Subordination & Coordination | English for ACT PDF Download

Introduction

The approach to this issue can be divided into two ways, with one of them being more important for the ACT. The College Board has given the grammatical idea the title of "subordination" and "coordination", but focusing too much on the nuances between the two can detract from the test's purpose. The goal of the ACT is to determine whether the test-taker can differentiate between transitions between clauses that suggest contrast, similarity or cause and effect.

Contrast

• He practices tennis every day, though he is still unable to hit a solid backhand.
• Even though many students apply to out-of-state schools, they end up choosing a local college.

Contrast words to look out for include "however", "even though", "although", "nonetheless", "notwithstanding", and "despite".

Similarity

• Climate change is causing many heat-related deaths. Moreover, it is leading to conditions that, in the long run, will harm us all.
• Students feel overwhelmed with the number of hoops they have to jump through to get to college.
  Likewise, they feel flustered, once they get to college, by the many demands of their new environment.

Words to look for in similarity include "moreover", "additionally", and "furthermore".

Cause and Effect

• Because of tuition hikes at the private school, many parents are opting to send their children elsewhere.
• The level of competition in college sports has become fiercer than ever. Therefore, athletes and coaches are seeking ever more sophisticated training regimens.

“Cause and effect words”: therefore, thus, because, so, since

Solved Examples

(i) The SAT has historically been the test the majority of high school students take to enter college; additionally, with more students opting to take the ACT, the SAT has been forced to alter its content.
(a) NO CHANGE
(b) however
(c) therefore
(d) furthermore

Correct Answer is Option (b)
A contrast exists between what has historically been the case (“The SAT has been the most popular exam for college-bound students”) and what is now the case (“The ACT is becoming increasingly popular”). This points to the contrast word, B) however.

(ii) The mean temperature of oceans has been rising significantly for the last 10 years; however, many organisms have been forced to move from their traditional habitats or to simply perish.
(a) NO CHANGE
(b) moreover
(c) therefore
(d) nonetheless

Correct Answer is Option (c)
There is cause and effect here: ocean temperatures increasing (cause) and organisms moving from their traditional habitat (effect). So C) therefore is the answer.

A quick note on subordination: There is an additional key concept that may be tested. A subordinate clause is a dependent clause, meaning it cannot function as a complete sentence on its own and relies on an independent clause to form a complete thought. 

• For example, "Because he was tired" and "Though he was smart" are both dependent clauses that require an independent clause to complete their meaning, such as "he wasn't able to study all the material before the test" and "he never cared to study," respectively.

The ACT may present a question like this to test your understanding of subordination:

"Although El Niño is typically associated with a sharp spike in annual rainfall on the West Coast, though there are other meteorological factors that can offset this effect."
(a) NO CHANGE
(b) West Coast. Though there
(c) West Coast, there are
(d) West Coast. There

The issue with the sentence is that there are two dependent clauses in a row. The phrase that follows "although" also begins with "though," which creates a redundancy. Phrases that begin with "although," "though," "despite," "because," and so on are dependent clauses that require an independent clause to complete the sentence. Thus, eliminating the word "though" in the second clause creates a complete sentence ("There are other meteorological factors that can offset..."). Answer C) addresses this problem without fragmenting the first part of the sentence.