American Diploma · ACT · English: Punctuation

ACT Unnecessary Punctuation: When No Mark Is Correct

The places where the ACT wants no punctuation at all — between subject and verb, verb and object, around essential information, before prepositions and "that", inside short compound items — plus question marks for direct vs indirect questions, with a 10-question ACT-style practice.

American Diploma › ACT English and Reading — Complete Course

Many students believe that a long sentence must need a comma somewhere. It does not. On ACT English, one of the most common correct answers to a punctuation question is the choice with no punctuation at all — and the most common wrong answers add a comma, colon, semicolon or dash where the sentence needs nothing. This lesson teaches the exact places where punctuation is forbidden, and how to use end punctuation correctly with direct and indirect questions.

What this question type tests

These items belong to the Conventions of Standard English reporting category (38–43% of the 40 scored English questions). The underlined portion contains two or three words, and the four choices place different marks between them — a comma in one, a semicolon in another, a colon or dash in a third, and nothing in the fourth. The question is the same as always: choose the best version, or NO CHANGE.

Your job is to find the grammatical relationship between the words on each side of the mark. Some relationships are so close that no mark may come between them:

a subject and its verb;
a verb and its object or complement;
a noun and the essential information that tells you which one;
a noun or verb and the preposition phrase that completes it;
a verb and a "that" clause;
two short items joined by and / or.

Read it without stopping

Read the sentence aloud in your head with no pause. If it is clear and complete, ask: "Which rule would require a mark here?" If you cannot name a rule (extra information, two complete sentences, a list of three, an introductory part), the answer is probably no punctuation.

1. Never between a subject and its verb

This is the single most tested "no punctuation" rule. It does not matter how long the subject is. Find the subject, find its verb, and make sure nothing separates them.

✓ The students in the back row of the hall laughed. ✗ The students in the back row of the hall, laughed.
✓ The old tram line that once linked Heliopolis to the city centre was closed decades ago. ✗ … to the city centre, was closed …
✓ Learning to repair a bicycle takes patience. ✗ Learning to repair a bicycle, takes patience. (An -ing phrase can be a subject.)
✓ What the report found surprised everyone. ✗ What the report found, surprised everyone. (A whole clause can be a subject.)
✓ Salma and her brother cooked dinner. ✗ Salma, and her brother cooked dinner. ✗ Salma and her brother, cooked dinner. (A compound subject is one subject.)

Careful: a pair of commas around extra information between the subject and verb is fine — "My uncle, who lives in Tanta, grows mangoes." What is never fine is a single mark: remove the extra information and you must not be left with a comma between subject and verb.

2. Never between a verb and its object or complement

The object (what the action is done to) and the complement (what comes after is, was, became, seems) complete the verb. Keep them together.

✓ The flood covered many villages. ✗ The flood covered, many villages.
✓ The winners were Omar, Rana, and Tamer. ✗ The winners were: Omar, Rana, and Tamer. ✗ The winners were — Omar, Rana, and Tamer.
✓ The kit includes a map, a torch, and water. ✗ The kit includes: a map, a torch, and water.
✓ Nobody knew why the bridge had closed. ✗ Nobody knew, why the bridge had closed. (A question-word clause can be an object.)
✓ The museum became the most visited site in the region. ✗ The museum became, the most visited site in the region.

ممنوع تفصل الأجزاء اللي ماسكة في بعض

مفيش أي علامة (لا فاصلة ولا كولون ولا شرطة ولا سيميكولون) بين الفاعل والفعل، حتى لو الفاعل طويل جدًا. ومفيش أي علامة بين الفعل والمفعول أو بعد are / were / include قبل قائمة. لو مش لاقي قاعدة تبرر العلامة، اختار الإجابة اللي من غير علامة.

3. Never around essential information

Essential (restrictive) information tells you which person or thing the sentence means. Remove it and the meaning changes or becomes unclear — so it takes no commas, dashes or brackets.

✓ Students who finish early may leave. ✗ Students, who finish early, may leave. (With commas, it says all students finish early.)
✓ The car that I bought is blue. ✗ The car, that I bought, is blue. ("that" introducing a clause about a noun is never set off with commas.)
✓ The film director Youssef Chahine made films for over half a century. ✗ The film director, Youssef Chahine, made … (The name tells you which director; without it the sentence does not say who.)
✓ Naguib Mahfouz's novel *Palace Walk* follows one Cairo family. ✓ My sister Nour is a doctor. (if I have more than one sister)
Compare: ✓ My only sister, Nour, is a doctor. (only one sister → the name is extra → commas)

The "which / that" signal: a "which" clause about a noun is usually extra and takes commas; a "that" clause is essential and takes none. A "who" clause can be either — use the removal test.

4. Never before a preposition phrase or "that" clause that completes the idea

✓ a book about ancient Egypt ✗ a book, about ancient Egypt
✓ the price of bread ✗ the price, of bread ✗ the price of, bread (never between a preposition and its object)
✓ She said that she was tired. ✗ She said, that she was tired.
✓ Scientists found that the seeds could survive for years. ✗ Scientists found: that the seeds could survive for years.
✓ The idea that schools should start later is popular. ✗ The idea, that schools should start later, is popular. (The "that" clause tells you which idea.)
✓ The road was so steep that we walked. ✗ The road was so steep, that we walked.

5. Never inside short compound items

Two items joined by and or or form a single unit. Do not put a comma between them unless each side is a complete sentence.

✓ She opened the door and walked in. ✗ She opened the door, and walked in. (two verbs, one subject)
✓ We bought bread and cheese. ✗ We bought bread, and cheese.
✓ He wanted to rest or to read. ✗ He wanted to rest, or to read.
Compare: ✓ She opened the door, and she walked in. ("she walked in" is a complete sentence → comma + and is correct)
✓ bread, cheese, and olives (three items → commas) ✗ bread, cheese, and, olives (never a comma after and)

6. Other places where nothing is correct

No punctuation…	✗ Wrong	✓ Right
after such as / including / like	spices such as, cumin and saffron	spices such as cumin and saffron
between adjectives that build on each other, or between the last adjective and the noun	a small, silver, trophy	a small silver trophy
before a short clause at the end that tells when, why or where (when, because, until, if, before, after)	We left, when the film ended.	We left when the film ended.
between a number or amount and its noun phrase	more than, three hundred recordings	more than three hundred recordings
after a conjunction (and, but, because, so)	but, the plan failed	but the plan failed

Adjectives: put a comma between two adjectives only if you could put "and" between them and change their order (✓ a long, tiring journey = a tiring and long journey). Size, age, colour and material words usually build on each other: ✓ a small silver trophy (✗ a silver and small trophy sounds wrong → no comma). And never put a comma between the last adjective and its noun.

7. End punctuation: direct and indirect questions

A question mark belongs only at the end of a direct question — the actual words of a question, in question order. An indirect (reported) question describes a question inside a statement, so it ends with a period.

Type	Signal	✓ Example
Direct question	question word order: verb before subject (Is it…? Can we…? Why did…?)	How much of the music survived?
Direct question after a colon	a complete sentence + colon + the question itself	The question was simple: would anyone come?
Indirect question	asked whether, wondered if, want to know how, explained why — statement word order (subject before verb)	Some parents asked whether the club was safe.

✗ Some parents asked whether the club was safe? ✓ Some parents asked whether the club was safe.
✗ I wonder why the shop closed? ✓ I wonder why the shop closed.
✗ The coach wanted to know who had forgotten the ball? ✓ The coach wanted to know who had forgotten the ball.
✓ Why did the shop close? (direct question: the verb "did" comes before the subject)
Quick test: if the words after the question word are in statement order (subject + verb: "whether the club was safe"), it is indirect → period.

علامة الاستفهام

علامة الاستفهام (?) بس للسؤال المباشر اللي الفعل فيه قبل الفاعل، زي: Why did he leave? لكن لو السؤال جوه جملة خبرية بعد asked whether أو wonder if أو want to know how، يبقى بنقفل بنقطة (.) مش علامة استفهام: She asked why he left.

Worked examples

Each example is part of an ACT-style essay. The underlined portion is shown between double underscores, as on the quiz.

Worked example 1 — a long subject

The narrow wooden staircase that leads to the roof of my grandmother's __house, was__ built by her father in 1948.

Question: Choose the best version of the underlined portion. If the original is best, choose NO CHANGE.

A) NO CHANGE
B) house was
C) house; was
D) house — was

Answer: B.

B is correct. The whole phrase "The narrow wooden staircase that leads to the roof of my grandmother's house" is the subject, and "was built" is its verb. Nothing may separate them.
A is the long-subject comma trap: the subject is long, so the comma "feels" natural, but it splits subject from verb.
C uses a semicolon, but neither side is a complete sentence.
D puts a single dash between subject and verb; there is no matching dash and no extra information.

Worked example 2 — a verb and a "that" clause

After months of testing, the engineers __discovered, that__ the cracks were caused by heat rather than by weight.

Question: Choose the best version of the underlined portion. If the original is best, choose NO CHANGE.

A) NO CHANGE
B) discovered: that
C) discovered that
D) discovered — that

Answer: C.

C is correct. The "that" clause is the object of "discovered" — it tells us what they discovered. No mark may separate a verb from its object.
A puts a comma between the verb and its object.
B uses a colon after "the engineers discovered", which is not a complete sentence because the verb has no object yet.
D uses a dash in the same illegal place.

Worked example 3 — two verbs, one subject

The guide unlocked the heavy iron __door, and led__ us down the steps into the tomb.

Question: Choose the best version of the underlined portion. If the original is best, choose NO CHANGE.

A) NO CHANGE
B) door and led
C) door; and led
D) door and, led

Answer: B.

B is correct. "unlocked" and "led" are two verbs that share one subject ("The guide"). Two items joined by "and" need no comma.
A adds a comma before "and", but "led us down the steps" has no subject of its own, so it is not a complete sentence.
C puts a semicolon before a part that is not a complete sentence, and a semicolon is never followed by "and" in this way.
D puts a comma after "and", which is never correct.

Worked example 4 — an indirect question

Many visitors to the tomb want to know how its paintings stayed so bright for so __long?__ The answer lies in the dry desert air.

Question: Choose the best version of the underlined portion. If the original is best, choose NO CHANGE.

A) NO CHANGE
B) long.
C) long?.
D) long,

Answer: B.

B is correct. "Many visitors … want to know how its paintings stayed so bright" is a statement that reports a question. The words after "how" are in statement order (subject "its paintings" + verb "stayed"), so it ends with a period.
A is the indirect-question trap: a question mark is only for a direct question such as "How did its paintings stay so bright?"
C uses two end marks; English never does this.
D joins two complete sentences with a comma alone (comma splice).

Classic traps

The long-subject comma: "The students who had finished their projects early, went home." Long subject, still no comma.
Colon after a verb: "The reasons are: …", "The kit includes: …" — a colon needs a complete sentence before it.
Commas around essential words: "The car, that I bought, is blue"; "The director, Youssef Chahine, made…" when the name tells you which one.
Comma before "that": "She said, that…", "so steep, that…".
Comma before "and" with one subject: "She opened the door, and walked in."
Comma after "such as" or after "and".
Question mark after an indirect question: "She asked whether it was safe?"

Fast strategy for test day

When the choices differ only in punctuation, try the no-punctuation choice first. Read the sentence smoothly: is it clear and correct?
Then ask: is there a rule that requires a mark here — two complete sentences, extra information, a list of three or more, an introductory part?
No rule → no mark. Do not add a comma just because the sentence is long or because you would pause when speaking.
Do not choose "no punctuation" automatically, though: if each side of the mark is a complete sentence, or the words are extra information, you need a mark.
For end punctuation, look at the word order after asked / wonder / want to know: statement order → period.

Practice

Two short ACT-style essays with 5 questions each. Every question tests when no punctuation is correct, or the end punctuation of direct and indirect questions.

Remember

No mark between a subject and its verb — however long the subject — or between a verb and its object or complement.
Essential information (it tells you which one) takes no commas or dashes; a "that" clause is never set off with commas.
No mark before a preposition phrase or a "that" clause that completes the idea, after "such as", or after "and".
Two items joined by and/or need no comma unless each side is a complete sentence.
Question marks only for direct questions; an indirect question (asked whether, wonder why) ends with a period.

All pages in this course

ACT English

ACT Reading