English ACT skills

The squirrels in the ceiling was keeping us awake at night.

• NO CHANGE

• were keeping

• is keeping

• keeps

Every single one of the cars in my parents’ driveway were red.

• NO CHANGE

• are

• being

• is

The rock band playing bad cover songs outside my apartment is really annoying me.

• NO CHANGE

• are

• is  being

• and is

Neither Johnny nor June is married.

• NO CHANGE

• are

• were

• have been

Answer explanation

The conjunction or/nor is disjunctive. This means that the two nouns connected by it take a singular verb since the idea is that both are being discussed separately.

Snowflakes begin with the process of chemical bonding and forms a hexagonal shape.

• NO CHANGE

• were they to form

• if they formed

• form

Answer explanation

The subject of the sentence is the plural noun 'Snowflakes'; therefore, the sentence needs the plural form of the verb 'form.'

I wear red socks they are the best kind.

• NO CHANGE

• wear red socks are

• wear; red socks, they are

• wear red socks, so they are

Answer explanation

D is the correct option because the sentence contains two independent clauses. Joining the clauses with a comma and the coordinating conjunction 'so' is the only correct option.

Because none of us could remember the way we had come, we got lost.

• NO CHANGE

• Although

• Being

• DELETE the underlined words

Answer explanation

A is correct because the sentence is a correct instance of a dependent clause separated from an independent clause by a comma. Beginning a sentence with because is fine as long as the dependent clause is followed by a comma and an independent clause.

As the river supplied less and less water, the tribal population declined, their civilization eventually collapsed. 

• NO CHANGE

• declined the tribal

• declined. Their 

• declined their

Answer explanation

The answer is (C) because 'the tribal population declined' and 'their civilization eventually collapsed' are both Independent clauses. Therefore, they can only be joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. Since there is no answer option with a coordinating conjunction and a comma, the ONLY option is (C) which ends the clause with a period and begins the next clause with a capital letter creating a new stand alone sentence.

Good drivers slow down in difficult conditions, these include traffic, bad weather, and construction areas.

• NO CHANGE

• conditions these

• conditions, and these

• conditions! These

Answer explanation

The answer is ( C ). There are two independent clauses -- both able to stand on their own. Therefore, they must either be separated by a semicolon or a comma and coordinating conjunction, or be made into two sentences. This choice separates them with a comma and a conjunction. The first clause does not need special emphasis, so an exclamation mark is incorrect.

The music festival was expensive and in the middle of nowhere, therefore we didn't go.

• NO CHANGE

• nowhere and, therefore we

• nowhere, therefore, we

• nowhere; therefore, we

Answer explanation

The answer is ( D ). The sentence contains the conjunctive adverb ‘therefore.’ Both clauses are independent. To join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb, writers often use a semicolon before a conjunctive adverb and then a comma.