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Example Questions
Example Question #5 : Commas
There once was a shepherd boy who sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He was hot and exhausted fanning himself, rapidly in a feeble attempt to cool himself down. On top of that, he had never been so bored before. To amuse himself, he decided to play a joke. He put his hands around his mouth and yelled in a loud voice, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”
They came running. They asked the boy, “What’s going on? Did you yell ‘A wolf is chasing the sheep?’”
The boy laughed. “It was just a joke, everyone.”
The people fumed, but they all returned to their homes.
The next day, the boy bored again decided to amuse himself again. He bellowed, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the townspeople came running. Once they arrived and witnessed the laughing boy, they realized they’d been tricked a second time. Nonetheless, they returned home and irritated resolved to never fall for the trick again for the third time.
The next day, the boy was watching his sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf appeared from behind the bushes. With its teeth bared, the boy cowered as the wolf approached the sheep. Terrified, he called, “Help! A wolf! A wolf is here!” The people ignored his cries. “That mischievous boy,” they all said to one another. “He must think he can fool us again.” But not one of them came running.
No one was there to witness as the wolf ate every last sheep on the hillside, as the boy helplessly cowered behind a bush. As the boy hid, he shook his head. “I shall never fib again,” he resolved to himself.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
To bemuse himself he decided to play a joke.
NO CHANGE
To amuse himself: he decided to play a joke.
To amuse himself; he decided to play a joke.
NO CHANGE
The underlined sentence is correct as written. The introductory phrase "to amuse himself," is correctly separated from the main clause "he decided to play a joke" with a comma. The introductory phrase accurately and necessarily contextualizes the simple subject-verb-object main clause. All of the other options, in fact, add grammatical or punctuation errors.
Example Question #6 : Commas
The Moluccas is a chain, or archetype, of islands belonging to Indonesia. Historically, these islands were known as the Spice Islands for their abundance of nutmeg, cloves, mace, and pepper, this profundity of spices eventually drew colonial attention. Spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, anise, and pepper were particularly popular during medieval times. In the 1600s, the Spice Wars arose as a result of competing Portuguese and Dutch interest’s in the Spice Islands. The bloody conflict ended in the deaths of many native Moluccans as well as European traders, wherefore both Portugal and the Netherlands gained and lost territories ranging from Africa and South America. To this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements. It is located just west of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean, and its more than 1,000 islands are home to more than 2 million people today.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
NO CHANGE
To this day strife occasionally breaks out on the islands although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements.
To this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands, although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements.
To this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands; although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements.
To this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands, although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements.
The underlined sentence, "To this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements," contains an independent clause (“To this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands”) and a dependent clause (“although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements”), so a comma must be used to separate them. A comma is also needed after introductory phrases such as “To this day.” Semi-colons can never be used to join a dependent clause to an independent clause, neither can a colon.
Example Question #7 : Commas
Canoeing in white-water, the fast, shallow sections of water in a river, can be both exhilarating and terrifying.
white-water the fast, shallow sections of water in a river,
white-water the fast, shallow sections of water in a river
white-water; the fast, shallow sections of water in a river,
NO CHANGE
NO CHANGE
In this example, we are tested on the use of commas to separate modifying clauses and items in a list. In the sentence, “the fast, shallow sections of water in a river” is a nonessential, appositive modifying phrase, and should thus be offset with commas. Our original construction effectively accomplishes this, while separating the two adjectives describing the sections of water, “fast” and “shallow”, with a comma. “white-water the fast, shallow sections of water in a river” lacks the necessary punctuation to separate the appositive modifier, while “white-water the fast, shallow sections of water in a river,” seems to begin the modifier at the word “shallow,” an illogical construction in this example. Finally, “white-water; the fast, shallow sections of water in a river,” inappropriately separate a dependent clause “Canoeing in white-water” with a semicolon, whereas a semicolon should be used to separate two independent clauses.
Example Question #81 : Act English Test
Many people admire the melodic lilt of Portuguese a language derived from Latin, yet few of them are successful in learning this difficult language.
NO CHANGE
of Portuguese, a language derived from Latin
of Portuguese, a language derived from Latin,
of, Portuguese a language derived from Latin,
of Portuguese, a language derived from Latin,
In this example, we are tested on the use of commas to separate a non-essential modifier in the sentence. Here, “a language derived from Latin” functions as an appositive modifier (a noun phrase that renames another noun) modifying “Portuguese.” The answer choice that reads “of Portuguese, a language derived from Latin,” is our correct answer, as it appropriately separates the non-essential, appositive modifier “a language derived from Latin” with commas on either side. All other answer choices either omit one of those two necessary commas or misplace the comma before Portuguese, where it would be illogical in the context of the sentence.
Example Question #82 : Act English Test
The river curves through the desert like a ribbon twisting, and bending for hundreds of miles.
ribbon twisting and bending,
ribbon, twisting, and bending,
NO CHANGE
ribbon, twisting and bending
ribbon, twisting and bending
In this example, we are tested on the use of commas to separate a modifying clause in a sentence. Here, “twisting and bending for hundreds of miles” is a participial modifier modifying the river, and should be offset by a comma. “ribbon, twisting and bending” accomplishes this, as it separates the complete modifying phrase, “twisting and bending for hundreds of miles”, with a comma. The original construction makes the mistake of locating the comma after twisting - an illogical construction since the modifier begins with the word “twisting.” Similarly, “ribbon twisting and bending,” seems to introduce the start of the modifier at “for hundreds of miles,” and does not encompass the full modifying phrase. “ribbon, twisting, and bending,” seems to introduce three items in a list, which is also illogical, as ribbon, twisting, and bending, cannot logically be constructed as three parallel items in a list.
Example Question #82 : Act English Test
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and your family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
NO CHANGE
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy but some will be for things you buy all the time.
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy and some will be for things you buy all the time.
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, but some will be for things you buy all the time.
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, but some will be for things you buy all the time.
This question asks you to correct a comma splice error. A comma splice occurs when two complete sentences are joined with just a comma. We have two options to correct a comma splice. We can either replace the comma with a period to create two complete sentences, or we can use a comma and a conjunction. In this context, the second sentence provides a contrast to the first sentence, so it is appropriate to use a comma and the conjunction “but.” Eliminating the comma creates a run-on sentence even if the conjunction "but" is added. The use of the conjunction "and" is grammatically correct, but it is not as strong a choice since it does not communicate the contrast between the two sentences.
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