Act exam success_3 potx

PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICIPLE THREE DISTINCT FORMS begin began begun ring rang rung sing sang sung spring sprang sprung swim swam swum do did done go went gone am was been is was been see saw seen drink drank drunk shrink shrank shrunk sink sank sunk stink stank stunk swear swore sworn tear tore torn wear wore worn blow blew blown draw drew drawn fly flew flown grow grew grown know knew known throw threw thrown drive drove driven – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 63 PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICIPLE THREE DISTINCT FORMS strive strove striven choose chose chosen rise rose risen break broke broken speak spoke spoken fall fell fallen shake shook shaken take took taken forget forgot forgotten get got gotten give gave given forgive forgave forgiven forsake forsook forsaken hide hid hidden ride rode ridden write wrote written freeze froze frozen steal stole stolen SAME PRESENT AND PAST PARTICIPLE FORMS come came come overcome overcame overcome run ran run – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 64 In English, as in many other languages, the essential verb to be is highly irregular: SUBJECT PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICIPLE I am was have been you are were have been he, she, it is was has been we are were have been they are were have been H ELPING VERBS Helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs) are essential to clear communication. They help indicate exactly when an action took place or will take place. They also suggest very specific meanings, such as the subject’s ability or intention to do something. The following table lists the helping verbs, their forms, and their meanings. PRESENT AND FUTURE PAST MEANING EXAMPLES will would intention He will send the letter in the morning. can could ability I can make it by 3:00. Rose could not believe her luck. may, might might permission May I borrow your car? Might we go to the party together? should should + have + recommendation We should leave a good tip. past participle They should have offered us a ride home. must, have (to) had (to) necessity I must go to the dentist. I had to have two teeth pulled. shall should obligation They said they should call first. – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 65 PRESENT AND FUTURE PAST MEANING EXAMPLES should should + have + expectation They should be here any minute. past participle They should have been here by now. might might + have + possibility They might be a little late. past participle They might have gotten stuck in traffic. Practice 8 1. He should have knowed better than to do that. a. NO CHANGE b. should had known c. should have known d. would have known 2. The blinds w ere drawed to keep out the sun. f. NO CHANGE g. were drawn h. drew j. had drawn 3. The key was hidd en behind the picture. a. NO CHANGE b. was hid c. did hide d. had hidden 4. The water cr eeped up to the bottom of the window. f. NO CHANGE g. creep h. crept j. had creeped – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 66 5. The ship sunk in a matter of minutes. a. NO CHANGE b. sink c. had sank d. sank Answers 1. c. 2. g. 3. a. 4. h. 5. d. S UBJUNCTIVE MOOD The subjunctive mood is one of the verb forms we often forget to use in conversation, and therefore we often neglect to use it correctly in our writing. Like helping verbs, the subjunctive is used to express a specific mean- ing, indicating something that is wished for or that is contrary to fact. It is formed by using were instead of was, as in the following examples: If she w ere a little older, she could watch the children. (She is not a little older.) If I w ere rich, I would travel the world. (I am not rich.) T ROUBLESOME VERBS Three verb pairs are particularly troublesome, even for native speakers of English: lie / lay sit / set rise / raise The key to knowing which verb to use is remembering which verb takes an object. In each pair, one verb is transitive—an object “receives” the action—while the other is intransitive—the subject itself “receives” or performs the action. For example, lie is an action that the subject of the sentence “performs” on itself: I will lie down. The transitive verb lay, on the other hand, is an action that the subject of the sentence performs upon an object: He la y the baby down in the crib. In the following examples, the subjects are in bold and the objects are underlined. – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 67 lie: to rest or recline (intransitive—subject only) lay: to put or place (transitive—needs an object) I will lie down for a while. Will you please lay the p aper s down on the table. sit: to rest (intransitive—subject only) set: to put or place (transitive—needs an object) Why don’t we sit down and talk this over? He will set the r ecord straight. rise: to go up (intransitive—subject only) raise: to move something up (transitive—needs an object) The sun will rise at 5:48 A.M. tomorrow. He raised the r ent to $750 per month. The basic forms of these verbs can also be a bit tricky. The following table shows how each verb is con- jugated. PRESENT PRESENT PARTICIPLE PAST PAST PARTICIPLE (WITH AM, IS, ARE) (WITH HAVE, HAS, HAD) lie, lies lying lay lain lay, lays laying laid laid sit, sits sitting sat sat set, sets setting set set rise, rises rising rose risen raise, raises raising raised raised Practice 9 Choose the correct verb from the italicized pairs in the sentences below. 1. He wished he was/were closer to his destination so he could rest. 2. If I was/were taller, I might be better at basketball. 3. She was/were hoping to get a better offer. – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 68 4. He decided to lay/lie down because he felt ill. 5. The papers have been laying/lying in the driveway for days now. 6. The interest rates have risen/raised considerably in the last week. 7. She sat/set the keys on the table. 8. I have lain/laid here long enough; it’s time to get up. Answers 1. He wished he were closer to his destination so he could rest. 2. If I were taller, I might be better at basketball. 3. She was hoping to get a better offer. 4. He decided to lie down because he felt ill. 5. The papers have been lying in the driveway for days now. 6. The interest rates have risen considerably in the last week. 7. She set the keys on the table. 8. I have lain here long enough; it’s time to get up. Now that you have reviewed verb conjugation and tense formation, it is time to talk about two key issues with verb usage: consistent tense and subject-verb agreement. Consistent Verb Tense One of the quickest ways to confuse readers, especially if you are telling a story or describing an event, is to shift verb tenses. To help readers be clear about when actions occur, make sure verbs are consistent in tense. If you begin telling the story in the present tense, for example, stay in the present tense; do not mix tenses as you write. Otherwise, you will leave your readers wondering whether actions are taking place in the present or took place in the past. Incorrect: He g ot on the bus and realizes he has forgotten his briefcase. Correct: He g ot on the bus and realized he had forgotten his briefcase. Incorrect: When we w ork together, we got better results. Correct: When we w ork together, we get better results. – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 69 Subject-Verb Agreement In English grammar, agreement means that sentence elements are balanced. Verbs, for example, should agree with their subjects: if the subject is singular, the verb should be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb should be plural. Incorrect: Erik do really good work. (singular subject, plural verb) Correct: Erik does really good work. (singular subject, singular verb) Incorrect: They gets really upset when telemarketers calls at dinnertime. (plural subjects, singular verbs) Correct: They get really upset when telemarketers call at dinnertime. (plural subjects, plural verbs) Of course, to make sure subjects and verbs agree, you need to be clear about who or what is the subject of the sentence. For example, what is the subject in the following sentence, and which is the correct verb? Only one of the projects [was/were] completed on time. In this sentence, the subject is one, not projects. Though it seems as though projects are performing the action of being completed, projects cannot be the subject because it is part of a prepositional phrase (of the projects), and subjects are never found in prepositional phrases. Thus, the verb must be singular (was, not were) to agree with one. In addition, it is only one of the projects—not all—that was completed on time, so again, the verb must be singular. Here are some other important guidelines for subject-verb agreement: ■ If a compound, singular subject is connected by and, the verb must be plural. Both D r. Holt and Dr. Weinberg agree that this is an important discovery. ■ If a compound, singular subject is connected by or or nor, the verb must be singular. Neither D r. Holt nor Dr. Weinberg feels that this is an important discovery. ■ If one plural and one singular subject are connected by or or nor, the verb agrees with the closest subject. Neither Dr. Holt nor the r esearchers feel that this is an important discovery. Neither the researchers nor D r. Holt feels that this is an important discovery. ■ In an inverted sentence, the subject comes after the verb, so the first step is to clearly identify the sub- ject. (Sentences that begin with there is and there are, for example, as well as questions, are inverted sen- tences.) Once you correctly identify the subject, then you can make sure your verb agrees. The correct subjects and verbs are underlined below. – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 70 Incorrect: There’s numerous examples of this phenomenon. Correct: There ar e numerous examples of this phenomenon. Incorrect: Here is the files you requested. Correct: Here ar e the fi les you requested. Incorrect: What is the long-term effects of this decision? Correct: What ar e the long-term e ffects of this decision? Gerunds and Infinitives Gerunds and infinitives have given many students of English a grammar headache, but they are not so dif- ficult to master. Gerunds, as we noted earlier, look like verbs because they end in -ing, but they actually func- tion as nouns in sentences: Tracy loves camping . Here, the “action” Tracy performs is loves. The thing (noun) she enjoys is camping. In the following sen- tence, however, camping is the action Tracy performs, so it is functioning as a verb, not as a gerund: Tracy is camping in the Pine Barrens next week. Words ending in -ing can also function as adjectives: Some of our camping gear needs to be replaced before our trip. Here’s another example of how the same word can have three different functions: Ve r b : He is s creaming loudly. Gerund (noun): That s creaming is driving me crazy! Adjective: The s creaming boy finally stopped. What this means is that you cannot count on word endings to determine a word’s part of speech. Lots of things that look like verbs may not be—it’s how they function in the sentence that counts. Infinitives are the base (unconjugated) form of the verb preceded by to: to go, to discover, to challenge. They are often part of a verb chain, but they are not the main verb (main action) of a sentence: Alfred likes t o run early in the morning. In this example, likes is the main verb; what Alfred likes (the action he likes to take) is to run early in the morning. – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 71 WHEN TO USE INFINITIVES AND GERUNDS In many situations, you may be uncertain whether to use an infinitive or a gerund. Which statement is cor- rect: I like to swim or I like swimming? In this case, both are correct; like, hate, and other verbs that express preference can be followed by either an infinitive or gerund. But other verbs can only be followed by one or the other. Here are a few helpful guidelines: ■ Always use a gerund after a preposition. He built the robot by r ecycling old appliances. Renaldo was excited after s eeing his test results. ■ Always use a gerund after the following verbs: admit dislike practice appreciate enjoy put off avoid escape quit can’t help finish recall consider imagine resist delay keep risk deny miss suggest discuss postpone tolerate I can’t help f eeling that I should have done more. Don’t risk losing your money by investing in that company. Ralph quit smo king over a year ago. The witness recalled hear ing the defendant discuss the crime. ■ In general, use an infinitive after these verbs: agree decide need refuse ask expect offer venture beg fail plan want bother hope pretend wish claim manage promise I promise t o return your car by noon. Abby decided t o leave before the speech had ended. The offer failed t o meet my expectations. ■ When a noun or pronoun immediately follows these verbs, use an infinitive: advise allow ask cause command convince encourage expect force need order persuade remind require tell urge want warn – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 72 [...]... TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES: introduce an example for example for instance that is in other words in particular specifically in fact first (second) of all and in addition also again moreover furthermore show emphasis indeed in fact certainly acknowledge another although though granted despite even though show addition point of view 87 – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE – show rank more importantly above all... recommendation a call to action 88 – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE – For example, the conclusion to a passage about a healthy diet might end with a call to action: Take a good, long look in your refrigerator and pantry What unhealthy foods call your icebox and cabinets their home? Find them, get rid of them, and stock up with foods that will help you live a longer, healthier life Practice 13 Read the passage... much more impact than the verb ate and its two modifiers, quickly and hungrily These exact verbs create a vivid picture; they tell us exactly how she ate her lunch Exact nouns will improve your sentences, too Here’s an example of a general sentence made more precise: The machine made a loud noise and then stopped The generator made a loud bang and then stopped The second sentence, with its exact nouns,... ideas The “right” word has four essential characteristics: 1 2 3 4 It expresses the idea you wish to convey It is exact (precise) It is appropriate for the audience It is consistent with the style and tone of the text 95 – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE – Notice how effective word choice cuts back on wordiness and creates much more powerful sentences in the example below: She ate her lunch quickly and hungrily... the way that they want to say it Revision questions on the ACT English Test focus on two key elements of effective writing: Support Does the passage offer sufficient support for its ideas or claims? Support can come in the form of specific examples, facts, reasons, descriptions or anecdotes, or expert opinion and analysis You may be asked, for example, which of four items would best develop the support... important information right away Newspaper articles, for example, generally use this structure They begin with the most important information (the who, what, when, where, and why about the event) so readers don’t have to read the whole article to get those facts Details and background information come later in the article 91 – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE – When writers move from least to most important,... contrary while yet in contrast unlike 92 – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE – C AUSE AND E FFECT The fourth most common organizational pattern is cause and effect A cause is a person or thing that makes something happen (creates an effect) An effect is an event or change created by an action (or cause) A passage about cause explains why something took place You might ask, for example, “What caused the Cold War?”... always occurs shortly before their deaths This fact is true whether the genius lives to be nineteen or ninety With the appropriate transitions, the second paragraph reads much more smoothly and makes its ideas more clear Certain transitions work best for specific functions For example, “for example” is a great transition to use when introducing a specific example Here’s a brief list of some of the most... are worthless; they’re fake 77 – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE – None of the information is accurate; it’s all out of date None of the facts are accurate; they’re all out of date Some of the money looks like counterfeits Some of these coins look like counterfeits P OSSESSIVE P RONOUNS The possessive pronouns its, your, their, and whose are often confused with the contractions it’s (it is or it has), you’re... relate to one another Transitional words and phrases connect ideas within sentences and between sentences, within paragraphs and between paragraphs They are essential to 86 – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE – good writing Notice, for example, the difference between the two paragraphs below In the first version, the transitions have been omitted In the second version, they are underlined Most people tend to . verb is transitive—an object “receives” the action—while the other is intransitive—the subject itself “receives” or performs the action. For example, lie is an action that the subject of the sentence. correct subjects and verbs are underlined below. – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 70 Incorrect: There’s numerous examples of this phenomenon. Correct: There ar e numerous examples of this phenomenon. Incorrect:. (main action) of a sentence: Alfred likes t o run early in the morning. In this example, likes is the main verb; what Alfred likes (the action he likes to take) is to run early in the morning. – ACT