ACT English Punctuation

Today’s Goals □ Review rules for punctuation. □ Demonstrate understanding of punctuation rules through discussion and individual work.

Commas □ More than half of the punctuation questions on the ACT concern the proper use of commas. □ Remember there are 10 questions on the ACT about punctuation.

The Serial Comma □ Commas are used to separate items in a series (list). □ The comma should be placed after each item in the series. □ What to look for: □ Look at the entire sentence □ Search for a list of three or more things

Separating Clauses □ Two independent clauses with a conjunction □ An independent clause and a dependent clause. □ An independent clause and a modifying phrase.

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Elements □ A “restrictive” clause or phrase is essential to the meaning of a sentence and should not be separated by a comma. □ A “nonrestrictive” clause or phrase is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. It just adds a parenthetical thought (extra info) and needs to be separated by a comma.

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Elements □ Ex: □ People who snore are advised to sleep on their sides. □ Restrictive  no comma needed □ Mary, who by now, was very confused stopped in front of the woman. □ Nonrestrictive  “who by now” is extra information. □ Separate it from the sentence with commas before and after the phrase.

Semicolons (;) □ Used to put two or more clauses together to form one big sentence. □ Ex: □ Just then, the woman screamed; the bird jumped up and perched on her head.

Colons (:) □ Used after a complete statement to introduce a list of related details. □ EX: □ Maria just purchased all the camping supplies for our trip: a backpack, a sleeping bag, and a pair of hiking boots.

Dashes (-) □ Separate a word or group of words from the rest of the sentence. □ Used to: □ indicate an abrupt break in thought □ to introduce an explanation or afterthought □ Dashes often travel in pairs □ EX: □ I tried to express my gratitude – not that any words could be adequate – but she just nodded and walked away.

Apostrophes (‘) □ Used to: □ Indicate possession □ To mark missing letters in a word □ EX: □ Peter’s new car is extremely expensive. □ I’m sorry. I couldn’t make it to your party.

Its/It’s/Its’ □ It’s  used only when you want to say “it is” □ Its  used to show possession □ Its’  not a word!!!! □ ACT is trying to trick you!