USAGE AND MECHANICS: PUNCTUATION REVIEW

ACT PREP CLASS

What Is Usage/Mechanics?• These questions test your ability to

construct functional sentences using rules of – Punctuation– Grammar– Sentence structure

HELPFUL HINT!OVER HALF OF THE PROBLEMS ON THE

ACT ARE USAGE/MECHANICS QUESTIONS…SO EVERY RULE YOU

LEARN WILL HELP YOU SOLVE MORE QUESTIONS AND ULTIMATELY

INCREASE YOUR SCORE!!

COMMAS!• Commas are meant to create a

natural pause in a sentence• Most commonly tested punctuation

mark on the act

WHEN DO WE USE COMMAS?

• LIST• ADJECTIVES• INTRODUCTIONS• REMOVABLE PHRASES• CLAUSES

COMMAS IN A LIST• LISTS OF THREE OR MORE ITEMS

NEED COMMAS BETWEEN EACH ITEM• YOU MUST PUT A COMMA BEFORE

AND

• EXAMPLE: Snooki, J-Wow, and Sammi went to the beach this afternoon.

Where Do They Go?I went to the store the gym and to

school.

I had Tim Doug and Terry stay after school because they were late for class.

Where Do They Go?I went to the store, the gym, and to

school.

I had Tim, Doug, and Terry stay after school because they were late for class.

COMMAS WITH ADJECTIVES• IF THERE ARE TWO OR MORE

ADJECTIVES BEFORE A NOUN, YOU MUST PUT A COMMA BETWEEN THE TWO ADJECTIVES

• EXAMPLE: The shiny, silver car is mine.

WHERE DO THEY GO?• The big furry dog barked at me.

• The icy snowy street was hard to drive on.

WHERE DO THEY GO?• The big, furry dog barked at me.

• The icy, snowy street was hard to drive on.

COMMAS WITH INTRODUCTIONS

• A comma should follow any phrase or word that introduces a sentence

• EXAMPLE: In this course, students learn how to master the ACT.

WHERE DO THEY GO?

• Eventually Justin Bieber’s movie will come out.

WHERE DO THEY GO?

• Eventually, Justin Bieber’s movie will come out.

COMMAS WITH PHRASES!• Commas need to surround non-

essential phrases• Non-essential phrases is additional

information that is not necessary to understand the sentence

• EXAMPLE: Kim Kardashian, who is on T.V., was in the magazine.

COMMAS WITH PHRASES!• Commas need to surround non-

essential phrases• Non-essential phrases is additional

information that is not necessary to understand the sentence

• EXAMPLE: Kim Kardashian, who is on T.V., was in the magazine.

TYPES OF CLAUSES• INDEPENDENT CLAUSE– Complete thought– Subject and a verb

• DEPENDEND CLAUSE– Incomplete thought– Has a subject and a verb

COMMAS WITH CLAUSES• D, I: Dependent clause, Independent

clause.• Since the dog at his homework, Joe failed

the assignment.• I D: Independent clause dependent

clause.– NO COMMA• Joe failed the assignment because the dog

ate his homework.

WHERE DO THEY GO?

• After the Chicago Cubs win the world series I am going to cry tears of joy.

• Timmy ate the entire cake because he was hungry.

WHERE DO THEY GO?

• After the Chicago Cubs win the world series, I am going to cry tears of joy.

• Timmy ate the entire cake because he was hungry. No comma needed

Practice Makes Perfect!TURN TO PAGE 46 SAMPLE

PASSAGE III, FIND THE COMMA QUESTIONS AND USE THE COMMA RULES

TO CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER!

THE COLONS• SEMICOLONS– Replace a period with two independent

clauses that are CLOSELY RELATED

– EXAMPLE: High school students don’t like going to school to read Shakespeare. High school students go to school to be with their friends.

THE COLONS• SEMICOLONS– Replace a period with two independent

clauses that are CLOSELY RELATED

– EXAMPLE: High school students don’t like going to school to read Shakespeare; they go to school to be with their friends.

THE COLONS• COLONS– Used to introduce a list

– EXAMPLE: Snooki and J-Wow packed their bags for the beach: sunscreen, a towel, and sunglasses.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!TURN TO PAGE 43,

QUESTION NUMBER 14 AND INDENTIFY WITH ANSWER CHOICE(S)

HAVE COLON OR SEMICOLON ERRORS!

APOSTROPHES• TWO OPTIONS– Show possession– Replace letters when abbreviating

• EXAMPLE: Jerry’s students’ test scores won’t improve unless they study.

APOSTROPHES• TWO OPTIONS– Show possession– Replace letters when abbreviating

• EXAMPLE: Jerry’s students’ test scores

Possessive possessive

won’t improve unless they study.Abbreviation

IT’S VS. ITS• It’s– Abbreviation for it is– EXAMPLE: It’s extremely cold out.– TIP: If you can plug in it is and the

sentence makes sense, then you have the correct form!

• Its– Possessive form of it– EXAMPLE: The dog showed its teeth.

FILL IT IN!

• ________ on _________ way.

• I found ________ taste to be delicious; ________ really good!

FILL IT IN!• It’s on its way.

• I found its taste to be delicious; it’s really good!

THEY’RE VS. THEIR VS. THERE

• THEY’RE– Abbreviation for they are– EXAMPLE: They’re about go shopping.– TIP: If you can replace it with they are,

it is correct!• THEIR– Possessive form of they– EXAMPLE: It is their book.

THEY’RE VS. THEIR VS. THERE

• THERE– Indicates location – EXAMPLE: I threw the ball over there.

FILL IT IN!• _________ standing over _______ next

to ________ house.

• _________ going to _______ school which is located over _______.

FILL IT IN!• They’re standing over there next to

their house.

• They’re going to their school which is located over there.

Parentheses and Dashes• Parentheses ( ) and dashes – are used

to signal a change in thought or to provide non-essential information– Snooki told Sammi (even though she

already knew) that she was sorry.– Snooki told Sammi – even though she

already knew- that she was sorry.– Or you could use a comma.

• Snooki told Sammi, even though she already knew, that she was sorry.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!• TURN TO PAGE 152• IDENTIFY PUNCTUATION PROBLEMS

OF ALL 75 QUESTIONS• ELIMINATE INCORRECT ANSWERS• REVIEW ANSWERS