ACT (American College Testing) English Flashcards

24 sample cards from the English deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. What is the difference between denotation and connotation?

   Denotation is a word's literal dictionary meaning; connotation is the emotional or associative meaning it carries (positive, negative, or neutral).

2. What is the central goal of 'Eliminating Wordiness' (conciseness) questions?

   Choose the shortest answer that clearly and fully expresses the idea without redundancy or grammatical error—conciseness is valued when meaning is preserved.

3. On ACT conciseness questions, what is a useful rule of thumb about answer length?

   When all options are grammatically correct and convey the same meaning, the most concise (often shortest) choice is usually correct.

4. Define 'redundancy' as penalized on the ACT and give an example.

   Redundancy is needlessly repeating the same idea in different words. Example: 'past history,' 'each and every,' 'sum total,' or 'unexpected surprise.'

5. Is 'DELETE the underlined portion' often the correct choice on the ACT, and why?

   Yes, frequently—when the underlined words are redundant, irrelevant, or add no needed information, deleting them produces the most concise correct sentence.

6. What is the difference between a complete sentence and a fragment?

   A complete sentence (independent clause) has a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought; a fragment lacks one of these or is a dependent clause standing alone.

7. What is a comma splice and how is it fixed?

   A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Fix it with a period, a semicolon, a comma + coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS), or by subordinating one clause.

8. What is a run-on (fused) sentence?

   Two or more independent clauses joined with no punctuation or conjunction between them; fix as you would a comma splice.

9. List the FANBOYS coordinating conjunctions.

   For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

10. How do you correctly join two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction?

    Use a comma before the FANBOYS conjunction: 'Independent clause, and independent clause.'

11. What is a misplaced or dangling modifier, and how is it corrected?

    A modifier placed so it describes the wrong word (or no clear word). Correct it by placing the modifier next to the word it logically modifies—often the subject right after an introductory phrase.

12. What is faulty parallelism, and give a corrected example.

    Mixing grammatical forms in a series. Incorrect: 'hiking, to swim, and biking.' Correct (parallel): 'hiking, swimming, and biking.'

13. What does subject-verb agreement require on the ACT?

    A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, regardless of intervening prepositional phrases or clauses.

14. In subject-verb agreement, how do you handle words between the subject and verb?

    Ignore intervening prepositional phrases/modifiers and match the verb to the true subject (e.g., 'The box of pens IS,' not 'are').

15. What is pronoun-antecedent agreement?

    A pronoun must agree in number and gender with the noun it refers to (its antecedent): singular antecedent → singular pronoun, plural → plural.

16. What is verb tense consistency on the ACT?

    Verb tenses must remain consistent within a passage unless a logical time shift requires a change; pick the tense matching the surrounding context.

17. Distinguish 'who' vs. 'whom.'

    'Who' is a subject pronoun (does the action); 'whom' is an object pronoun (receives the action). Test: if you can answer with 'he,' use 'who'; if 'him,' use 'whom.'

18. What is the rule for using commas with a nonessential (nonrestrictive) clause or phrase?

    Set nonessential information off with commas (or a pair of commas/dashes); essential (restrictive) information takes no commas.

19. How is a semicolon used correctly on the ACT?

    To join two closely related independent clauses, or to separate items in a list that already contain commas. Each side of a clause-joining semicolon must be a complete sentence.

20. What are the two main correct uses of a colon?

    To introduce a list, explanation, or quotation after a complete independent clause. What precedes the colon must be a complete sentence.

21. How do you form the possessive of a singular noun vs. a plural noun ending in -s?

    Singular: add 's (the dog's bone). Plural ending in -s: add only an apostrophe (the dogs' bones).

22. What is the rule for commas in a series (items in a list)?

    Separate three or more items with commas: 'red, white, and blue.' Do not place a comma before the first item or after the last.

23. When is a dash used correctly on the ACT?

    To set off a nonessential element or to mark an interruption/abrupt break; dashes used as a pair must both be dashes (not one dash and one comma).

24. What is the rule for a comma after an introductory phrase or dependent clause?

    Place a comma after an introductory element before the main clause: 'After the game, we ate.' / 'Because it rained, we stayed in.'

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