How to Avoid Fragments on the ACT English Test: The 8 Patterns You Need to Know

Download Our Free EST Study Guide

Get instant access to our proven study strategies

By Mr. Osama Ahmad | October 11, 2023

How to Avoid Fragments on the ACT English Test: The 8 Patterns You Need to Know

ACT English | Test Patterns | Shortcuts for the ACT English Test

If you are preparing for the ACT English sections, you might be wondering how to study effectively and efficiently. You might be overwhelmed by the amount of grammar rules and punctuation rules you need to memorize and apply. You might be looking for some tips and tricks to ace the test without spending hours and hours on practice questions.

Well, you are in luck. In this blog post, I will share with you some of the most important test patterns that you need to know for the ACT English test. These patterns will help you identify and correct the most common errors that appear on the test, especially in the punctuation category.

Punctuation is a big deal on the ACT English test. Out of the 75 questions, about 27 of them will test your knowledge and skills on punctuation. That means that more than a third of your score depends on how well you can use commas, semicolons, periods, fanboys, dashes, and colons.

But don't worry. You don't need to know every single rule and exception for punctuation. You just need to know the three most common mistakes that the ACT likes to test you on.

The most common ACT mistake that appears on the exam is the FRAGMENT. This error constitutes 80 percent of all punctuation based errors.

A fragment is an incomplete sentence. It lacks a main subject or a main verb or both. Sometimes, it also has an extra word or phrase that makes it incomplete.

To avoid fragments, you need to know how to identify the core parts of a sentence: the main subject and predicate (main verb) and the direct object if there is one. You also need to know some common prepositions that can introduce extra words or phrases.

Once you know these basics, you can spot the fragments by looking for these patterns:

Fragment Patterns on The ACT:

Note: These rules use a “comma” but any form of punctuation would be unacceptable.

1. Do not separate the subject and verb with a comma | subject + comma + verb = Wrong

2. Do not separate the verb and its direct object with a comma | verb + comma + object = wrong

3. Do not separate the adjective and noun with a comma| adjective + comma + noun = wrong

4. Do not use punctuation before or after a preposition | comma + preposition = wrong

5. Do not use a single comma before “that” | comma + that = wrong

6. “Ing” words are NOT VERBS

7. Infinitive forms (to + verb) are NOT VERBS

8. That, which, who are thieves and steal the verb from the subject.

For more information and practice, check out our fragment based drills HERE and HERE.

For video explanations and notes, check out our activities HERE, HERE, AND HERE

These are the most common fragment formulas that appear on the ACT. If you see any of them, you can easily fix them by removing the unnecessary punctuation or adding a main subject or verb.

By mastering these patterns, you can improve your score significantly on the ACT English test. You can also save time and energy by focusing on the most frequent errors instead of getting lost in the details.

I hope this blog post was helpful for you. If you want more tips and tricks for the ACT English test, stay tuned for more posts from me.

For real ACT English drills and explanations, check out the link HERE.

For real ACT computer based tests, check out these links here, here, and here.

Share and like. Cya.

More resources | Each test comes with a report and recommended activities to boost your score:

ACT English | Test 2

ACT English | Test 3

ACT English | Test 4

ACT English | Test 5

ACT English | Test 6

ACT English | Test 7