Drill 3 · English · Usage
ACT English: Usage (Drill 3) is a English practice drill covering Usage. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.
Usage questions ask you to correct errors in subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, verb tense consistency, and commonly confused words. This drill emphasizes commonly confused word pairs, affect/effect, lay/lie, who/whom, and pronoun case errors in compound constructions where the correct form is less obvious.
Question 1. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice A (No Change) is correct. With "neither...nor" constructions, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; this is called the proximity rule. The subject closer to the verb is "the teachers," which is plural, so the verb must be plural: "were informed." Choice B uses "was informed," which is singular; it would be correct if "the principal" were the closer subject, but it is not. Choices C and D use present tense forms ("have been informed," "are informed"), which are inconsistent with the past-tense narrative context of the sentence.
Question 2. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice B is correct. To choose between "who" and "whom," identify the pronoun's role in its own clause. The clause is "the faculty panel had selected ___ as the most promising researcher." The pronoun is the object of "selected", the panel selected him/her. Since "him/her" is an object pronoun, "whom" (also an object pronoun) is correct. A useful test: substitute "he/him", "the panel selected him" sounds right, confirming the object form "whom." Choice A uses "who," which is a subject pronoun, correct when the pronoun is the subject of its clause, but here it is the object. Choices C and D use "whoever" and "whomever," which introduce noun clauses and are not appropriate relative pronouns here.
Question 3. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice C is correct. The sentence contains a parallel list of three actions the explorers performed: "paddled," "set up," and the third verb. The first two verbs are simple past tense, so the third must match: "cooked." Choice A uses "are cooking," a present progressive tense that breaks the past-tense pattern established by "paddled" and "set up." This is an unjustified tense shift. Choice B uses "had cooked," the past perfect, which implies cooking occurred before the paddling and camp-setting, an illogical sequence. Choice D uses "will have cooked," a future perfect tense that has no place in this past-tense narrative.
Question 4. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice A (No Change) is correct. When comparing exactly two things, use the comparative form ("more," "-er"). When comparing three or more, use the superlative ("most," "-est"). The sentence explicitly states "of the two proposed bridge designs", only two items are being compared, so the comparative "more cost-effective" is correct. Choice B uses "most cost-effective," the superlative, which is reserved for comparisons among three or more items. Choice C invents the non-standard form "cost-effectiver," which is not a real word. Choice D uses "the most cost-effective," also a superlative, and is incorrect for the same reason as Choice B.
Question 5. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice C is correct. The pronoun "she" has two possible antecedents; "Dr. Reyes" and "her advisor", both of which are female. This ambiguity makes it impossible to know who did the explaining. When a pronoun's antecedent is unclear, the fix is to replace the pronoun with the specific noun. Choices C and D both replace the ambiguous pronoun with a specific noun, eliminating the ambiguity. However, the most natural reading of the sentence is that the advisor delivered the news to Dr. Reyes, advisors typically inform advisees of funding decisions. Choice C ("the advisor") is therefore the most logical and precise replacement. Choice D ("Dr. Reyes") is the less likely interpretation given the context. Choice A leaves the ambiguous pronoun in place. Choice B uses "they," which does not match either singular antecedent.