ACT English : Punctuation Errors
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ACT English
All ACT English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #142 : Correcting Grammatical Errors
The world is full of contradictions and I am full of them as well. Every person has their quirks and I am no exception. I love sports but I am also lazy I love animals, but I am not a vegetarian and I love teaching but I hate taking classes. With all these contradictions how does a person like me make sense? I would love to enlighten you!
How should the underlined portion be written to be grammatically correct?
contradictions; and I am full of them as well
contradictions, and I am full of them as well
contradictions and me too
contradictions: and I am full of them as well
NO CHANGE
contradictions, and I am full of them as well
Commas are used WITH conjunctions to separate two simple sentences. This sentence is made of two complete sentences joined by an "and;" therefore, it needs a comma before it.
Example Question #1 : Comma Errors
The world is full of contradictions and I am full of them as well. Every person has their quirks and I am no exception. I love sports but I am also lazy I love animals, but I am not a vegetarian and I love teaching but I hate taking classes. With all these contradictions how does a person like me make sense? I would love to enlighten you!
What would make the underlined portion grammatically correct?
quirks: and I am no
quirks, and I am no
quirks, I am no
NO CHANGE
quirks being I am no
quirks, and I am no
When separating two complete sentences with a conjunction (and, but, or), a comma needs to come before the conjunction.
Example Question #141 : Correcting Grammatical Errors
To begin I should explain how it is that I am a sports-lover but lazy. I have tried as many sports as have been possible in my life and I have enjoyed all of them. I had competed in national gymnastics which is probably the most holistically challenging for ten years. This sport took precedence in all of middle and high school for me. When I retired I took up sprinting. I ran for my university track team a D3 team don’t get too excited and performed as a top athlete in our conference. I fell in love with running so much that I even signed up to run cross country in the fall. Endurance is not my thing and that is part of why I am lazy. I played soccer one season because the team needed an extra body. I was an awful terrible soccer player but it was so much fun! I now ride horses and run for fun. I am lazy however because as I mentioned before I don’t have much endurance. I’m a sprinter through and through! I like the pain to be over in less than 60 seconds. I’ll run longer but I’m not usually happy about it. For as much as I love sports I also love to sit on my couch with potato chips and watch tv too! Generally I love athletics but I am a lazy relaxer also!
What would make the underline portion grammatically correct?
To begin: I should explain
To begin I should be happy to explain
To begin—I should explain
NO CHANGE
To begin, I should explain
To begin, I should explain
When a sentence starts with a prepositional phrase, if that prepositional phrase is not directly related to the subject of the sentence, it must be separated from the sentence with a comma. "To begin" is a transitional idea, not something directly related to "I must explain."
Example Question #1 : Comma Errors
To begin I should explain how it is that I am a sports-lover but lazy. I have tried as many sports as have been possible in my life and I had enjoyed all of them. I had competed in national gymnastics which is probably the most holistically challenging for ten years. This sport took precedence in all of middle and high school for me.
What would make the underlined portion grammatically correct?
my life, therefore, I
NO CHANGE
my life, and I
my life: and I
my life I
my life, and I
When two complete thoughts are separated by a conjunction, a comma must come before the conjunction.
Example Question #1 : Comma Errors
James, John and I should not be blamed for our errors in writing.
Which of the following is the best correction for this sentence?
James John and I should not be blamed for our errors in writing.
The sentence contains no errors.
None of the corrections listed here are correct.
James, John, and I should not be blamed for our errors in writing.
James, John, and I, should not be blamed for our errors in writing.
James, John, and I should not be blamed for our errors in writing.
When listing two or more items in a series wherein the last item is preceded by "and," a comma should be included before the "and." The technical name for this sort of comma is the Oxford comma.
Example Question #1 : Comma Errors
When I retired I took up sprinting. I ran for my university track team a D3 team don’t get too excited—and performed as a top athlete in our conference. I fell in love with running so much that I even signed up to run cross country in the fall. Endurance is not my thing and that is part of why I am lazy. I played soccer one season because the team needed an extra body. I was an awful terrible soccer player but it was so much fun!
What would make the underlined portion grammatically correct?
When I retired and I took up sprinting.
Although I retired I took up sprinting.
NO CHANGE
When I retired: I took up sprinting.
When I retired, I took up sprinting.
When I retired, I took up sprinting.
Commas are necessary when a sentence begins with a dependent clause. (A dependent clause is a section of a sentence that cannot stand alone with the rest of the sentence, BUT the rest of the sentence could stand alone without it. Common words that begin dependent clauses are: because, when, although, if, etc.).
Example Question #2 : Comma Errors
When I retired I took up sprinting. I ran for my university track team a D3 team don’t get too excited—and performed as a top athlete in our conference. I fell in love with running so much that I even signed up to run cross country in the fall. Endurance is not my thing and that is part of why I am lazy. I played soccer one season because the team needed an extra body. I was an awful terrible soccer player but it was so much fun!
What would make the underlined portion grammatically correct?
and performed, as a top athlete in our conference.
NO CHANGE
and, performed as a top athlete in our conference.
and performed as a top athlete, in our conference.
and I perform as a top athlete in our conference.
NO CHANGE
Commas are not necessary before an "and" if what follows the "and" is not a complete sentence. They are also unnecessary before information at the end of a sentence that is pertinent to the sentence and not an afterthought.
Example Question #152 : Correcting Grammatical Errors
When I retired I took up sprinting. I ran for my university track team a D3 team don’t get too excited and performed as a top athlete in our conference. I fell in love with running so much that I even signed up to run cross country in the fall. Endurance is not my thing and that is part of why I am lazy. I played soccer one season because the team needed an extra body. I was an awful terrible soccer player but it was so much fun!
What would make the underlined portion of the passage correct?
I played soccer one season but the team needed an extra body.
I played soccer one season, because the team needed an extra body.
I played soccer one season because the team, needed an extra body.
I played soccer one season because, the team needed an extra body.
NO CHANGE
NO CHANGE
Commas are unnecessary when there is information in a sentence relevant and necessary for understanding it. The part of the sentence beginning with "because" is essential information for understanding the sentence. Any extra punctuation would be confusing.
Example Question #11 : Comma Errors
When I retired I took up sprinting. I ran for my university track team a D3 team don’t get too excited and performed as a top athlete in our conference. I fell in love with running so much that I even signed up to run cross country in the fall. Endurance is not my thing and that is part of why I am lazy. I played soccer one season because the team needed an extra body. I was an awful terrible soccer player but it was so much fun!
What would make the underlined portion of the sentence correct?
soccer player but it was so, much fun!
NO CHANGE
soccer player! But it was so much fun!
soccer player (but) it was so much fun!
soccer player, but it was so much fun!
soccer player, but it was so much fun!
Commas are placed before conjunctions to separate two complete thoughts in a compound sentence. Generally, it is not a good idea to begin a sentence with a conjunction: and, but, for, or.
Example Question #12 : Comma Errors
I now ride horses and run for fun. I am lazy however because as I mentioned before I don’t have much endurance. I’m a sprinter through and through! I like the pain to be over in less than 60 seconds. I’ll run longer but I’m not usually happy about it. For as much as I love sports I also love to sit on my couch with potato chips and watch tv too! Generally I love athletics but I am a lazy relaxer also!
What would make the underlined portion of the passage correct?
I now ride horses, and run for fun
NO CHANGE
I now ride horses and even though I run for fun
I now ride horses and—run for fun
I now ride horses and also running for fun.
NO CHANGE
Commas are only necessary in front of conjunctions when they join two complete sentences or when they end a list of three or more words. This sentence is short and the and only separates two things: ride and run.
All ACT English Resources
