ACT English

Sentence Structure

Correct sentences include:

1. Subject

2. Verb

3. Complete thought

Sentence Fragments

An in complete sentence missing a subject, verb, and/or complete thought.

Run-Ons

2 or more independent clauses that are incorrectly combined.

Correctly separate independent clauses with:

1. A period

2. A semicolon or colon

3. A comma and a conjunction

Commas and Dashes

Separate nonessential information from the rest of the sentence. It’s nonessential if you can remove it and the sentence is still correct.

Ex: The Segway, invented by Dean Kamen, was heralded as revolutionary at the time of its debut.

Colons

Signal new information after a complete thought.

Ex: One of the smallest animals on Earth is also one of the toughest: the humble tardigrade.

Verb Agreement

Verbs much match the noun that is taking the action

Ex: I swim, he swims

Verb Tense

Verbs must match the time they took place.

Ex: She swam- past, She swims- present, She will swim- future

Verb Parallelism

Verbs in a list must have the same form.

Pronoun-Noun Agreement

Make sure the pronouns in singular or plural to match the object it’s replacing.

Pronoun Form

Check if pronoun is replacing a subject or object.

Object: The thing being acted upon

Subject: The thing doing the action

Spelling Pronouns

Its (possessive pronoun) vs it’s (it is)

Their (possessive pronoun) vs there (location) vs they’re (they are)