ACT English Grammar

Grammar

The study and application of combining words to form sentences.

Subject/Verb Agreement

Subject and verb must agree in person, number, and voice.

Person (Verb Agreement)

1st: I am; 2nd: You are; 3rd: She is.

Number (Verb Agreement)

Singular/plural agreement: “He was” vs. “They are.”

Voice (Active)

Subject performs the action. Example: The dog licked my brother.

Voice (Passive)

Subject receives the action. Example: My brother was licked by the dog.

Tense

Shows when an action occurs: past, present, future.

Simple Past

Completed in past. Jenny worked yesterday.

Past Progressive

Ongoing action in past when another event happened. Jenny was working when the alarm sounded.

Past Perfect

One past event before another. Jenny had worked before college.

Simple Present

Habitual action. Jenny works at the mall.

Present Progressive

Happening now. Jenny is working until 9.

Present Perfect

Started in past, ongoing. Jenny has worked there 2 years.

Future

Will happen. Jenny will work next summer.

Future Progressive

Will be happening when another future event occurs. Jenny will be working when her friends arrive.

Future Perfect

Completed before another future action. Jenny will have worked 3 years by graduation.

Used to/Would

Habitual past actions. I would buy floats.

Going to (Progressive)

Near future. The girls are going to have dinner.

Nouns

Words naming people, places, things.

Proper Nouns

Specific, capitalized.

Common Nouns

General, not capitalized.

Pronouns

Replace nouns, must be clear in reference.

Subject Pronouns

Replace subject noun. I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

Possessive Determiners

Show ownership before noun. My, your, his, her, its, our, their.

Possessive Pronouns

Replace noun & show possession. Mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

Object Pronouns

Used as object. Me, you, him, her, it, us, them.

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflect action back to subject. Myself, yourself, himself, ourselves, etc.

Relative Pronouns (Subject)

Who (human), which/that (non

Relative Pronouns (Object)

Whom (human), which/that (non

Relative Pronoun (Possessive)

Whose. Poe, whose stories are chilling.

Indefinite Pronouns

Refer to non

Singular Pronouns (Gender Neutral)

Use his or her, not their. A child should be with his or her parent.

Verb Forms

4 principal forms: write, wrote, writing, written.

Simple Past vs. Past Participle

I saw (past), I had seen (past participle).

Perfect Tense

Uses “have” + past participle. She has eaten.

Parallel Verbs

Maintain form. He rides and starts NOT He rides and started.

Conditional Sentences

“If” clause + “would.” If I were you, I’d run.

Tense Sequences

Simple past/past progressive: The light was changing when the crash happened.

Past perfect: They had left before she arrived.

Present/future: I will buy lunch if you wash my car.

Run

on Sentence

Fixing Run

on

Comma Splice

Two sentences joined by just a comma. Fix with semicolon or period.

Sentence Fragment

Incomplete sentence. Because of the cold weather.

Fixing Fragment

Attach it properly. Because of the cold weather, my car won’t start.

Misplaced Modifier

Modifier is too far from word it modifies. Girl was walking her dog in a raincoat.

Fix Modifier

The girl in a raincoat was walking her dog.

Parallelism

Similar structure for similar parts. She likes running, biking, and swimming.

Faulty Parallelism

She likes running and to bike.

Commonly Misused Words:
Accept, Except

Accept = receive. She accepted the invite. Except = exclude. Everyone except Jill.

Affect, Effect

Affect = verb. It affects me. Effect = noun. It had a big effect.

All ready, Already

All ready = prepared. He is all ready. Already = previously. They already left.

Among, Between

Among = 3+ things. Between = 2 things.

Amount, Number

Amount = uncountable. Amount of water. Number = countable. Number of people.

Assure, Ensure, Insure

Assure = promise. Ensure = make certain. Insure = insurance.

Bring, Take

Bring = toward. Take = away.

Capital, Capitol

Capital = city/money. Capitol = gov building.

Compare to/with

Compare to = likeness. Compare with = analyze.

Complement, Compliment

Complement = complete. Compliment = praise.

Eager, Anxious

Eager = excited. Anxious = worried.

Farther, Further

Farther = distance. Further = more/degree.

Fewer, Less

Fewer = countable. Less = uncountable.

Imply, Infer

Imply = speaker suggests. Infer = listener concludes.

Its, It’s

Its = possessive. It’s = it is.

Lay, Lie

Lay = put (takes object). Lie = rest (no object).

Learn, Teach

Learn = gain knowledge. Teach = give knowledge.

Lend, Borrow

Lend = give. Borrow = take.

Precede, Proceed

Precede = come before. Proceed = continue.

Principal, Principle

Principal = person/money. Principle = rule/truth.

Set, Sit

Set = place something. Sit = be seated.

Than, Then

Than = comparison. Then = time/order.

That, Which

That = essential info, no commas. Which = extra info, with commas.

There, Their, They’re

There = place. Their = possessive. They’re = they are.

To, Too, Two

To = preposition. Too = also/excess. Two = number.

Your, You’re

Your = possessive. You’re = you are.