Download English ACT Prep - CP World Literature 2011-2012

English ACT Prep
Grammar and Usage
The English test is a 75-question, 45-minute test,
covering:
Usage/Mechanics
(53% - 40 questions)
• Punctuation
(13%)
• Grammar and usage (16%)
• Sentence structure (24%)
Rhetorical Skills
(47% or 35 questions)
• Strategy
(16%)
• Organization
(15%)
• Style
(16%)
The English test is a 75-question, 45-minute test,
covering:
Usage/Mechanics
(53% - 40 questions)
• Punctuation
(13%)
• Grammar and usage (16%)
• Sentence structure (24%)
Rhetorical Skills
(47% or 35 questions)
• Strategy
(16%)
• Organization
(15%)
• Style
(16%)
Grammar and Usage
Grammatical Rules Most Tested:
• Noun-pronoun agreement
• Pronoun-case agreement
• Subject-verb agreement
• Verb tense
• Proper placement of adverbs and adjectives
• Correct use of idiom
Pronouns
Words used to replace nouns.
(he, she, it, they, etc.)
Pronoun Rule Number 1
Agreement
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
A pronoun must always agree with the noun it
refers to.
Sound Simple?
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Any young boy who watched the first moon
landing probably spent the next few years
wishing that they could become an astronaut.
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Any young boy who watched the first moon
landing probably spent the next few years
wishing that they could become an astronaut.
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Any young boy who watched the first moon
landing probably spent the next few years
wishing that they could become an astronaut.
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Any young boy who watched the first moon
landing probably spent the next few years
wishing that he could become an astronaut.
Commonly Used Singular Nouns
Singular Pronouns
Subject
Object
Possessive
I
Me
My
You
You
Mine
He
Him
Your
She
Her
Yours
It
It
His
Hers
Its
Commonly Used Plural Nouns
Plural Pronouns
Subject
Object
Possessive
We
Us
Our
You
You
Ours
They
Them
You
Yours
Their
Theirs
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Neither of the two young girls with whom I
watched the first moon landing expressed
their feelings out loud, but I knew that all
three of us wanted to be astronauts too.
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Neither of the two young girls with whom I
watched the first moon landing expressed
their feelings out loud, but I knew that all
three of us wanted to be astronauts too.
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Neither of the two young girls with whom I
watched the first moon landing expressed
their feelings out loud, but I knew that all
three of us wanted to be astronauts too.
Be careful with Indefinites!
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
The following indefinite pronouns are singular:
Either
Neither
Each
Anyone
No one
Everyone
Everybody
Somebody
Anybody
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Neither of the two young girls with whom I
watched the first moon landing expressed
their feelings out loud, but I knew that all
three of us wanted to be astronauts too.
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Neither of the two young girls with whom I
watched the first moon landing expressed
their feelings out loud, but I knew that all
three of us wanted to be astronauts too.
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
Identify the error in the sentence below:
Neither of the two young girls with whom I
watched the first moon landing expressed
her feelings out loud, but I knew that all three
of us wanted to be astronauts too.
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
On the ACT:
Although the American
bald eagle has been on the
endangered species list for
years, they have been
sighted in wildlife preserves
much more frequently
during the past two years.
A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
they are
it can be
it has been
Pronoun Rule #1: Agreement
On the ACT:
Although the American
bald eagle has been on the
endangered species list for
years, they have been
sighted in wildlife preserves
much more frequently
during the past two years.
A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
they are
it can be
it has been
Pronoun rule #2
Case
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
If a pronoun is the subject of the sentence, it
must be expressed as a subject:
I, we, he, she , it ,they, and who
If a pronoun is the object of the sentence, or
the object of the preposition, it must be
expressed as an object:
me, us, you, him, her, it, them, and whom.
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
If a pronoun is the subject of the sentence, it
must be expressed as a subject:
I, we, he, she , it ,they, and who
If a pronoun is the object of the sentence, or
the object of the preposition, it must be
expressed as an object:
me, us, you, him, her, it, them, and whom.
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
Which choice best fits the sentence below?
(She/Her) bought a souvenir NASA sweatshirt.
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
Which choice best fits the sentence below?
(She/Her) bought a souvenir NASA sweatshirt.
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
Which choice best fits the sentence below?
Jane bought a souvenir NASA sweatshirt for
(he/him).
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
Which choice best fits the sentence below?
Jane bought a souvenir NASA sweatshirt for
(he/him).
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
Who/Whom
Who/Whom
Let’s look at a correct example:
The T.V. announcer, who was quite an expert,
told us many interesting facts about the lunar
mission.
Who/Whom
Let’s look at a correct example:
The T.V. announcer, who was quite an expert,
told us many interesting facts about the lunar
mission.
Always use “who” when the relative pronoun is
functioning as the subject of a clause, or as
the subject of the entire sentence
Who/Whom
Let’s look at a another correct example:
Before the moon landing, the T.V. announcer gave
some additional background on the astronauts,
about whom we were all quite interested.
Who/Whom
Let’s look at a another correct example:
Before the moon landing, the T.V, announcer gave
some additional background on the astronauts,
about whom we were all quite interested.
Always use “whom” when the pronoun is
functioning as the object of a preposition, or of
the entire sentence.
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
On the ACT:
The students, who had
been studying the space
program, were thrilled to
witness the lunar landing.
A. NO CHANGE
B. about who had been
studying the space
program
C. whom had been
studying the space
program
D. who had been studying
the space program
Pronoun Rule #2: Case
On the ACT:
The students, who had
been studying the space
program, were thrilled to
witness the lunar landing.
A. NO CHANGE
B. about who had been
studying the space
program
C. whom had been
studying the space
program
D. who had been studying
the space program
Verbs
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb of a sentence must always agree with
its subject:
• If the subject is singular, then the verb must
be singular.
• If the subject is plural, then the verb must be
plural.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb of a sentence must always agree with
its subject:
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.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb of a sentence must always agree with
its subject:
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.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb of a sentence must always agree with
its subject:
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.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb of a sentence must always agree with
its subject:
The best moment during a broadcast filled with
many great moments was when the astronaut
stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced
on the moon.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb of a sentence must always agree with
its subject:
The best moment were when the astronaut
stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced
on the moon.
?
Subject-Verb Agreement
Be careful with subjects that are pronouns!
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must still agree with the subject, even
if it is just a pronoun:
Each of these moments have played in my mind
again and again as I try to recapture the
excitement of that momentous day in June.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must still agree with the subject, even
if it is just a pronoun:
Each of these moments have played in my mind
again and again as I try to recapture the
excitement of that momentous day in June.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must still agree with the subject, even
if it is just a pronoun:
Each of these moments have played in my mind
again and again as I try to recapture the
excitement of that momentous day in June.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must still agree with the subject, even
if it is just a pronoun:
Each of these moments has played in my mind
again and again as I try to recapture the
excitement of that momentous day in June.
Subject-Verb Agreement
A strategy to use when you come across a
subject-verb agreement question is to isolate
the subject and the verb, even physically
placing parentheses around all the extra
words, phrases or clauses in between.
Verb Tense
Verb Tense
A review…
Present Tense (what is happening now):
He runs the 440 in 50 seconds.
Verb Tense
A review…
Past Tense (what happened entirely in the past):
He ran the 440 in 50 seconds.
Verb Tense
A review…
Present Perfect Tense (action started in the
past, but may continue into the present):
He has run the 440 in 50 seconds in the last four
races.
Verb Tense
A review…
Past Perfect Tense (happened in the past and
preceded another event in the past):
He had run 100 yards when he twisted his ankle.
Verb Tense
A review…
Future Tense (will happen sometime down the
road):
He will run the race next Saturday.
Verb Tense
A review…
Future Perfect Tense (will be completed by a
definite time in the future):
He will have finished the race by next Saturday.
Verb Tense
ACT is looking for inconsistencies.
(If a verb in a non-underlined portion of the
sentence is in one tense, the verb in the
underlined portion will tend to be in the same
tense.)
Verb Tense
What’s wrong with the following sentence?
Sam is walking down the street when he found a
large suitcase?
Verb Tense
What’s wrong with the following sentence?
Sam is walking down the street when he found a
large suitcase?
Verb Tense
What’s wrong with the following sentence?
Sam is walking down the street when he found a
large suitcase?
Verb Tense
Two fixes:
Sam is walking down the street when he finds a
large suitcase.
Or
Sam was walking down the street when he
found a large suitcase.
Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives and Adverbs
Two basic rules:
1. Adjectives modify nouns
2. Adverbs modify verbs
Adjectives and Adverbs
A simple procedure:
Put the word you are now sure about in the
following sentence:
He/She/It is very _____.
If the word fits the blank, then the word is an
adjective.
Adjectives and Adverbs
Let’s try it out:
He is very intelligent.
He is very intelligently.
Adjectives and Adverbs
Let’s try it out:
He is very intelligent.
(adjective)
He is very intelligently.
(adverb)
Adjectives and Adverbs
Comparative Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives and Adverbs
A comparative adjective is often used when a
sentence is comparing two things:
Juanita is taller than Jane.
Adjectives and Adverbs
A comparative adjective is often used when a
sentence is comparing two things:
Juanita is taller than Jane.
Adjectives and Adverbs
In general, if an adjective has only one syllable,
you can make it comparative by adding an “er” to the end of the word.
If an adjective has more than one syllable, you
can usually make it comparative by adding a
“more” or “less” in front of the adjective.
Adjectives and Adverbs
If an adjective has more than one syllable, you
can usually make it comparative by adding a
“more” or “less” in front of the adjective:
Sid is more careful than Tom.
Tom is less careful than Sid.
Adjectives and Adverbs
A comparative adverb is often used when a
sentence is comparing two actions:
Juanita dances more gracefully than Jane.
Adjectives and Adverbs
A comparative adverb is often used when a
sentence is comparing two actions:
Juanita dances more gracefully than Jane.
Adjectives and Adverbs
To make most adverbs comparative, you also
need to add a “more” or “less” in front of the
adverb:
Sid behaves more correctly than Tom does.
Tome behaves less correctly than Sid does.
Adjectives and Adverbs
Superlative Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives and Adverbs
When more than two things are being
compared, a sentence often needs a
superlative adjective:
Of the many men in the room, John is the
strongest.
Adjectives and Adverbs
When more than two things are being
compared, a sentence often needs a
superlative adjective:
Of the many men in the room, John is the
strongest.
To make a comparison among three or more
people or things, add “est” to the adjective.
Adjectives and Adverbs
When more than two actions are being
compared, a sentence often needs a
superlative adverb:
Compared to the other boys in the school, Sid
behaves the most correctly.
Adjectives and Adverbs
When more than two actions are being
compared, a sentence often needs a
superlative adverb:
Compared to the other boys in the school, Sid
behaves the most correctly.