ACT English — commas after introductions, dashes, parentheses and quotations

The comma splice gets most of the attention in ACT English preparation, but punctuation questions range much wider. A comma is needed where an introductory clause ends and is forbidden after a coordinating conjunction; a dash must be matched by a second dash, not a comma; a period sits outside a parenthesis that is part of a larger sentence; and in American English a comma goes inside the closing quotation mark while a question mark may go outside it.

This material covers that wider ground with twelve original sentences. Three concern introductions: an introductory clause that causes a misreading without its comma, a long introductory phrase, and "However" at the start of a sentence, where the missing comma changes the word's meaning. Three concern commas that should not be there: after "but," before "and" in a compound predicate, and between a subject and its verb after a parenthesis. One pairs a dependent clause with a semicolon. The rest concern dashes, parentheses and quotations: a correctly matched pair of dashes, a period inside a parenthesis, a comma outside a quotation mark, a question mark that correctly sits outside, and a comma wrongly placed before a quotation introduced by "that."

Because the automatic checks that guard every bank here strip punctuation before comparing answer choices, the options describe each repair in words ("add a comma after returned," "make no change") rather than printing four sentences that differ by one mark. The judgment is the one the test asks for; you simply name the repair instead of recognizing it.

Each explanation states the rule and says what each wrong repair would leave broken. The flashcards give one punctuation rule per card with a model sentence.

The material offers a multiple-choice quiz and a deck of flashcards. Punctuation belongs to Conventions of Standard English, one of the three reporting categories of the English section. Zestly is an independent study tool; this practice material is not produced, affiliated with or endorsed by ACT, Inc., which owns the ACT.

• Place a comma after an introductory clause, a long introductory phrase or a sentence-opening transition
• Remove unnecessary commas after conjunctions, before a compound predicate and between subject and verb
• Use dashes in matched pairs around an interrupting phrase
• Place periods correctly with parentheses
• Punctuate quotations in American style, including question marks and quotations introduced by that
• Use a comma, not a semicolon, after an introductory dependent clause

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the reporting categories in ACT's public description of the English section of the enhanced ACT (Conventions of Standard English). Every sentence, essay, option and explanation is original; nothing is reproduced from any ACT publication or released test.