ATI TEAS Knowledge of Language Summary

The subject is "box," which is singular. "Of gloves" is a phrase that describes the box; it is not the subject. A singular subject takes a singular verb: "The box is…"

Wrong choices

• are: "Are" agrees with "gloves," but the subject is "box."
• were: "Were" is plural and also changes the tense.
• be: "Be" is not the correct verb form for this sentence.

After a preposition like "to," use the object pronoun "me." A quick test: remove "Maria and." You would say "gave the schedule to me," not "to I."

Wrong choices

• I: "I" is used as a subject. Here the word receives the action after "to," so use "me."
• myself: "Myself" is used only when the subject is also "I," as in "I hurt myself."
• mine: "Mine" shows ownership, which does not fit here.

"Yesterday" tells us the action happened in the past, and "bought" is also past tense. Keep the tenses consistent: Leo went to the store and bought milk.

Wrong choices

• goes: "Goes" is present tense, but "yesterday" calls for the past.
• will go: "Will go" is future tense.
• going: "Going" needs a helping verb such as "was" to be a full verb.

Formal writing uses complete words, polite requests, and no slang or casual greetings. "I would like to request a meeting" is clear and respectful.

Wrong choices

• Hey, can we talk about my grade sometime?: "Hey" is too casual for a formal email.
• I wanna chat about my grade ASAP.: "Wanna" and "ASAP" are informal.
• Yo, my grade is kinda messed up.: This uses slang that is not appropriate in formal writing.

Concise writing removes words that repeat ideas or add nothing. "We must finish the report by Friday" keeps the full meaning with no extra words.

Wrong choices

• We must finish the report by Friday, the day after Thursday.: "The day after Thursday" adds nothing the reader does not know.
• In my personal opinion, I think that we must finish the report by Friday.: "In my personal opinion" and "I think" say the same thing twice.
• It is absolutely and completely necessary that the report be finished by us by Friday.: This is wordy and uses extra words with the same meaning.

Two subjects joined by "and" form a plural subject. "My sister and her husband" = they, so use the plural verb are.

Wrong choices

• is: Two people joined by "and" make a plural subject.
• was: "Was" is singular.
• has: "Has coming" is not a correct verb phrase.

With either…or and neither…nor, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. Here the closest subject is "the doctor" (singular), so use is.

Wrong choices

• are: With "neither…nor," the verb agrees with the nearer subject, "doctor," which is singular.
• were: "Were" is plural and past tense.
• have been: "Have" is plural; the nearer subject is singular.

A pronoun must clearly point to one noun (its antecedent). In the original, "he" could be Jake or Sam. Using the names removes the confusion.

Wrong choices

• When Jake met Sam at the clinic, he gave the forms to him.: It is still unclear who "he" and "him" are.
• When they met at the clinic, he gave him the forms.: This is even less clear, since no names are used with the pronouns.
• When Jake met Sam at the clinic, he gave him them.: Adding another pronoun makes the sentence more confusing.

A phrase at the start of a sentence describes the noun that comes right after the comma. "Walking into the room" must be followed by the person who walked: Lena. Otherwise the phrase is a dangling modifier.

Wrong choices

• Walking into the room, the brightness of the lights bothered Lena.: This says the brightness was walking into the room.
• Walking into the room, the lights were too bright.: This says the lights were walking into the room.
• The lights, walking into the room, were too bright.: Lights cannot walk.

Parallel structure means items in a list use the same grammatical form. "Swimming, biking, and running" are all -ing words, so the list is balanced.

Wrong choices

• She enjoys swimming, biking, and to run.: "To run" does not match the -ing form of the other items.
• She enjoys to swim, biking, and running.: "To swim" does not match "biking" and "running."
• She enjoys swimming, to bike, and runs.: All three items use different forms.