ACT English : Correcting Grammatical Errors
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Example Question #1641 : Act English
Adapted from “Emerson’s Prose Works” in The Works of Orestes A. Brownson: Philosophy of Religion by Orestes Brownson (ed. 1883)
Mr. Emersons literary reputation is established and placed beyond the reach of criticism. No living writer surpasses him in his mastery of pure and classic English; nor do any equal him—neither in the exquisite delicacy and finish of his chiseled sentences, or in the metallic ring of his style. It is only as a thinker and teacher that we can venture any inquiry into his merits; and as such we cannot suffer ourselves to be imposed upon by his oracular manner, nor by the apparent originality either of his views or his expressions.
Mr. Emerson has had a swarm both of admirers but also of detractors. With many, he is a philosopher and sage, almost a god; while with others, he is regarded as an unintelligible mystic, babbling nonsense fitted to captivate beardless young men and silly maidens with pretty curls, all of who constituted years ago the great body of his hearers and worshipers. We rank us in neither class, though we regard he as no ordinary man. Indeed, we believe he to be one of the deepest thinkers as well as one of the first poets of our country. Indeed, by long acquaintance have him and us been in mutual contact—if only from a distance at times. We know him to be a polished gentleman, a genial companion, and a warmhearted friend, whose' kindness does not pass over individuals and waste itself in a vague philanthropy. So much, at least, we can say of the man, and this do we base not only upon former personal acquaintance and upon our former study of his writings.
What is the correct form of the bolded selection, "though we regard he as no ordinary man"?
though we regard he like no ordinary man
though we regard him as no ordinary man
though we regarded him as no ordinary man
NO CHANGE
though we regard him as no ordinary man
The main issue with the sentence as written is the fact that the direct object of "regard" is not in the proper objective form. The personal pronoun "he" should be rendered "him" when it functions as an object. The incorrect answer that has "him" but likewise changes the verb "regard" to "regarded" is less acceptable than the correct answer because there is nothing in the sentence (or the context) to justify shifting the tense into the past.
Example Question #31 : Pronoun Usage Errors
Adapted from “Emerson’s Prose Works” in The Works of Orestes A. Brownson: Philosophy of Religion by Orestes Brownson (ed. 1883)
Mr. Emersons literary reputation is established and placed beyond the reach of criticism. No living writer surpasses him in his mastery of pure and classic English; nor do any equal him—neither in the exquisite delicacy and finish of his chiseled sentences, or in the metallic ring of his style. It is only as a thinker and teacher that we can venture any inquiry into his merits; and as such we cannot suffer ourselves to be imposed upon by his oracular manner, nor by the apparent originality either of his views or his expressions.
Mr. Emerson has had a swarm both of admirers but also of detractors. With many, he is a philosopher and sage, almost a god; while with others, he is regarded as an unintelligible mystic, babbling nonsense fitted to captivate beardless young men and silly maidens with pretty curls, all of who constituted years ago the great body of his hearers and worshipers. We rank us in neither class, though we regard he as no ordinary man. Indeed, we believe he to be one of the deepest thinkers as well as one of the first poets of our country. Indeed, by long acquaintance have him and us been in mutual contact—if only from a distance at times. We know him to be a polished gentleman, a genial companion, and a warmhearted friend, whose' kindness does not pass over individuals and waste itself in a vague philanthropy. So much, at least, we can say of the man, and this do we base not only upon former personal acquaintance and upon our former study of his writings.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
we believe him to be one
NO CHANGE
we believe, he to be, one
we believe, him to be, one
we believe that he to be one
we believe him to be one
The problem here is the fact that "he" is functioning as the object of the verb "believe"—even though you are likely to read the sentence, "We believe that he is." That is the sense of the formation "him to be," but since we have a believe about him, it is necessary to render "he" in the proper object form, namely, him. The incorrect option with commas adds extra punctuation where it is not necessary.
Example Question #514 : Word Usage Errors
Adapted from “Emerson’s Prose Works” in The Works of Orestes A. Brownson: Philosophy of Religion by Orestes Brownson (ed. 1883)
Mr. Emersons literary reputation is established and placed beyond the reach of criticism. No living writer surpasses him in his mastery of pure and classic English; nor do any equal him—neither in the exquisite delicacy and finish of his chiseled sentences, or in the metallic ring of his style. It is only as a thinker and teacher that we can venture any inquiry into his merits; and as such we cannot suffer ourselves to be imposed upon by his oracular manner, nor by the apparent originality either of his views or his expressions.
Mr. Emerson has had a swarm both of admirers but also of detractors. With many, he is a philosopher and sage, almost a god; while with others, he is regarded as an unintelligible mystic, babbling nonsense fitted to captivate beardless young men and silly maidens with pretty curls, all of who constituted years ago the great body of his hearers and worshipers. We rank us in neither class, though we regard he as no ordinary man. Indeed, we believe he to be one of the deepest thinkers as well as one of the first poets of our country. Indeed, by long acquaintance have him and us been in mutual contact—if only from a distance at times. We know him to be a polished gentleman, a genial companion, and a warmhearted friend, whose' kindness does not pass over individuals and waste itself in a vague philanthropy. So much, at least, we can say of the man, and this do we base not only upon former personal acquaintance and upon our former study of his writings.
What is the best form of the bolded selection, "by long acquaintance have him and us been in mutual contact"?
by long acquaintance, have we been in mutual contact
by long acquaintance have we been in mutual contact with each other
by long acquaintance have we been in mutual contact
NO CHANGE
by long acquaintance have we been in mutual contact with each other
Clearly, the problem with the selection is the fact that "him and us" are not appropriate forms of the personal pronouns that are to be used for "have been." Although the sentence is inverted, these two are the subjects of the verb. Therefore they should be in the form "he and we." This is awkward, however. It is perhaps most tempting merely to state, "we." However, notice that the author has used "we" to refer to himself. (This creates a slightly less personal tone than using "I.") In order to retain this tone, it is best to indicate that this new use of "we" indicates more than just the author himself. This is best done in the correct answer, which adds "with each other" to the end of the clause.
Example Question #23 : Subjective And Objective Pronoun Errors
The bayou was quiet, except for the sounds of insects, water and the occasional alligator. Jim was cleaning his blade, which he had recently used to dispatch one of the undead. His partner Bill and him had come out to the bayou for their nightly patrol and they had found a nest of the undead by an old abandoned dock.
"Hey, Bill!," he shouted gleefully, mindless of whether the noise would attract more undead. "Where'd you go, man?"
A noise to his left had startled him. He turned quick and saw the man who had been closest to him than a brother for the past six months walking slowly toward him.
"Whew," he said: "there you are." He went back to cleaning his blade. "I thought one of those things had got 'cha."
Standing in the dark, the light of the moon did not reach his partners face. The sudden silence caused Jim to look up again. "What's the matter with you, Bill?"
It was only when the thing that was once Bill stepped into the light and Jim saw the fresh bite on it's newly dead face that he realized what the matter was.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Him and his partner Bill
His partner, Bill, and him
His partner Bill and he
NO CHANGE
His partner Bill and he
Both "Bill" and the pronoun replacing Jim are being used as subjects in this sentence, which would make the correct pronoun "he." All of the other choices use "him," which is an objective pronoun.
Example Question #1301 : Correcting Grammatical Errors
The cat made it clear to Jeremy whom was the boss around the house. The only time it showed him any affection was when it was time for the cat to be fed, the moment at which it would rub up against his legs and purr loudly enough to be heard. But as soon as the food hit the cat dish, it would run to the dish, gorging itself, and then ignore him the rest of the day. If he attempts to pet the cat at any other time, it will hiss and spit at him trying to bite him. Playing with the cat was even worst because it would wait until Jeremy was dangling something over it's face and then leap up to sink its fangs into his' hand. Eventually he would give up trying to be affectionate toward the cat and simply interacted with it every morning at feeding time. It was safer that way.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
who's
whose
NO CHANGE
who
who
The object pronoun here needs to work as a subject ("who") rather than an object ("whom") to complete the phrase "is the boss," so "who" is more appropriate.
Example Question #516 : Word 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."
People fondly remember him as the physics teacher from whom they learned not only about solving physics problems but also about thinking critically and creatively.
from who
from which
by who
NO CHANGE
by whom
NO CHANGE
The personal pronoun takes the object form "whom." "Who" is the subjective form. In this sentence, the personal pronoun is functioning as the object of the preposition "from," so its objective form should be used. You would say "I learned from him," not "I learned from he," so use "whom" here.
Example Question #31 : Pronoun Case Errors
The newspaper was delivered every morning to him and I.
to he and me.
from him and I.
to me and him.
to he and I.
for him and I.
to me and him.
The underlined portion of the sentence is the object, and both words need to be in the objective form. "Him" is objective, but "I" should only be used as a subject. The correct answer is "to me and him."
Example Question #2 : Correcting Pronoun Errors: Case
Me and you have never seen eye to eye on any issue.
You and me
Me and you
I and You
You, me
You and I
You and I
The problem with the sentence is in the two pronouns underlined. The correct usage of the first person pronoun as an object is "I," not "me." Additionally, "you" should come before "I."
Example Question #2 : Correcting Pronoun Errors: Case
In the sentence below, select the phrasing of the underlined portion that produces the best sentence.
I know that Trudy is generally a kind girl, but I and her have never enjoyed spending time together.
but she and me have never enjoyed spending time together.
but she and I have never enjoyed spending time together.
but her and I have never enjoyed spending time together.
but I and her have never enjoyed spending time together.
but her and me have never enjoyed spending time together.
but she and I have never enjoyed spending time together.
The speaker and Trudy together form the subject of the underlined clause, and so both pronouns need to be subject pronouns. Of the options given here, "she and I" is the only one where this is the case ("we," of course, would also work).
Example Question #32 : Pronoun Usage Errors
Us and them are going to join together for the greater good.
Us and they
They and we
Us and them
Them and we
Them and us
They and we
The pronouns "us" and "them" are actually the object forms of their respective pronouns, but are used as the subjects of the sentence. Both words need to be changed into the subject forms. The correct answer choice is "They and we."
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