AccelePrep for the ACT Test 2nd Edition Student Text

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

PUNCTUATION

The last Standard English Conventions topic to review is Conventions of Punctuation. There are three commonly tested types of punctuation: 1. Commas 2. Colons 3. Apostrophes

TEST SPECS Of all the punctuation questions on the test, comma, colon, and apostrophe usage questions appear most frequently.

COMMAS

‘ „‡ •—……‡••ˆ—Ž ™‹–Š…‘ƒ•ǡ ›‘— —•– ‘™ ϐ‹˜‡ ‡ƒ•›…‘ƒ ”—Ž‡•ǣ 1. Use commas between independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions. 2. Use commas for clarity. 3. Use commas to separate words in a series. 4. Use commas after introductory dependent phrases. 5. Use pairs of commas to set off “interruptions” in a sentence. Coordinating conjunctions (“and,” “but,” “nor,” “or,” “for,” “yet,” “so”) join two independent clauses. Use a comma before coordinating conjunctions unless the two clauses are very short (think two or three words per clause). 1. Practically all nitrates are crystalline and readily soluble, and they are characterized by marked decrepitation when heated on charcoals by a blowpipe. A. NO CHANGE B. crystalline and readily soluble and C. crystalline, and readily soluble, and D. crystalline and readily soluble and, Example:

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.

JOIN INDEPENDENT CLAUSES

STRATEGY ALERT Use the breath test to check for correct comma usage. Commas are usually associated with a natural pause in our speech. Reading the sentence to yourself can Š‡Ž’ ›‘— ϐ‹† –Š‡…‘””‡…– answer.

Use a comma to clarify the meaning of a sentence. Some sentences can mean two different things if a comma is missing, as the following example illustrates: USE COMMAS FOR CLARITY