Links Academy ACT English

Complete and Incomplete Ideas

A complete thought can stand alone as a complete sentence or as part of a longer

sentence!

•Chris steals hubcaps.•Why does he need money?• The police chase him.•Will the police ever catch

Chris?

An incomplete thought CANNOT stand on its own as a complete sentence!

•When he needs money• To buy a car•All over the city• Since he is on foot.

The incomplete thought must be linked to a complete thought appropriately.

• Chris steals hubcaps when he needs money.• He needs money to buy a car.• The police chase him all over the city.• The police will catch him since he is

on foot.

Do these words make up a real sentence?

1. Carrots in the lunch box. 2. Putting things back in the proper drawers. 3. I saw carrots in the lunch box. 4. Anthony’s favorite funny television show.5. I forgot my coat.6. When I’ll be able to drive a car?7. Can you drive a car?8. Paper plates that can be used in the microwave.9. Veronica’s choice of words offended her dog.10. Hearing voices that are not really there.

Do these words make up a real sentence?

• 11. Chad works very hard.12. Winning an important race.13. Winning a race is fun.14. Loves her friends no matter what.15. Looking like he’d seen a ghost!16. Things that creep in the shadows.17. Never farther than a phone call.18. Cookies that taste better than mud.19. Apples can be added to the recipe.20. Place your shoes on the blue mat.

ACT recognizes two types of punctuation!

STOP punctuation

• Period (.)• Question Mark (?)• Exclamation Point (!)• Semicolon (;)

GO punctuation

• Comma (,)• Colon (:)• Dash (-)• No punctuation at all

Vertical Line Test

• Whenever the question is about punctuation, draw a vertical line at the crossroads. Judge whether you have two complete ideas, or a complete and an incomplete idea.

• If you have two complete ideas, use STOP punctuation.

• If you have a complete and an incomplete idea, use GO punctuation.

Practice!

• The oily water of the bay was lapping against the quay’s pilings it reminded Roy of his boyhood in Marblehead.

• A. NO CHANGE• B. pilings, it• C. pilings; it• D. OMIT the underlined

portion

Practice!

• I didn’t mean to close the door behind us, my sleeve got caught on the knob.

• A. NO CHANGE• B. us; my• C. us my• D. us, therefore my

Practice!

• At the end, it was Howard’s dog that saved Melissa from being savaged by the angry mother grizzly.

• 1. A. No Change B. Dog, which C. dog, by whom D. dog whose

Practice!

• Many of his classmates ahd gone on to successful careers in business, the professions, and even the arts. What set Richard apart? However, was his determination to succeed without a definable occupation.

• 2. A. No Change• B. apart, however• C. apart; however,• D. apart, however,

Practice!

• Even if we wanted to use public transportation to get to the stadium and save wear and tear on our car as well as the money for parking. The metro closes down at ten on weekends, so that we would risk being stuck downtown.

• 3. A. NO CHANGE• B. parking; the• C. parking, the• D. parking and the

Practice!

• Sarah is the most talented musician in the orchestra she makes music with such a natural grace that her performance seems effortless.

• 4. A. NO CHANGE• B. orchestra. She• C. orchestra, she• D. orchestra,

although she

Practice!• When you apply for a job,

there a few rules that you should obey: and here they are. (1) The first rule of being a good job applicant is to dress neatly even (2) if you are applying for a job that permits a casual wardrobe, you will want to make a good impression during the interview.

• 1. A. NO CHANGE• B. obey.• C. obey; the following

things.• D. obey, and live by

2. F. NO CHANGE G. neatly: even H. neatly. Even J. neatly, even

Practice!• The next rule is to have a

positive attitude. Keep telling yourself that you are the right person for the job, and (3) do your best to convey that to the interviewer. Remember, that person across the table probably hates interviewing. Just (4) as much as you do, and would love to be able to hire you.

• 3. A. NO CHANGE• B. job; and• C. job trying to• D. job. So

• 4. F. NO CHANGE• G. Interviewing: just• H. interviewing; just• J. interviewing just

Conjunctions

• A comma and a coordinating conjunction join two complete ideas.

• I tried making fortune cookies yesterday, and I got pretty good by the end of the day.

• A subordinating conjunction makes an idea incomplete. The subordinating conjunction links the incomplete idea with a complete one.

• I tried making fortune cookies yesterday because I wanted to learn how.

• Because I wanted to learn how, I tried making fortune cookies yesterday.

Commonly Used Conjunctions!

Coordinating

• Like:– And– Or

Unlike:butnoryet

Subordinating

• Like–Because– Since

Unlikealthoughwhile

Practice

• Anne had no desire to go to the meeting. But she went anyway.

• 1. • A. no change• B. meeting; but• C. meeting, but• OMIT underlined

portion

Some adverbs act as conjunctions, but they need STOP punctuation when the introduce an

idea.LIKE

• Consequently• Furthermore•Moreover• therefore

UNLIKE

• However• Nevertheless• nonetheless

IMPORTANT NOTE

•Adverbs acting as conjunctions need a semi-colon (;) before and a comma (,) after.

Practice

• No one knew where to find Kevin; however, he insisted he was in the office the whole time.

1. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would not be acceptable?A. ; notwithstanding,B. ; nonetheless,C. ; moreover,D. ; nevertheless,

Commas – Other Uses

• The most common form of GO punctuation, where they link incomplete and complete ideas.

• In a series• Setting things apart• Replacing “and”• All or nothing

On the ACT, always put a comma before the

“and” in a series of three or more elements.• Pheasant hunting gets

me out of doors, provides me with great exercise, delights me asthetically; and puts gourmet food on my family’s table.

• 1. • A. No change• B. aesthetically and• C. aesthetically, and• D. aesthetically and,

Commas are used to set an introductory word, phrase, or clause apart from the rest of the sentence.

• Normally cumulus clouds (1) are seen during summer, when they develop into thunderstorms reaching beyond 50,000 feet in altitude.

• 1.• A. NO CHANGE• B. Normally cumulus,

clouds• C. Normally, cumulus

clouds• D. Normal, cumulus

clouds

A comma can be used to replace the word “and” when multiple adjectives or adverbs modify the same word

or phrase.

• Primitive, clumsy (1)his guitar playing was an embarrassment to the rest of the band.

• 1.• A. NO CHANGE• B. Primitive clumsily,• C. Primitively, clumsy,• D. Primitive, clumsy,

Commas are used to set off unnecessary information. ACT might try to trick you by putting too many commas

in the passage.

• Lindbergh’s solo flight in 1927 from Roosevelt Airport on Long Island to LeBourget Airport, outside Paris captivated citizens of many nations.

• 1.A. NO CHANGEB. Airport outside ParisC. Airport outside Paris,D. Airport, outside, Paris,

Drill

• The first Olympic games took place thousands of years ago on Mt. Olympus in Greece. The Greeks. As (1)a people, firmly believed in exercise as a way, to (2) enhance one’s body as well as one’s mind.

• 1.• A. NO CHANGE• B. The Greeks; as• C. The Greeks as• D. The Greeks, as• 2.• F. NO CHANGE• G. as a way to• H. as a way; to• J. as, a way, to

Drill cont.

• They held not only sporting competitions, but also competitions of the mind. Some of the events included: writing, (3) drama, dance and oratory. (4)

• 3.• A. NO CHANGE• B. included writing• C. included; writing,• D. included, writing• 4.• F. NO CHANGE• G. dance and, oratory.• H. dance, and oratory.• J. dance, and, oratory.

Drill cont.

• The Olympic games were the most important sporting contest. And the (5) winners were revered as the best of the best.

• 5.• A. NO CHANGE

B. contest and, the• C. contest, the• D. contest, and the

Restrictive (Essential) vs. Nonrestrictive (Nonessential)

• A restrictive clause is essential because it narrows the scope of the noun or pronoun it modifies.

• Everyone who complained received a new CD.• Those kinds of flowers that return on their

own each year are called perennials.• The waiter who spilled the soup is

incompetent.

Restrictive (Essential) vs. Nonrestrictive (Nonessential)

• A nonrestrictive clause in nonessential. The sentences may be more interesting with it, but it would be perfectly fine without it. Thus, it is set off by commas.

• Superman, who masquerades as Clark Kent, is a native of the planet Krypton.

• Those flowers, which are sitting on the counter, are called perennials.

• Our waiter, who spilled the soup, is incompetent.

Practice

• When he opened his lunchbox, Charlie saw that it included a large portion of chocolate cake which (1) was his favorite dessert.

• 1. • A. NO CHANGE• B. cake, which• C. cake. Which• D. cake that

Practice

• When he opened his lunchbox, Charlie saw that it included the chocolate cake that (1) he had seen advertised on MTV.

• 1.• A. NO CHANGE• B. cake, which• C. cake, which,• D. cake. That

Review• 1. What should you do when the question is about punctuation?• 2. What sort of punctuation is used to separate complete ideas?• 3. What are two ways an incomplete thought can be linked to a complete

thought?• 4. What sort of punctuation do you use to fix a sentence fragment?• 5. What sort of punctuation do you use to fix a run-on sentence?• 6. What sort of punctuation do you use to fix a comma splice?• 7. List five ways commas are tested?

What’s wrong with these sentences?

• 1. The two teams played each other twice during the season the second game was superior.

• 2. Everybody who was at the game received a hat, they were donated by Chico’s Bail Bonds.

• 3. Who won the game? Remained a mystery while the referees argued.

• 4. Although both teams wanted to keep playing the second game to settle the tie of number of wins.

• 5. After celebrating the win. The winning team went out for pizza while the losing team went out for ice cream.

• 6. The fans, who argued with the ref, were ejected while the ones who did not remained.

• 7. The losing team which sported dashing uniforms colored brown and gold asked for a rematch the next day.