ACT idiom list To be familiar with To agree with To disagree with To be consistent/inconsistent with something To enter into To have

insight into To take an interest in To have an interest in To arrive in/at To succeed in To have confidence in To be consistent in (one's action) To believe in To trust in To consist of To accept an offer of To be convinced of To be suspicious of To gain the respect of To have an understanding of To be suspicious of To have memories of To take the form of To gain the trust/mistrust of To be characteristic of To the dismay of To be in favor of In the hope of At the expense of To count on To work on To stumble (up)on To turn to The key to To be available to + infinitive To be indifferent to To be prized for To be grown for To endure/last for To call for To receive compensation for

To argue for To blame for To predate by To be engaged by To be complicated by To abide by To be apparent from To defend from To differ from To protect from/against To protest + noun, no preposition To wonder about To think about To wonder about

Idioms with Gerund Regarded as/as being Viewed as/as being Seen as/as being In the hope of being Effective in/at being Enjoy being Capable of being To have difficulty (in) being Stop being Insist on being Deny being Report being Consider being Postpone being Practice being Avoid being Admit to being Resent being Before being After being Without being While being Stop being

Idioms with Infinitive Considered to be

Tempted to be Cease to be Seem to be Wish to be Fail to be Neglect to be Refuse to be Attempt to be Offer to be Prepare to be Arrange to be Claim to be Aim to be Deserve to be Proceed to be Agree to be Appear to be Promise to be Intend to be Threat to be Strive to be Choose to be Decide to be

T h e

A p p o s i t i v e

An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it. The appositive can be a short or long combination of words. Look at these examples: The insect, a cockroach , is crawling across the kitchen table. The insect, a large cockroach , is crawling across the kitchen table. The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs , is crawling across the kitchen table. The insect, a large, hairy-legged cockroach that has spied my bowl of oatmeal , is crawling across the kitchen table.

Complete ACT Punctuation Rules

1. Commas 2. Semicolons 3. Colons 4. Dashes 5. Apostrophes I. COMMAS Commas should be used: 1. Before a Coordinating Conjunction to join two full sentences (Independent Clauses) Coordinating Conjunctions, aka FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So And and But are the two most popular conjunctions on the ACT; other coordinating conjunctions appear only rarely. Correct: London is a very old city, but some parts of it are extremely modern. 2. Between a dependent clause and an independent clause when the dependent clause comes first. Dependent clauses are clauses that cannot stand on their own as full sentences. They begin with Subordinating Conjunctions such as before, after, because, when, and since. Dependent Clauses: Because I went home After we returned from the movie When we visited Chicago In the following sentence, the dependent clause is in bold and the independent clause is underlined Correct: Because London is a very old city, it has buildings from many different eras. When strong subordinating conjunctions such as (Al)though and Even Though are used to start a dependent clause, a comma should be used between the dependent clause and the independent clause, regardless of which one comes

first. Correct: London is a very old city, although some parts of it are extremely modern. Correct: Although London is a very old city, some parts of it are extremely modern. 3. To indicate non-essential words or phrasesA non-essential clause is simply a clause that can be removed from a sentence without affecting its essential meaning. It's like a little interruption.Non-essential clauses are always surrounded by commas. Correct: London, which is a very old city, has some extremely modern parts. Incorrect: London which is a very old city, has some extremely modern parts. Incorrect: London, which is a very old city has some extremely modern parts. The same goes for single words: Correct: London is a very old city. It does, however, have some very modern parts. Incorrect: London is a very old city. It does however, have some very modern parts. Incorrect: London is a very old city. It does however, have some very modern parts. 4. Around names and titles when used restrictively Ex: John Kennedy Toole's novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, was first published more than thirty years after it was written. The commas around the book title indicate that John Kennedy Toole only wrote one novel, and that it was called A Confederacy of Dunces. 5. After introductory words and phrases In the beginning, there was light.

Finally, the teacher handed back the papers. Meanwhile, Rob and I waited in the car. 6. To separate items in a list Comma before and is optional Correct: Hiking, skiing, and white-water rafting are my favorite things to do. Correct: Hiking, skiing and white-water rafting are my favorite things to do. 7. To separate adjectives whose order could be reversed Correct: The groaning, rumbling train finally pulled into the station Correct: The rumbling, groaning train finally pulled into the station Commas should NOT be used: 1. Between two full sentences (Independent Clauses) When two stand-alone sentences are joined by a comma, the result is known as a Comma Splice. Comma splices are always incorrect. Incorrect: London is a very old city, some parts of it are extremely modern. 2. Between an independent clause and a dependent clause when the independent clause comes first. In the following sentence, the independent clause is underlined and the dependent clause is in bold. Incorrect: London has buildings from many different eras because it is a very old city. 3. Between two clauses with the same subject when the subject is not repeated Repeated Subject: London is a very old city, but it has many modern buildings. Subject Not Repeated - Correct: London is a very old city but has many modern buildings.

Subject Not Repeated - Incorrect: London is a very old city, but has many modern buildings. 4. Between Subjects and Verbs Correct: Carlos and his sister are going to a concert tonight. Incorrect: Carlos and his sister, are going to a concert tonight. 5. In Compound Subjects and Compound Objects Correct: Carlos and his sister enjoy attending movies and concerts. Incorrect Compound Subject: Carlos, and his sister enjoy attending movies and concerts. Incorrect Compound Object: Carlos and his sister enjoy attending movies, and concerts. 6. Before or after prepositions Correct: My birthday is my favorite day of the year. Incorrect: My birthday is my favorite day, of the year. Incorrect: My birthday is my favorite day of, the year. 7. Before or after the word That Correct: I finally saw the movie that my friends had recommended. Incorrect: I finally saw the movie, that my friends had recommended. Incorrect: I finally saw the movie that, my friends had recommended. AND in clauses in which that is optional and does not appear Correct: He said (that) he would come to the movie tonight. Incorrect: He said, he would come to the movie tonight. 8. Between two adjectives whose order cannot be reversed Correct: I was somewhat taken aback by the sight of the big blue dog.

Incorrect: I was somewhat taken aback by the sight of the big, blue dog. (You wouldn't say, "I was somewhat taken aback by the sight of the blue, big dog"). 9. Between adjectives and nouns Correct: The sight of the big blue dog surprised me. Incorrect: The sight of the big blue, dog surprised me. 10. Before an open parenthesis Correct: The Caribbean Sea contains some of the world's most stunning coral reefs (which are home to thousands of species of marine life), but many of them are in danger because of overfishing and pollution. Incorrect: The Caribbean Sea contains some of the world's most stunning coral reefs, (which are home to thousands of species of marine life), but many of them are in danger because of overfishing and pollution. II. SEMICOLONS Semicolon = Period Semicolons are used: 1. Between independent clauses without a conjunction London is an old city; it has many new buildings. 2. Before However and Therefore when they are used to begin a clause London is an old city; however, it has many new buildings. London is an old city; therefore, it has buildings from many different eras. III. COLONS Colons are used:

1. Before a list I like the following sports: hiking, swimming, and rafting. 2. Before an explanation I talked to my teacher yesterday, and here's what she said: I should stop by tomorrow before class to discuss the test. Colons must always follow a full sentence that can stand on its own as acomplete thought. Unlike semicolons, however, they don't have to be followed by one. Correct: These are the kinds of fruit I like: apples, bananas and strawberries. Incorrect: I like: apples, bananas and strawberries. IV. DASHES Dashes are used: 1. To indicate non-essential statements within a sentence Grammatically, they are identical to commas when used this way. Correct: London - which is a very old city - has many new buildings. 2. Before a list, an explanation, or to create a deliberate pause in a sentence Grammatically, they are identical to colons when used this way Correct: I like these kinds of fruits - apples, bananas and strawberries. V. APOSTROPHES Apostrophes are used to make nouns possessive For singular nouns, always add apostrophe + -s The boy's ball = The ball belonging to the boy The albatross's blanket = The blanket belonging to the albatross For plural nouns, always add -s + apostrophe (or -es + apostrophe if the singular version ends in -s)

The boys' ball = The ball belonging to the boys The albatrosses' blanket = The blanket belonging to the albatross It's vs. Its It's = It isIts = Possessive form of itIts' = Does not exist Correct: It's raining outside now, but it should be sunny tomorrow. Incorrect: Its raining outside now, but it should be sunny tomorrow. Correct: The book is missing its cover. Incorrect: The book is missing it's (not: it is) cover. You're vs. Your You're = You are Your = Possessive form of you Correct: I'm sure whether you're (you are) coming with us tonight. Incorrect: I'm sure whether your coming with us tonight. Correct: This is your jacket, right? Incorrect: This is you're (not: you are) jacket, right? They're vs. Their vs. There They're = They are Their = Possessive form of they There = A Place They're Correct: Bob and Alice are our friends, and they're (they are) coming to dinner tonight.

Incorrect: Bob and Alice are our friends, and their/there coming to dinner tonight. Their Correct: The books are missing their covers. Incorrect: The books are missing they're/there covers. There Correct: We went to my favorite restaurant last night, and I think I left my jacket there. Incorrect: We went to my favorite restaurant last night, and I think I left my jacket they're/their. Who's vs. Whose Who's = Who is Correct: I don't know who's (who is) at the door. Incorrect: I don't know whose at the door. Whose = Possessive of who Correct: I don't know whose jacket this is. Incorrect: I don't know who's jacket this is. That's vs. Thats That's = That is Thats = Does not exist Correct: That's (That is) my jacket lying over there. Incorrect: Thats my jacket lying over there. Hers vs. Her's Hers = Possessive form of her Her's = Does not exist

Correct: This jackets is hers. Incorrect: This jacket is her's.