Victory for the ACT Student Text 15e

E NGLISH Q UIZZES • 59

EXPLANATIONS

20. (J) English/Conventions of Standard English/Sentence Structure/Unintended Meanings The incorrect use of the subjunctive “would occur” suggests that the event is contingent upon some other event, but that is not the intended meaning. (G) is wrong because the use of the future tense in this sentence is inconsistent with the use of the present tense in the rest of the paragraph. (H) is wrong because the use ‘ˆ –Š‡ ‹ϐ‹‹–‹˜‡…”‡ƒ–‡• ƒ ‡ƒ‹‰Ž‡•• sentence. (J) is the correct choice because the present tense is consistent with the rest of the paragraph. A. NO CHANGE B. bumps, since the stars C. bumps, and the stars coalesce D. bumps, with the stars coalescing 21. (C) English/Conventions of Standard English/Sentence Structure/Problems of Coordination and Subordination The original sentence is incorrect because “but” signals an opposition that is not intended. “Coalescing” is the result of the “bumping,” so the best choice is (C). 22. F. NO CHANGE G. becomes the more H. becomes the more, J. becomes; the more 22. (F) English/Conventi ns of Standard English/No Change The original sentence is correct. A comma is needed following “becomes” to make the comparison clear. The best way to prove this is to read the sentence without the comma: “The bigger the star becomes the more….” (G) is wrong because without the comma, the sentence is subject to misreading. Finally, the comma in (H) and the semicolon in (J) actually encourage a misreading of the sentence. 23. A. NO CHANGE B. and a black hole is formed C. and when this happens a black hole is formed D. and thus a black hole is formed at this very moment 21.

or completely torn apart. Other collisions are gentle bumps, but the stars coalesce. The 21

bigger the star becomes, the more likely it is to be hit again and the faster it grows until 22

it reaches instability, collapses on itself, and forms a black hole. 23 23