Drill 2 · English · Usage
ACT English: Usage (Drill 2) 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 focuses on verb tense and aspect, maintaining consistent tense within a passage and choosing the correct tense form when a time shift is intentional.
Question 1. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice C is correct. The subject of the sentence is "collection," not "manuscripts." The prepositional phrase "of rare manuscripts" sits between the subject and verb but does not change the subject, "collection" is singular, so the verb must be singular. "Was donated" correctly pairs a singular past-tense verb with the singular subject. Choice A uses "were donated," which is plural and incorrectly agrees with "manuscripts" rather than "collection." Choice B uses "are donated," introducing a present tense inconsistent with the rest of the sentence. Choice D uses "have been donated," a present perfect form that does not fit the past narrative context.
Question 2. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice A (No Change) is correct. The pronouns follow the preposition "to" and are therefore objects of that preposition. Object pronouns, "him" and "me", are required. A useful test: remove the other pronoun and read each alone. "The award was presented to him" and "The award was presented to me", both sound correct, confirming the objective case. Choice B uses "he and I," which are subject pronouns, incorrect as objects of a preposition. Choice C uses "him and I", "him" is correct but "I" is a subject pronoun and cannot be an object. Choice D uses "he and me", "me" is correct but "he" is a subject pronoun and cannot be an object.
Question 3. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice B is correct. The auxiliary verb "had" requires a past participle to form the past perfect tense. The past participle of "go" is "gone," not "went." "Went" is the simple past form, which is used without an auxiliary; you can say "she went" but not "she had went." Choice A ("had went") incorrectly pairs the auxiliary "had" with the simple past form. Choice C ("had been going") changes the meaning to a past progressive, suggesting an ongoing action rather than a completed one. Choice D ("had go") uses the base form with "had," which is never correct in standard English.
Question 4. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice D is correct. The idiomatic expression in English is "inspired by," not "inspired from," "inspired about," or "inspired with." Preposition idioms are fixed collocations, the correct preposition is determined by convention, not by logic. "Inspired by" is the standard phrase used when identifying the source or cause of creative inspiration. Choice A uses "from," which is non-idiomatic with "inspired." Choices B and C use "about" and "with," neither of which collocates idiomatically with "inspired" in standard American English.
Question 5. Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Explanation: Choice A (No Change) is correct. "Fewer" is used with countable nouns, things you can count individually, like passengers, cars, or dollars. "Less" is used with uncountable (mass) nouns, things measured in bulk, like water, time, or traffic. "Passengers" is a countable noun, so "fewer" is the correct word. Choice B uses "less passengers," which is a common but incorrect usage, "less" is wrong with a countable noun. Choice C uses "a lesser number of," which is wordy and awkward compared to the clean, standard "fewer." Choice D uses "not as many," which while technically acceptable is wordier and less precise than "fewer."