ACT English : Word Usage Errors
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Example Questions
Example Question #111 : Pronoun Usage Errors
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Elyse and Anna put on his or her boots and went for a hike.
his and her boots
her boots
their boots
NO CHANGE
they're boots
their boots
You need a plural possessive form because you have two people putting on boots. "Their" is correct ("they're" is incorrect as it means "they are" and is not possessive)
Example Question #112 : Pronoun Usage Errors
Select the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the sentence is correct as is, select "NO CHANGE."
Most budgeting guidelines say that nobody should spend more than one third of their income on rent, but some cities are so expensive that this is difficult to do.
more than one third of your income
NO CHANGE
more than one third of they're income
more than one third of there income
more than one third of his or her income
more than one third of his or her income
"Nobody" is singular and needs the singular possessive pronouns "his or her," as a general, plural non-gendered subject is being used
Example Question #113 : Pronoun Usage Errors
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
The lizard bobbed it's head up and down in a mating display.
bobbed they're head
NO CHANGE
was bobbing it's head
bobbed their head
bobbed its head
bobbed its head
The possessive form of "it" does not have an apostrophe (but you still need to use the singular "it" to modify "lizard").
Example Question #121 : Pronoun Usage Errors
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
You need to pick up you're clothes from the dry cleaner.
get you're clothes picked up
be picking up you're clothes
pick up they're clothes
NO CHANGE
pick up your clothes
pick up your clothes
The possessive form of "you" does not have an apostrophe, it is simply "your." "You're" always stands in for "you are."
Example Question #122 : Pronoun Usage Errors
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
They moved into they're new house yesterday.
NO CHANGE
theyre new house
they new house
there new house
their new house
their new house
The correct possessive form of they is "their." They're is the conjunction "they are." Anytime you see "they're" you should be able to replace it with "they are" and maintain the flow and structure of the sentence.
Example Question #111 : Pronoun Case Errors
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
The owl ruffled its feathers, startled by the sound of a wolf howling in the distance.
NO CHANGE
it's
it is
it
its'
NO CHANGE
This question asks you to choose the grammatically correct form of a possessive pronoun. In this sentence, the feathers belong to the owl, so a possessive form should be used for the pronoun that replaces the subject, "owl." The correct possessive form of the pronoun "it" is "its." The form "it's" should only be used as a contraction of "it is," not as a possessive pronoun. "Its'" is not a word at all. Replacing the possessive form with a non-possessive pronoun, "it," or with a pronoun and verb, "it is," would not make sense in this sentence.
Example Question #1734 : Act English
Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.
She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.
Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend. He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
his
its'
its
her
NO CHANGE
its
This question asks you about the correct possessive form of a pronoun. In this passage, we do not know the gender of the dog, so it is correct to use a neutral pronoun, "it," rather than the possessive forms "his" or "hers." The correct possessive form of the pronoun "it" is "its." The form "it's" should only be used as a contraction of "it is," and "its'" is not a word at all.
Example Question #124 : Pronoun Usage Errors
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, select “NO CHANGE.”
Did you get your ice cream yet? I am still waiting to get my one.
mine
mine one.
NO CHANGE
my
it
mine
This question asks you about the correct use of a possessive pronoun. In this sentence, the pronoun is replacing the noun group, "my ice cream." The correct possessive first-person pronoun is "mine." The use of "my one" in the original sentence is awkward. Using "it" rather than a possessive pronoun is confusing in this context, incorrectly suggesting that the narrator is waiting for the other person's ice cream.
Example Question #122 : Pronoun Usage Errors
“The Dark Ages?” by Matthew Minerd (2016)
There are two different ways to consider the so-called “Dark Ages.” On the one hand, you can think of the period directly after the fall of the Roman Empire, when civilization began to collapse throughout the Western Empire. On the other hand, you can consider the period that followed this initial collapse of society. It is a gross simplification too use the adjective dark to describe the civilization of either of these periods.
As regards the first period it is quite a simplification to consider this period to be a single historical moment. It is not as though the civilization switched off like a lightbulb. At one moment light and then, at the next, dark. Instead, the decline of civilization occurred over a period of numerous decades and was, in fact, already occurring for many years before the so-called period of darkness. Thus, the decline of civilization was not a rapid collapse into barbarism, but instead, was a slow alteration of the cultural milieu of a portion of Europe. Indeed, the Eastern Roman Empire retained much of it’s cultural status during these years of decline!
More importantly, the period following the slow collapse of the Western Empire was much less “dark” than almost every popular telling states. Indeed, even during the period of decline, the seeds for cultural restoration was being sown. A key element of this cultural revival were the formation of monastic communities throughout the countryside of what we now know as Europe. Although these were not the only positive force during these centuries, the monasteries had played an important role in preserving and advancing the cause of culture through at least the thirteenth century and arguably until the Renaissance.
How should the underlined selection be changed?
NO CHANGE
Indeed, the Eastern Roman Empire retained much of it’s cultural status, during these years of decline!
Indeed, the Eastern Roman Empire retained much of its cultural status during these years of decline!
Indeed, the Eastern Roman Empire retained much of it’s cultural status, during these years of decline.
Indeed, the Eastern Roman Empire retained much of it’s cultural status during these years of decline.
Indeed, the Eastern Roman Empire retained much of its cultural status during these years of decline!
As written, the sentence misuses "it's," which is the contracted form of "it is." In the sentence, "its" is a possessive pronoun describing "cultural status." Therefore, it should be in the possessive form "its," not the contracted form of "it is," "it's."
Example Question #21 : Possessive Pronoun Errors
The committee decided to grant Larry a scholarship, despite him not having completed one of the sections of the application. It was a scandalous event in the Admissions Committee, and one that would be discussed for years to come.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded and underlined portion of the passage. If the bolded and underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
despite
in spite of
even though
despite his
NO CHANGE
despite his
This question asks you about the correct use of a possessive pronoun. A possessive pronoun should be used before a gerund (-ing) verb like "having," since a gerund is a verb in noun form. The correct possessive form, therefore, is "his." The sentence cannot be corrected simply by removing the word "him," since that structure incorrectly suggests that it was the committee, not Larry, who forgot to fill out a section.
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