ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Sentence Structure Videos 41 videos
Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.Besides being e...
Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.Every time I go...
Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.It is difficult...
ACT English 2.1 Sentence Structure 314 Views
Share It!
Description:
ACT English: Sentence Structure Drill 2, Problem 1. Which choice best punctuates this sentence?
Transcript
- 00:03
Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by detectives. Along with young boys who have
- 00:08
a penchant for frying ants, they are some of the foremost buyers of magnifying glasses.
- 00:14
How should you change the highlighted portion below, if at all?
- 00:17
They weren't dangerous criminals they were detectives in disguise.
- 00:27
This sentence has a bad case of the runs.
Full Transcript
- 00:30
Er, run-ons.
- 00:31
Because we have two independent clauses here that aren't connected by any punctuation,
- 00:35
the sentence is what's known as a run-on or fused sentence.
- 00:40
Notice how the clauses, "they weren't dangerous criminals," and "they were detectives in disguise,"
- 00:46
both have their own subjects and predicates, making them both complete sentences that could
- 00:50
exist independently from each other.
- 00:52
If we want to put them in the same sentence, we have to use some kind of punctuation. So
- 00:56
we know for sure that choice (A) is leading us to Run-on Central.
- 01:00
Choice (D) tries to solve the problem by sticking in a dash toward the end of the sentence.
- 01:04
The dash does a great job of highlighting the fact that the detectives are in disguise,
- 01:08
but it does a terrible job of fixing our run-on problem.
- 01:11
We're looking for the answer that places the punctuation directly between our two independent
- 01:16
clauses.
- 01:17
Choice (B) tries a semicolon on for size.
- 01:19
This isn't a totally bad idea; semicolons are indeed used to connect independent clauses.
- 01:24
However, (B) makes the same mistake as choice (D) by placing the semicolon in the wrong
- 01:29
place.
- 01:30
Choice (C) puts the semicolon right where it needs to be, connecting our independent
- 01:34
clauses and solving our case of the run-ons.
- 01:37
So remember friends, when you're in a pinch, try semicolons for fast acting run-on relief!
Related Videos
ACT English: Punctuation Drill 2, Problem 2. Where should the semi-colon be placed?
ACT English: Punctuation Drill 3, Problem 1. How should this sentence be changed so that it is grammatically correct?
ACT English: Punctuation Drill 3, Problem 2. How should we properly hyphenate the words in this sentence?
ACT English: Punctuation Drill 3, Problem 4. Which choice best formats this list of items?
ACT English: Punctuation Drill 2, Problem 1. Which choice of punctuation best completes the sentence?