ACT English – Grade 9
Usage and Mechanics
T 1. Define and Know (D)
2. Recognize (R)
3. Apply automatically (A)
Objectives
What Students Need to Know
Ø Identify irregular verbs
(Present, past and past participle of
irregular verbs (listed in the above
order): choose, chose, chosen; do,
did, done; go, went, gone)
Ø Form past and past participle of
irregular verbs
Ø Identify comparative and
superlative adjectives
(Positive, comparative and
superlative adjectives (listed in the
above order): big, bigger, biggest;
good better, best)
Ø Form comparative and superlative
adjectives
• Revise writing to correct basic
grammar and punctuation errors
• Practice and understand correct
usage of common homonyms
(e.g., their/there, past/passed)
1
Conventions of Usage (16%)
• Subject-verb agreement
• Principal parts of verbals
• Verb forms and verbals
• Pronouns
Resources Standards
(ACT Scoring Range)
Strategies for Irregular Verbs: Solve such basic
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/eslirrverb.html (R) grammatical
problems as how to
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/g_seqtense.html (D) form the past and past
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/g_tensec.html (D, R) participle of irregular
but commonly used
Strategies and Practice of Irregular Verbs: verbs and how to
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#participle (D) form comparative and
superlative adjectives
http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/sensen/part1/two/index.html (R, A)
(13-15)
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/par2_quiz.pl/irregular
_quiz.htm (A)
Strategies for Comparative and Superlative Adjectives:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/esladjadv.html (D, R)
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm (D, R, A)
Podcast - Grammar Girl “Misplaced Modifiers”:
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/misplaced-modifiers.aspx (D, R, A)
 Online Quizzes - Irregular Verbs:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/irregular_verbs.htm (A)
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/irregular_verbsII.htm (A)
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-
shl/par2_quiz.pl/irregular_quiz.htm (R, A)
Irregular Verb Crosswords:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/cross/verbs.htm (A)

Ø Identify adjectives and adverbs Strategies Adjectives and Adverbs: Solve such
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/esladjadv.html (D, R) grammatical
Ø Usage of adjectives and adverbs
problems as whether
Ø Identify subject and verb Exercise #1: to use an adverb or
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/PDFs/esladjadvEX1.pdf adjective form, how
Ø Identify pronoun and antecedent
(D, R) to ensure
Ø Ensure agreement of subject and straightforward
verb Answer Key: subject-verb and
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/esladjadvA1.html pronoun-antecedent
Ø Ensure agreement of pronoun and agreement, and which
antecedent Exercise #2: preposition to use in
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/PDFs/esladjadvEX2.pdf (A) simple contexts.
• Revise sentences to ensure that (16-19)
each verb agrees with its subject Answer Key:
when there is some text between http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/PDFs/esladjadvA2.pdf
the two.
Strategies for Subject Verb Agreement:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm (D, R , A)
Exercise:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/g_tensecEX1.html (A)
Answer Key:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/g_tensecA1.html (A)

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Ø Identify frequently confused pairs
• Ensure correct usage of
frequently confused pairs.
3
Strategies for Adjectives:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/adjectives_quiz2.htm#
(A)
Explanation of Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns.htm (D, R, A)
Notorious Confusables Quizzes: Recognize and use
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/notorious.htm (R, A) the appropriate word
in frequently
Exercise - Words That Sound Alike: confused pairs such
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/PDFs/g_spelhomoEX1 as there and their,
.pdf (A) past and passed, and
led and lead (16-19)
Exercise - accept/except:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/PDFs/g_spellprobEX1.
pdf (A)
Exercise - affect/effect:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/PDFs/g_spellprobEX2.
pdf (A)

T 1. Define and Know (D)
2. Recognize (R)
3. Apply automatically (A)
Objectives
What Students Need to Know
Ø Identify conjunctions
Ø Identify simple clauses
Ø Know options to join simple
clauses
• revise writing to correct glaring
shifts in verb tense or voice
Ø Identify verbs and verb tenses
Ø Identify simple clauses
4
ACT English – Grade 9
Usage and Mechanics
Sentence Structure and Formation 24%
• Sentence Fragments • Consistency and tense
• Run-on sentences • Parallelism
• Connectives • Transitional words and phases
• Modifiers
Resources Standards
(ACT Scoring Range)
Strategies for Conjunctions: Use conjunctions or
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/gramar/conjunctions.htm (D,R) punctuation to join
simple clauses
Labeling Conjunctions: (13-15)
http://www.dailygrammar.com/201to205.shtml (A)
Strategies for Avoiding Primer Language:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/primer.htm (R, A)
Strategies for Consistency of Tense and Pronoun Reference: Revise shifts in verb
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/consistency.htm (R, A) tenses between
simple clauses in a
Online Quiz – Verb Tense Consistency: sentence or between
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/chute.htm (R, A) simple adjoining
sentences (16-19)
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/consistency
_quiz.htm (A)
 Ø Identify conjunctions Rules for Comma Usage: Determine the need
Ø Identify sentence fragments http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm (D, R, A) for punctuation and
Ø Identify fused sentences conjunctions to avoid
Ø Know punctuation options for Explanation of Conjunctions: awkward-sounding
improving sentence flow http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/conjunctions.htm#correlative_conj sentence fragments
• experiment with writing more unctions (D, R) and fused sentences
sophisticated sentences; check to (16-19)
ensure verbs agree with subjects
and modifiers don’t dangle
Ø Identify verb tense, identify verb Lesson - Choosing the Best Verb: An Active and Passive Voice Decide that
voice in context of the sentence Mini-Lesson: appropriate verb
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=280 (D, R) tenses and voice by
considering the
Strategies for understanding The Passive Voice: meaning of the entire
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/passive.htm (D, R) sentence (16-19)

Online Quiz – Revising Passive Construction:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/passive_quiz.htm (A)

5
ACT English – Grade 9
Usage and Mechanics

T 1. Define and Know (D) Conventions and Punctuation 13%

2. Recognize (R) • Commas • Dash
3. Apply automatically (A) • Semicolon • Question marks
• Colon • Exclamation point
• Hyphen • Quotation marks
• Apostrophe • Parentheses

Objectives Resources Standards

What Students Need to Know (ACT Scoring Range)

Ø Parts of speech Power Point – Diagramming Sentences: Delete commas that

Ø Parts of a sentence http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ppt/diagrams.pps (D, R) create basic sense
Ø Comma usage problems (e.g.,
• practice using punctuation Lesson - Manipulating Sentences to Reinforce Grammar Skills: between verb and
correctly in simple sentences http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=248 (R, A) direct object) (13-15)
(e.g., “He ran, jumped, and
swam.”)
• check for and correct
unnecessary commas

Ø Punctuation, commas for items in a Power Point - The English House of Commas: Provide appropriate
series http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ppt/commas.pps (D, R) punctuation in
Ø Identify clause straightforward
Ø Identify coordinating conjunction 12 Rules for Commas: situations
Ø Punctuation in quotations http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm (D, R, A) • items in a series
Ø Identify compound adjective • clauses with
Ø Punctuation usage Online Quiz – Quiz on Commas: coordinate
• use commas to set off http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/comma_quiz.htm (A) conjunctions
parenthetical phrases • punctuation in
quotations
6
 Online Quiz – What Happened to the News?: • hyphenate a
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/commas_fillin.htm (A) compound
adjective that
Online Quiz – Using Commas with Coordinating Conjunctions: comes before the
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/nova/nova1.htm (A) noun it modifies
(16-19)
Explanation of Quotation Marks:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/quotation.htm (D, R, A)

Online Quiz – Quiz on Using Quotation Marks:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/quotes_quiz.htm (A)

Explanation of The Hyphen:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/hyphen.htm (D, R, A)

Ø Appropriate comma usage for
sentence flow
General Websites for Comma Help: Delete commas that
http://www.grammarbook.com/default.asp (D, R, A) disturb the sentence
flow (e.g., between
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm (D, R) modifier and
http://ace.acadiau.ca/english/grammar/intro.htm (D, R) modified element)
(16-19)
General Comma Practice:
http://www.dailygrammar.com/341to345.shtml (A)
http://www.dailygrammar.com/346to350.shtml (A)
http://www.dailygrammar.com/351to355.shtml (A)
http://www.dailygrammar.com/356to360.shtml (A)

Exercise #1:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaEX1.html (A)

Exercise #2:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaEX2.html (A)

Exercise #3:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaEX3.htm (A)
7
 Exercise #4:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaEX4.html (A)

Exercise #5:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaEX5.html (A)