Drill 1 · English · Punctuation
ACT English: Punctuation (Drill 1) is a English practice drill covering Punctuation. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.
Punctuation questions on the ACT English test ask you to fix comma splices, run-ons, and incorrectly joined clauses; choose the right punctuation for appositives and introductory phrases; and correctly use commas, semicolons, colons, and dashes. For each question, an underlined portion of a passage sentence is presented. Choose the best revision, or select "No Change" if the original is correct.
Question 1. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice B is correct. When an introductory subordinate clause (beginning with "because," "although," "when," etc.) precedes the main clause, a comma must follow it. "Because the glacier had been retreating for nearly a century" is the introductory clause, so a comma is required before "scientists." Choice A omits that comma. Choice C uses a semicolon, which can only join two independent clauses — the introductory "because" clause is not independent. Choice D uses a colon, which must also be preceded by a complete, independent clause, so it fails for the same reason.
Question 2. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice D is correct. "The expedition team packed everything they would need for the ascent" is a complete independent clause, and a colon correctly introduces the list of specific items that follows. Choice A uses a comma, which creates ambiguity — "rope" looks like it might be a nonrestrictive appositive for "ascent" rather than the start of a list. Choice B uses a semicolon, which must join two independent clauses; the list items that follow are not an independent clause. Choice C uses a dash, which can introduce a list informally, but a colon is the precise and preferred choice when a complete independent clause directly precedes a list.
Question 3. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice A (No Change) is correct. The phrase "the first person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences" is a nonrestrictive appositive renaming Marie Curie. Because the sentence opens with "Marie Curie," followed by a comma, the appositive must be closed with a second comma after "sciences." Choice B omits that closing comma, running the appositive into the main clause. Choice C inserts an unnecessary comma after "person," illogically splitting the appositive phrase mid-thought. Choice D uses a semicolon inside the appositive, which is never correct — a semicolon joins two independent clauses.
Question 4. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice D is correct. The sentence contains two independent clauses: "The new traffic policy reduced downtown congestion by nearly forty percent" and "surprisingly, commute times actually increased on several major routes outside the city center." A semicolon correctly joins them, and the comma after "surprisingly" is required to set off that introductory transitional word. Choice A creates a comma splice — a comma alone cannot join two independent clauses. Choice B correctly uses a semicolon but omits the comma after "surprisingly," which is needed because "surprisingly" is an introductory adverb. Choice C uses a colon, which introduces a direct explanation or list — the second clause is a contrasting observation, not a logical continuation, so a colon is misleading here.
Question 5. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice A (No Change) is correct. The phrase "a lantern ceremony that draws visitors from across the country" is a nonrestrictive appositive renaming "tradition." Since the sentence opens with a comma after "tradition," the appositive must be closed with a comma after "country." Choice B omits the closing comma, running the appositive into the main clause. Choice C inserts a comma after "ceremony," illogically splitting "a lantern ceremony" from its own relative clause "that draws visitors from across the country." Choice D moves the comma inside the phrase, separating "from across the country" from the rest of the relative clause.