Summary
Highlights
This video introduces two fundamental concepts crucial for the ACT English section's punctuation questions: clause types and interrupts. While not directly tested, understanding these is key to choosing the correct punctuation. Punctuation questions constitute the majority of the ACT English section, making this an essential guide.
The ACT tests the ability to differentiate between independent and dependent clauses. An independent clause has a subject, a verb, and can stand alone as a complete idea. For the ACT, the term 'dependent clause' is used as an umbrella term for any phrase or clause that cannot stand alone as a complete idea, simplifying rules for test-takers even if it deviates slightly from strict grammatical definitions. Examples like 'Jack ran off to get his jacket' for an independent clause and 'before going out in the cold' for a dependent clause illustrate the concepts.
A complete sentence can contain multiple clauses. When two independent clauses are not properly separated, they form a run-on sentence, which is a common error. Correct separation often involves periods or semicolons for two independent clauses, and commas for connecting an independent clause with a dependent clause. The video provides examples showing how commas connect dependent and independent clauses.
Interrupts are extra information within a sentence that can be removed without making the sentence grammatically incorrect or nonsensical. These are always separated from the rest of the sentence by commas, parentheses, or dashes. All three punctuation marks are generally interchangeable for this purpose, with one exception for parentheses at the end of a sentence.
If an interrupt is in the middle of a sentence, it must have punctuation on both sides. If it's at the end, it only needs punctuation at the beginning, followed by the sentence's end punctuation (like a period). The exception for parentheses is explained: a single opening parenthesis at the end of a sentence is not allowed, requiring both an opening and closing parenthesis if used in that position.
To identify an interrupt, remove the suspected phrase and check if the sentence still makes sense. For instance, in 'Lori, who was late last week, showed up an hour early today,' removing 'who was late last week' leaves 'Lori showed up an hour early today,' which is still a complete thought, confirming it's an interrupt. The video emphasizes that the ACT might present incorrectly punctuated interrupts, requiring students to actively test them.
Commas, parentheses, and dashes can all be used to set off interrupts, but consistency is key: the same punctuation must be used on both sides of a single interrupt. It's incorrect to mix them (e.g., a dash on one side and a comma on the other). However, different interrupts within the same sentence can use different types of punctuation.
When an interrupt appears at the end of a sentence, only the initial punctuation mark (a comma or dash) is used to set it off, followed by the sentence's period. An example is 'Mark scored 38 points for his team in Thursday's game—a new record for his school.' Removing 'a new record for his school' leaves a complete sentence, confirming the interrupt placement.