ACT English : Verb Formation Errors
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Verb Tense Errors
Humanities: This passage is adapted from chapter three of Sir John Lubbock’s The Pleasures of Life. The chapter is entitled “A Song of Books” and was written in 1887.
Of all the privileges we enjoy in this nineteenth century there is none, perhaps, for which we ought to be more thankful than for the easier access to books.
The debt we owe to books was well expressed and articulated by Richard de Bury, Bishop of Durham, author of Philobiblon, written as long ago as 1344, published in 1473, and the earliest English treatise on the delights of literature: "These,” he says, “are the masters who instruct us without rods and ferules, without hard words and anger, without clothes or money. If you approach them, they are not asleep; if you interrogate them, they conceal nothing; if you mistake them, they never grumble; if you are ignorant, they cannot laugh at you. The library, therefore, of wisdom is more precious than all riches, and nothing that can be wished for is worthy to be compared with it. Whosoever therefore acknowledges himself to be a zealous follower of truth, of happiness, of wisdom, of science, or even of the faith, must of necessity make himself a lover of books.”
This feeling that books are real friends is constantly present to all who love reading. “I have friends,” said Petrarch, “whose society is extremely agreeable to me; they are of all ages, and of every country. They have distinguished themselves both in the cabinet and in the field, and obtained high honors for their knowledge of the sciences. It is easy to gain access to them, for they are always at my service, and I admit them to my company, and dismiss them from it, whenever I please. They are never troublesome, but immediately answer every question I ask them. Some relate to me the events of past ages, while others reveal to me the secrets of Nature. Some teach me how to live, and others how to die. Some, by their vivacity, drive away my cares and exhilarate my spirits; while others give fortitude to my mind, and teach me the important lesson how to restrain my desires, and to depend wholly on myself. They open to me, in short, the various avenues of all the arts and sciences, and upon their information I may safely rely in all emergencies. In return for all their services, they only ask me to accommodate them with a convenient chamber in some corner of my humble habitation, where they may repose in peace; for these friends are more delighted by the tranquillity of retirement than with the tumults of society.”
“He that loveth a book,” says Isaac Barrow, “will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counsellor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, so in all fortunes.”
This feeling that books are real friends is constantly present to all who love reading. “I have friends,” said Petrarch, “whose society is extremely agreeable to me; they are of all ages, and of every country."
NO CHANGE
are
have been
could be
NO CHANGE
Verb tenses must remain consistent. The other verbs in this sentence show this sentence to be present tense (i.e., "is").
Example Question #1 : Verb Tense 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 am able to run longer but wasn't 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 grammatically correct?
I am able to run longer, but I wasn't usually happy about it.
None of the other answers
I am able to run longer but am not usually happy about it.
I am able to run longer but was not usually happy about it.
NO CHANGE
I am able to run longer but am not usually happy about it.
The first verb in the sentence is in the present tense; therefore, the second verb needs to be in the present tense also.
Example Question #1 : Verb Tense Errors
Construction on the tunnel began in 1988, and the tunnel had opened for passengers in 1994. However, the history of the Chunnel goes back all the way to 1802 when the idea of connecting the two countries across the narrow English Channel was first suggested by a man named Albert Mathieu.
opened
will have opened
NO CHANGE
open
opened
The paragraph is written in the simple past tense, so the verb "to open" must also be written in the simple past tense. The simple past tense of "to open" is "opened."
Example Question #1 : Verb Tense Errors
It was about halfway through his last set of conferences that Mr. Man realizes (1) he did not (2) much like his current set of students. Unlike his students in the past, none of them seemed to care about their (3) grades, (4) none of them was able to tell a dangling modifier from a participle, (4) and, apart from a few, (4) they didn't know (5) how to start a paper. He would never tell any of them this, of course, (6) they might get offended, and if there was one thing that Mr. Man learned (7) about teaching, its (8) that in order to keep one's job, you couldn't offend your students (9). As yet another student whined about not understanding Mr. Mans (10) perfectly clearly written assignments, he sighed inwardly (and possibly outwardly as well), (11) and waited for the last (12) one to finish so that he could get to the next one, finish his conferences, and get back to daydreaming about being anything but a teacher.
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."
NO CHANGE
realized
is realizing
had realized
realized
The rest of the sentence and the context of the paragraph suggests past tense, so this verb should be in the past tense.
Example Question #1436 : Act English
It was about halfway through his last set of conferences that Mr. Man realizes (1) he did not (2) much like his current set of students. Unlike his students in the past, none of them seemed to care about their (3) grades, (4) none of them was able to tell a dangling modifier from a participle, (4) and, apart from a few, (4) they didn't know (5) how to start a paper. He would never tell any of them this, of course, (6) they might get offended, and if there was one thing that Mr. Man learned (7) about teaching, its (8) that in order to keep one's job, you couldn't offend your students (9). As yet another student whined about not understanding Mr. Mans (10) perfectly clearly written assignments, he sighed inwardly (and possibly outwardly as well), (11) and waited for the last (12) one to finish so that he could get to the next one, finish his conferences, and get back to daydreaming about being anything but a teacher.
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."
is learning
has learned
NO CHANGE
had learned
had learned
The lesson about teaching is something that Mr. Man learned before the past tense events described in this paragraph, so the past perfect phrase "had learned" is appropriate.
Example Question #51 : Usage Errors
It was about halfway through his last set of conferences that Mr. Man realizes (1) he did not (2) much like his current set of students. Unlike his students in the past, none of them seemed to care about their (3) grades, (4) none of them was able to tell a dangling modifier from a participle, (4) and, apart from a few, (4) they didn't know (5) how to start a paper. He would never tell any of them this, of course, (6) they might get offended, and if there was one thing that Mr. Man learned (7) about teaching, its (8) that in order to keep one's job, you couldn't offend your students (9). As yet another student whined about not understanding Mr. Mans (10) perfectly clearly written assignments, he sighed inwardly (and possibly outwardly as well), (11) and waited for the last (12) one to finish so that he could get to the next one, finish his conferences, and get back to daydreaming about being anything but a teacher.
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."
it's
it was
its'
NO CHANGE
it was
The rest of the phrase is in past tense, so this part should reflect that by changing the "is" in "it's" to "was," thereby negating the contraction.
Example Question #1 : Verb Tense 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."
has seemed
NO CHANGE
seeming
seemed
seemed
The tense of the entire passage is past tense, making "seemed" the correct answer.
Example Question #2 : Verb Tense 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."
was taking
had taken
NO CHANGE
will be taking
was taking
The past continuous tense ("was taking") is used here to show that the test took a long time to complete during the past event of the last day of school.
Example Question #31 : Verb Formation 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."
rang
had been ringing
was ringing
NO CHANGE
rang
The action of the bell ringing refers to a single event in the past, so the simple past tense of "rang" is appropriate.
Example Question #1 : Verb Tense Errors
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."
he said he would be coming to pick me up
he said he will come to pick me up
he said he would have been coming to pick me up
NO CHANGE
NO CHANGE
The sentence is fine as originally phrased: the other revisions either create redundancy or change the verb tense of the passage unnecessarily.
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