THE ULTIMATE CAPSTONE GUIDE TO THE ACT ENGLISH - HANDOUTS

HAND OUT MATERIAL

ENG -1 – FORM CHART

FORM

Present (NOW)

"BAKE" (REGULAR)

"EAT" (IRREGULAR)

"BE" (IRREGULAR)

He bakes cookies.

He eats chicken.

I am rude. He is

They bake cookies.

They eat chicken.

rude. They are rude.

He ate chicken.

He was rude.

They ate chicken.

They were rude.

He baked cookies.

Past (YESTERDAY) They baked cookies.

Past Participle

He has baked cookies.

He has eaten chicken.

The cookies were baked.

The chicken was eaten.

Present Participle

He is baking cookies.

He is eating chicken.

He is being rude.

making cookies is fun.

Eating chicken is fun.

Being rude is fun.

He should bake cookies.

He should eat chicken.

He will be rude.

He likes to bake cookies.

He likes to eat chicken.

He likes to be rude.

Infinitive

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He has been rude.

ENG -2 VERB CLASS EXERCISE -

My dogs (sleep/ slept) on my bed all the time BEFORE a trainer SHOWED me how to stop them.

-

The war is finally over, but its effects (were felt/ will be felt) FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.

-

Larry (brings / brought) some nuts and a loaf of bread WHEN HE GOES to the park so he can feed the ducks and the squirrels.

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We WORKED together to speed up the preparations for the party: I (cooked/will cook) dinner while Naomi CLEANED the dining room.

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WHENEVER I WENT fishing with my mother we (buy/ would buy) bait from the same shop about a mile from the lake.

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ENG -3 IRREGULAR VERBS AND PAST PARTICIPLES Infinitive

Simple Past

Past Participle

become

became

become

begin

begun

blow

began blew

break

broke

broken

bring choose

brought

brought

chose

chosen

come

came

come

drink

drank

drunk

drive

drove

driven

eat

ate

eaten

fall

fell

fallen

fly

flew

flown

forbid

forbade

forbidden

forget

forgot

forgotten

forgive

forgave

forgiven

freeze

froze

frozen

get

got

gotten

give

gave

given

go

went

gone

grow

grew

grown

hide

hid

hidden

know

knew

known

lay

laid

laid

lead

led

led

lie

lay

lain

ride

rode

ridden

ring

rang

rung

rise

rose

risen

run

ran

run

see

saw

seen

shake

shook

shaken

sing

sang

sung

speak

spoke

spoken

spring

sprang

sprung

steal

stole

stolen

swim

swam

swum

take

took

taken

teach

taught

taught

tear

tore

torn

throw

threw

thrown

wear write

wore wrote

worn written

blown

ENG-4 VERB SUMMARY 1.

When a verb is underlined, check the following: Subject and verb must agree in number, singular or plural.

To find the subject, ask: Who is performing the action of verb Ignore interrupting phrases and prepositional phrases.

One verb can have multiple subjects; one subject can have multiple verbs.

2.

Tense -

Look for time words. Verbs must refer to the right time.

Look at other verbs in the sentence. Verbs that occur at the same time must be in the same tense.

Look at verbs in nearby sentences.

3.

Irregular forms Watch out for special tenses: present perfect, past perfect, would Some verbs need irregular past tense forms.

Some irregular verbs' past participles are different from their simple past forms.

4.

Active vs. Passive In a passive verb, the subject does not perform the action. , In general, if we know who the actor is, don't use the passive.

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ENG-5 PRONOUN CLASS EXERCISE: In each of the following sentences, circle the appropriate pronoun form.

-

CUCUMBERS are generally considered to be vegetables, but its/ their structure more closely fits the botanical definition of fruit

-

Despite OUR growing interest in the processes of the brain, there is still much that they/ we don't understand about the way WE think.

-

The construction of the TOWERS had to be delayed because the architect decided to alter the materials with which it / they would be built.

- THE NAKED MOLE RAT is unique among mammals in that, due to the lack of a chemical called

“Substance P,” it /they cannot feel pain.

-

A well-written magazine article should be easily accessible for all READERS, regardless of its/their knowledge of the subject.

ENG -6 PRONOUN CLASS EXERCISE 2 In each of the following sentences, circle the appropriate pronoun form.

-

A pronoun must always agree in number with its/ it's ANTECEDENT.

-

You're/ Your LUCKY that you weren't in school today: you missed a pop quiz in math class.

-

Mr. and Mrs. Walsh are a little dim-witted, but their/ they're CHILDREN are actually quite bright.

-

I hope Professor Rodchenko WILL GIVE Sherwyn and I / me a good grade on our art project even though we turned it in late.

-

Located above the 23rd parallel, the Florida Keys are technically in a subtropical one, but their/ there CLIMATE is nonetheless considered tropical.

ENG -7 PRONOUN CLASS EXERCISE 3 In each of the following sentences, circle the appropriate pronoun form.

-

The factory employs over thirty WORKERS who are/ who is well trained in woodworking.

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The guy who's/ whose RENTING my apartment for the summer is a visiting student from France.

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Yesterday I got a chance to meet the district's SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, which/ who was a very friendly and charming person.

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After living in a dump for three years, I'd be happy to find an apartment that's/ whose WALLS are perpendicular to the floor.

-

Once a bill is approved by both houses of Congress, it is passed along to the President, who / whom it or sign it into law.

ENG-8 - PRONOUN CHART SUBJECT

OBJECT

POSSESSIVE

CONTRACTION

REFLEXIVE

me

my

I'm (I am

myself

you

you

your

you're (you are)

yourself

he

him

his

he's (he is) she's

himself

she

her

her

(she is)

herself

it

it

its

it's (it is) we're

itself

we

us

our

(we are) you're

ourselves

you

you

your

(you are) they're

yourselves

they

them

their

(they are)

themselves

who

whom

whose

who's (who is)

--------

which

which

whose

--------

--------

that

That/which

whose

That’s (that is)

--------

Singular

Plural

Relative

ENG-9 PRONOUN SUMMARY When a pronoun is underlined, check the following: 1. Agreement Pronouns and antecedents must agree in number, singular or plural.

To find the antecedent, ask: Who or what does the pronoun refer to?

Watch for vague pronouns, when the antecedent is unclear.

Watch for mystery pronouns, when there is no antecedent.

Be consistent with generic pronouns.

Sometimes nouns must agree with each other, too.

2.

-

Case Pronouns have different forms depending on their role in the sentence.

Subjects and objects use different forms.

Use reflexive pronouns when subject and object refer to the same thing.

Contractions use apostrophes, possessive pronouns do not.

-

Relative pronouns Relative pronouns are words like who, which, or that.

Verbs agree with the antecedent of the relative.

Relatives have cases just like regular pronouns.

Who is for people, which is for non-people.

That is generally interchangeable with which.

3.

ENG-10 – MORE COMONLY CONFUSED WORDS To is a preposition used with infinitive verbs.

Too means more than necessary.

I am too tired to go out.

I tried to solve the problem, but it was too hard.

Affect is a verb meaning produce a change.

Effect is a noun meaning a change.

The accident affected me deeply.

I still feel those effects today.

Accept means to receive.

Except is a preposition meaning but not.

I will accept any currency.... ...except Canadian dollars.

Principal means main or primary.

Principle means guiding rule.

I am the principal officer in the company.

I live by one principle: always be polite.

ENG-11 GRAMMAR & USAGE SUMMARY Here are the key rules to look out for on ACT Grammar questions 1.

Verbs - The verb must agree in number with the subject.

- The verb must be in the appropriate tense.

- Irregular verbs may have special forms.

- Don't confuse active and passive voice.

2.

Pronouns - A pronoun must agree in number with its antecedent.

- A pronoun's case is determined by its role in the sentence.

- Don't confuse contractions and possessive pronouns.

- Relative pronouns behave similarly to regular pronouns.

3.

Other issues - Adjectives describe nouns. Adverbs describe all other words.

- Comparatives compare two things, superlatives compare three or more.

- Make sure to use the correct prepositions.

- Your choice of preposition may affect the form of the verb that follows.

- Beware of commonly confused words: • Use would have", not would of'.

• Use "than" for comparisons, not then.

ENG-12 – RELATIVE CLAUSES SENTENCE

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE

DEPENDENT CLAUSE

I want to meet a woman who loves fishing.

I want to meet a woman

who loves fishing

Harold got a new bike, which he really liked.

Harold got a new bike

which he really liked that

The team that scores the most points will win.

The team will win

scores the most points

You have been a real jerk since you got your promotion.

You have been a real jerk

since you got your promotion

Once you finish your broccoli you can have dessert.

you can have dessert

Once you finish your broccoli

ENG-13 SENTENCE STRUCTURE SUMMARY Here are the key rules to look out for on ACT Sentence Structure questions: 1.Definitions - An independent clause can stand by itself as a sentence.

- A dependent clause cannot stand by itself as a sentence.

- A relative clause is a dependent clause with a relative pronoun that describes a single word in the sentence.

- A modifier is a phrase with no subject or verb that modifies something in the sentence.

2 Fragments - Every sentence must have at least one independent clause, or else it's a fragment.

- Fix a fragment by: • Turning a partial verb into a main verb.

• Removing unnecessary connectors or relative pronouns.

• Joining it to another sentence by removing the period.

3.Run-on sentences - Don't connect independent clauses with a comma alone, or with no connection at all.

- Fix a run-on by: • Separating the clauses with a period.

• sing a comma with a conjunction.

• Making one of the independent clauses a dependent clause or modifier.

4.Modifiers - A modifier at the beginning of a sentence must describe the subject of the main clause (the word right after the comma) or else it's a dangling modifier.

- A modifier at the end of a sentence may describe: • the subject, if there's a comma.

• the word next to it, if there's no comma - Prepositional phrases must be placed right after the words they describe.

5.Parallelism - Use parallel forms for parallel ideas.

- Look out for a list of three things or two things joined with and.

- Don't use and if the forms aren't parallel.

ENG – 14 – PRONOUNS AND APOSTROPHES It's means it is.

Its shows possession.

Its' is never correct.

It's a beautiful day! It is a beautiful day The dog wagged its tail. The tail belongs to the dog.

Never use its' for any reason.

You're means you are.

Your shows possession.

You're a jerk. You are a jerk.

Your fly is open. The fly belongs to you.

They're means they are.

Their shows possession.

There shows location.

They're going to win. They are going to win.

I like their uniforms. The uniforms belong to them.

Put it over there. I'm telling you where to put it. the man who's buying my car the man who is buying my car the man whose car I'm buying the car belongs to the man

Who's means who is.

Whose shows possession.

ENG-15 PUNCTUATION SUMMARY Here are the key rules to look out for on ACT Punctuation questions 1.

DO use commas: between independent clauses with a conjunction. around parenthetical phrases. in a list of three or more. with coordinate adjectives. before a direct quote. around sentence adverbs.

2.

DON'T use commas: between subject and verb or verb and object. before infinitives. before or in the middle of prepositional phrases. with a two-part list (two nouns or verbs with a conjunction). with a "that" clause. before restrictive clauses.

3.

Apostrophes Plurals take -s, possessives take - 's, plural possessives take -s'.

Contractions use apostrophes for missing letters.

Pronouns take contraction apostrophes but not possessive apostrophes.

4.

Other Marks A semicolon separates independent clauses (interchangeable with a period).

A colon strongly connects phrases.

A dash connects independent clauses or parenthetical phrases.

Don't mix up sentence-final marks: periods, question marks, and exclamation points.

ENG-16 – TRANSITION WORDS TABLE Contrast

although, in contrast, instead, nevertheless, on the other hand, while, yet

Cause and effect

as a result, because, consequently, since, so, therefore, thus

Similarity or continuation is

additionally, finally, for example, fi1rthermore, indeed, in fact, that

ENG-17 RHETORICAL SKILLS SUMMARY Here are the key rules to look out for on ACT Rhetorical Skills questions: 1.

2.

3.

Style Be concise. Avoid redundant or wordy, choices.

Be specific. Avoid vague choices and vague pronouns.

Choose the right word. Make sure it has the right meaning and tone.

Organization Choose the right transition word to connect similar or contrasting sentences.

Choose the right transition phrase to connect the topics of adjacent sentences.

An introductory or concluding sentence should state the main idea of the paragraph.

Find the right sentence order by looking at references within the sentences.

Writing Strategy Does a choice fulfill the writer's goal?

• For a sentence, focus on the stated goal, not your opinion.

• For the essay, find the main idea of the essay and eliminate choices that are false.

Should the writer add or delete a sentence? Look out for irrelevant choices. If the writer deleted a phrase, what would the essay lose? Find the meaning of the phrase and how it relates to the paragraph.