AccelePrep for the ACT Test 2nd Edition Student Text

40 • S URGE TO S UCCESS ! E NGLISH T EST P REP

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

We’ve reviewed the key Grammar and Usage topics, which focus on individual words or phrases within sentences. Now it’s time to review Sentence Structure. You need to learn to watch for four key Sentence Structure errors: 1. Fragments 2. Faulty Parallelism 3. Comma Splices 4. Problems of Coordination and Subordination

TEST SPECS Of all the Sentence Structure questions on the test, questions involving fragments, faulty parallelism, comma splices, and coordination and subordination appear most frequently.

FRAGMENTS

A sentence fragment, as the name suggests, is an incomplete piece of a sentence. By itself, a fragment does not constitute a complete thought. A typical fragment might lack a verb, a subject, or both. Sometimes a fragment is a dependent clause or a prepositional phrase that needs an independent clause to be complete. Fragments can be corrected by supplying the missing elements. 1. Most of the delegates, who were from smaller villages and rural areas and so opposed any plans to improve conditions in the large cities. A. NO CHANGE B. rural areas and so opposed to C. rural areas, they opposed D. rural areas, opposed Example:

POWER TIP If you’re not sure whether a sentence is a fragment, ask yourself: 1. Does the sentence have a verb? 2. Does the sentence have a subject? Dependent clauses by themselves are sentence fragments. Explanations for the example questions are included later in the chapter. Circle your answers now. Later when you reach the explanations at the end of the section, come back and check to make sure you answered the questions correctly.