Show:
Punctuation
Grammar and Usage
Sentence Structure
Style
Test Info, Tips, and Strategies
100
John's favorite aunt who often dresses in sweatpants will compete in the tennis tournament. To what would you change "aunt who often dresses in sweatpants"? A. NO CHANGE B. aunt, who often dresses in sweatpants C. aunt, who often dresses in sweatpants, D. aunt who often dresses in sweatpants,
What is "C"? The phrase "who often dresses in sweatpants" isn't essential information.
100
The children, whom had been reading about the Wright Brothers, were excited to see the biplane land. How would you rephrase this sentence, beginning with "whom"? A. NO CHANGE B. about whom had been reading about the Wright Brothers, C. of whom had been reading about the Wright Brothers, D. who had been reading about the Wright Brothers,
What is "D"? This is a who/whom question. Easy answer: if you can replace (and rearrange the sentence sometimes) the word with he/she/they, it's who. If you can replace it with him/her/them, it's whom. So... make this two sentences. The children were excited to see the biplane land. THEY had been reading about the Wright Brothers.
100
Raul was committed to watching the entire tennis match. While John left at the three-day point. To what would you change "While"? A. NO CHANGE B. As C. Although D. OMIT
What is "D"? "While" means that something else is going to happen at the same time John left. But... nothing ever does in this sentence. Because it's a complete sentence without the word "while," you can just leave it out.
100
Although its origins remain uncertain, tea in China can be traced back to as early as the tenth century B.C. With fans that included the classical philosopher Laozi, tea was widely thought to possess medicinal qualities. To what should "fans" be changed in this sentence? A. NO CHANGE B. cheerleaders C. groupies D. advocates
What is "D"? We're not talking about a football game or a band. "Fans" isn't really the right word here to go along with the way the rest of the sentence is written and with the topic. "Groupies" and "cheerleaders" are also just as informal.
100
The ACT English section contains ___________ questions.
What is "75"?
200
It snowed heavily during the afternoon however we managed to play touch football anyway. To what would you change "afternoon however"? A. NO CHANGE B. afternoon; however, C. afternoon, however, D. afternoon however,
What is "B"? Because "however" is a conjunctive adverb (adverb that joins two complete thoughts together), it has to have a semicolon in front of it and a comma behind it.
200
It was just a drop on the bucket. A. NO CHANGE B. drop into C. drop over D. drop in
What is "D"? The well-known way of saying this is "a drop in the bucket" - it's called an idiom.
200
There's not much difference between teaching a roomful of high school students and facing an angry mob, in fact, you might find the angry mob a friendlier audience. To what would you change "mob, in fact,"? A. NO CHANGE B. mob. In fact, C. mob in fact D. mob, in fact
What is "B"? The sentence has a comma splice - essentially, it's two complete sentences joined with just a pitiful comma. That doesn't work!
200
The Brain made future plans to take over the world next month. To what would you change "made future plans"? A. NO CHANGE B. planned to eventually C. made plans D. planned and prepared
What is "C"? The phrase "made future plans" is a bit redundant because it's clear from "next month" that it will happen in the future. Make it simple.
200
Which of the following should you NOT do on the ACT English test? A. Read the questions carefully. B. Go with your gut and stick with it. C. Designate about 9 minutes to each passage. D. Make a random guess when you don't know the answer.
What is "D"? Seriously? Choosing randomly? Don't ever just randomly choose. You can always get rid of at least one answer fairly easily. This is a last ditch effort and shouldn't be done unless there's no other choice.
300
Alicia purchased all of the supplies she needed: to bake a birthday cake, flour, salt, sugar, and butter. To what would you change "she needed: to bake a birthday cake, flour, salt, sugar, and butter"? A. NO CHANGE B. she needed to bake a birthday cake: flour, salt, sugar, and butter. C. she needed to bake a birthday cake, such as: flour, salt, sugar, and butter. D. she needed to bake: a birthday cake, flour, salt, sugar, and butter.
What is "B"? A colon is used here because there is a list of the ingredients she will need to make the cake.
300
Each of these moments have played again and again as I try to recapture the excitement of that momentous day—my high school graduation. To what would you change "Each of these moments have played"? A.NO CHANGE B.Each of these moments were played C.Each of these moments has played D.Each of these moments was played
What is "C"? Each is singular. ALWAYS. Take out all the rest of that stuff between Each and the verb and it makes it easier.
300
Running to the restaurant, George's wallet dropped onto the street. To what would you change "George's wallet dropped onto the street"? A. NO CHANGE B. George's wallet dropped onto the street C. George dropped his wallet on the street D. George's dropped wallet onto the street
What is "C"? This has a misplaced modifier. The way it's written, it sounds like George's wallet was running to the restaurant and collapsed from exhaustion. Since George was the one doing the running, we have to rearrange the sentence to make it evident.
300
As one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill uplifted Great Britain—and the world—with his fantastic speeches. To what should "fantastic speeches" be changed? A.NO CHANGE B.witty repartee C.inspired oration D.uplifting lectures
What is "C"? This is about Winston Churchill and it's fairly formal. Use the fancy one.
300
Which of the following is NOT an area tested on the ACT English exam? A. Comma Usage B. Inference Skills C. Eliminating Wordiness D. Subject/Verb Agreement
What is "B"? Inference, or drawing a conclusion that isn't specifically written in the passage, is more of an ACT Reading section skill.
400
In the middle of algebra, Sally had an idea—one that could very well change history, but she forced herself to concentrate on finding the value of x. How would you phrase the first part of this sentence? A. NO CHANGE B. Sally had an idea. One that could very well change history—but she C. Sally had an idea, one that could very well change history, but she D. Sally had an idea—one that could very well change history—but she
What is "D"? The phrase "one that could very well change history" isn't essential to the rest of the sentence.
400
The Mexican War had begun in 1846, and it ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. To what would you change "had begun"? A.NO CHANGE B.begun C.began D.begin
What is "C"? Think simplicity. We're talking about something that did occur in the past. Just use past tense.
400
Sarah was surprised during the storm by a loud noise, strong wind, and being afraid of lightning. To what would you change "being afraid of lightning"? A. NO CHANGE B. be afraid of lightning C. a fear of lightning D. lightning
What is "D"? This sentence is parallel. In other words, there is a list of what surprised Sarah and the last part - the lightning - was what frightened her, not being afraid of it. Since the other parts of the list (loud noise and strong wind) are listed without mention of the fear of each, so should the lightning.
400
For my birthday a new computer was given to me by my grandmother. How would you rephrase this sentence? A.NO CHANGE B.Given to me by my grandmother was a new computer for my birthday. C.My grandmother gave me a new computer for my birthday. D.My grandmother gave me a new computer.
What is "C"? The original sentence and "B" are too wordy and awkward sounding. "D" is short, sweet, and to the point, but it's important that we know why she gave a computer to this person.
400
They're and it's are ____________. A. Contractions B. Possessive pronouns C. Conjunctive Adverbs D. None of these.
What is "A"? They're and it's are contractions (to words shoved together with an apostrophe to show missing letters.) They're means "they are" and it's means "it is".
500
Although the weather turned rainy and cold, we decided to go to the park. How would you rephrase the first part of this sentence? A.NO CHANGE B.Although the weather turned, rainy and cold we decided C.Although, the weather turned rainy and cold we decided D.Although the weather turned rainy, and cold, we decided
What is "A"? This sentence is fine the way it is.
500
By the time I will go to South Dakota next year, I will visit 27 states. To what would you change "will go to South Dakota next year, I will"? A.NO CHANGE B.go to South Dakota next year, I will visit C.go to South Dakota next year, I will have visited D.will go to South Dakota next year, I will have visited
What is "C"? "By the time" requires past tense. It's either already happened or it will have already happened. However, having visited 27 states will only happen when this person goes to South Dakota, so it has to be in future tense.
500
Although it will always be associated with the famous canned beans. Boston was not the birthplace of baked beans. A. NO CHANGE B. beans, Boston C. beans; Boston D. beans Boston
What is "B"? "Although" means that there's more to the sentence than famous baked beans. Also, there's no reference to what city they are talking about in the first sentence. You can join them together with a comma.
500
Sally bought makeup she didn't need because the sales associate promised her a free gift with purchase. To what would you change "a free gift with purchase"? A.NO CHANGE B.an added bonus gift. C.a gift with purchase D.a gift that came with the purchase
What is "C"? "A free gift" is redundant. If it's a gift, it's free. The same can be said for "an added bonus". "D" is just wordy and awkward sounding.
500
On organizational questions (like, "where does this sentence go best in the passage?"), you need to know all of the following except: A. What the passage is about. B. What introductory, transitional, and conclusion sentences look like. C. How many sentences are in each paragraph so you don't go over 5. D. The author's style.
What is "C"? There's no set rule that says 5 sentences have to be in a paragraph. As long as a main idea is stated and it's explained thoroughly, it can have different numbers of sentences.