ACT English Prep 1

The Channel Tunnel is a feat of engineering. After decades of discussion, planning, and construction, a project that was first conceived in 1802 has finally become a reality.

Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."

• NO CHANGE

• decades and many years

• a number of decades

• a number of decades

At the time I established myself in Pennsylvania there was not a good booksellers shop in any of the colonies to the southward of Boston. In New York and Philadelphia the printers were indeed stationers; they sold only paper, etc., almanacs, ballads, and a few common school-books.

Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."

• Pennsylvania; there

• NO CHANGE

• Pennsylvania: there

• Pennsylvania, there

Answer explanation

Explanation:

The phrase that ends in "Pennsylvania" would be considered by a contemporary reader as an introductory phrase, and thus a comma should follow it.

We know him to be a polished gentleman, a genial companion, and a warmhearted friend, whose' kindness does not pass over individuals and waste itself in a vague philanthropy. So much, at least, we can say of the man, and this do we base not only upon former personal acquaintance and upon our former study of his writings.

Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."

• NO CHANGE

• acquaintance and also upon our former study of his writings

• acquaintance but also upon our former study of his writings

• acquaintance but upon our former study of his writings

Answer explanation

Explanation:

As written, the sentence does not use the correlative conjunctions "not only . . . but also" correctly.  It has the form, "not only upon . . . and upon." The correct option is the one that corrects the second member of the correlative pair, replacing it with "but also."

"My boss John Jacobs was early that morning, so I got in trouble for being late."

Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."

• My boss, John Jacobs, was early that morning, 

• My Boss John Jacobs was early that morning, 

• No change

• My boss, John Jacobs was early that morning,

Answer explanation

Explanation:

In this sentence, "John Jacobs" is an appositive renaming the noun phrase "My boss" in more detail. As such, "John Jacobs" needs to be bracketed in commas because it is extraneous information not necessary to the reader's understanding of the sentence's meaning.

Adapted from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)

As they entered, they saw Dorian Gray who was seated at the piano his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann's "Forest Scenes." "You must lend me these, Basil," he cried. "I want to learn them. They are perfectly charming." "That entirely depends on how you sit to-day, Dorian."

Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the passage. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."

• NO CHANGE

• at the piano his back being to them

• at the piano with his back to them

• at the piano his backing to them

Answer explanation

Explanation:

There are at least two potential options for this sentence, though one of them is not provided. You could write, "at the piano, his back to them." This would make "his back to them" a descriptive subordinate clause. However, given the number of commas already needed in this sentence, this form is likely confusing. Therefore, the correct answer provided is "at the piano with his back to them." The preposition "with" is being used in the sense of in the state of having (his back to them).

Then he thought to him, "I must frighten this cunning princess a little more before I am able to get what I want from her." Therefore, he gave her another dose of the apple and said he would call on the morrow. The morrow came, and the nose was ten times bad as before.

What is the best form of the underlined sentence, "The morrow came, and the nose was ten times bad as before"?

• The morrow came, and the nose was ten times worse as before.

• NO CHANGE

• The morrow came, and the nose was ten times as bad as before.

• The morrow came and the nose was ten times as bad as before.

Answer explanation

Explanation:

As written, the mistake in the sentence is its lack of the appropriate correlative conjunction "as" to accompany the "as" that precedes "before." The comma is appropriate, for the sentence is a compounding of two independent clauses. The comparison should not be made by using "worse." This would require "than" instead of "as" (and also would sound somewhat awkward as the sentence is written).

Thus, if our theory of revelation-value were to affirm that any book, to possess it, must have been composed automatically or not by the free caprice of the writer, or that it must exhibit no scientific and historic errors and express no local or personal passions, the Bible would probably fare ill at our hands.

What is the clearest form of the underlined selection?

• NO CHANGE

• must have been composed automatically, neither by the free caprice of the writer nor that it must exhibit no scientific and historic errors and express no local or personal passions, the Bible would probably fare ill at our hands

• either must have been composed automatically (or, at least, not by the free caprice of the writer) or that it must exhibit no scientific and historic errors and express no local or personal passions, the Bible would probably fare ill at our hands

• either must have been composed automatically or not by the free caprice of the writer or that it must exhibit no scientific and historic errors and express no local or personal passions, the Bible would probably fare ill at our hands

Answer explanation

This sentence is very long, and it is necessary to pay attention to the author's logic when considering ways in which the sentence might be rephrased. Notice that the author says that there are two standards of value that will make the status of the Bible seem questionable if they are rigorously applied. (This is the author's opinion. We are not here to get into the justifications for his reasoning.) They are:

(1) To say that the book was composed automatically or at least that it was not composed by the free caprice of the writer

(2) To say that it must have no scientific and historic errors and express no local or personal passions

Now, the confusing part is the fact that (1) and (2) are joined by an "or," but (1) also has an "or" in it as well. There really is a case of correlative conjunctions here: either 1 or 2. However, to make this clear, the correct answer isolates the "secondary" "or" that is found in (1).

When these things are remembered, no one will marvel at the ease with which Alexander held the Empire of Asia or at the difficulties that others have had to keep an acquisition. This is not occasioned by the little or abundance of ability in the conqueror but, instead, by the want of uniformity in the subject state.

Which of the following is the best form of the underlined selection, "This is not occasioned by the little or abundance of ability in the conqueror"?

• This is occasioned neither by the scarcity or the abundance of ability in the conqueror

• This is occasioned neither by the scarcity nor the abundance of ability in the conqueror

• NO CHANGE

• This is not occasioned by the scarcity nor the abundance of ability in the conqueror

Answer explanation

Explanation:

As written, the word "little" is somewhat confusing, though it is clear that the author wishes to say that the difficulties are caused neither by a lack of ability nor by an abundance thereof. While replacing this word with "scarcity," the correct answer likewise uses "neither" to draw out the contrast. Note that the other options do not use the correlative construction correctly. When using "neither," you must use "nor" as the correlative conjunction for the second half of the conjoined pair.

Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."

Neither Danny or Rebecca was adequately prepared for the tennis match that afternoon.

• either

• and

• nor

• NO CHANGE

Answer explanation

Explanation:

"Neither" is paired with "nor," "either" is paired with "or." “Neither Danny nor Rebecca” is the correct grammatical pairing in this situation. 

Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."

We enjoyed going to Alice’s art class, and the long drive over was starting to become a deterrent. 

• NO CHANGE

• but

• therefore

• and then

Answer explanation

Explanation:

The first and second parts of the sentence are both independent clauses. Since they demonstrate a contrast (We like going to the class BUT the drive is too long), “but” is the correct conjunction in this sentence.