GRAMMAR CHEAT SHEET FOR THE ACT
Subject-verb agreement
A single subject needs a single verb and a plural subject needs a plural verb.
She and her friends (are, is) at the fair.
The book or the pen (are, is) in the drawer.
The boy or his friends (run, runs) every day.
He (doesn’t, don’t) like it.
One of the boxes (is, are) open.
Each of these hot dogs (is, are) juicy.
The crew (is preparing, are preparing) to dock the ship.
Pronoun agreement, case, and clarity
Pronouns replace nouns (I, me, we, our, he, she, it, they, them, you)
If a student parks on campus, (he or she, they) (have, has) to buy a parking pass.
Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it was not damaged.
Complete sentences vs. sentence fragments
A complete sentence has a subject and verb and is a complete thought.
So the battery would stay warm. (CS or SF)
Because the one I have now is not working well. (CS or SF)
Active vs. passive voice
Active = the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb
Passive = the subject of the sentence does not perform an action
Active is more clear and concise. Shorter is better!
The material was shipped to Japan (passive = no).
The company shipped the material to Japan (active = yes).
Punctuation
Use a comma:
To separate independent clauses separated by a coordinating conjunction
After introductory phrases
To set off phrases and clauses in the middle of sentences that are not essential
To separate items in a list
Before a quotation, in a date or geographical location
Use a semi-colon to:
Replace a period between two independent clauses
To join a series of items that already have commas
Use a colon to:
Introduce a list, quotation, or idea
Transitions
Make sure the right transition is used to give an example, add information, compare,
contrast, show cause and effect, emphasize, or sum up.
For example, to illustrate
In addition, furthermore, moreover
Similarly, likewise
Although, nevertheless, despite this, otherwise
In conclusion, in summary, consequently, as a result, finally, most importantly