Free ACT English Question and Answers 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Identify the error: "The data clearly shows that temperatures have rose significantly."
- "Rose" should be "risen" — "have risen" is the correct present perfect form (Correct answer)
- "Data" should be "datum" since it is the singular form
- "Clearly" should be removed as an unnecessary adverb
- "Shows" should be "show" because data is plural
Correct answer: "Rose" should be "risen" — "have risen" is the correct present perfect form
The present perfect tense requires the past participle. "Rise" → past participle "risen." "Have rose" is incorrect; the correct form is "have risen." (Note: ACT also accepts "data shows" with singular agreement in modern usage.)
Question 2: Select the best word to maintain formal tone: "The scientist's findings were _____ surprising to the research community."
- considerably (Correct answer)
- super
- really
- totally
Correct answer: considerably
"Considerably" is formal and precise. "Super," "really," and "totally" are informal intensifiers inappropriate for scientific or academic writing.
Question 3: "Its" vs. "it's": Choose the correct sentence.
- The committee released its final report on Monday. (Correct answer)
- The committee released it's final report on Monday.
- The committee released its' final report on Monday.
- The committee released its\'s final report on Monday.
Correct answer: The committee released its final report on Monday.
"Its" (no apostrophe) is the possessive pronoun. "It's" is a contraction of "it is." Since the report belongs to the committee, the possessive "its" is correct.
Question 4: Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly?
- She enjoys hiking, swimming, and cycling. (Correct answer)
- She enjoys to hike, swimming, and to cycle.
- She enjoys hiking, to swim, and cycles.
- She enjoys hikes, to swim, and cycling.
Correct answer: She enjoys hiking, swimming, and cycling.
Parallel structure requires the same grammatical form for all items in a series. "Hiking, swimming, and cycling" all use the gerund (-ing) form correctly.
Question 5: The underlined portion of the sentence reads: "The ancient ruins, which had stood for over two millennia were discovered by archaeologists in 1972." What correction is needed?
- Add a comma after "millennia": "which had stood for over two millennia, were discovered" (Correct answer)
- Remove the comma after "ruins"
- Change "had stood" to "stood"
- Change "were" to "was"
Correct answer: Add a comma after "millennia": "which had stood for over two millennia, were discovered"
The nonrestrictive relative clause "which had stood for over two millennia" must be enclosed in commas on both sides. The closing comma after "millennia" is missing.
Question 6: An ACT English passage asks: should the author delete the underlined sentence "The Amazon rainforest covers approximately 5.5 million square kilometers"? The paragraph is about deforestation rates in Brazil. What is the best response?
- Yes, delete it — it provides general geography but does not directly support the discussion of deforestation rates (Correct answer)
- No, keep it — all facts about the Amazon support any Amazon topic
- No, keep it — factual statistics always strengthen paragraphs
- Yes, delete it — the sentence contains a factual error
Correct answer: Yes, delete it — it provides general geography but does not directly support the discussion of deforestation rates
ACT Rhetorical Skills questions test whether information serves the specific purpose of the paragraph. A general geographic fact does not directly support a focused discussion of deforestation rates and should be deleted.
Free ACT English Question and Answers 3
Identify the error: "The data clearly shows that temperatures have rose significantly."