ACT English : Punctuation Errors
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Example Question #111 : Apostrophe Errors
Over winter break, our AP Spanish class took a trip to South America to practice the language and learn more about different Spanish-speaking cultures. Before we left, every student had to get their vaccinations for yellow fever and typhoid. Our first stop was Bolivia. When we landed at El Alto airport the highest in the world, we could see the city of La Paz sprawling up the hillsides in the shadow of the Andes. The first day in La Paz, we went to the Witches’s Market, run by local yatiri. The yatiri are medical practitioners who perform healing rituals in they’re communities. At the market, we saw dried frogs, llama fetuses, herbs, and seeds, used in various rituals. After we visited La Paz, we traveled to Cochabamba. Cochabamba is Bolivia’s culinary capital, with delicious specialties such as salteñas and rellenos. In Cochabamba, we also climbed 1400 steps to see the Cristo de La Concordia statue, the tallest of it’s kind in South America. Next, we visited the salt flats of Uyuni. Several lagoons dotted the high desert landscape, some of who were full of flamingos!
On our way out of Bolivia, we stopped at Lake Titicaca on the Peruvian border. Because the lake’s elevation is over 12,000 feet, some of my classmates experienced a bit of altitude sickness. Despite the altitude sickness, everyone said they loved seeing the beautiful scenery and visiting the mysterious “floating islands” made of reeds. When we crossed the border into Peru, one of my classmates thought she had lost her passport. I would of had a panic attack! She ended up finding it buried in a pocket of her backpack and we were on our way.
My favorite part of Peru was our trek to the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. We spent four days hiking in the Andes on a trail to the ruins. Our guides, whom spoke Spanish, English, and Quechua, were very knowledgeable about the history, flora, and fauna in the region. Upon waking up the next morning, a beautiful sunrise greeted us and cast the mountains in its soft pink glow. After we explored the ruins, we took a train ride back to Cuzco. The next day, we flew to Lima and prepared to return home. I was sad to leave, but I know I would be back some day!
Select the answer choice that best corrects the bolded, underlined portion of the passage. If the sentence is correct as is, select NO CHANGE.
we went to the Witchs Market,
we went to the Witche's Market,
we went to the Witch's Market,
NO CHANGE
we went to the Witches' Market,
we went to the Witches' Market,
To make a plural noun ending in "s" possessive, simply add an apostrophe to the s. You do not need to add an additional s. Witch's is incorrect because it changes the subject from plural to singular (but for a singular subject would be ok). The other incorrect choices either misplace the apostrophe or do not include one at all.
Example Question #672 : Punctuation Errors
“The Common Good: The United Aim of Many” [22]
Among the many topics that are misunderstood [16] in political science, and political philosophy, the notion of the “common good” ranks foremost. Often, we think of the common good as being nothing more than getting “the most things for the most people.” For example, when a person makes multiple millions of dollars, people will often say, [17] “He should give back some of that money, for the sake of the common good.” Whether or not such people [18] should do this with his money, this is really an improper use of the expression the common good.
A better way to understand the common good is to think about common ends or common goals. An example will help to explain this. Think of a group of musicians on a stage. If all of these people came together to practice in the same room, we wouldn’t call them a symphony. [19] A mass of people just playing any music whatsoever are not a symphony. A symphony is an organized group; a mass of people is just a mass of people. Nothing physically differs regarding the mass of people and the symphony. [20] They are both made up of the same “stuff,” namely a group of musicians.
However, a common good changes [21] this mass into something that they never could be without that common good. [22] When these musicians come together to play the Dies Irae of Mozart, they become something that they never were as individuals. Each member of the group uses his or her personal skill for the sake of a new, common performance. Perhaps the tuba player loves to play loudly. Perhaps the lead violinist loves playing quickly. These preferences must be channeled and limited for the sake of the common enterprise of playing Mozart’s stirring piece of music. [23] The desires of the individual instrumentalists, whom play the music, no longer reigns supreme.
The common good unites this group. If you were to ask the tuba player, what are you doing, he would answer, “Taking part in the symphonic playing of the Dies Irae.” [24] Then, if you were to ask any other musician the same question, he or she would answer in the same way. The answer would not be, “playing the Dies Irae my way.” If that were the answer, the musician would not be part of the symphony. He or she would be doing something private, not something that is truly common.
How should underlined selection [22] be changed?
When these musicians' come together to play the Dies Irae of Mozart, they become something that they never were as individuals.
When these musicians' come together to play the Dies Irae of Mozart, they became something that they never were as individuals.
When these musicians came together to play the Dies Irae of Mozart, they become something that they never were as individuals.
NO CHANGE
NO CHANGE
As written, there are no errors in this sentence. All of the tenses are fine, and the word "musicians" does not require an apostrophe.
Example Question #121 : Apostrophe Errors
“John Adams—A Forgotten American Founder”
Sadly, the great exploits of important [46] men and women is often forgotten in the mists of history. The myths and historical tales of a nation can lead the people to forget [47] some of their most important founders and national heroes. In the United States of America, this kind of forgetfulness has occurred in the case of the Founding Father, John Adams. For a number of reasons, President Adams [48] had been forgotten. Recounting the [49] tales of the nations’ founding, many remember figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. [50] However, during those early years of the republic, Adams was a pivotal figure in assuring independence to the burgeoning nation.
[51] During the debates concerning the Declaration of Independence, Adams was something of a “chief orator,” tirelessly attempting to convince the gathered parties of the importance of declaring independence from England. [52] Adams a temperamental and passionate man, was the perfect person to fill such a role. In contrast to the judicious Franklin and the controlled and quiet Jefferson, he was fit for performing such oratorical shows and bombasts. [53] Although he joined Jefferson and Franklin on the drafting committee for the declaration, his most important work during this time was arguably this long project of oratory.
[54] In addition, many forget the lonely years Adams spent as a minister to France and as the first minister to England. What a difficult affair such posts would have been at the time. [55] As the minister to France, what weight could he have had with the court of such an old European nation? Furthermore, Adams [56] was not temperamentally [57] suited for French courtly customs being a stern and somewhat moralistic man. [58] Then, to be sent to England—how difficult that must have been. As the minister on behalf of a once-rebel nation, how could he stand before the Court of King James? Nevertheless, Adams served his [59] post nobly and deserves great recognition for this devoted service to his young nation.
Choose the answer that best corrects section [49].
NO CHANGE
the tales of the nations's founding
the tale of the nations' founding
the tales of the nation's founding
the tales of the nation's founding
Since the sentence is speaking of only one nation, you must use "nation" as the base for the possessive form. Once you have this base, you can then merely add the apostrophe and s, giving you "nation's." That is all that is needed!
Example Question #1 : Quotation Mark Errors
Adapted from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861)
As she applied herself to set the tea-things, Joe peeped down at me over his leg, as if he was mentally casting me and himself up and calculating what kind of pair we practically should make, under the grievous circumstances foreshadowed. After that, he sat feeling his right-side flaxen curls and whisker, and following Mrs. Joe about with his blue eyes, as his manner always was at squally times.
My sister had a trenchant way of cutting our bread and butter for us, that never varied. First, with her left hand she jammed the loaf hard and fast against her bib, where it sometimes got a pin into it and sometimes a needle, which we afterwards got into our mouths. Then, she took some butter (not too much) on a knife and spread it on the loaf, in an apothecary kind of way, as if she were making a plaster. She used both sides of the knife with a slapping dexterity and trimming and moulding the butter off round the crust. Then, she gave the knife a final smart wipe on the edge of the plaster and then sawed a very thick round off the loaf: which she finally, before separating from the loaf, hewed into two halves, of which Joe got one and I the other.
On the present occasion, though I was hungry, I dared not eat my slice. I felt that I must have something in reserve for my dreadful acquaintance, and his ally the still more dreadful young man. I knew, “Mrs. Joe's housekeeping to be of the strictest kind,” and that my larcenous researches might find nothing available in the safe. Therefore, I resolved to put my hunk of bread and butter down the leg of my trousers.
Which of the following is the best form of the underlined selection?
I knew Mrs. Joe's housekeeping to be of the strictest kind and
I knew, “Mrs. Joe's housekeeping was of the strictest kind,” and
NO CHANGE
I knew, “Mrs. Joe's housekeeping to be of the strictest kind”, and
I knew Mrs. Joe's housekeeping to be of the strictest kind and
There is no need for the set of quotation marks in the passage. Almost always, "know" is used with indirect quotations or statments. Later in the sentence, the author introduces an indirect statement by using "that." This thought is also indirectly mentioned, though there is no "that" used. Therefore, no quotation marks are necessary.
Example Question #1 : Correcting Quotation Mark Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
“I can’t believe he ate the entire cake,” she said, “Can you?”
cake” she said “Can you?”
cake,” she said. “Can you?”
cake” she said, “Can you?”
cake.” She said. “Can you?”
cake,” she said, “Can you?”
cake,” she said. “Can you?”
Double quotation marks are conventionally used to indicate speech, and commas are conventionally used inside the quotation marks to separate a line of speech from its subsequent dialogue tag. Because “‘Can you?’” is a separate sentence from “‘I can’t believe he ate the entire cake,’ she said,’” there must be a period after “she said” to separate the two sentences.
Example Question #1 : Quotation Mark Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
“Why does your so-called ‘fact sheet’ list obvious fallacies,” she asked?
“Why does your so-called ‘fact sheet’ list obvious fallacies?” she asked.
“Why does your so-called ‘fact sheet’ list obvious fallacies”? she asked.
“Why does your so-called “fact sheet” list obvious fallacies,” she asked?
“Why does your so-called ‘fact sheet’ list obvious fallacies,” she asked?
“Why does your so-called “fact sheet” list obvious fallacies?” she asked.
“Why does your so-called ‘fact sheet’ list obvious fallacies?” she asked.
Double quotation marks are conventionally used to indicate speech, and question marks are conventionally used inside the quotation marks to indicate the end of an interrogative sentence. Double quotation marks (without commas) are also conventionally used to indicate skepticism about a word or term, as with “fact sheet” here. However, because “fact sheet” is already within a set of double quotation marks, single quotation marks must be used.
Example Question #1 : Correcting Quotation Mark Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Did she say, "I'll take the car?"
Did she say, "I'll take the car"?
Did she say "I'll take the car"?
Did she say, "I'll take the car."?
Did she say, "I'll take the car."
Did she say, "I'll take the car?"
Did she say, "I'll take the car"?
This question is asking whether or not a phrase was said, and that phrase itself is not a question. If a question ends with a quoted statement that is not a question, the question mark will go outside the closing quotation mark.
Example Question #1 : Quotation Mark Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the underlined choices repeats the answer as it is written.
"What if the lost puppy really does belong to Jane," we thought as we drove to the veterinarian.
"What if the lost puppy really does belong to Jane,"
"What if the lost puppy really does belong to Jane?"
"What if the lost puppy really does belong to Jane",
"What if the lost puppy really does belong to Jane"
"What if the lost puppy really does belong to Jane"?
"What if the lost puppy really does belong to Jane?"
The error in this sentence comes from the fact that the underlined phrase is a question and therefore should end with a question mark, even when it is inside double quotation marks; therefore, the correct answer is "What if the lost puppy really does below to Jane?"
Example Question #2 : Quotation Mark Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the underlined choices repeats the answer as it is written.
"I don't believe you really wanted to drop the cake," Elena said, "In fact, I think it was totally an accident."
said, "In fact, I think it was totally an accident."
said - "In fact, I think it was totally an accident."
said. "In fact, I think it was totally an accident."
said? "In fact, I think it was totally an accident."
said; "In fact, I think it was totally an accident."
said. "In fact, I think it was totally an accident."
The error in this sentence is the incorrect punctuation used to separate Elena's first sentence from her second sentence. Since both sentences are complete thoughts, we should change the comma after "said" to a period ("said. 'In fact, I think it was totally an accident.'")
Example Question #5 : Quotation Mark Errors
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
"Don't walk there"! I shouted! "It's not safe."
"Don't walk there"! I shouted, "It's not safe."
"Don't walk there" I shouted! "Its not safe."
"Don't walk there!" I shouted. "It's not safe."
NO CHANGE
"Don't walk there," I shouted! "It's not safe."
"Don't walk there!" I shouted. "It's not safe."
Since the author admits he was shouting, we know to keep the exclamation point in the sentence. Secondly, the quotation marks go outside the punctuation mark, not outside of it, for all quotation marks except semicolons. Finally, "it's" requires the apostrophe because it is an abbreviation that can be replaced with "it is" in the sentence.
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