are nominative, objective, and possessive?
300
This is how many Usage/Mechanic skills there are on the ACT English Test.
What is 40?
300
You should be wary of answer choices that try to trick you into this.
What is overcorrecting?
300
Semicolons are used to do this.
What is separate two related but independent clauses?
300
Flashing on and off like flashlights or twinkling holiday lights, a firefly is just one of the many organisms that can produce its own LIGHT. THIS FEATURE, known as bioluminescence or cold light, actually appears in nature quite often. Which of the following is NOT an acceptable alternative for the capitalized portion? a) light, this feature b) light; this feature c) light, and this feature d) light. This dramatic feature
What is "a". This one is tricky, because you have to figure out which one is not acceptable. Choice A creates a comma splice sentence, but every other choice is structurally sound.
300
"Heard it through the grapevine." is an example of this...
What is idiom?
400
This is how many Rhetorical Skills questions there are on the test.
What is 35?
400
When the option for "NO CHANGE" is offered as a test answer it is correct this percent of the time.
What is 20% of the time?
400
Subject-Verb Agreement is...
What is Singular verbs must accompany singular subjects, and plural verbs must accompany plural subjects?
400
On hot and humid summer evenings, almost everyone has witnessed fireflies, also called lightning bugs, flitting around YOUR YARD OR LANDING ON A WINDOWSILL and occasionally emitting a soft glow. a) NO CHANGE b) their yard or landing on a windowsill c) his or her yard or landing on a windowsill d) your yard or landing on a windowsill
What is The correct answer is "c". Here, the antecedent is everyone, which is singular. It requires the singular his or her, although we can all agree that you'd probably use the word their in spoken English.
400
These are the seven coordinating conjunctions.
What is "and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so"?
500
These are the three parts of the Usage/Mechanics section of the test and the three parts of the Rhetoric/Writing section.
What is Punctuation Basic Grammar and Usage Sentence Structure Writing Strategy Organization Style
500
When the option for "OMIT" is a test answer it is right this amount of them time.
What is 25% of the time?
500
This is the word that refers back to the pronoun in the sentence.
What is antecedent?
500
She said that I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy; that some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors a) NO CHANGE b) illiteracy, and that c) illiteracy. That d) illiteracy, that
What is The correct answer is "b". Semicolons must be placed between two independent clauses, so it's incorrect in context. Choice C forms a fragment and choice D forms a comma splice.
500
True or False: There can be more than one colon used in sentence.
What is false?
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