TEAS English and Language Usage
collective nouns
(nouns of multitude) name a group of persons, places, or objects gathered together into a unit. class, company, dozen, group, herd, team, and public.
Words Ending with Y or C
- The general rule for words ending in y is to keep the y when adding a suffix if the y is preceded by a vowel. If the word ends in a consonant and y the y is changed to an i before the suffix is added (unless the suffix itself begins with i). eg: - pay becomes paying (keep the y) - bully becomes bullied (change to i) - bully becomes bullying (keep the y because the suffix is -ing) ends with c, letter k is at the end
when to use a semicolon ;
-between closely connected independent clauses >you are right; we should go with your plan -between independent clauses linked with a transitional word >I think we can agree with this; however, I am not sure about my friends. -between items in a series that has internal punctuation >I have visited New York, New York; Augusta, Maine; Miami, Florida.
noun
A person, place, thing, or idea. common, proper, general, specific, and collective nouns.
Dashes
A punctuation mark (—) used to indicate a sudden break in thought, to set off parenthetical material
linking verb
A verb that does not show action but connects the subject with a word in the predicate. ie. feel, grow, look, seem, smell, sound, and taste. I am John. I smell roses. I feel tired.
adjective
A word that describes a noun or pronoun.
intransitive verb
An action verb that does not have a direct object. John writes well.
transitive verb
An action verb that has a direct object. he plays the piano.
verb
An action word. without no word, it is not a sentence!
Adverbs
Describe actions (verbs); often end in -ly. negatives not and never are also adverbs.
coordinating conjunction
FANBOYS=for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
specific nouns
Name people(baby, friend), places (town, park, city hall), and things that are understood by using your senses
general noun
Names of conditions or ideas
What are the 8 parts of speech?
Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Conjunction, Interjection, Preposition, Adjective
Pronouns
Take the position and function of nouns but do not specifically name them. Nominative: I, you, he, she, it -objective: me, you, him, her, it -possesive: my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its.
active voice
The subject of the sentence performs the action. Jon drew the picture
brackets
[ ], 1. use when placing parentheses inside of parenthesis 2. adding clarification or detail that is not part of the quotation
proper noun
a SPECIFIC person, place, thing, or idea George Washington, aruba, statue of liberty. capatilize all proper nouns.
declarative sentence
a sentence that makes a statement
homograph
a word written the same way as another word but having a different meaning
Each person should return to ____ own home. a. his b. its c. their d. him
a.
One day after school I strayed form my regular routine and decided to go home and fit in a workout. I loaded my gym bag onto the back of my bike and headed for my local fitness center. I'm so glad I chose that afternoon to work out, because I got the surprise of my life. Suddenly a bicycle whizzed past me, and I couldn't believe the rider was a girl I had a crush on in the sixth grade. From which of the following points of view is the above passage written? a. first person b. second person c. third person omniscient d. third person limited
a.
The woman who lives in the last house on our street is ___. Which of the following allows the above sentence to be completed as a simple sentence? a. reclusive and is rarely seen outside of her home. b. reclusive, and we have actually never seen her. c. very cheerful, despite the fact that neighbors say she is strange. d. very cheerful because her son is coming home from college today.
a.
Which of the following is an example of a simple sentence? a. The young boy in the white T shirt had cried for 10 minutes but was silenced with a stale piece of gum from the bottom of my purse. b. The young boy in the white T shirt had cried for 10 minutes, but he was silenced when I offered him a stale piece of gum from the bottom of my purse. c. The young boy in the white T shirt had cried for 10 minutes until I offered him a stale piece of gum from the bottom of my purse. d. The young boy in the white T shirt had cried for 10 minutes, although I offered him a stale piece of gum from the bottom of my purse.
a.
Which of the following is an example of third person point of view? a. The boy and the girl talked back and forth as they rode their bicycles. b. Due to the traffic noise, it was difficult to hear, and we frequently had to talk loudly to be heard. c. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Would you like to go out with me sometime?" d. You should never ask someone out in the middle of traffic.
a.
Which of the following is the best two word definition of the word multicellular? a. many units b. few parts c. hefty component d. small entity
a.
Which of the following nouns is written in the correct plural form? a. data b. crisises c. diagnosises d. mosses
a.
Which of the following phrases follows the rules of capitalization? a. English language b. professor Henry c. History class d. Christmas day
a.
Which of the following phrases follows the rules of capitalization? a. Professor Hopping b. Thanksgiving day c. uncle Larry d. Northern Canada
a.
Which of the following sentences contains an example of correct subject-verb agreement? a. My sister or my brother is picking me up from school today. b. Neither my mom nor I are attending the concert. c. Mary and tom is arriving around 5 o'clock this evening. d. Each of the girls play the piano well.
a.
Which of the following sentences correctly punctuates direct dialogue? a. The girl exclaimed, "My favorite new song is Elvis's 'Love Me Tender'!" b. The girl exclaimed, "My favorite new song is Elvis's "Love Me Tender!"" c. The girl exclaimed , "My favorite new song is Elvis's "Love Me Tender"! d. The girl exclaimed, 'My favorite new song is Elvis's 'Love Me Tender!'
a.
Which of the following sentences has correct subject verb agreement? a. When the cafeteria serves lime gelatin for lunch, each of the children asks for more. b. As the car lurches forward, every one of the passengers brace for the impact. c. Because the bus broke down on the way, the group of swimmers are late to the meet. d. The family of four miss the flight because there was not enough parking at the airport.
a.
Which of the following sentences in the set of instructions below is an example of third-person voice? a. To begin with, one should have a loaf of very fresh bread. b. Remove the twist tie, take out two pieces of bread, and set them aside. c. Then, you should use a knife to spread one tablespoon of peanut butter on one side of the pieces of bread. d. Finally, I place the unbuttered slice of bread on top of the buttered slice.
a.
Which of the following words is written correctly? a. pro-active b. anti-inflammatory c. un-American d. re-active
a.
nouns ending in consonant and -o
add -es
nouns ending in vowel and o
add s radio -> radios
letters and numbers become plural by
adding an apostrophe and s
affect vs effect
affect is a verb and noun, feeling, to change, to alter and effect is a noun; the result, the consequence and verb ; to bring about, to cause to be on the test, VERB=AFFECT NOUN=EFFECT
Because of his credulous nature, they took advantage of him and tricked him time and time again. Which of the following is the meaning of the word credulous as used in the sentence above? a. dependable and responsible b. easily cheated or fooled c. believable and trustworthy d. socially popular and outgoing
b.
Her loss of focus was "notisable" to all around her. Which of the following words correct the spelling of the underlined word in the sentence above? a. noticeible b. noticeable c. noticable d. noticible
b.
I hope that the choir in the front row sits down soon; I cannot see the concert because ___ blocking my view. a. it is b. they are c. their d. its
b.
I lost my book bag. My book bag contained my lunch money. I was very hungry. I had a difficult time staying awake in class that afternoon. Which of the following options best uses grammar for style and clarity to combine the sentence above? a. I was very hungry because I lost my book bag. It contained my lunch money, and it was difficult to stay awake in class that afternoon. b. Because I lost my book bag that contained my lunch money, I was very hungry in the afternoon and had a difficult time staying awake in class. c. It was difficult to stay awake in class that afternoon, because I lost my lunch money. It was in my book bag, and I was very hungry. d. My book bag contained my lunch money, and I lost it. I was so hungry that afternoon that I had a difficult time staying awake in class.
b.
If Madelyn doesn't arrive quickly, ____ will not be able to go to the concert with us. Which of the following options is the correct pronoun for the sentence above? The antecedent of the pronoun to be added is underlined. a. we b. she c. her d. they
b.
It was hoped that the lines for the roller coaster would be shorter in the afternoon. Which of the following changes the sentence above so that it is written in the active rather than in the passive voice? a. In the afternoon, it was hoped that the lines would be shorter. b. She hoped that the lines for the roller coaster would be shorter in the afternoon. c. It was expected that the lines for the roller coaster would be shorter in the afternoon. d. It was hoped by her that the lines for the roller coaster would be shorter in the afternoon.
b.
The child enjoyed watching the ____ dogs at the petting zoo. Which of the following words correctly completes the sentence above? a. prarie b. prairie c. prayer d. prairy
b.
The hot dog vendor on the corner of 8th and Mississippi Streets Which of the following completions for the above sentence results in a simple sentence structure? a. had to go out of business because customers began to prefer the vendor on the adjacent street corner b. lost many customers due to the opening of a competing vendor on another street. c. become overwhelmed on Thursdays, as the local school dismisses at lunchtime that day. d. sells a delicious hot dog, but it is much more expensive than most other vendors.
b.
The woman's arm ached badly after playing tennis for 3 hours. The word badly serves as which of the following types of speech in the sentence above? a. adjective b. adverb c. verb d. possessive
b.
Which of the following book titles is correctly capitalized? a. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe b. To Kill a Mockingbird c. A tale of two cities d. Computers for dummies
b.
Which of the following is an example of a complex sentence? a. I so enjoy riding my bike. b. When I ride my bike along a country lane, I feel a harmony with the world around me. c. That harmony does not reveal itself to me in the same way at other times or during other tasks. d. The simplicity of the movement and the peacefulness of the countryside offers serenity.
b.
Which of the following is an example of a simple sentence? a. The man wandering into the store. b. The man in the green overalls with the steel-toed boots wandered into the upscale department store. c. The man in the green overalls with the steel-toed boots wandering into the upscale department store. d. The man in the green overalls with the steel-toed boots had wandered into the upscale department stores as if he felt perfectly at home there.
b.
Which of the following is an example of correctly punctuated direct dialogue in a sentence? a. He told me, I plan on majoring in aeronautical engineering. b. He told me, "I plan on majoring in aeronautical engineering." c. Mark told me, "he plans on majoring in aeronautical engineering." d. Mark told me that "he plans on majoring in aeronautical engineering."
b.
Which of the following sentences contains subject verb agreement? a. Jerry and Karen, the new nurses on the floor, rushes to the nurse's station. b. Jerry and Karen, the new nurses on the floor, rush to the nurse's station. c. A group of nurses who are new to the floor rush to the nurse's station. d. All of the nurses who are new to the floor rushes to the nurse's station.
b.
Which of the following sentences is most clear and correct? a. The kittens were found when they were 6 weeks old by the couple. b. The couple found the kittens when they were 6 weeks old. c. The couple found the kittens at the age of 6 weeks. d. Six weeks old, the couple found the kittens.
b.
_____ always complaining about the time of _____ curfew. a. Their; they're b. They're; their c. There; they're d. They're; there
b.
Which of the following is an example of a correctly punctuated sentence? a. I asked her "Since when are you an Elvis fan?" b. I asker her "since when are you an Elvis fan"? c. I asked her, "Since when are you an Elvis fan?" d. I asked her, "Since when are you an Elvis fan"?
c
Although I have not had much practice, I felt ___ in my ability to train the puppy. Which of the following is the correctly spelled word to complete the sentence? a. confidante b. confidents c. confident d. confidense
c.
My aunt Jean asked the professor, "How will we get to Sunnyfield stadium given the construction road block on the west side of Cherry Street?" Which of the following words in the sentence above should be capitalized? a. aunt b. west c. stadium d. professor
c.
She interviewed for the two jobs; however, she accepted the second job, as it offered a higher ___. Which of the following is the correct completion of the sentence above? a. salary b. salary c. salary d. sallery
c.
The "ignoble" manner in which our stepmother treated us as unfair and made us feel like we were nothing to her. Which of the following is the meaning of the word in quotations? a. sarcastic b. impatient c. demeaning d. manipulative
c.
The PTA held ___ annual fundraiser. a. its a. there c. their d. it's
c.
The door swung open. We spun around. We saw Kyle Adams. He staggered into the room. To improve sentence fluency, which of the following best states the information above in a single sentence? a. When the door swung open and we saw Kyle Adams, he staggered into the room as we spun around. b. We saw Kyle Adams as the door swung open and he staggered into the room, as we spun around. c. When the door swung open, we spun around and saw Kyle Adams as he staggered into the room. d. As he staggered in the room, we saw Kyle Adams and the door swung open and we spun around.
c.
The girl wandered around the amusement park. She was astonished by the number of people in lines waiting for rides. Which of the following uses a conjunction to combine the sentences above so that the focus is more on the girl's astonishment and less on her wandering around? a. The girl wandered around the amusement park; she was astonished by the number of people in lines waiting for rides. b. The girl wandered around the amusement park and was astonished by the number people in lines waiting for rides. c. As the girl wandered around the amusement park, she was astonished by the number of people in lines waiting for rides. d. The girl wandered around the amusement park, and she was astonished by the number of people in lines waiting for rides.
c.
The owner of the Labrador puppy arrived earlier than expected, so I wasn't able to give it a bath. Which of the following correctly identifies the parts of speech in the underlined portions of the sentence above? a. Noun; adverb b. noun; adjective c. adjective; adverb d. adjective; adjective
c.
Which of following is a simple sentence? a. Once I have finished, I will stop by. b. The blue and red cars collided, and I called the police. c. The dog and the young, active cat played together and chased each other. d. You may think I am getting very old, but I do not share your opinion.
c.
Which of the following is an example of a grammatically correct sentence? a. I cannot remember who I lent the book to. b. I cannot remember to who I lent the book. c. I cannot remember to whom I lent the book. d. I cannot remember whom lent me the book.
c.
Which of the following is correctly punctuated? a. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the request the lawyer faxed the document to the judge. b. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the request. The lawyer had faxed the document to the judge. c. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the request, the lawyer faxed the document to the judge. d. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the request; the lawyer had faxed the document to the judge.
c.
Which of the following phrases follows the rules of capitalization? a. uncle Elson b. your Mother c. my cousin Michelle d. his Aunt
c.
Which of the following sentences provides an example of correct subject-verb agreement? a. The group of children are ecstatic that Santa is coming to visit. b. The family, after hearing the weather report, agree to postpone the trip. c. The committee, upon reviewing the budget, votes to increase sales tax. d. The couple decide to leave the restaurant after waiting more than an hour to be seated.
c.
Which of the following sentences uses capitalization rules correctly? a. My sister Abby traveled to the Red sea off the eastern coast of Egypt. b. My Sister Abby traveled to the Red Sea off the eastern coast of Egypt c. My sister Abby traveled to the Red Sea off the eastern coast of Egypt. d. My Sister Abby traveled to the Red sea off the eastern coast of Egypt.
c.
Because the thief broke his ankle during the robbery, he was unable to abscond with the cash? Which of the following is the meaning of abscond as it is used in the sentence above? a. remain b. return c. confess d. escape
d.
In the eastern part of Kansas, after the tornado last summer, governor Stevens declared a state of emergency. Which of the following words in the sentence above should be capitalized? a. state b. eastern c. summer d. governor
d.
Jane ___ broke the ceramic vase. Which of the following options correctly completes the sentence above? a. accidentilly b. acidentaly c. acidentily d. accidentally
d.
Mr. Harris announced to the class, "Everyone is expected to do the following __ sit quietly, raise your hand before speaking, and participate in discussion." Which of the following punctuation marks correctly completes the sentence above? a. ; b. , c. - d. :
d.
The clerk absconded with the 'company's' payroll. The quoted word in the sentence above is an example of which of the following parts of speech? a. pronoun b. noun c. adverb d. adjective
d.
The client made an appointment with a cosmetic surgeon to discuss possible rhinoplasty. In the sentence above, the prefix rhino- in the word rhinoplasty indicates that this client is interest in cosmetic surgery related to which of the following? a. eyes b. chin c. forehead d. nose
d.
The puppy has lost __ way home, and __ getting dark. a. its; its b. it's; it's c. it's; its d. its; it's
d.
There is a girl ___ has talent. Which of the following correctly completes the sentence above? a. whom b. which c. that d. who
d.
Which of the following is a simple sentence? a. The woman who looked out of place. b. Looked out of place in the evening store. c. The woman in the convenience store looked out of place since she was dressed for an evening out. d. The woman in the elegant, gold evening gown and diamond-studded tiara looked out of place in the convenience store.
d.
Which of the following is an example of a correctly punctuated sentence? a. I was planning to stop by the grocery store, however, I realized that my tire had gone flat. b. I was planning to stop by the grocery store, however; I realized that my tire had gone flat. c. I was planning to stop by the grocery store however, I realized that my tire had gone flat. d. I was planning to stop by the grocery store; however, I realized that my tire had gone flat.
d.
Which of the following sentences contains a correct example of subject-verb agreement? a. One of the children are hungry. b. The coach, as well as her team, are nervous about the game. c. Either of the options are correct. d. The lady with her dogs walks every morning.
d.
Which of the following sentences contains the appropriate use of an apostrophe? a. The Malone's are coming over for dinner this evening. b. The storm was beginning to rear it's ugly head. c. The players on the soccer team left they're sports equipment all over the gym. d. The group of employees arranged to have flowers delivered on Boss's Day.
d.
Which of the following sentences correctly applies the rules of punctuation? a. In the epic novel Moby Dick, Ahab utters, 'Towards thee I roll, thou all destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee;'... b. In the epic novel Moby Dick, Ahab utters, 'Towards thee I roll, though all destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with three; ...' c. In the epic novel Moby Dick, Ahab utters, "Towards thee I roll, thou all destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee;"... d. In the epic novel Moby Dick, Ahab utters, "Towards thee I roll, thou all destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; ..."
d.
Which of the following sentences correctly applies the rules of punctuation? a. We did not make it in time for the 7:00 movie; however we were able to catch the 7:45 show time. b. We did not make it in time for the 7:00 movie, however, we were able to catch the 7:45 show time. c. We did not make it in time for the 7:00 movie, however; we were able to catch the 7:45 show time. d. We did not make it in time for the 7:00 movie; however, we were able to catch the 7:45 show time.
d.
Which of the following underlined words is an example of correct spelling? a. My "deer" Aunt Jane was a wonderful cook. b. Her stomach is upset because she took "to" much medicine. c. They just left to go pick up "there" pizza at the restaurant. d. The dog got caught in the fence and broke "its" leg.
d.
correlative conjunctions
either or, neither nor, not only but also > either you are coming with me or you are staying.
imperative
extremely necessary; vitally important
Words ending in a consonant (any letter but a vowel)
final consonant is doubled
when to use a colon :
must come after a complete independent clause call attention to the words that follow it -to make a list >I want to learn many languages: Spanish, German, Italian -give a quote or explanation > there is one thing that stand out on your resume: responsibility -greeting, time, and title .
quotation mark
newspaper, articles, poems, stories, songs, etc. Highlight irony or the use of words mean something other than their definition. >the boss warned frank that he was walking on thin ice.
common nouns
people, place, or thing
what is placed inside a quotation mark?
periods, commas, exclamation and question mark is it does not make part of the sentence.
nouns ending in -f or -fe
replace the f and add-es
what is placed outside a quotation mark?
semicolon and colon
when to use a hyphen
separate compound words >twenty-nine >written out fractions ; three-fourths >adjectives that come before a noun -the well-fed dog >word that are hard to read or easily confused with other words : anti-itch, re-sort, semi-irresponsible
action verb
shows that the subject is doing in a sentence. he sings. run!. go!. she reads.
3 words that end with -ceed
succeed, exceed, proceed
1 word that end with -sede
supersede
passive verb
the subject received the action. the picture is drawn by Jon.
Prepostion
word that shows a relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in a sentence. > about, after, against, Amon,around,at, for, in, of, on, over, to, up , with, under, until, towards, off. for , from, during.
