The Ultimate ACT Drill: Section Specific Questions
with Answers & Rationales
ENGLISH SECTION
Question 1
Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?
A) The students went to the library where they studied for the exam.
B) The students went to the library where they studied for the exam, and they studied hard.
C) The students went to the library, where they studied for the exam.
D) The students went to the library where they studied for the exam and studied hard.
Answer: A) The students went to the library where they studied for the exam.
Rationale: Option A is grammatically correct and concise. Option B is wordy and contains redundancy
with "studied." Option C uses an unnecessary comma; "where" is a restrictive relative clause (it identifies
which library) and does not require a comma. Option D is awkwardly phrased.
Question 2
Choose the sentence that is grammatically correct.
A) The professor, with his students, were planning the field trip.
B) The professor, with his students, was planning the field trip.
C) The professor with his students were planning the field trip.
D) The professor with his students was planning the field trip.
Answer: B) The professor, with his students, was planning the field trip.
Rationale: The subject of the sentence is "professor" (singular), not "students." The phrase "with his
students" is a prepositional phrase that does not change the subject. Therefore, the verb should be
singular: "was." Option B correctly uses commas to set off the prepositional phrase and has the correct
subject-verb agreement.
Question 3
Which of the following sentences uses the correct punctuation?
A) She said, "I will be there at noon."
B) She said "I will be there at noon."
C) She said, "I will be there at noon".
D) She said "I will be there at noon".
,Answer: A) She said, "I will be there at noon."
Rationale: Option A correctly places a comma before the opening quotation mark, capitalizes the first
letter of the quoted sentence, and places the period inside the closing quotation mark. Option B lacks the
comma; Option C places the period outside the quotation mark; Option D lacks both the comma and the
period inside the quotation marks.
Question 4
Which of the following is the correct use of the semicolon?
A) I have lived in New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles.
B) I have lived in New York; Chicago, and Los Angeles.
C) I have lived in New York, Chicago; and Los Angeles.
D) I have lived in New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles.
Answer: A) I have lived in New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles.
Rationale: Semicolons are used to separate items in a series when the items themselves contain commas,
or to separate independent clauses. In this case, the semicolons separate the items in a series. Option B is
incorrect because it uses a comma incorrectly; Option C is incorrect because it uses a comma before the
semicolon; Option D is incorrect because it uses a semicolon after Chicago incorrectly.
Question 5
Choose the sentence that uses the correct verb tense.
A) By the time we arrived, the movie already started.
B) By the time we arrived, the movie has already started.
C) By the time we arrived, the movie had already started.
D) By the time we arrived, the movie was already started.
Answer: C) By the time we arrived, the movie had already started.
Rationale: This sentence requires the past perfect tense ("had started") because the movie started before
we arrived (past action completed before another past action). Options A and B use incorrect tenses;
Option D uses the passive voice inappropriately.
Question 6
Which of the following sentences is correctly punctuated?
A) My favorite foods are pizza, pasta, and salad.
B) My favorite foods are pizza pasta and salad.
C) My favorite foods are pizza, pasta and salad.
D) My favorite foods are pizza, pasta, and, salad.
Answer: A) My favorite foods are pizza, pasta, and salad.
, Rationale: Option A correctly uses the Oxford comma (the final comma before "and" in a series). While
the Oxford comma is optional in some style guides, it is preferred on the ACT. Option B lacks commas
entirely; Option C lacks the final comma; Option D has an extra comma.
Question 7
Identify the sentence with the correct subject-verb agreement.
A) Neither the teacher nor the students was prepared.
B) Neither the teacher nor the students were prepared.
C) Neither the teacher nor the students are prepared.
D) Neither the teacher nor the students is prepared.
Answer: B) Neither the teacher nor the students were prepared.
Rationale: When using "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the subject closest to the verb. In this case,
"students" (plural) is closest, so the verb should be "were." Options A and D incorrectly use singular
verbs; Option C uses "are" which is plural but doesn't follow the "neither...nor" rule for the closest noun.
Question 8
Which of the following is the correct use of a colon?
A) The ingredients are: flour, sugar, and eggs.
B) The ingredients are flour: sugar and eggs.
C) The ingredients are: flour, sugar, and eggs.
D) The ingredients are flour, sugar, and eggs.
Answer: C) The ingredients are: flour, sugar, and eggs.
Rationale: A colon is used to introduce a list after a complete sentence. Option C correctly uses a colon
after a complete sentence. Option A is incorrect because it uses a colon after "ingredients are" when the
colon should come after a complete sentence. Options B and D are incorrect for different reasons.
Question 9
Choose the sentence that is grammatically correct.
A) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until the following week.
B) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until next week.
C) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until the following week.
D) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until the following week.
Answer: A) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until the following week.
Rationale: Option A is the most formally correct. The other options are either incorrect or awkward. The
phrase "until the following week" is grammatically correct and appropriate for formal writing. "Next
week" is acceptable but less formal.
with Answers & Rationales
ENGLISH SECTION
Question 1
Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?
A) The students went to the library where they studied for the exam.
B) The students went to the library where they studied for the exam, and they studied hard.
C) The students went to the library, where they studied for the exam.
D) The students went to the library where they studied for the exam and studied hard.
Answer: A) The students went to the library where they studied for the exam.
Rationale: Option A is grammatically correct and concise. Option B is wordy and contains redundancy
with "studied." Option C uses an unnecessary comma; "where" is a restrictive relative clause (it identifies
which library) and does not require a comma. Option D is awkwardly phrased.
Question 2
Choose the sentence that is grammatically correct.
A) The professor, with his students, were planning the field trip.
B) The professor, with his students, was planning the field trip.
C) The professor with his students were planning the field trip.
D) The professor with his students was planning the field trip.
Answer: B) The professor, with his students, was planning the field trip.
Rationale: The subject of the sentence is "professor" (singular), not "students." The phrase "with his
students" is a prepositional phrase that does not change the subject. Therefore, the verb should be
singular: "was." Option B correctly uses commas to set off the prepositional phrase and has the correct
subject-verb agreement.
Question 3
Which of the following sentences uses the correct punctuation?
A) She said, "I will be there at noon."
B) She said "I will be there at noon."
C) She said, "I will be there at noon".
D) She said "I will be there at noon".
,Answer: A) She said, "I will be there at noon."
Rationale: Option A correctly places a comma before the opening quotation mark, capitalizes the first
letter of the quoted sentence, and places the period inside the closing quotation mark. Option B lacks the
comma; Option C places the period outside the quotation mark; Option D lacks both the comma and the
period inside the quotation marks.
Question 4
Which of the following is the correct use of the semicolon?
A) I have lived in New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles.
B) I have lived in New York; Chicago, and Los Angeles.
C) I have lived in New York, Chicago; and Los Angeles.
D) I have lived in New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles.
Answer: A) I have lived in New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles.
Rationale: Semicolons are used to separate items in a series when the items themselves contain commas,
or to separate independent clauses. In this case, the semicolons separate the items in a series. Option B is
incorrect because it uses a comma incorrectly; Option C is incorrect because it uses a comma before the
semicolon; Option D is incorrect because it uses a semicolon after Chicago incorrectly.
Question 5
Choose the sentence that uses the correct verb tense.
A) By the time we arrived, the movie already started.
B) By the time we arrived, the movie has already started.
C) By the time we arrived, the movie had already started.
D) By the time we arrived, the movie was already started.
Answer: C) By the time we arrived, the movie had already started.
Rationale: This sentence requires the past perfect tense ("had started") because the movie started before
we arrived (past action completed before another past action). Options A and B use incorrect tenses;
Option D uses the passive voice inappropriately.
Question 6
Which of the following sentences is correctly punctuated?
A) My favorite foods are pizza, pasta, and salad.
B) My favorite foods are pizza pasta and salad.
C) My favorite foods are pizza, pasta and salad.
D) My favorite foods are pizza, pasta, and, salad.
Answer: A) My favorite foods are pizza, pasta, and salad.
, Rationale: Option A correctly uses the Oxford comma (the final comma before "and" in a series). While
the Oxford comma is optional in some style guides, it is preferred on the ACT. Option B lacks commas
entirely; Option C lacks the final comma; Option D has an extra comma.
Question 7
Identify the sentence with the correct subject-verb agreement.
A) Neither the teacher nor the students was prepared.
B) Neither the teacher nor the students were prepared.
C) Neither the teacher nor the students are prepared.
D) Neither the teacher nor the students is prepared.
Answer: B) Neither the teacher nor the students were prepared.
Rationale: When using "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the subject closest to the verb. In this case,
"students" (plural) is closest, so the verb should be "were." Options A and D incorrectly use singular
verbs; Option C uses "are" which is plural but doesn't follow the "neither...nor" rule for the closest noun.
Question 8
Which of the following is the correct use of a colon?
A) The ingredients are: flour, sugar, and eggs.
B) The ingredients are flour: sugar and eggs.
C) The ingredients are: flour, sugar, and eggs.
D) The ingredients are flour, sugar, and eggs.
Answer: C) The ingredients are: flour, sugar, and eggs.
Rationale: A colon is used to introduce a list after a complete sentence. Option C correctly uses a colon
after a complete sentence. Option A is incorrect because it uses a colon after "ingredients are" when the
colon should come after a complete sentence. Options B and D are incorrect for different reasons.
Question 9
Choose the sentence that is grammatically correct.
A) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until the following week.
B) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until next week.
C) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until the following week.
D) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until the following week.
Answer: A) The committee decided to postpone the meeting until the following week.
Rationale: Option A is the most formally correct. The other options are either incorrect or awkward. The
phrase "until the following week" is grammatically correct and appropriate for formal writing. "Next
week" is acceptable but less formal.
