ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


ACT Videos 473 videos

ACT English 1.3 Punctuation
55719 Views

ACT English: Punctuation Drill 1, Problem 3. Is that comma being used correctly?

Where Does the Semicolon Fit Best?
1621 Views

ACT English: Punctuation Drill 2, Problem 3. Where does the semicolon fit best?

Inequalities in Number Lines
3229 Views

ACT Math: Coordinate Geometry Drill 1, Problem 1. Which inequality is expressed by the number line?

See All

ACT English 4.3 Punctuation 466 Views


Share It!


Description:

ACT English: Punctuation Drill 4, Problem 3. How could dashes be correctly inserted into the sentence, if at all?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the dash. Sorry if it's a little winded—it

00:08

sprinted the whole way here.

00:10

How should you change the below sentence to make it correct, if at all?

00:14

Perhaps one reason why the term has been so problematic, so resistant to definition, and

00:19

yet so transitory in those definitions, is because of its multitude of applications.

00:34

Dashes can be used in place of commas to set a certain phrase—often a modifier—apart for emphasis.

00:42

(B) is incorrect because the modifiers of "so problematic" and "so resistant to definition"

00:47

need to be separated with a comma.

00:50

(C) is incorrect because "and yet" isn't crucial enough to be emphasized with dashes.

00:55

This leaves us with choices (A) and (D).

00:58

But (D) still wins the day, because the use of dashes really helps to clarify the meaning of the sentence.

00:58

But (D) still wins the day, because the use of dashes really helps to clarify the meaning

01:03

The modifier "so resistant to definition, and yet so transitory in those definitions"

01:08

helps explain why the term is so problematic.

Related Videos

ACT English 2.2 Punctuation
2070 Views

ACT English: Punctuation Drill 2, Problem 2. Where should the semi-colon be placed?

ACT English 3.1 Punctuation
1066 Views

ACT English: Punctuation Drill 3, Problem 1. How should this sentence be changed so that it is grammatically correct?

ACT English 3.2 Punctuation
973 Views

ACT English: Punctuation Drill 3, Problem 2. How should we properly hyphenate the words in this sentence?

ACT English 3.4 Punctuation
522 Views

ACT English: Punctuation Drill 3, Problem 4. Which choice best formats this list of items?

ACT English 2.1 Punctuation
519 Views

ACT English: Punctuation Drill 2, Problem 1. Which choice of punctuation best completes the sentence?