About 2/3 of the questions in the English section of the ACT involve grammar, mechanics, and punctuation. This little guide will help you prepare for them.
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LESS IS MORE
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CROSS OUT THE CRAP
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READ VERTICALLY
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WHEN IN DOUBT
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Go with the shortest answer possible. Ignore this rule if the shortest answer makes no sense.
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Whenever you are hunting down the subject, or whenever you think a grammar question is tricky, CROSS OUT THE CRAP.
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Use the answer choices to help you determine the skill being tested.
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If there is a NO CHANGE option, it is right 25% of the time.
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The original (NO CHANGE) answer may already be the shortest.
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Crap includes: prepositional phrases, non-essential phrases, and descriptions
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More than one skill can be tested at a time.
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If there is an "OMIT" option, that is right 50% of the time.
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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
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COMPLETE SENTENCES
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TRANSITION WORDS
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Subjects agree with their verbs in number (singular or plural).
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A complete sentence as three requirements.
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Read the previous sentence.
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EXAMPLE: The friends are robbing banks.
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A subject: The dog sought shelter from the storm.
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Two agreeing sentences: consequently, thus, therefore, because of, furthermore, in fact, indeed, moreover
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Subjects can be nouns or pronouns.
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A verb: Manny proudly carried his bucket of lobsters.
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EXAMPLE: He studies; thus, he gets good grades.
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EXAMPLE: They are terrorizing the Midwest.
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A complete thought: Kyle seemed lost in thought.
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Two disagreeing sentences: conversely, despite, ironically, however, still, though, yet, nonetheless, in spite of, nevertheless
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Watch out for prepositional phrases!
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A complete thought is a collection of words that is fully understandable.
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EXAMPLE: Sam interviewed for the job; however, he did not get called back.
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EXAMPLE: The butterfly with the bright colors is beautiful.
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A complete thought could also just be one subject and one verb, as long as it makes sense.
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Other transitions: **in closing, generally, as, after, while, until, before
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COMPOUND SENTENCE
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Two complete sentences joined together to create one sentence.
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COMMA+FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
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EXAMPLE: Savannah likes soccer and tennis, but she loves pro-wrestling more.
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SEMICOLON: No comma or FANBOYS needed
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EXAMPLE: Savannah likes soccer and tennis; she loves pro-wrestling more.
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COMPLEX SENTENCE
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One incomplete sentence and one complete sentence joined together to create one sentence.
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COMMAS are only used if the incomplete sentence comes first.
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EXAMPLE: Because Savannah loved pro-wrestling, she went to Buffalo Jim's Wrestling School.
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IF YOU START ONE WAY, YOU KEEP IT THAT WAY
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Verbs: He was walking, talking, and smiling.
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Punctuation: He smiled -- roguishly, strangely -- at the woman in the coffee shop.
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Voice: One will find that the library is a great place for one to study.
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MODIFIERS ARE ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS/DESCRIPTIVE PHRASES
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SUPERLATIVES
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EXAMPLE: Elegantly dressed, the queen floated into the room.
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Superlatives are just modifiers that distinguish differences between things or ideas.
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A MODIFYING CLAUSE GOES NEXT TO WHAT IT MODIFIES
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When comparing two things, use -er/-ier, more, or less.
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EXAMPLE: Driving home late after work, he proceeded cautiously.
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When comparing three or more things, use -est/iest, most, least.
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BAD EXAMPLE: Racing through the red light, the police officer pulled Liam over.
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EXAMPLE: I like chocolate ice cream more than vanilla, but peanut butter chocolate ice cream is my most favorite.
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SEPARATE ITEMS IN A LIST
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INTRODUCTORY PHRASES
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NON-ESSENTIAL PHRASES
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Millie remembered to bring her toothbrush, face wash, and sword.
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Over the weekend, Millie slayed many a demon.
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Millie, smart and brave, was soon praised by all in the town.
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CONTRACTIONS
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POSSESSION
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When checking whether a word is a contraction or not, try pulling it apart into two words.
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If one owner: 's
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EXAMPLES: it's (it is), you've (you have), you're (you are), they've (they have), we've (we have), he's (he is), it's (it is), who's (who is)
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If more than one owner: s'
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SEMICOLONS
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COLONS
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LONG DASHES
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Semicolon = ;
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Colon = :
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Long Dash = --
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They can only be used to CONNECT TWO COMPLETE SENTENCES.
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A COMPLETE SENTENCE must come BEFORE the colon.
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If using a single long dash, a COMPLETE SENTENCE must go BEFORE it.
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Often, they are used to connect transitions as well.
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Colons are used to set off: lists, explanations, definitions, quotes, etc.
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If you want to add some drama, you can replace two commas with two long dashes for effect.
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EXAMPLE: Mike was very worried about Will; in fact, he couldn't even sleep because of it.
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EXAMPLE: Papa could often be heard singing his favorite song: "You are My Sunshine."
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EXAMPLE: The Rainbow Room -- deadly quiet, hauntingly still -- was not as empty as it seemed.
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Then/Than
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Its/It's
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Two/To/Too
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There/Their/They're
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Then refers to time.
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Its is possessive pronoun.
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Two is a number, as in 2.
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There usually refers to a place, like here and there.
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EXAMPLE: He went to the store; then he went home.
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EXAMPLE: I love its color!
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To is a preposition or the beginning of an infinitive.
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Their is a possessive pronoun.
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Than is a comparison.
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It's is a contraction that means it is
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Too means also or to indicate a large amount.
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They're is a contraction of they are
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EXAMPLE: She like big dogs more than little ones.
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EXAMPLE: It's (It is) so good to see youi!
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EXAMPLE: Two monsters went to Tokyo to destroy it, but Tokyo was too far away, and they had bellyaches, too.
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EXAMPLE: They're (They are) going over there to get their money back.
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PRONOUNS MUST BE CLEAR
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WHO VERSUS WHOM
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It needs to be obvious what the pronoun is referring to.
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Who is a subject. Subjects get to do things.
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EXAMPLE: Bob and John went shopping and they bought too much junk food.
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EXAMPLE: Who will be singing for us tonight?
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PRONOUNS MUST AGREE IN NUMBER/GENDER BASED ON ITS ANTECEDENT (THE NOUN THAT COMES BEFORE IT)
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EXAMPLE: I know this guy who will eat anything for a dollar.
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EXAMPLE: The new store sits between buildings more than twice its height.
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Whom is an object. Objects get stuff done to them.
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EXAMPLE: The first chair trombonist from Pea Ridge was very happy with his/her contest score.
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EXAMPLE: To whom are you speaking?
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Today, I...
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Yesterday, I...
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For years, I...
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begin
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began
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have begun
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break
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broke
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have broken
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bring
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brought
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have brought
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build
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built
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have built
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choose
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chose
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have chosen
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go
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went
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have gone
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lead
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led
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have led
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ring
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rang
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have rung
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rise
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rose
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have risen
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run
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ran
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have run
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see
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saw
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have seen
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seek
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sought
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have sought
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shrink
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shrank
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have shrunk
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sing
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sang
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have sung
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sink
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sank
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have sunk
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speak
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spoke
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have spoken
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swim
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swam
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have swum
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about
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above
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across
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after
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against
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around
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along
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among
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at
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behind
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before
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beneath
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beside
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between
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beyond
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by
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down
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during
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except
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for
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from
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in
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near
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of
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off
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on
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opposite
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out
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outside
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over
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past
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regarding
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round
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since
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to
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through
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under
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until
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up
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with
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within
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Cheatography n. The art of mapping complex subjects into clear, instantly navigable reference guides.
