ACT English
Articles in this topic. Browse the full ACT prep blog for every guide.
Their vs there vs they're on the ACT
Their shows ownership. There points to a place. They're is they are.
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To vs too on the ACT
To marks direction or an infinitive. Too means also or more than enough.
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Loose vs lose on the ACT
Lose is the verb. Loose means not tight.
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Lead vs led on the ACT
Lead is present tense. Led is the past.
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Weather vs whether on the ACT
Weather is rain and wind. Whether introduces two possibilities.
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Allude vs elude on the ACT
Allude means to hint at. Elude means to escape.
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Allusion vs illusion on the ACT
An allusion is an indirect reference. An illusion is a false appearance.
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Adapt vs adopt on the ACT
Adapt means to change to fit. Adopt means to take on as your own.
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Already vs all ready on the ACT
Already means by now. All ready means completely prepared.
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Not only but also on ACT English
Not only pairs with but also. Keep the two halves in the same grammatical shape.
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Bank the easy underlines on ACT English
Take the grammar gimme as soon as you see it. Flag the long rhetorical item.
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Paragraph-order questions on ACT English
Paragraph-order items move whole blocks, not sentences.
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Focus questions on ACT English
Focus items ask whether a sentence stays on the paragraph's topic.
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Style questions on ACT English
Style items want clear, academic English: the precise word, not the stuffed one.
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Audience questions on ACT English
Audience items ask who the passage is for. Match that reader.
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Dangling modifiers on ACT English
If a sentence opens with a modifying phrase, the next noun must be what that phrase describes.
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Possessive apostrophes on the ACT
Singular nouns take apostrophe-s. Plural nouns that already end in s take s-apostrophe.
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Past perfect on ACT English
Use had plus the past participle when one past action was already finished before another.
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Gerund vs infinitive on the ACT
Some verbs take -ing. Some take to plus the verb. Match the front verb.
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Principal vs principle on the ACT
Principal is the person or the main thing. Principle is a rule or belief.
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Passed vs past on the ACT
Passed is a verb. Past is time already gone, or beyond.
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Imply vs infer on the ACT
The speaker implies. The listener infers.
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Due to vs because of on the ACT
Because of modifies a verb. Due to modifies a noun, usually after be.
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Advise vs advice on the ACT
Advise is the verb. Advice is the noun.
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Complement vs compliment on the ACT
Complement completes. Compliment praises.
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Read the full sentence on ACT English
Do not patch the underline in isolation. Read the whole sentence.
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Least acceptable questions on ACT English
Least acceptable means three choices all work and one does not.
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Best-illustration questions on ACT English
Pick the choice that gives a concrete example of the nearby claim.
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Writer's-goal questions on ACT English
The stem tells you the mission. Match that mission, not a true sentence with a different job.
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Intro and conclusion sentences on ACT English
Open with the paragraph topic. Close with the point, not a new one.
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Sentence-order questions on ACT English
Follow pronouns, time words, and this back to what they need.
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Fewer vs less on the ACT
Fewer is for things you can count. Less is for amounts you measure.
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Much vs many on the ACT
Many is for countable things. Much is for uncountable amounts.
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Who vs which on the ACT
Who is for people. Which is for things, places, and ideas.
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Where vs in which on the ACT
Where is for a place. In which is safer when the noun is not a location.
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When vs where as relative pronouns
When is for a time. Where is for a place. Do not swap them.
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Sit vs set on the ACT
Sit means to take a seat. Set means to put something down. Set takes an object.
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Rise vs raise on the ACT
Rise means to go up on its own. Raise means to lift something.
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If vs whether on the ACT
If introduces a condition. Whether introduces two possibilities.
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Neither nor on ACT English
Neither pairs with nor. Keep the halves parallel and agree with the closer subject.
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Comparatives and superlatives on the ACT
Comparative is for two. Superlative is for three or more. Do not stack more and -er.
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Dash pairs on ACT English
Extra information inside a sentence usually takes a pair of dashes. If you see one dash, look for its partner.
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Continuation vs contrast transitions
A transition question is a relationship question. Continuation adds. Contrast flips. Cause explains.
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Ambiguous pronouns on ACT English
A pronoun is wrong when it could point at more than one noun, or at no noun at all.
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Either or on ACT English
Either pairs with or. Keep the halves parallel and agree with the closer subject.
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Who vs whom on the ACT
Who is a subject. Whom is an object. Swap in he or him: if him fits, use whom.
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That vs who on the ACT
Who is for people. That is for things. The student who finished, the test that we took.
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Which vs that on the ACT
That introduces information the sentence needs. Which introduces extra information and usually takes a comma.
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Would have vs would of
Would of, could of, and should of are never right. Write would have or would've.
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I vs me on the ACT
I is a subject. Me is an object. Drop the other person and read the sentence with only the pronoun.
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Like vs as on the ACT
Like compares to a noun. As compares to a clause that has a verb.
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Good vs well on the ACT
Good describes a noun. Well describes a verb, or health.
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Between vs among on the ACT
Between is for two. Among is for three or more treated as a group.
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Quotation marks on ACT English
Commas and periods go inside the closing quotation mark. A colon or semicolon stays outside.
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Parentheses on ACT English
Parentheses set off extra information. The sentence must still be complete if you lift them out.
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STOP vs GO punctuation on ACT English
STOP punctuation joins two complete sentences. GO punctuation joins a complete thought to an incomplete one.
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Period and semicolon as the same job
A period and a semicolon both split two complete sentences. If both appear as choices, you can usually cross them both out.
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The shortest correct answer on ACT English
If two choices are both grammatical, the shorter one is almost always right. Extra words that repeat an idea are wrong.
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Read and answer ACT English as you go
Do not read the whole English passage first. Read until the first underline, answer that question, and keep going.
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End punctuation on ACT English
A statement takes a period. A direct question takes a question mark. An exclamation point is almost never the answer.
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Active vs passive voice on the ACT
Active voice names who did the action. Passive names what was done. Prefer active when both versions are grammatical.
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Lie vs lay on the ACT
Lie means to recline. Lay means to put something down. Lie does not take a direct object. Lay does.
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Commas in a series on ACT English
A series of three or more gets commas between the items. Two adjectives get a comma only when you could swap them.
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Commas after introductory clauses
When a sentence opens with a dependent clause, put a comma before the main clause. The same words at the end usually need none.
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Essential vs nonessential clauses
Extra information gets a pair of commas. Information the sentence needs to stay specific gets none.
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Conjunctive adverbs on ACT English
However and therefore do not join sentences with a comma. Use a semicolon, or start a new sentence.
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Who's vs whose on the ACT
Who's means who is or who has. Whose shows possession.
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Your vs you're on the ACT
You're means you are. Your shows that something belongs to you.
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Then vs than on the ACT
Than compares. Then marks time or what happens next.
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Affect vs effect on the ACT
Affect is the verb. Effect is the noun you can put the in front of.
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Accept vs except on the ACT
Accept means to receive or agree. Except means to leave something out.
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Farther vs further on the ACT
Farther is physical distance. Further means more in degree, or in addition.
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Amount vs number on the ACT
Number is for things you can count. Amount is for things you measure.
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Appositives on ACT English
A rename you can delete gets a pair of commas. A rename the sentence needs gets none.
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Hyphenated modifiers on the ACT
Hyphenate a compound modifier in front of the noun. Leave it open after the noun.
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Capitalization on ACT English
Capitalize proper nouns and the first word of a sentence. A common noun stays lowercase.
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FANBOYS on ACT English
For, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so can join two sentences with a comma. However cannot.
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How many English questions can you miss for a 36?
On enhanced English (50 items), a 36 is often zero misses, sometimes one. Treat that as a planning band, not a promise.
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How many English questions can you miss for a 25?
On the enhanced ACT, a 25 English is often about 10–14 misses of 50, depending on the form. Treat that as a planning band.
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How to finish ACT English on time
50 questions in 35 minutes: graf-by-graf reading, a 30-second skip rule, and checkpoints so rhetoric items still get context.
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What grammar rules are tested on the ACT?
ACT English covers punctuation, sentence structure, verbs, pronouns, modifiers, and concision. Here's the full rule set you'll see again and again.
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- How to spot sentence fragments on the ACT
- How to fix run-on sentences on the ACT
- Independent vs dependent clauses on the ACT
- How to place modifiers correctly on the ACT
- Subject-verb agreement on the ACT
- Pronoun agreement and clarity on the ACT
- Verb tense consistency on the ACT
- Parallel structure on the ACT
- ACT idioms and tricky phrasing
- Adjectives vs adverbs on the ACT
- Pronoun case on the ACT (who vs whom)
- Relative pronouns on ACT English (who, whom, which, that)
- Comparison words on ACT English (less vs fewer, more than)
How to improve your ACT English score quickly
English is rule-based and predictable, so gains can come fast. Learn the high-frequency rules, favor concision, and review your misses.
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The most common ACT English question types
ACT English splits into usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills. Learn each type so you know when to apply a rule or judgment.
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- How to answer ACT transition questions
- How to cut redundancy and wordiness on the ACT
- ACT English add/delete questions
- ACT English relevance questions
- Word choice and formality on ACT English
- Macro logic on ACT English: sentence and paragraph order
- ACT English author intent and technique questions
- ACT English NO CHANGE: when to pick it (and when not to)
- Word choice and diction errors on ACT English
How to get a 36 on ACT English
Master every rule, default to concision carefully, win the rhetorical calls, and erase careless errors across 75 questions.
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How many questions can you miss for a 30 in ACT English?
On the enhanced ACT you can usually miss around 7–9 of 50 English questions for a 30, though the exact scale shifts each test.
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What punctuation rules should you memorize for ACT English?
Master commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, and apostrophes, plus the clause logic behind each, to win ACT English points.
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ACT English practice tests: what to use and how to review
Official timed 35-minute sections, rule-specific drills, and a review loop by question type—not just right or wrong.
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