<p>i never said it wasn’t used enough… i just said it didn’t fit with the wording of the sentence…every other choice it fit well…
technically, I agree with you; it could work… but not stylistically that’s why sparsely is the correct answer.</p>
<p>So you have a “feeling” that sparsely couldn’t work in the sentence… ok.</p>
<p>the same feeling that you have that an idiom wouldn’t work… it fit logically stylistically … you’re wrong</p>
<p>I chose Sparsely, was so close to erasing it and choosing the other one.</p>
<p>Then we are both wrong, because I know you aren’t right.</p>
<p>Idioms should never be used in writing. They are just like cliches.</p>
<p>what were all the answer choices?</p>
<p>I don’t remember. I just remember they were obviously wrong. I too was between sparsely and now and then initially.</p>
<p>I thought Sparsely didn’t fit because it just didn’t sound right with the subject of the sentence it was being used for. I know you shouldn’t trust your ear completely but maybe we should google examples of sparsely used in sentences and see if the sentence is similar to that of the one on the test.</p>
<p>edit: it seems like you already did that, nvm</p>
<p>I already gave a source saying that adverbs are put at the begining of sentences to show frequency and I showed a google in which many results show that sparsely is also used to show an rare occurrence…</p>
<p>Now and then sounds good because it is an IDIOM! If there was a question and one of the answers was “beat around the bush,” would you ever pick that??</p>
<p>[Let</a> me google that for you](<a href=“LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You”>LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You)</p>
<p>The sparsely question:</p>
<p>Possible answers: now and then // occasionally // sometimes // sparsely </p>
<p>I was torn between “sparsely” and “sometimes” for the reasons given above. Ended up going with “sparsely” for the reasons already cited (awkward phrasing). Besides that, I’ve never seen Sparsely used as an idiom at the beginning of a sentence. “Sparsely, one can see the birds of yadda yadda flying together?” Meh.</p>
<p>I’m saying sparsely would work. You are using the word idiom wrong; now and then is an idiom.</p>
<p>[now</a> and then - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.](<a href=“Now and then]now - Idioms by The Free Dictionary”>Now and then - Idioms by The Free Dictionary)
“occasionally; infrequently.”</p>
<p>[sparsely</a> - definition of sparsely by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.](<a href=“Sparsely]sparsely - definition of sparsely]sparsely by The Free Dictionary”>Sparsely - definition of sparsely by The Free Dictionary)
“Occurring, growing, or settled at widely spaced intervals; not thick or dense.”</p>
<p>hmmmmm, whether or not its an idiom Now and then fits better imo.</p>
<p>Thank you macve004… So it’s a consensus, answer was sparsely</p>
<p>Wallrus, if you think idiom answers are all wrong on the ACT English test, congratulations. You just got yourself a 20 on the English test.</p>
<p>Did you guys put one of them as ‘tried to focus on’</p>
<p>think of the connotations of sparsely; you said yourself (walrus) it conveys “rare occurrence”; the word or phrase chosen definitely shouldnt have had such a connotation. sometimes, now and then, and occasionally all convey something that happens more than “rarely”. ergo, sparsely didn’t fit. i think he’s going to such great lengths to prove that sparsely is wrong because deep down he knows its right haha.</p>
<p>occurring, growing,settled… I’ll pick occurring.</p>
<p>Occurring at widely spaced intervals. Seems completely fine to me.</p>
<p>Again, would you ever pick “beat around the bush” as an English test answer? If no, “now and then” doesn’t work either. They are both idioms and they should never be used.</p>
<p>I’m not disagreeing that now and then has the right definition. I’m saying it is completely inappropriate to ever have an idiom in a paper and the ACT testers are smart enough to know this.</p>
<p>Look at the list of phrases of idioms [Idioms:</a> Complete List](<a href=“Idioms - ESL”>Idioms - ESL)</p>
<p>Would you pick ANY of those as the correct answer on the ACT…?</p>
<p>don’t run your argument on idioms. It was an informal, informative passage… a lighthearted tone is fine (e.g. there will be idioms.)</p>