breakdown
Free TEAS English practice: grammar, language and vocabulary
TEAS English practice across ATI's three sub-content areas: conventions of standard English (8%, 12 scored items), knowledge of language (7%, 11) and using language and vocabulary (7%, 10) — with worked explanations and the named mistake behind each wrong choice.
TEAS English practice here works on the three sub-content areas ATI scores in the section — sentence correctness, the register a sentence needs, and the word that fits the meaning. English and language usage is 22% of the exam: 33 scored items across 37 items in 37 minutes, split into three sub-content areas, so there are three free sets.
What the section is made of
| Sub-content area | Weight | Scored items | What it asks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventions of Standard English | 8% | 12 | sentence structure, punctuation, agreement, pronoun case, capitalization |
| Knowledge of language | 7% | 11 | consistency, tone and register, clarity, the most concise correct version of a sentence |
| Using language and vocabulary to express ideas in writing | 7% | 10 | word meaning in context, precise word choice, and the parts that build a word |
The sub-content area names, their weights and their item counts are ATI's published outline; the wording in the "What it asks" column is ours, describing what our practice items cover.
This is the section with the least fat on it: 37 items in 37 minutes works out to a minute an item — the tightest pace of the four sections. Every item is a short judgment, and there is no partial credit on a judgment.
How a question here goes wrong
Three failures explain most misses in our sets, and each is trained by a different kind of item:
- Grammar by ear. A sentence can sound fine and still break a rule — a missing comma after an introductory clause, or a pronoun with no clear antecedent. A set on conventions asks you to name the rule, not to hear the problem.
- Register. A sentence can be grammatical and still wrong for the passage it sits in. That is the Knowledge of Language sub-area, and it is the one learners skip because it looks like personal taste. It is not: the item asks which version is most consistent, clearest, or most concise, and one choice in our set is.
- Word parts. Much of vocabulary work is not memorizing a word but reading it — knowing that a prefix or root carries the meaning. That is where the word parts reference comes in.
The free English sets
- Conventions of standard English practice — the largest sub-area of the three
- Knowledge of language practice — consistency, tone, clarity, concision
- Using language and vocabulary practice — meaning in context and precise word choice
Every item carries a hint, an explanation, and a reason for each wrong choice. The rules behind the conventions set are collected on grammar and punctuation, and the teaching material is in the guides: conventions of standard English, knowledge of language, and using language and vocabulary.
The rules and the worked sentences here are written by us. Where a usage point has an open authority we source it to the public-domain Elements of Style (Strunk) and the government's plain-language guidance (Plain language, digital.gov, adapted from PlainLanguage.gov); no prep book or prep site is used.
What these sets are not
They are not a score estimate — ATI equates the English and language usage score across versions of the exam, so a practice-set percentage is not a TEAS score. They are also not official items: ATI publishes no scored bank, and every question here is written by us to ATI's published outline for these three sub-content areas.
The full paper is at how many questions are on the TEAS, and the other three sections start at TEAS practice test.
ATI TEAS® is a registered trademark of Assessment Technologies Institute, LLC. Elk Ridge Academy is not affiliated with or endorsed by ATI.