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Preparing for the ACT English Exam

Preparing for the ACT English Exam. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SCORE YOUR BEST RIGHT NOW by Ann Futrell. KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. 7 5 QUESTIONS IN 45 MINUTES---BE READY TO WORK QUICKLY. HAPPY TO KNOW THAT SOME Q’S ARE JUST GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?.

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Preparing for the ACT English Exam

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  1. Preparing for the ACT English Exam WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SCORE YOUR BEST RIGHT NOW by Ann Futrell

  2. KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT 75 QUESTIONS IN 45 MINUTES---BE READY TO WORK QUICKLY.

  3. HAPPY TO KNOW THAT SOME Q’S ARE JUST GRAMMAR QUESTIONS? On the test 1 answer will either be the ONLY right answer or will be the BEST answer. YOU JUST HAVE TO RECOGNIZE IT, not tell why it is right. (See? Things could be a lot worse!)

  4. Some areas you could have to know about are these: • Verb Forms and Tenses • Verb Moods • Subject-Verb Agreement • Conjunctions • Prepositions • Pronouns

  5. Verbs • ACTION VERBS---These can be in different forms and tenses. They may have helpers and have different endings, but they show what someone or something does.

  6. Verb Moods—Never heard of them? Yes, you have. • Indicative—makes a statement like “I have five dollars.” • Imperative----states a command or request like “Please open the door.” • Interrogative----asks a question like “What’s for lunch?”

  7. The one you may not know: SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD • It is used to wish, speculate, or consider something hypothetical. This is called CONTRARY TO FACT. • We use the plural verb for this: • I wish Bill were coming today. (But he’s not.) • If Sheila were more studious, she would not be grounded. (But she’s not.) • If I were in charge, I’d go. (But I’m not.)

  8. MORE ON THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD • In the present tense, we change to be to just be. Here are some examples. I ask that you be at tomorrow’s meeting. “I ask” is the main subject and verb “Be” is not the normal verb that you would put with “you.” The meeting hasn’t happened yet.

  9. Another example of subjunctive mood Mr. Steven’s only requirement is that everyone be quiet during the guest speaker’s program. • Sometimes the word “that” comes before the subjunctive.

  10. SUBJECT –VERB AGREEMENT • THESE TWO MUST AGREE IN NUMBER. The problems come in when other words are between them.

  11. THINGS LIKE PHRASES AND CLAUSES • Skyscrapers, first developed in Chicago, dominates many cities’ skylines. • Skyscrapers,…dominate... • The books on the bottom shelf was damaged by the leak. • The books…were damaged…

  12. One special problem with S-V Agreement is indefinite pronouns. • THREE GROUPS: • #1 Group---These always take singular verb (each, neither, either, anyone, no one, nobody, and others). • Each of them (is, are) ready to go. • Each of them is ready to go. • Neither of the answers (is, are) correct. • Neither of the answers is correct.

  13. #2 Groups of Indefinite Pronouns • These always take a plural verb: • Both • Several • Many • Few • These are obviously more than one, so use a plural verb no matter what.

  14. #3 THE THIRD GROUP THAT CAN SWING EITHER WAY • These can be either singular or plural depending on the rest of the sentence. • All of it is tarnished. • All of them are coming. • Most of it has been eaten. • Most of them left their notebooks. • The KEY?? Look at the phrase after the pronoun. NORMALLY YOU DON’T, BUT WITH INDEFINITE PRONOUNS YOU LOOK!

  15. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: EITHER/NEITHER • Either John or the girls (is, are) going to Alabama Monday. • Either John or the girls are going to Alabama Monday. • Neither the girls nor John (is, are) going to Alabama Monday. • Neither the girls nor John is going to Alabama Monday. So, if you have a singular AND a plural subject, the verb agrees with the closer one.

  16. CONJUNCTIONS HAVE TO JOIN TWO COMPLETE THOUGHTS • Remember F-A-N-B-O-Y-S? Only use commas before these conjunctions (unless the clauses have lots of commas. Then you have to use a semicolon.) • Since I was in college, I have traveled to and worked in Laramie, Wyoming, and Brooklyn, New York, just to name a couple a places; but, I have never been to Texas.

  17. Wrong ways to join two independent clauses • We went to Wal-Mart, then we went home. This is a COMMA SPLICE. It’s a very common error. “Then” is not a conjunction (not in FANBOYS.) • We went to Wal-Mart but we didn’t buy anything much. This is a RUN-ON sentence. It needs punctuation. In this sentence, put a comma before “but.”

  18. ONE MORE ERROR TO SPOT We went to Wal-Mart after dinner; just left without buying any toothpaste. The first part is fine, but the second part cannot stand alone as a complete thought. It needs a subject for “left.” IF YOU SEE A SEMICOLON, THINK WHY IT’S THERE.

  19. PREPOSITIONS: Can you recognize them? They are everywhere!!

  20. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE FACTS • THEY ARE NEVER THE SUBJECT OR VERB OF A SENTENCE. • THEY ARE IN THE SENTENCE JUST TO ADD DETAIL or CLARIFY A RELATIONSHIP The dog in the truck is my neighbor’s new dog. (adj.-which dog?) The dog is barking on the porch.(adv.-where did the barking occur?)

  21. PRONOUNS: THEY STAND FOR NOUNS PERSONAL • I, You, He, She, It, We, They—These are subjects and predicate nominatives. • me, you, him, her, it, us, them----These are always objects.

  22. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS SHOWS OWNERSHIP • Possessive---my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs • NOTE: THERE IS NOOOOO APOSTROPHE! (Its/it’s is a favorite ACT question.)

  23. RELATIVE PRONOUNS LINK GROUPS OF WORDS • Relative---who, whom, which, that, whose (sometimes when and where)---These often begin adjective clauses. • The man who is my stepfather got off the bus. • Mr. Jones, who is my stepfather, got off the bus. • DO YOU KNOW WHY ONE SENTENCE USES COMMAS and THE OTHER ONE DOESN’T? OK, WE NEED TO TALK…

  24. There are even MORE types of pronouns! But, we’ll stop there. • Always use himself, not hisself, and themselves, not themselfs. • Don’t let another noun confuse you. If you wouldn’t say, “Me went to town,” then “Me and Dad went to town” isn’t right either. Take out the other name to check yourself. “Dad and I went…”

  25. ADJECTIVES: peaceful, colorful, beautiful, serene

  26. BUT, sometimes phrases are adjectives and need commas. Running down the road, deer swerved in front of my truck. “Running down the road” describes “deer.” The participial phrase will describe the nearest noun automatically.

  27. More deer Running down the road, I swerved my truck to keep from hitting the deer. This has the phrase misplaced. “I” could not be running down the road and swerving my truck at the same time.

  28. THE SOLUTION TO A MISPLACED MODIFIER QUESTION? WHAT TO DO: First figure out what makes sense in the sentence. Next pick the answer that has the phrase closest to noun/pronoun it is describing. Still make sense?

  29. ADVERBS CAN DESCRIBE 3 PARTS OF SPEECH 1. VERBS---- Sue is walking rapidly. 2. ADJECTIVES----Bridgette is very tall. 3. OTHER ADVERBS----She is walking very rapidly.

  30. COLONS: Announce or introduce a list, quotation, or example. • We took four boys camping with us: Ben, Sam, Bill, and Joe. • Shakespeare said it best: “To or not to be?” • The owner found that he had work to do: floors to repair, wiring to replace, and sheetrock to remove.

  31. COLON: Explains what came before Life is a climb: half the fun is trying to get to the top.

  32. TIME FOR A STRETCH? MAYBE. MAYBE NOT.

  33. COHERENCE: “It makes sense as a whole. It hangs together logically.” • Each paragraph should have one main idea. The sentences in each paragraph should develop that ONE idea.

  34. TRANSITIONS: • Don’t expect to see these transitions: • Firstly • Secondly • Lastly • In conclusion • Therefore • YOU MIGHT GET LUCKY, BUT YOU WILL WILL PROBABLY SEE SOME OF THE ONES ON THE NEXT SLIDE.

  35. TRANSITIONS: • Do you know what these words mean? Nonetheless Subsequently Conversely Hence Consequently Besides

  36. REDUNDANCY: Using words that mean the same thing. • PHRASES THAT ARE REDUNDANT: • CIRCLE AROUND • CLOSE PROXIMITY • EACH AND EVERY • ADDED BONUS • MISSING GAP • PAST HISTORY • DESCEND DOWN • FREE GIFT • UNEXPECTED SURPISE IF YOU SEE ANYTHING LIKE THESE, YOU ARE PROBABLY DEALING WITH A REDUNDANCY QUESTION. GO FOR THE ANSWER THAT IS THE CLEAREST ONE THAT DOESN’T REPEAT WORDS. SHORT CAN BE GOOD AND THE CORRECT ANSWER!!

  37. STYLE, TONE, AND CLARITY 1. The purpose of the telephone was invented to facilitate communication. 2. The telephone was invented to facilitate communication. 3. The movie lacks depth and has an absurd ending. 4. The movie is lame, and you know what’s gonna happen. The first is formal style, and the second is informal.

  38. DASH: To emphasize an idea • The cake was very pretty----but definitely poisonous.

  39. DASH: Showing an interruption • What I was saying to you----as if you ever listen to me, young man----was that you need to clean out the garage this weekend before the party. • Note: Did anybody notice the comma between “me” and “young man”? Why is that?

  40. The ACT will be a challenge, but you will not be at sea! Strategies!

  41. Wondering what to do instead of wandering around without a plan?

  42. Study a bit and practice online to see the types of questions on the test.

  43. Go to bed. Sleep. Eat breakfast. Maybe not this, but your brain cries out, “Protein! Give me protein! (whimper)”

  44. YOU ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. SUPPORT EACH OTHER. STUDY!!!

  45. DON’T STRESS. TAKE A DEEP BREATH. DO YOUR BEST, AND GOOD LUCK!!

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