- Choose the best replacement for the underlined segment.
The principal, along with the teachers, are planning a field day next month.
Answer: is planning
This question tests subject-verb agreement when dealing with compound subjects connected by phrases like "along with," "as well as," or "together with." When you encounter these constructions, the key is identifying the true subject that controls the verb.
The sentence structure is "The principal, along with the teachers, [verb] a field day." While it might seem like both the principal and teachers are doing the planning, grammatically the phrase "along with the teachers" is a prepositional phrase that doesn't affect the subject-verb agreement. The true subject is "The principal" — a singular noun that requires a singular verb.
Choice A ("is planning") correctly uses the singular verb "is" to agree with the singular subject "principal." This creates proper subject-verb agreement and maintains the present tense, which fits the context of planning something "next month."
Choice B ("are in the middle of planning") incorrectly uses the plural verb "are," treating both the principal and teachers as the compound subject. Choice C ("were planning") uses the wrong tense — past tense doesn't make sense when planning something for next month. Choice D ("have been planning") also incorrectly uses a plural verb form and introduces an unnecessary perfect tense.
Remember this pattern: when subjects are connected by "along with," "as well as," "together with," or "in addition to," the verb agrees with the main subject before the connecting phrase, not with the noun that follows. Circle the main subject and ignore the prepositional phrase when choosing your verb.
- Select the best replacement for the bold words.
The documentary, despite receiving praise, wasn't interesting to nobody in the class.
Answer: wasn't interesting to anybody
This question tests your ability to identify and correct double negatives, which create unintended meaning in formal writing. When you see multiple negative words in a sentence, check whether they're working together properly or canceling each other out.
The original phrase "wasn't interesting to nobody" contains two negatives: "wasn't" (was not) and "nobody." In standard English, these two negatives cancel each other out, actually creating a positive meaning - suggesting the documentary WAS interesting to somebody. This contradicts the intended meaning that no one in the class found it interesting.
Choice A correctly fixes this by changing "nobody" to "anybody," creating the single negative "wasn't interesting to anybody." This clearly conveys that no one in the class found the documentary interesting.
Choice B keeps "nobody" but removes the other negative by changing "wasn't" to "was," creating "was interesting to nobody." While this eliminates the double negative, it creates awkward phrasing that sounds unnatural.
Choice C maintains the double negative problem with "did not interest no one" - again, the two negatives (not + no one) cancel each other out mathematically.
Choice D introduces even more negative elements with "didn't" and "none," while also creating the awkward phrase "have interest from," which is unnecessarily wordy and unclear.
Study tip: When you spot words like "not," "no," "never," "nothing," or "nobody" appearing together, count the negatives. In formal writing, use only one negative to express a negative idea. Multiple negatives either cancel out or sound informal.
- Replace the underlined portion with the best option.
If the package arrives tomorrow, open it, and call me immediately.
Answer: open it and call me immediately.
This question tests your understanding of parallel structure in conditional sentences. When you write an "if-then" sentence, the actions in the main clause should follow the same grammatical pattern and maintain consistency with the conditional setup.
The sentence begins with "If the package arrives tomorrow," which establishes a conditional situation. The main clause needs to present two actions (opening and calling) that should happen in response to this condition. For proper parallel structure, both actions should be expressed as commands (imperatives) using the same verb form.
Choice A is correct because it maintains perfect parallel structure with two imperative verbs: "open" and "call." Both actions are presented as direct commands without unnecessary words, and the comma properly separates the two related actions. This creates a clean, grammatically sound sentence: "If the package arrives tomorrow, open it and call me immediately."
Choice B introduces "then you should," which breaks the parallel structure by mixing imperative ("open") with a more formal construction ("you should call"). Choice C shifts to "you open it, calling me," which creates an awkward mix of present tense and a participial phrase that doesn't maintain parallel structure. Choice D uses "you should" for both actions, making the sentence unnecessarily wordy and formal, plus the comma before "immediately" is incorrect punctuation.
When you encounter conditional sentences on the TACHS, look for consistent verb forms in the main clause. Commands should stay as commands, and statements should stay as statements—don't mix the two styles within the same sentence.
- Choose the best phrase: A landscaper's earnings are often lower ______.
Answer: than a plumber's are
The comparison is between the landscaper's earnings and the plumber's earnings, so you need the possessive 'plumber's' plus 'are' to stand for 'earnings are': 'than a plumber's are.' The tempting wrong version 'than a plumber is' compares earnings to the person, not to the plumber's earnings, so it doesn't make logical sense.
- Select the best revision of the underlined segment.
Gianni can complete the entire program in six months, which is quicker than any of his classmates.
Answer: quicker than any of his classmates can
This question tests your understanding of parallel structure in comparisons. When making comparisons, both parts of the sentence must be grammatically equivalent to avoid confusion about what's being compared.
The original sentence creates an unclear comparison because "which is quicker than any of his classmates" doesn't specify what action the classmates are doing. Are we comparing Gianni's completion time to his classmates as people, or to their completion times? This ambiguity makes the sentence grammatically incomplete.
Choice A correctly completes the comparison by adding "can," making it clear we're comparing Gianni's ability to complete the program with his classmates' ability to do the same thing. The parallel structure is: "Gianni can complete... quicker than any of his classmates can [complete it]."
Choice B is the original flawed version that creates the unclear comparison between Gianni's completion time and his classmates as individuals rather than their performance.
Choice C attempts to fix the problem with "do," but this creates a verb tense mismatch. "Can complete" (modal + base verb) doesn't parallel with "do" (simple present). Additionally, "do" is vague about what action it refers to.
Choice D uses wordy, awkward phrasing with "in comparison with" that doesn't solve the fundamental parallel structure problem. It's also unnecessarily verbose compared to the cleaner alternatives.
Remember: In comparison sentences, always check that both sides of "than" have parallel grammatical structure. If one side has a verb, the other side usually needs one too for clarity.
- Choose the best phrase: The evidence was thin; ______, the jury convicted him.
Answer: nevertheless
The sentence sets up a contrast: thin evidence would normally lead to acquittal, yet the jury convicted. 'Nevertheless' signals that unexpected outcome. 'As a result' is the tempting trap because it suggests the thin evidence caused the conviction, but the meaning requires the opposite relation.
- Select the most appropriate replacement for the bracketed clause.
We toured the old lighthouse, [which its stairs are steep and narrow].
Answer: whose stairs are steep and narrow.
This question tests your understanding of relative pronouns and possessive constructions in dependent clauses. When you see bracketed text that needs replacement, focus on grammatical correctness and clarity.
The correct answer is A) "whose stairs are steep and narrow." The word "whose" is the possessive form of the relative pronoun "which" or "who." Since we're describing stairs that belong to the lighthouse, "whose" creates a grammatically correct possessive relationship. The clause flows naturally: "We toured the old lighthouse, whose stairs are steep and narrow."
Let's examine why the other options fail. Option B) "the stairs of it being steep and narrow" creates an awkward, ungrammatical construction. The phrase "of it being" is wordy and incorrect—you can't use "it" to refer back to the lighthouse in this context. Option C) "and the stairs, they were steep and narrow" creates a comma splice and redundancy. The pronoun "they" unnecessarily repeats the subject "stairs," and the comma before "they" is incorrect. Option D) "which had stairs that are steep along with narrowness" is unnecessarily wordy and creates awkward parallelism. "Steep" is an adjective while "narrowness" is a noun—they should both be adjectives ("steep and narrow").
Remember this pattern: when you need to show possession in a relative clause, use "whose" for both people and things. Don't let the fact that "whose" often refers to people confuse you—it's perfectly correct for inanimate objects like lighthouses, buildings, or countries.
- Select the clearest, most effective replacement of the underlined portion.
Jackson plans to study architecture, a profession in which drawings are made by him of buildings.
Answer: a profession that requires him to draw buildings.
When you encounter sentence revision questions, focus on clarity, conciseness, and proper grammar. The original phrase "a profession in which drawings are made by him of buildings" is wordy and uses awkward passive voice construction.
Option A provides the clearest, most direct revision: "a profession that requires him to draw buildings." This version uses active voice ("requires him to draw") rather than passive voice, eliminates unnecessary words, and clearly expresses the relationship between architecture and drawing buildings. The phrase flows naturally and maintains the same meaning as the original while being much more concise.
Option B ("where he will make drawings of the making of buildings") is redundant with "making" used twice and creates an awkward, unclear phrase. The "drawings of the making" construction is confusing and wordy.
Option C ("a line of work, drawing buildings being part of it") uses an unnecessarily complex participial phrase ("drawing buildings being part of it") that makes the sentence choppy and harder to follow than the direct approach in A.
Option D ("one where building drawings are drawn by him") maintains the passive voice problem from the original and creates redundancy with "drawings are drawn." This version is still wordy and less direct than necessary.
For written expression questions, always look for the revision that eliminates wordiness, uses active voice when possible, and expresses ideas most directly. The clearest version is usually the best choice.
- Choose the sentence that expresses the idea most clearly.
Answer: Many students enjoy science class because the experiments are hands-on and engaging.
When you encounter clarity questions on written expression tests, focus on finding the sentence that communicates its message most directly and efficiently. Clear writing uses active voice, avoids unnecessary words, and maintains straightforward sentence structure.
Choice A expresses the idea most clearly because it uses active voice ("students enjoy") and presents the information in a logical, direct sequence. The sentence flows naturally from subject to action to reason, making it easy to follow and understand.
Choice B suffers from several clarity issues: it uses passive voice ("is enjoyed by"), includes the wordy phrase "due to the fact that" instead of simply "because," and creates awkward repetition with "they are engaging" that makes the pronoun reference unclear.
Choice C uses unnecessarily formal and awkward phrasing with "is an enjoyment to many students." This construction sounds unnatural and forces the reader to work harder to understand the meaning.
Choice D creates a convoluted sentence structure by turning the simple concept into "the enjoyment of science class by many students comes from..." This wordiness obscures the main idea and makes the sentence harder to process quickly.
Strategy tip: When choosing the clearest sentence, read each option aloud in your head. The clearest version will sound most natural and conversational while still being grammatically correct. Watch out for passive voice constructions and unnecessarily complex phrases that can often be simplified without losing meaning.
- Choose the most effective revision of the underlined portion of the sentence.
While walking to school, the sweet smell of blooming lilacs drifted past Maria.
Answer: While Maria was walking to school, the sweet smell of blooming lilacs drifted past her.
When you encounter a sentence that begins with a phrase like "While walking to school," you need to check for a dangling modifier. The introductory phrase must logically describe whoever or whatever immediately follows the comma.
In the original sentence, "While walking to school" is followed by "the sweet smell of blooming lilacs." This creates an illogical meaning—it suggests that the smell itself was walking to school, which is impossible. The modifier "dangles" because it doesn't properly connect to what it's supposed to describe.
Choice A correctly fixes this error by restructuring the sentence so that "Maria" immediately follows the introductory phrase. Now "While Maria was walking to school" clearly establishes who was doing the walking, and "the sweet smell of blooming lilacs drifted past her" logically describes what happened during her walk.
Choice B still contains a dangling modifier because "blooming lilacs" follows "While walking to school," suggesting the lilacs were walking. Choice C repeats the original error—"the sweet smell" cannot walk to school. Choice D also has the dangling modifier problem, as "lilacs" follows the walking phrase, implying the plants themselves were walking.
Remember this pattern: when you see an introductory phrase ending with a comma, immediately check that the word following the comma can logically perform the action described in the phrase. If not, you've found a dangling modifier that needs correction.
- Select the best replacement for the bold words.
The author argues that public parks should receive more funding; this is a subject which most citizens support.
Answer: a position that
This question tests your ability to identify clear, concise pronoun references and eliminate wordy, awkward constructions. When you see underlined phrases with pronouns like "this," ask yourself whether the reference is clear and whether the phrasing is as direct as possible.
The correct answer is A) "a position that" because it creates a clear, direct sentence: "The author argues that public parks should receive more funding; a position that most citizens support." This construction clearly identifies what the author presents (a position) and connects it smoothly to the supporting clause. The word "position" specifically and accurately describes what the author is doing when making an argument.
Choice B) "this being a subject that" creates an awkward, wordy construction with unnecessary words. The phrase "this being" is clunky and less direct than needed. Choice C) "a thing which" is vague and imprecise—"thing" doesn't specifically describe what the author is presenting, and good writing avoids such generic terms when more precise options exist. Choice D) "this here is a stance which" contains redundant words ("this here") and creates an unnecessarily long, awkward phrase.
When tackling pronoun reference questions on the TACHS, look for the most precise, concise replacement that clearly identifies what the pronoun refers to. Avoid constructions with "this being," "this here," or vague words like "thing." Instead, choose specific nouns like "position," "argument," or "stance" that accurately describe the concept being referenced.
- Choose the most effective phrase to replace the bracketed words.
The witness spoke [softly and in a hesitant manner] as she described the event.
Answer: softly and hesitantly
This question tests your ability to recognize and eliminate wordiness—a key skill in written expression. When you see bracketed phrases that seem unnecessarily long or awkward, look for the most concise option that preserves the original meaning.
The phrase "softly and in a hesitant manner" contains unnecessary words. Both parts describe how the witness spoke, but they're expressed inconsistently—"softly" is an adverb while "in a hesitant manner" is a wordy prepositional phrase doing an adverb's job.
Choice A, "softly and hesitantly," is correct because it creates parallel structure by using two adverbs that both modify "spoke." This version is concise, clear, and maintains the exact meaning of the original while eliminating wordiness.
Choice B, "in a soft and hesitating way," actually makes the sentence wordier by turning both descriptions into a prepositional phrase. While "hesitating" technically works, "hesitantly" is more standard.
Choice C, "with softness and hesitation," converts the descriptions into abstract nouns within a prepositional phrase, making the sentence less direct and more wordy than the original.
Choice D, "soft in addition to being hesitant," is extremely wordy and awkward. It also incorrectly uses "soft" (adjective) instead of "softly" (adverb), creating a grammatical error since adjectives can't modify verbs.
When revising for conciseness, look for opportunities to create parallel structure with the same type of words (like matching adverbs). The most effective revision usually eliminates unnecessary prepositional phrases and uses the most direct grammatical construction.
- Select the best replacement for the words in brackets.
The committee agreed that [each of the volunteers were] essential to the project's success.
Answer: each of the volunteers was
This question tests subject-verb agreement with collective expressions and indefinite pronouns. When you encounter phrases like "each of" or "every," pay close attention to what the actual subject is, as it determines whether you need a singular or plural verb.
The key here is recognizing that "each" is the subject, not "volunteers." Even though "volunteers" is plural, the phrase "each of the volunteers" refers to every individual volunteer considered separately. Since "each" is singular, it requires the singular verb "was." Think of it as "each one was essential" rather than focusing on the plural noun that follows.
Looking at the wrong answers: Choice B ("every volunteer were") incorrectly pairs the singular "every volunteer" with the plural verb "were." Choice C ("all of the volunteers was") makes the opposite error—"all" is plural and needs "were," not "was." Choice D ("each volunteer are") again mismatches singular "each volunteer" with plural "are."
Choice A correctly uses "each of the volunteers was," maintaining proper subject-verb agreement between the singular subject "each" and singular verb "was."
Remember this pattern: "each of," "every one of," and "either of" always take singular verbs, regardless of whether the noun in the prepositional phrase is plural. When you see these phrases, mentally cross out everything between the subject and verb to check agreement more easily. This is a common trap on standardized tests—they'll use plural nouns to distract you from the singular subject.
- Replace the bracketed words with the most appropriate expression.
To win the grant, the proposal must be not only persuasive [but it should also show] strong evidence.
Answer: but also display
When you encounter brackets around words in a sentence, you're being tested on parallel structure—making sure that paired elements in a sentence have the same grammatical form.
The sentence uses the correlative conjunction pair "not only...but also," which requires parallel structure. Look at what comes after "not only": the word "persuasive" (an adjective). For the sentence to be grammatically correct, what follows "but also" must match this structure.
Choice A ("but also display") creates perfect parallelism. The sentence becomes "must be not only persuasive but also display strong evidence," where both elements after the correlative conjunctions are in the same form—"persuasive" (adjective) and "display" (verb) both modify what the proposal "must be" or "must do."
Choice B ("but it must also be showing") breaks parallel structure by introducing a new subject and verb ("it must") and uses the awkward progressive form "be showing." Choice C ("and it should also demonstrate") completely abandons the "not only...but also" construction by switching to "and," which destroys the intended correlative relationship. Choice D ("and also it has to show") makes the same error as C by using "and" instead of "but also," plus adds unnecessary wordiness with "it has to."
Remember this pattern: correlative conjunctions like "not only...but also," "either...or," and "neither...nor" always require parallel structure. When you see these pairs, check that the elements following each conjunction match grammatically.
- Choose the phrase that best completes the sentence.
Neither the swimmers nor their coach _____ satisfied with the relay time.
Answer: was
When you encounter "neither...nor" constructions, you're dealing with a specific subject-verb agreement rule that trips up many students. The key principle is that with "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
In this sentence, "Neither the swimmers nor their coach _____ satisfied," you have two subjects joined by "neither...nor": "the swimmers" (plural) and "their coach" (singular). Since "their coach" comes second and is closest to the verb, the verb must agree with this singular subject. Therefore, "was" (A) is correct because it's the singular past tense form that matches "coach."
Let's examine why the other options don't work: (B) "were" is incorrect because it's plural and would agree with "swimmers," but the rule requires agreement with the closest subject, which is singular "coach." (C) "are being" fails for two reasons—it's plural (disagreeing with "coach") and uses present tense when the context suggests a completed action in the past. (D) "have been" is also wrong because "have" is plural, again disagreeing with the singular "coach."
Remember this pattern: with "neither...nor" (and similarly "either...or"), always make the verb agree with whichever subject comes second, right before the verb. A helpful memory trick is "the closest subject wins." This same rule applies whether the closest subject is singular or plural, so practice identifying which subject sits right next to the verb slot.
- Select the version that maintains proper parallelism.
The new app allows users to store photos, edit videos, and they can share documents.
Answer: share documents
When you encounter a sentence with a series of actions or items, you need to check for parallel structure—all elements in the series should follow the same grammatical pattern.
In this sentence, the series begins with "allows users to store photos, edit videos, and..." The first two elements follow the pattern: "to [verb] [object]" where the "to" is understood after the first item. So you have "to store photos" and "to edit videos." For parallelism, the third element must follow this same pattern with a simple verb plus object.
Choice A) "share documents" maintains perfect parallelism. It follows the established pattern of [verb] + [object], creating the complete series: "store photos, edit videos, and share documents."
Choice B) "the sharing of documents" breaks parallelism by switching to a gerund phrase with an article. This doesn't match the verb-object pattern of the first two items.
Choice C) "for sharing documents" disrupts the pattern by introducing a preposition and gerund, creating an entirely different grammatical structure.
Choice D) "they share documents" (the original) destroys parallelism by inserting a subject and creating a complete clause instead of maintaining the simple verb-object pattern.
For TACHS parallelism questions, identify the established pattern in the series first, then choose the option that exactly matches that pattern. When you see items connected by "and," "or," or commas in a series, they should all have the same grammatical structure—same verb forms, same parts of speech, same sentence construction.
- Which choice best replaces the bold portion?
Having finished his homework, the video game console was turned on by Luis.
Answer: After Luis finished his homework, he turned on the video game console.
When you encounter a sentence with a participial phrase like "Having finished his homework," you need to check what the phrase is describing. A participial phrase must logically modify the subject that immediately follows it.
In the original sentence, "Having finished his homework" is followed by "the video game console," which creates a dangling modifier. This suggests that the video game console finished the homework, which is impossible. The participial phrase should describe Luis, not the console.
Choice A correctly fixes this error by restructuring the sentence with a proper subject-verb relationship: "After Luis finished his homework, he turned on the video game console." This makes it clear that Luis is performing both actions.
Choice B still contains the same fundamental error as the original sentence. While it changes "Having" to "When," it maintains the illogical structure where "the video game console" appears to be finishing homework.
Choice C compounds the problem by keeping "the video game console" as the subject while using "Finishing his homework" as the modifier, creating the same impossible scenario.
Choice D, while grammatically acceptable, uses informal language with "then" and lacks the subordinating conjunction that would make the relationship between the two actions clearer and more sophisticated.
Remember to always check that participial phrases logically modify the noun or pronoun that immediately follows them. When you spot a participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence, ask yourself: "Who or what is actually performing this action?"
- Replace the underlined words with the best choice.
Yesterday, the hikers discovered a cabin that appeared to have been empty for a long period of time.
Answer: had apparently stood empty for years.
This question tests your ability to identify clear, concise, and grammatically correct writing. When you encounter revision questions like this, look for the option that expresses the idea most effectively while maintaining proper grammar and avoiding unnecessary wordiness.
Let's examine why choice A works best. "Had apparently stood empty for years" uses the past perfect tense correctly to show an action completed before another past action (the discovery). The phrase is concise, natural-sounding, and grammatically precise. "Apparently" effectively replaces "appeared to" while "years" is much more natural than "a long period of time."
Now for the problems with each incorrect choice: Choice B creates an awkward, wordy construction with "seemed like it was" and the unnecessarily formal "temporal length that is long." This sounds unnatural and uses far more words than needed. Choice C has a tense error—"has been" is present perfect, but the context requires past perfect since the emptiness occurred before the past discovery. It also awkwardly omits the article "a" before "long time period." Choice D contains a clear grammatical error with "appeared to had been"—this incorrectly combines "appeared to" with "had been," creating an impossible verb construction.
For TACHS writing questions, always choose the option that sounds most natural when read aloud while maintaining proper grammar. Avoid overly wordy or awkward constructions, and pay close attention to verb tenses—they must logically relate to the sequence of events described.
- Choose the most effective phrase: The reason for the delay was ______.
Answer: that traffic was heavy
After 'the reason was,' you need a noun clause, and 'that traffic was heavy' supplies one cleanly. The tempting 'because traffic was heavy' is redundant: 'reason' already expresses cause, so 'the reason was because' repeats it. 'Because of heavy traffic' and 'due to traffic being heavy' are also wordy or ungrammatical in this frame. Use 'that' to state the reason directly.
- Choose the best phrase: When people want a promotion, ______.
Answer: they should ask for advice
The subject is plural "people," so the pronoun must also be plural: "they should ask for advice." The tempting choice is "you should ask for advice" because "you" can be generic, but it shifts the point of view away from "people" without matching the subject. "One" and "a person" are singular and do not agree with "people."
