English and Language Usage TEAS

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: I was mowing the lawn. This choice uses the past continuous tense, which is appropriate for describing an action that was taking place at a specific point in the past when the thunderstorm started. It indicates an ongoing action interrupted by the thunderstorm. Explanation for why the other choices are incorrect: A: I mowed the lawn. - This choice uses the simple past tense, indicating a completed action in the past, rather than an ongoing action. B: I am mowing the lawn. - This choice uses the present continuous tense, indicating an action that is currently happening, which does not fit the context of the past thunderstorm. D: I have mowed the lawn. - This choice uses the present perfect tense, indicating a completed action with relevance to the present, which is not suitable for describing the past event of the thunderstorm starting.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: -ic. This suffix is used to form adjectives that denote a relationship or connection to a particular thing or concept. For example, "historic" means relating to history. In contrast, B: -ology forms nouns indicating the study of a specific subject like "biology." C: -ation forms nouns indicating a process or condition like "education." D: -ate can form verbs or nouns but does not specifically indicate a relationship or connection. Therefore, A is the correct choice as it aligns with the meaning 'relating to'.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A because "After" and "then" are transitional words that show the sequence of events in the sentence. "After" indicates the order of events, while "then" further emphasizes the chronological order. These transitional words help connect the actions Tracy took in a logical sequence. Choice B is incorrect because "at," "with," and "to" are prepositions that do not serve as transitional words indicating a sequence of events. Choice C is incorrect because "had" and "took" are verbs describing actions but do not function as transitional words showing the progression of events. Choice D is incorrect because "a" and "the" are articles that do not serve as transitional words indicating the order of events.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A because it uses commas to separate items in a series: milk, bread, and eggs. Commas in a series are used to clarify the individual items being listed. Choice B incorrectly uses a comma before "and," disrupting the series. Choice C incorrectly places a comma before "and," breaking the series. Choice D incorrectly uses commas before "and" inconsistently, causing confusion in the series. Overall, choice A is correct because it maintains consistent comma usage to separate items in the series effectively.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: Tense disagreement. The sentence presents a mismatch in tenses between "is a gifted pianist" (present tense) and "struggling with the piece" (present continuous tense). This inconsistency in verb tenses creates a lack of agreement and clarity in the sentence. The correct form should be either "She is a gifted pianist, but she struggled with the piece" or "She was a gifted pianist, and she is struggling with the piece" to maintain tense consistency. Incorrect choices: A: Inappropriate transition word choice - The sentence structure is not affected by the transition word "although." B: Poor diction - The issue is not with the choice of words but with verb tense agreement. D: Incomplete sentence - The sentence is complete in structure; the issue lies in the tense disagreement.