ACT English : Punctuation Errors

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ACT English

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Example Questions

Example Question #162 : Correcting Grammatical Errors

In the last day of classes (1), everyone was distracted and unable to do their (2) work.  Even the teacher, which normally (3) was attentive and cheery, seems (4) unable to focus.  The final test took (5) way too long for everyone to complete, and many of students (6) had put down his head (7) on the desk.  The sound of the heat blowing through the room was enough to put everyone (8) to sleep, and the teachers' (9) eyes began drooping despite hisself (10).  After what seemed an eternity; (11) the bell had rung (12) and everyone, including the teacher, ran out of the room.

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number.  If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

eternity

NO CHANGE

eternity,

eternity:

Correct answer:

eternity,

Explanation:

The phrase "After what seemed an eternity" acts both as additional information and as an introductory phrase and therefore should be followed by a comma.

Example Question #502 : Act English

My lunch I had with my friend Gary (1) did not go very well. For one thing (2) he said he would come to pick me up (3) at noon. He normally texts me when he's outside, so I waited until 12:25.  Finally, at 12:30, he sends (4) a text: "Left my phone at home and had to come back to get it since you weren't downstairs waiting."

When he came back to get me, he was mad, at me. (5) "I couldn't find your doorbell," he shouted, "because there was no name tag on it, so I had gone (6) all the way home to get my phone just to text you!" (7)

"Wait a minute," I said, starting to get angry myself, "you're mad at me because you left your phone at home and you couldn't find my doorbell?"

"That's right," he replied __________ (8). "If you had been waiting downstairs, I would have had to not go through all of this." (9)

"But you're the one who left your phone at home," I countered, "and you always text me when you get here. Never have you asked me (10) to wait outside for you."

"Well, you should have," he muttered.

The rest of the day goes (11) downhill from there, all because my former friend Gary is (12) too proud to admit when he makes a mistake.

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

For one thing:

For one thing,

NO CHANGE

For one thing;

Correct answer:

For one thing,

Explanation:

Commas are generally used after introductory phrases such as "For one thing," but semicolons and colons are not.

Example Question #141 : Punctuation Errors

Many people watch football however (1) some do not. With (2) those who do not watch this sport (3) football is an incomprehensible pastime. Non football (4) fans cannot understand what is so exciting about watching two packs of grown men running away or toward each other, while (5) clinging for dear life to a piece of pigskin. It also makes from little to no sense (6) why those whom (7) play the sport gets (8) paid the exorbitant amounts that they do, even though he is (9) in effect doing the same thing that high school and college students do on a daily bases (10). But as the French would say, "Chacun à son goût" (11) though its (12) highly doubtful that most football fans (or even people who are not fans) would know what that means.

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

NO CHANGE

sport,

sport;

sport:

Correct answer:

sport,

Explanation:

The lengthy prepositional phrase that begins this sentence and ends in "sport" serves as an introductory phrase, and thus it should be followed by a comma.

Example Question #503 : Act English

Many people watch football however (1) some do not. With (2) those who do not watch this sport (3) football is an incomprehensible pastime. Non football (4) fans cannot understand what is so exciting about watching two packs of grown men running away or toward each other, while (5) clinging for dear life to a piece of pigskin. It also makes from little to no sense (6) why those whom (7) play the sport gets (8) paid the exorbitant amounts that they do, even though he is (9) in effect doing the same thing that high school and college students do on a daily bases (10). But as the French would say, "Chacun à son goût" (11) though its (12) highly doubtful that most football fans (or even people who are not fans) would know what that means.

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

other. While

other while

other; while

NO CHANGE

Correct answer:

other while

Explanation:

Since this is one complete sentence, no punctuation is required between these two words.

Example Question #21 : Comma Errors

Many people watch football however (1) some do not. With (2) those who do not watch this sport (3) football is an incomprehensible pastime. Non football (4) fans cannot understand what is so exciting about watching two packs of grown men running away or toward each other, while (5) clinging for dear life to a piece of pigskin. It also makes from little to no sense (6) why those whom (7) play the sport gets (8) paid the exorbitant amounts that they do, even though he is (9) in effect doing the same thing that high school and college students do on a daily bases (10). But as the French would say, "Chacun à son goût" (11) though its (12) highly doubtful that most football fans (or even people who are not fans) would know what that means.

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

NO CHANGE

goût."

goût,"

goût",

Correct answer:

goût,"

Explanation:

Since what follows this quotation is extra information, a comma is required, which should be placed inside the quotation mark.

Example Question #25 : Comma Errors

Ivan and Oscar, two little white mice living in Mrs. Wiggins house (1), were desperate for some cheese, but the only way to get to the kitchen was climbing down (2) the old suit of armor that Mrs. Wiggins brought (3) back from England after her honeymoon. Ivan had went down (4) to the kitchen many times before, but Oscar was new to it all and (5) he was more nervous than he would admit. They came out at the hole in the wall above the suit of armors (6) left shoulder, and Oscar watched as Ivan slipped fast (7) into the joins between the steel plates. He then heard Ivan scuttling down through the shoulder, chest, and the left leg (8) before emerging through the left foot below. "Come on down Oscar (9)" called the courageous mouse. Oscar made his way into the shoulder just as his friend had done, but (10) somehow got mixed up and ended up in the right arm. The twists and turns inside the armor were too complicated for his tiny, mousy (11) mind. Finally he called out, "Help, Ivan! Help! Wont (12) you help me make it through the knight?"

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

done: but

done but

done; but

NO CHANGE

Correct answer:

done but

Explanation:

No punctuation is required here since there is only one sentence and since what follows the conjunction "but" is not an otherwise independent clause.

Example Question #21 : Comma Errors

John was realizing (1) that if he ever wanted to get any work done (2) he needed to turn off his phone. Putting it on vibrate was not going to be enough (3). If it weren't (4) a message from a disgruntled student or an update to an app, it would be (5) a call from a relative or from a creditor. He has only recently realized (6) how ironic it is that "creditor" rhymes with "predator." (7) When the phone is on vibrate, he could feel it (8) from across the room which (9) makes it difficult for him to ignore it. Eventually he instituted a rule by which (10) he would only turn the phone on during certain hours of the day. At night he would turn it completely off, and he caught up (11) with his messages at lunchtime or dinnertime, but only if he were dining (12) alone. After that, he felt a little bit happier—but only a little bit.

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

NO CHANGE

that if he ever wanted to get any work done,

that, if he ever wanted to get any work done,

that, if he ever wanted to get any work done

Correct answer:

that, if he ever wanted to get any work done,

Explanation:

The phrase, "if he ever wanted to get any work done," is extra information and thus can be taken out of the sentence without harming the meaning; thus it can be set off in commas.

Example Question #144 : Punctuation Errors

John was realizing (1) that if he ever wanted to get any work done (2) he needed to turn off his phone. Putting it on vibrate was not going to be enough (3). If it weren't (4) a message from a disgruntled student or an update to an app, it would be (5) a call from a relative or from a creditor. He has only recently realized (6) how ironic it is that "creditor" rhymes with "predator." (7) When the phone is on vibrate, he could feel it (8) from across the room which (9) makes it difficult for him to ignore it. Eventually he instituted a rule by which (10) he would only turn the phone on during certain hours of the day. At night he would turn it completely off, and he caught up (11) with his messages at lunchtime or dinnertime, but only if he were dining (12) alone. After that, he felt a little bit happier—but only a little bit.

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

NO CHANGE

room; which

room, which

room: which

Correct answer:

room, which

Explanation:

The use of the comma here indicates that the clause that follows "which" refers to the fact that John can hear the phone vibrating across the room; it's not the room itself that makes it impossible for John to work.

Example Question #145 : Punctuation Errors

The Wowzer 25 (or W25) was regarded to be the best (1) video game system of all time when it came out. Wowzer released the Wowzer 25 in America during the year 1996 (2) as a follow-up to their last system, the Superduper Wowzer that (3) was released (4) in America five years before. The W25 derives its name from its resolution being 25-bit (5) which is something no other console had done before. (6) With 25-bit resolution, a player could finally roam a 3-D world with Wowzer’s mascot WowMan. Being able to play in a 3-D world was groundbreaking; it was an experience gamers at the time would not forget. (7) The W25’s graphics were good and then became even better after Wowzer had released (8) an expansion pack that increased the W25’s RAM from 4 megabytes to 8. (9) As the console grew, the graphics were becoming (10) better and better since (11) developers became more comfortable developing their games for it. (12)

Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."

Possible Answers:

Wowzer which

NO CHANGE

Wowzer, that

Wowzer, which

Correct answer:

Wowzer, which

Explanation:

The phrase, "the Superduper Wowzer," is additional information in the sentence and thus should be set off in commas.

Example Question #171 : Correcting Grammatical Errors

Adapted from “Authority: The Unavoidable” in What’s Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton (1912)

The important point here is only that you cannot get rid of authority in education. It is not so much that parental authority ought to be preserved. The more, important truth, is that such authority cannot be destroyed. Mr. Bernard Shaw once said that he had hated the idea of forming a child's mind. In that case, Mr. Bernard Shaw had better hang himself, for he hates something inseparable from human life. I only mentioned [earlier in the book] the drawing out of the child’s abilities in order to point out that even this mental trick does not avoid the idea of parental or scholastic authority. The educator drawing out is just as arbitrary and coercive as the instructor’s action, for he draws out what he chooses. He decides what in the child shall be developed and what shall not be developed.

The only result of all this pompous distinction between the “educator” and the “instructor” is who the instructor pokes where he likes and the educator pulls where he likes. Exactly the same intellectual violence is done to the creature whom is poked and pulled. We must all except the responsibility of this intellectual violence, whether from poking or from pulling.

Education is violent; because it is creative. It is such because it is human. It is as reckless as playing on the fiddle, as dogmatic as drawing a picture, as brutal as building a house. In short, it is what all human action is, it is an interference with life and growth. After that it is a trifling and even a jocular question whether we say of this tremendous tormentor, the artist Man, that he puts things into us like a pharmacist or draws things out of us.

Which of the following is the best form of the underlined section?

Possible Answers:

After that it is a trifling and even a jocular question

After that it is a trifling, and even a jocular, question

After that, it is a trifling and even a jocular question

After that it is a trifling, and even, a jocular question

Correct answer:

After that, it is a trifling and even a jocular question

Explanation:

There are only two options that should be somewhat tempting: 

(1) "After that, it is a trifling and even a jocular question"

(2) "After that it is a trifling and even a jocular question" (NO CHANGE)

The other options provided include rather peculiar (and incorrect) uses of commas. Between the two options noted above, (1) makes more sense because it separates the temporal phrase "after that" from the subject of the body of the sentence.

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