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ACT English 2.10 Passage Drill 181 Views


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ACT English: Passage Drill 2, Problem 10

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

Heres your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by lukewarm water. Two questions: who the

00:08

heck is Luke, and why does he love room temperature water?

00:32

How would you correct the following underlined portion from the passage? Does it need correcting?

00:44

Here, we need to know the protocol for using a little word named "then." Though it

00:50

may seem like an innocent little fella, it can put us on the fast track to Comma Splice

00:54

City if we're not careful.

00:56

See, "then" is what's known as a conjunctive adverb, a part of speech used to join words,

01:01

phrases, or clauses and to help the author clarify what he or she is saying. Some of

01:06

"then's" conjunctive adverb friends include "however," "also," and "nonetheless."

01:12

Knowing that "then" is a conjunctive adverb allows us to knock out (A) and (B) simultaneously.

01:18

An important rule to remember is that a conjunctive adverb can't link two independent clauses

01:22

without the help of a semicolon. Both (A) and (B) attempt this feat with nothing but

01:26

a comma, which turns our sentence into a dreaded comma splice.

01:31

Choice (D) makes a noble attempt by placing a period between the two independent clauses.

01:37

If we don't want to put a semicolon before our conjunctive adverb, the alternative is

01:41

to place a period before the adverb. Thus, we sever the two independent clauses, allowing

01:46

each one to be its own sentence.

01:50

However, choice (D) bungles the job by placing the period after the word "then," instead of before it.

01:55

Leaving "then" attached to the first clause actually turns the first clause into a fragment,

02:00

or a sentence that can't stand on its own as a complete sentence.

02:05

Though a sentence fragment would correspond well with the author's fragmented psyche during

02:08

the cat-washing attempt, that doesn't make (D) the correct answer.

02:12

(C) is the right choice because it correctly places the period before the word "then."

02:16

It also remembers to place a comma after "then," which is always necessary when a conjunctive

02:21

adverb kicks off a sentence. With this punctuational nip/tuck we now have a clearer understanding

02:26

of the soothing relationship of coconut shampoo, lukewarm water, and rubber mats.

02:31

Personally, we can't imagine a situation in which we'd by comforted by a rubber mat.

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