ACT

Knowledge of language questions assess your ability to use words effectively. They focus on style, tone, word choice, and concision.

Style and Tone

Consistent style and tone create a unified reading experience. Academic writing maintains a formal tone throughout; narrative writing may use informal language that suits its characters and setting. The ACT often offers choices that are grammatically correct but stylistically inconsistent. A casual phrase in a formal essay sounds jarring even without a grammatical error, so choose the answer that matches the established tone of the passage.

Word Choice

Effective word choice depends on both denotation (a word's dictionary definition) and connotation (the emotional associations it carries). "Thrifty," "economical," and "cheap" all describe someone who spends money carefully, but "thrifty" and "economical" suggest wisdom and prudence, while "cheap" suggests stinginess or poor quality.

Concision and Redundancy

Effective writing uses no more words than necessary. When two choices say the same thing correctly, the ACT usually rewards the shorter one. Watch for redundancy, where one word repeats the meaning of another ("completely unanimous," "past history"), and for empty phrases that add words without adding meaning.

WordyPhrase	ConciseReplacement
duetothefactthat	because
inspiteofthefactthat	although
atthispointintime	now

advance forward basic fundamentals combine together end result free gift future plans past memories repeat again true fact completely unanimous past history

Each phrase contains a word that duplicates the meaning of another: "advance" already means to move forward, and "fundamentals" already refers to basics. Eliminating redundancy tightens prose and improves clarity.

The shortest choice is correct only when it keeps the meaning and is grammatically complete. If the shortest option drops information the sentence needs or creates a fragment, it is wrong.

Grammar questions test your understanding of how words function within sentences. Knowing the parts of speech and the building blocks of sentences helps you identify and correct errors efficiently.

Parts of Speech

PartofSpeech	Function	Examples
Nouns	Namepeople places things orideas;propernouns , , ,	city teacher book;Chicago ProfessorSmith , , ,
	namespecificentitiesandarecapitalized
Pronouns	Replacenouns:personal relative(introducedependent ,	I you they;who which that;this those , , , , ,
	clauses) anddemonstrative(pointtospecificthings) ,
Verbs	Expressactionsorstatesofbeing:action linking and , ,	run create;is seem become;have will should , , , , ,
	helpingverbs
Adjectives	Modifynounsandpronouns	tallbuilding difficultexam ,
Adverbs	Modifyverbs adjectives andotheradverbs;oftenendin , ,	ranquickly extremelytall verycarefully , ,
	-ly
Prepositions	Showrelationshipsoflocation time ordirection , ,	in on at by for with to from , , , , , , ,
Conjunctions	Connectwords phrases andclauses , ,	and but or because although while , , , , ,

Phrases and Clauses

A phrase is a group of related words without a subject-verb combination: prepositional (in the morning), participial (running quickly), gerund (swimming daily), infinitive (to succeed), and appositive (my brother, a doctor). A clause contains a subject and a verb. An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone; a dependent clause begins with a subordinating conjunction (because, although, when, if) or a relative pronoun (who, which, that) and cannot stand alone.

Sentence Types

Type	Structure	Example
Simple	Oneindependentclause	Theexperimentsucceeded .
Compound	Twoormoreindependentclauses	Theexperimentsucceeded andresearcherspublishedtheir ,
		findings .
Complex	Oneindependentclause+atleast	Althoughinitialresultswerepromising theexperiment ,
	onedependentclause	ultimatelyfailed .
Compound -complex	Twoormoreindependentclauses+at	Althoughinitialresultswerepromising theexperiment ,
	leastonedependentclause	failed andresearchersreturnedtoearlierhypotheses , .