ACT · English
ACT English practice
Seventy-five questions in 45 minutes — 36 seconds each — embedded in five passages. About half test the conventions of standard English (punctuation, sentence structure, agreement) and half ask you to judge the writing: which sentence belongs, which transition fits, which version is shortest without losing meaning.
What the English section tests
Conventions: comma use around non-essential clauses, sentence boundaries (the comma splice is the single most common error on the test), subject-verb and pronoun agreement across interrupting phrases, apostrophes, and modifier placement.
Rhetoric: whether a sentence supports its paragraph, where a sentence belongs, which transition word matches the logic, and concision — the shortest grammatical option is usually correct.
The section is fast enough that recognising a rule on sight matters more than being able to explain it, which is why the drills here are single-topic and explain every answer.
English drills
Untimed, single-topic, with a worked explanation after every question. Practice Test 1 is free; the drills open with Premium.
English lessons
Each teaches the method the question is testing, then walks a worked example end to end.
Free resources for English
Find out which of these topics is actually costing you points. ACT Practice Test 1 is free, full-length, and timed section by section — 45 minutes for English — with accuracy and pace reported by topic.
ACT English questions, answered
How many questions are on the ACT English section?
75 questions in 45 minutes, spread across five passages of 15 questions each. That is the format of every full-length ACT practice test on this site, and the English drills use the same passage-based question style.
What grammar does the ACT English section test?
Punctuation above all — commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes and dashes — then sentence structure (fragments, run-ons, comma splices), subject-verb and pronoun agreement, verb tense, modifier placement and parallel structure. The grammar rules sheet lists every rule the drills here test.
How do I get faster on ACT English?
Learn the handful of rules that account for most questions, then drill them until you recognise the pattern without re-reading. Time yourself on the full-length practice test: the score report shows pace per section, so you can tell whether English is costing you points or just time.
Is ACT English the same as SAT Reading and Writing?
The grammar rules are identical. The formats differ: the ACT uses long passages and 75 questions in 45 minutes, the SAT uses one short passage per question with more time. The lessons and rules sheet here apply to both.