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ACT Preparation Nouns and Verbs Nouns: person, place, thing, or idea Verbs: an action or a state of being – ACTION: run, jog, jump, weep, crawl, sing, dance, tremble, sweep, win – STATE OF BEING: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been – State of being verbs often can be replaced with an equal sign. “I am a teacher.” / “I = teacher” Complete Sentence A complete sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject’s main word is a noun. The predicate’s main word is a verb. An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a subject and a predicate that can stand on their own. A subject and a predicate with AN ADDITIONAL WORD (or phrase) causing them to not stand on their own is called a DEPENDENT CLAUSE. Dependent clauses (cont’d.) Examples of dep. clauses (fragments): When I hurt my leg. Even though she scored better than he did. As the teacher jumped into one of his long lectures. Because the soccer season started earlier this year. Clauses Independent vs. dependent clauses Independent clauses can be combined using a semi-colon (;) or a comma and a conjunction (, and). – FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (These are coordinating conjunctions and need a comma if between 2 ind. clauses.) – These conjunctions/trans. words require a ; if between 2 ind. clauses (however, thus, therefore, etc.) – I went to the store; I bought some new shoes. Dependent Clauses Continued Dependent clauses can’t stand alone. when, where, why, how, if, as, because, although, while, despite, that, who, what If these words are used in a question, the result is usually an independent clause. – Where are my friends? If these words are used in statements, they usually indicate a dependent clause. – Where my friends are, you will find laughter and junk food. Clauses Continued Two types of sentence fragments will possibly be on the ACT English test: A dependent clause that needs to be fixed – As the children ran behind, shouting and laughing. OR a dependent clause that needs to be added to an independent clause – Although it will always be associated with Shakespeare’s famous literary character. The character of Austen’s . . . Agreement A pronoun must always agree with the noun to which it refers. – Pronoun examples: he, she, it, they, him, her, we, ours (a pronoun replaces a noun) – INCORRECT: Any young boy who watched the first moon landing probably spent the next few years wishing that they could become an astronaut. – INCORRECT: Anyone who wants to attend needs to turn their permission slip in today. Singular pronouns (as well as nouns) need singular agreement. See http://keyvanv.persiangig.com/GMAT/Man hattan_SC_2003ed.pdf (pgs. 19-23, PDF numbering, for help) —link might not be working anymore though Case If a pronoun is the subject of a sentence, it must be expressed as a subject. – The subject of a sentence does the action in the sentence. – The object of the sentence receives the action. – (An object must ALWAYS follow a preposition.) Subjective Objective I Me We Us 2nd pers. sing. & plural You You 3rd pers. sing. He She It Who Whoever Him Her It Whom Whomever They Them 1st pers. sing. plural (Who/whoever can be singular or plural) plural Subjective Needed Objective Needed Subject Predicate Noun (also called Predicate Nominative or Subjective Complements) Everything Else: Direct Object Indirect Object Object of the Preposition Subjective/Objective Katherine and ____(I, me) went to the store. Give the presents to Katherine and _____ (I, me). Don’t be deceived: subjects do not always fall at the beginning of a sentence. To __________(who, whom) does this belong? _______(Who, Whom) gets these flowers? She gave _________(he, him) the flowers for ______(she, her). Q: Are these your papers? A: No, those are not ________(they, them). Jasmine and _______(he, him) have been dating for a month. ________(Who, Whom) is this note for? Dacya kicked ____(he, him) when she found out ____(he, him) gave ______(I, me) the tickets instead of _____(she, her). The elected leader was _____(who, whom)? Do Sam and _____ (he, him) want to go with ____(we, us)? Prepositions An object must always follow a preposition. A preposition is a word showing the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in a sentence. (about, above, across, after, against, along, amid, among, for, in, to, etc.) Prepositions are important in case questions: objective pronouns must always follow a preposition. Preposition or Adverb Some words can be used as adverbs or prepositions (such as aboard, after, before, etc.). If there is no object, they are functioning as adverbs (telling where, when, how, etc.). If there is an object, they are prepositions; and if the object is a pronoun, it should be in objective case. For example: I fell behind in the race. I fell behind her in the race. Or Subordinating Conjunction Some of these words can also function as subordinating conjunctions. It all depends on how they function in the sentence. For example: I’ve learned a lot since. (adverb) I’ve learned a lot since that date. (prep. & o.p) I’ve learned a lot since I grew up. (sub./dep. clause) Another example: I went to the store before she did. I went to the store before her. I have gone to that store before. Be careful. In spoken/casual English, we don’t always keep the prep. with its object. For example: Who is this award for? (incorrect) For whom is this award? (correct) Who are you running that coat to? To whom are you running that coat? Prepositions Watch for “to,” “from,” “for,” and “with” in questions. They are often at the end but should be at the beginning. Put them at the beginning with their object. In question form, the prepositions would go with “whom.” To whom is that note addressed? For whom is that prize? In sentence form, it would be This prize is for him. Subject / Verb Agreement The verb of a sentence must always agree with its subject. – Singular subject – singular verb – Plural subject – plural verb The best moment during a broadcast filled with many great moments were when the astronaut stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced on the moon. The subject of this sentence is “moment,” which is singular. The girl with the dogs has/have sleek, healthy hair. The team of tired rugby players is/are coming to the restaurant to celebrate its/their win. Don’t forget that many indefinite pronouns are singular. These are words such as “each,” “either,” “somebody,” “anyone,” “everyone,” and “neither.” Each ____ (is/are) allowed one cookie. Every student should raise _____ (his/her/their) hand. No one likes it when ______ (he/she/they) _______ (is/are) wrong. All children like _____ (his/her/their) privacy respected. Verb Tense Reminder: The ACT doesn’t care if you know the names of the tenses (or even, in most cases, if you can identify them) – THE WRITERS want to see that you can spot inconsistencies! – Since the automobile was unsafe, the designer withdraws the plan. – About a hundred students live away from home and attended school in Washington. Adjectives vs. Adverbs Adjectives modify nouns. (tell which kind, how many, which one) – Stark, friendly, beautiful, fertile, green, bright, large, colorful, fiery, tropical, strong, Japanese, lively, lovely, lonely Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. (tell when, where, why, how, to what extent) – Slowly, very, fortunately, immediately, there, unreasonably, quite, happily, today, before – Rather happy (modifying happy, an adjective) He walked ______ real/really ________ slow/slowly. She talked ________ fast/quickly. She was a ________ fast/quickly talker. Dr. Combs signed the note _________ warily/wary. Adj. & Adv. Cont’d: Comparative (2 things) vs. Superlative (more than 2 things) Note: Most 1-syllable words use “-er” and “-est” to form comparatives & superlatives. Most 2 (&3)-syllable words, use “more” and “most” to create comparative and superlative versions. (Regular) Comparative Superlative Good Better Best Hard Harder Hardest Pretty Prettier Prettiest Peaceful More peaceful Most peaceful Quietly More quietly Most quietly Idiomatic Expressions Idioms are expressions that require the use of a specific preposition. You fortunately will be familiar with most of the idioms on the test. The best way to spot them is to look for prepositions in the answer choices. An idiomatic expression is a group of words that has a meaning different from the combined meanings of the individual words. Idiomatic Expressions Continued What does each of the following idiomatic expressions mean? – A chip off the old block (like father, like son) – With a grain of salt (be skeptical) – By the skin of one’s teeth (barely) – Spill the beans (tell a secret) – On top of the world (very happy) – A shot in the dark (guess) Punctuation Commas are used to do the following: Separate items in a series – I went to the store and purchased Nikes, a Gortex jacket, and a fleece pullover. Separate clauses and phrases – Two independent clauses (a FANBOYS conjunction must be added to the comma) I went to the store, and I bought a fleece pullover. – An independent clause and a dependent clause (when the dependent clause comes first). Even though I went to the store, I forgot to buy cheese. I forgot to buy cheese even though I went to the store. – An independent clause and a modifying phrase Screaming like crazy, the crowd cheered for the quarterback. – A nonrestrictive element (explained on next slide) Nonrestrictive Elements Nonrestrictive elements do not affect the meaning of a sentence; therefore, they must be separated by commas. (It’s like an aside or a by-the-way piece of info.) The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, amazed me. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby amazed me. Examples of Restrictive & Nonrestrictive If the information is necessary to the point, commas should not be used, and it’s called a restrictive piece of info. My brother, Jared, is coming to dinner. My brother Jared is coming to dinner. Actors who don’t work won’t be paid. Actors, who don’t work, don’t deserve to be paid so much. Punctuation Continued Semicolons – Sometimes act as a heavy comma – Sometimes act as a weak end-of-sentence period separating two independent clauses Colons – Usually are used after a complete sentence to introduce a list of related details – Are sometimes used to separate two independent clauses where the second clause is a thought developed out of the first Semicolon in a Series The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has such famous graduates as Doc Holliday, who became a legend of the western frontier; Zane Grey, who made the Old West famous in his novels; and the dentist who personally treated Adolf Hitler. Colon Usage You can also use colons to introduce formal quotes. – An ancient remedy for bad breath was suggested in the second book of Hippocrates: “When a . . . mouth smells and . . . gums are black and unhealthy, one burns, separately, the head of a hare, and three times . . . .” Dash Usage Dash: Dashes separate a word or group of words from the rest of the sentence. Dashes are used either to indicate an abrupt break in thought, or to introduce an explanation or afterthought. Examples: Just as John printed his report—it had taken a month of writing—he learned that he had missed the deadline. “Easter weekend arrived, and our cherry trees—about thirty of them—blossomed in unison.” (Peter Mayle qtd. in Trimble 122) “Fashion is illusion, shimmer, magic, mirage—and money: $62.3 billion a year.” (Shana Alexander qtd. In Trimble 121) “I could never learn to like her—except on a raft at sea with no other provisions in sight.” (Mark Twain qtd. In Trimble 121) Apostrophe Apostrophe: Apostrophes indicate possession – Mark’s utility belt – The Joneses’ station wagon – The foxes’ den – Taz’s truck or mark missing letters in a word – Its vs. it’s – Mark’s a swell guy Modifier Problems A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that DESCRIBES other words, phrases, or clauses. Modifiers should ALWAYS be placed next to or as close as possible to what they describe so that your reader will attach the meaning where you intend it to be. Modifier Problems Continued Ambiguous placement is a situation where a modifier can refer to two or more words in a sentence. Wrong placement could result in incorrect meaning in relation to the text as a whole. Wrong placement is where a modifier is misplaced in a sentence, thus garbling the meaning. Awkward placement happens when a modifier interrupts a thought, seriously breaking the flow of a message and thereby distracting the reader form understanding the material. Modifier Problems Outlaw: A small book sat on the desk that Sarah had read. The modifier: “that Sarah had read” The Problem: This modifier is misplaced because it modifies the desk. It sounds as if Sarah had read the desk. Rehabilitated: A small book that Sarah had read sat on the desk. Modifier Problems Outlaw: The professor posted the notes for the students covered in class. The Problem: The modifier, “covered in class,” appears to modify “the students.” Because the students are not covered in class, this is a misplaced modifier. Rehabilitated: The professor posted the notes covered in class for the students. Modifiers Outlaw: Walking through the park, the grass tickled my feet. Problem: “Walking through the park” seems to modify the grass. However, The grass cannot walk through the park. Therefore, this is a misplaced modifier. Rehabilitated: The grass tickled my feet as I walked through the park. OR Walking through the park, I found that the grass tickled my feet. Source Checkout the main grammar page from this source: http://ace.acadiau.ca/english/grammar Redundancy Redundancy occurs when successive words have similar meaning. NOTE: Adverbs such as around, down, up, in, and out sometimes appear with verbs in repetitive or redundant combinations like these: – Circle around, divide up, follow after, empty out, descend down, connect up, enter in, help out, off of – Although many of these combinations are widely used in spoken English, adverbs that add no information to the meaning of a verb should be avoided in formal written English. Redundancy Continued Look for carelessly repeated words that can easily be cut: – Most insulting is her view that the sport of volleyball is a sport for non-athletes, without rules, strategy, or teamwork. Be on the watch, too, for words that repeat the same meaning (as in the adverb examples): – I personally feel that the Loch Ness monster should be left alone by itself. Review: Parallelism Parallel construction, or parallelism, means that a pair or series of elements share the same grammatical form. Parallel construction helps the writer state comparable ideas clearly and forcefully. Use parallelism for pairs or for elements listed in a series and joined by conjunctions, commas, or semicolons. Improve your use of parallelism by matching like elements-noun with noun, verb with verb, clauses and phrases with others of the same type--and by repeating words that signal parallelism, such as articles or determiners, prepositions, and conjunctions. Parallelism Continued Words in Parallel Form – Incorrect: She likes to ski, camping, and hiking. – Correct: She likes skiing, camping, and hiking. Phrases in Parallel Form – Incorrect: To work hard and playing hard were Claire’s goals. – Correct: To work hard and to play hard were Claire's goals. – Incorrect: The senator was shaking hands with the mayor, waved to the crowd, then was stepping back into the car. – Correct: The senator shook hands with the mayor, waved to the crowd, and stepped back into the car. Clauses in Parallel Form – Incorrect: When the battles are won, when we earn peace, when humanity creates a justice-oriented society, then we will enjoy the fruits of our struggle. – When the battle is won, when the earth is at peace, when people are equal under justice, then we will enjoy the fruits of our struggle. ACT English Practice Test ACT-Produced Practice Tests After the final performance of one last practice landing, the French instructor nodded to the young African-American woman at the controls and jumped down to the ground. Bessie Coleman was on 1. A. NO CHANGE B. one finally ultimate C. one final D. one last final her own now. She lined up the nose of the open 2. F. NO CHANGE G. off H. along J. OMIT the underlined portion. cockpit biplane on the runway's center mark, she gave the engine full throttle, and took off into history. It was a long journey from the American 3. A. NO CHANGE B. mark, C. mark, Coleman D. mark that Question One 1. The best answer is C, which concisely conveys the idea that the practice landing referred to was the last one in a series. In contrast, the other choices are redundant. Choice A belabors the point that "the final performance" was indeed the "last" performance (and confusingly suggests that there was more than one performance of a single landing). Choice B pointlessly repeats the notion of finality in the redundant phrase "finally ultimate" (and confusingly suggests that all the landings strove to be ultimate, but only the last landing succeeded). Choice D is simply redundant because the words last and final in the sentence are synonymous. Question Two 2. The best answer is F. It offers the only idiomatically acceptable wording. The verb phrase line up is often used to mean "align." Choices G and H are clearly wrong here. We would never hear someone say that "she lined off the nose of the . . . biplane on the runway's center mark" or that "she lined along the nose of the . . . biplane on the runway's center mark." Choice J, which proposes deleting the underlined portion, also sounds improbable: "She lined the nose of the . . . biplane on the runway's center mark." This sentence suggests that Bessie Coleman is doing something with the nose of the plane, but whatever it is, it doesn't make sense in terms of the rest of the information in the sentence. Question Three 3. The best answer is B. This sentence presents a series of three verb phrases--three things that Bessie Coleman did. The subject for all three of the verb phrases is the pronoun She at the beginning of the sentence. The third verb phrase in the series ("took off into history") has no subject, so it would be inconsistent and illogical to state the subject of the second verb phrase in the series, as Choices A and C propose. Choice D proposes that, rather than being the second in the series of verb phrases, this should be a subordinate adjective clause describing the preceding noun, but there's no logical support for saying, "the runway's center mark . . . gave the engine full throttle." Practice Test Continued It was a long journey from the American Southwest she’d been born in 1893, to these French skies. 4. F. NO CHANGE G. Southwest that she'd been H. Southwest, where she'd been J. Southwest, she was The year in which she was born about a century ago. There hadn't been much of a future for her in Oklahoma then. 5. A. NO CHANGE B. It is now just about a century since the year of her birth. C. Just about a century has passed since the year of her birth. D. OMIT the underlined portion. Question Four 4. The best answer is H. It provides the relative pronoun and the punctuation that effectively relates this subordinate adjective clause to the main clause of this sentence. The main clause is as follows: "It was a long journey from the American Southwest to these French skies." The subordinate clause is describing or defining the American Southwest: "where she'd been born in 1893." Since this clause occurs in the middle of the main clause and is not essential or restrictive information, it must be set off from the main clause. Choices F and G fail to do so. Choice J does set the phrase off with commas but fails to provide a pronoun that would effectively relate this clause to the main clause. Question Five 5. The best answer is D. The most appropriate decision is to delete the information-presented in Choices A, B, and C in different phrasings--that Bessie Coleman was born about a century ago. This information is a mere digression in terms of the focus or development of this essay. It sidetracks the readers. Besides, it provides information that readers could easily infer on their own, since they are told in the previous sentence that Coleman was born in 1893. Practice Test Continued After both semesters of the two-semester year at Langston Industrial College, Coleman headed for Chicago to see what could be done to realize a dream. Ever since she saw her first airplane when she was a little girl, Coleman had known that someday, somehow, she would fly. Try as she might, however, Coleman could not obtain flying lessons anywhere in the city. Then 6. F. NO CHANGE G. a year H. a year like two full semesters J. one year filled with two semesters she sought aid from Robert S. Abbott of the Chicago Weekly Defender. The newspaperman got in touch with a flight school in France that was willing to teach this determined young woman to fly. 7. A. NO CHANGE B. Abbott: C. Abbott, whose D. Abbott; Question Six 6. The best answer is G. It is the only choice that doesn't propose irrelevant or redundant information. Choices F, H, and J all propose unnecessarily long-winded and wordy ways of saying that Coleman headed for Chicago after a year at Langston Industrial College. It is just not important for readers to know that a year at Langston consisted of two semesters of schooling. Question Seven 7. The best answer is A. No punctuation is needed here between the noun ("Robert S. Abbott") and the prepositional phrase describing that noun ("of the Chicago Weekly Defender"). The use here of the colon (Choice B) or the semicolon (Choice D) is not called for. Choice C incorrectly proposes setting this prepositional phrase off from the main clause and introducing it with the relative pronoun that expresses possession (whose). Practice Test Continued While they’re, she had as one of her instructors Anthony Fokker, the famous aircraft designer. Bessie Coleman took a quick course in 8. F. NO CHANGE G. they're H. there, J. there, she had as French, should she settle her affairs, and sailed for 9. A. NO CHANGE B. as if to settle C. to settle D. settled Europe. Coping with a daily foreign language and flying in capricious, unstable machines held together with baling wire was daunting, but Coleman 10. F. NO CHANGE G. (Place after with) H. (Place after flying) J. (Place after in) persevered. Question Eight 8. The best answer is J. It proposes the correct form of the adverb (there) and ensures that the main clause is a complete sentence. Choices F and G are both wrong because they propose using the contracted form of they are. Although they're sounds like there, it has a different meaning, which would not make sense in the context of this sentence. Choice H proposes the correct adverb but also proposes deleting "she had as," which would create a sentence fragment: "While there, one of her instructors Anthony Fokker, the famous aircraft designer." Question Nine 9. The best answer is D. It logically presents this sentence as a series of three verb phrases, all in the simple past tense. Choices A, B, and C all incorrectly attempt to relate the second phrase in this series to the first phrase. There is no information in this essay nor any logic to support the idea that "Bessie Coleman took a quick course in French, to settle her affairs" (Choice C) or "took a quick course in French, as if to settle her affairs" (Choice B). Likewise, the sense of probability or expectation or futurity that might be expressed by "should she settle her affairs" has no logical support in the context of this essay. Question Ten 10. The best answer is H. This question asks the test-taker to decide the best placement of the word daily in the sentence. This word has the flexibility to serve as either an adverb or an adjective. Here, the most logical and appropriate place for this word would be after the word flying. In this arrangement, the word daily serves as an adverb modifying the verb preceding it: "Coping with a foreign language and flying daily in capricious, unstable machines held together with baling wire was daunting, but Coleman persevered." None of the other proposed placements make sense in the context of this sentence: Choice F would have daily functioning as an adjective ("a daily foreign language"). Choice G would seem to have the word functioning as an adverb, but it's hard to tell what the adverb would be describing ("Coping with daily a foreign language"). Choice J would have daily functioning as an adverb defining an adjective ("in daily capricious, unstable machines"). Today’s English Test Concepts Redundancy Parallel Construction Misplaced Modifiers Stylistic Choices Omit/Delete Option