STRATEGIES
The ACT English section contains _______ questions.
What is 75?
One significant aspect of this relationship was: that Susan was perhaps the only reader of Emily’s poems-in-progress.
One significant aspect of this relationship was that Susan was perhaps the only reader of Emily’s poems-in-progress.
As the daughter of one of Charleston’s leading judges, Angelina Grimke could have looked forward to a [life of luxury and ease, and her comfort] assured by the presence of slaves trained to respond to her wishes.
E. NO CHANGE
F. life of luxury and ease her comfort
G. life of luxury and ease, her comfort
H. life of luxury, and her comfort
G.
This one is a little tricky because of the sophisticated structure of the dependent clause “her comfort assured by the presence of slaves…” Answer choice E is incorrect because the dependent clause needs a main verb (if it said “her comfort was assured…” it would work). Therefore, it cannot stand alone as an independent clause in the compound sentence this answer choice creates. Answer choice H also improperly uses a coordinating conjunction to create a compound sentence even though the second clause cannot stand alone as a sentence. Answer choice F creates a run-on that is confusing without the separation of the dependent clause. So our answer is G.
Benjamin Banneker, African American inventor and astronomer, grew up on his [familys'] farm in colonial Maryland.
A. NO CHANGE
B. family's
C. families'
D. families
B.
Let's go through our two questions in order.
Should "family" be possessive? If we switch around the word order to "the farm of his family" that makes sense, so yes, the noun should be possessive. (In this example, you might also say "family farm" but you'll notice that isn't an answer choice.)
Is it "family" or "families"? First, think about what clues you can use—"his" is a good one. We're talking about Banneker's family specifically, and people generally only have one family. The singular form is correct.
Now we know that we need an answer with "family" and an apostrophe, which narrows it down to A and B. We need to pick the one that correctly places the apostrophe before the "s" (since we're dealing with a singular noun), which is B.
Equipment for both types of kayaks [are] similar.
F. NO CHANGE
G. is
H. were
J. was
G
First, let's cross out the prepositional phrase. Equipment for both types of kayaks are similar. We're left with "Equipment are similar." Even if the answer is obvious to you at this point, let's go through the remaining steps. The subject is "equipment," which is singular. The verb is "are," which is plural; therefore, there's an error in subject-verb agreement and the correct answer is G. Based on the context of the passage, the verb should be in the present tense.
The ACT English section must be completed in ____ minutes.
What is 45?
London – which is a very old city, has many new buildings.
London – which is a very old city – has many new buildings.
London is an old city; however, it has many new buildings.
correct
When my computer crashed, I lost a months work on my plan to take over the world.
When my computer crashed, I lost a month's work on my plan to take over the world.
It was about halfway through his last set of conferences that Mr. Man realized he did not much like his current set of students. Unlike his students in the past, none of them seemed to care about their grades, none of them were able to tell a dangling modifier from a participle, and none of them knew how to start a paper. He would never tell any of them this, of course; they might get offended. And if there was one thing that Mr. Man [learned] about teaching, it's that in order to keep your job, you couldn't offend your students.
A. NO CHANGE
B. is learning
C. had learned
D. has learned
C.
The lesson about teaching is something that Mr. Man learned before the past tense events described in this paragraph, so the past perfect phrase "had learned" is appropriate.
You should leave ______ questions blank on the ACT English exam.
What is 0?
To add to the confusion, every New Year’s Day a person according to this Korean counting system, becomes a year older, regardless of his or her actual birthday.
To add to the confusion, every New Year’s Day a person, according to this Korean counting system, becomes a year older, regardless of his or her actual birthday.
London was founded around 50 A.D., when the Romans settled on the banks of the Tiber.
London was founded around 50 A.D. when the Romans settled on the banks of the Tiber.
London is a popular tourist attraction; in fact, its among the most visited cities in the world.
London is a popular tourist attraction; in fact, it’s among the most visited cities in the world.
Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method, while now the laboratory method is employed.
Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method; now it is taught by the laboratory method.
For a question that ONLY requires you to determine the grammar of a single sentence, it is okay for you to answer having read only _____________.
What is the sentence?
All along, she was telling stories: everything from social satire to her retelling of Cinderella as Cindy Ellie; a poor African American girl whose rags are transformed into magnificent African-style gowns.
All along, she was telling stories: everything from social satire to her retelling of Cinderella as Cindy Ellie, a poor African American girl whose rags are transformed into magnificent African-style gowns.
My whole family was at the reunion, including my cousins, Kirsten and Jeremy; my aunts, Tracy and Megan; and my grandparents, Carl and Jen.
correct
Mr. and Mrs. Lane have lived next door to me my whole life. The Lane's house has become my second home these past few years.
Mr. and Mrs. Lane have lived next door to me my whole life. The Lanes' house has become my second home these past few years.
Use an apostrophe after the “s” at the end of a plural noun to show possession.
Nearly one in four people worldwide are Muslim.
Nearly one in four people worldwide is Muslim.
People is NOT a collective noun like team or staff. It is a plural noun. However, the subject is one, which is singular and takes a singular verb. So the answer is is. In the above sentence, the prepositional phrase is "in four people." This means that people is the object of the preposition.
Let’s get real here, however: The intention in this headline is to let us know that nearly 25% of the world’s population is Muslim. That intention gets lost by focusing on one is. It might be better to reword the sentence: Nearly 25% of people in the world are Muslim.
For a question that requires you to consider the meaning of a sentence IN CONTEXT, you should read this many lines around the sentence: _____
What is 10 (5 up, 5 down)?
It all began in mid-March when a peddler from Halifax named John Law had a frightening encounter with a poor young woman, Alizon Device in a field, near the town of Colne.
It all began in mid-March when a peddler from Halifax named John Law had a frightening encounter with a poor young woman, Alizon Device, in a field near the town of Colne.
On our trip to London, we visited: museums, palaces, and monuments.
On our trip to London, we visited these tourist attractions: museums, palaces, and monuments.
At the tinkers convention, Jose browsed for a long time before deciding he wanted to buy something from the leather workers stall.
At the tinkers' convention, Jose browsed for a long time before deciding he wanted to buy something from the leather worker's stall.
Our staff works hard to meet their goals and deadlines.
Our staff work hard to meet their goals and deadlines.
"Their" is a clue that staff is not acting as a unit. Therefore, the plural work is needed.
How do you know that work, not works, is plural? Think about which word you would use with he and which word you would use with they.