ACT English

Independent Clause

a complete thought that can stand alone as a sentence

dependent clause

adds information to an independent clause, and it cannot stand alone as a sentence

Phrase

a group of words that work together in a sentence but does not contain a subject or a verb

ex:Filled with joy, the girl jumped up and down. The man with the red jacket is my father.

commas

shows the readers where to pause, used to list more than 3 things, 2 independent clauses, and phrases

Sentence fragments

missing a subject and a verb.

Run-on sentences

two thoughts stuck together

what are the 5 type of compound sentences

1.) compound sentences with coordinating conjunctions (like "and", "but")

2.) compound sentences with a semicolon

3.) compound sentences using conjunctive adverbs (like "however", "therefore")

4.) elliptical compound sentences (where a part of the second clause is omitted)

5.) compound sentences with a coordinating conjunction and a conjunctive adverb

commas and fanboys

Put a comma before coordinating conjunctions

comma splice

when two independent clauses are incorrectly joined with a comma

semicolons

used to connect two complete thoughts when the second thought adds a new or different idea

colons

used between two complete thoughts when the second one explains or summarizes the first