We tracked how learners performed on every English question in our TEAS practice course - between 12 and 16 learners per item. That is a small sample: one learner moves a ratio by six to eight points, so read these numbers as direction, not decimals. Two things make the pattern worth trusting anyway. Subject-verb agreement kept turning up near the bottom: four separate agreement questions scored between 6% and 31%. And the four lowest items on this page all scored below the 25% that pure guessing would produce on a four-option question, which means learners were not guessing - they were confidently choosing the same wrong answer. Here are the six topics that caused the most trouble, the rule behind each, and a fresh question to fix it.
1. Subject-verb agreement when a phrase gets in the way
It was not a one-off. Three more agreement questions - choose the correct version, pick the sentence with correct agreement, find the sentence with an agreement error - scored 25%, 25% and 31%. No other rule appeared as often among the lowest-scoring English items.
The mistake is matching the verb to the nearest noun instead of the real subject. The fix is a ten-second test: cross out the phrase between the subject and the verb (of the..., with the..., along with...) and read the sentence without it. Whatever is left in front of the verb is the subject.
- A. The list of patient allergies are posted beside the door.
- B. The list of patient allergies is posted beside the door.
- C. The lists of patient allergies is posted beside the door.
- D. The list of patient allergies were posted beside the door.
Show the solution
Cross out the prepositional phrase "of patient allergies." What is left is "The list ___ posted beside the door."
One list, so the verb is singular: is.
A and D match the verb to "allergies," the noun sitting next to it. C has a plural subject (lists) with a singular verb.
Answer: B. The list of patient allergies is posted beside the door.
The same test handles group nouns. "The staff of nurses ___ meeting at noon" becomes "The staff ___ meeting at noon." When a group acts as one unit, as it does here, treat it as singular: is.
2. Pronouns that don't match what they replace
Two related items scored higher but were still weak: choosing the possessive pronoun for a single animal and spotting an unclear pronoun reference both scored 54%.
A pronoun has to match its antecedent - the noun it stands for - in number. The misses cluster where the real antecedent is hidden. After each of, one of or every one of, the antecedent is singular, even though a plural noun sits right beside the pronoun. Find the noun the pronoun replaces, ignore the phrase in between, and check that they match. For things rather than people, singular means it or its.
- A. Each of the specimens must be labeled before it leaves the lab.
- B. The nurses reviewed their notes before the handoff.
- C. One of the monitors lost its connection overnight.
- D. Every one of the charts had their pages numbered by hand.
Show the solution
In D, the pronoun "their" refers back to "every one" - not to "charts." Every one is singular, and a chart is a thing, so the pronoun should be "its": Every one of the charts had its pages numbered by hand.
A: each - it. Singular and singular. B: nurses - their. Plural and plural. C: one - its. Singular and singular.
Answer: D. Every one of the charts had their pages numbered by hand.
Choices A and C are the trap. The plural noun right before the pronoun (specimens, monitors) makes "it" and "its" sound wrong. That instinct is exactly what the question is testing - the real antecedent is each or one.
3. Modifiers: spotting the error versus choosing the fix
Same rule, flipped question, and a steep drop. Finding the one broken sentence is easier than confirming that one sentence is fully correct, because every option reads smoothly until you check who is actually doing the action.
The rule has two parts. An opening phrase describes whatever comes right after the comma - if that noun cannot do the action, the modifier is dangling. And limiting words like only, almost and nearly modify whatever they sit next to, so moving them changes the meaning.
- A. After checking the patient's vital signs, the chart was updated by the nurse.
- B. After checking the patient's vital signs, the nurse updated the chart.
- C. The nurse almost updated every chart after checking vital signs.
- D. Checking the vital signs, the chart showed that the patient was stable.
Show the solution
Ask who checked the vital signs. The answer has to be the noun right after the comma.
In A and D, the noun after the comma is "the chart" - and a chart cannot check vital signs. Both modifiers are dangling. In C, "almost" sits next to "updated," so it says the nurse nearly updated the charts but did not. The intended meaning is almost every chart.
In B, the nurse checked the vital signs and the nurse updated the chart. The modifier lands on the right subject.
Answer: B. After checking the patient's vital signs, the nurse updated the chart.
Choice A shows the most common disguise for a dangling modifier: passive voice. "The chart was updated by the nurse" pushes the real actor to the end of the sentence, so the opening phrase attaches to the chart instead.
4. Wordiness: the shortest answer that keeps the meaning
Wordiness questions punish the instinct that longer sounds more formal or more complete. The best revision is almost always the shortest option that is grammatically correct and keeps every piece of the original meaning.
Two kinds of filler do most of the damage: long phrases that stand in for a single word (in the event that = if, has the ability to = can, for the purpose of = to, at this point in time = now) and words that repeat what is already said (completely finished, past history, advance planning).
In the event that the patient has the ability to walk, she should be encouraged to walk around the unit for the purpose of improving circulation.
- A. If the patient can walk, encourage her to walk around the unit to improve circulation.
- B. If the patient can walk, she should be encouraged to walk around the unit to improve circulation.
- C. The patient should walk.
- D. In the event that she is able, the patient should be encouraged to walk around the unit in order to improve her circulation.
Show the solution
Swap each filler phrase for its one-word version: in the event that = if, has the ability to = can, for the purpose of = to.
B does exactly that and changes nothing else. The condition, the recommendation and the reason are all still there.
D keeps two of the fillers ("in the event that," "in order to"). C cuts the condition and the reason, so the meaning is lost. A is shorter than B, but it turns a statement into a command aimed at the reader - a change in meaning, not just in length.
Answer: B. If the patient can walk, she should be encouraged to walk around the unit to improve circulation.
Choice C is the over-trim trap. Shortest wins only among options that keep the full meaning. Check that every idea in the original survives before you pick the shortest.
5. Parts of speech: prepositions and interjections
These are pure recall questions, and they are easy to under-study because they feel like elementary-school grammar. The TEAS still tests them. What makes them tricky is that many words change part of speech depending on the job they do in the sentence.
A preposition always has an object: a noun or pronoun that follows it and completes the phrase (before the shift, under the bed). The same word with a full clause after it is working as a conjunction, and with nothing after it, as an adverb. An interjection stands outside the grammar of the sentence and expresses feeling - wow, oops, ouch, well - usually set off by an exclamation point or a comma.
- A. The patient felt dizzy after she stood up too quickly.
- B. The patient felt dizzy after the injection.
- C. The nurse came back soon after.
- D. The patient asked what would happen after.
Show the solution
Look at what follows "after" in each sentence.
B: "after the injection" - a noun follows, and nothing else. That is a preposition with its object.
A: "after she stood up" - a full clause with its own subject and verb follows, so "after" is a conjunction. C and D: nothing follows it, so "after" is an adverb.
Answer: B. The patient felt dizzy after the injection.
The quick check: noun after it - preposition. Clause after it - conjunction. Nothing after it - adverb. It works for before, since, until and after alike.
6. Commas, semicolons and the comma splice
All three come back to one question: where does one complete sentence end and the next begin? A comma on its own cannot join two independent clauses - that is a comma splice. A semicolon can, but only when both sides could stand alone as sentences.
The test: put a period where the comma or semicolon is. If both halves are complete sentences, a comma alone is wrong and a semicolon is right. If either half is a fragment, a semicolon is wrong.
- A. The lab results were delayed; the doctor postponed the appointment.
- B. The lab results were delayed, so the doctor postponed the appointment.
- C. The lab results were delayed, the doctor postponed the appointment.
- D. Because the lab results were delayed, the doctor postponed the appointment.
Show the solution
Put a period in place of the punctuation in C: "The lab results were delayed. The doctor postponed the appointment." Both halves are complete sentences, and a comma alone cannot join them. That is a comma splice.
A joins the two sentences with a semicolon - correct. B joins them with a comma plus "so" - correct. D begins with a dependent clause ("Because...") followed by a comma - correct.
Answer: C. The lab results were delayed, the doctor postponed the appointment.
Choice A often looks wrong to people who rarely use semicolons, but it is correct. And B is fine because a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) can join two sentences.
What this data is telling you
Two patterns stand out. First, the weakest items were about words that belong together but sit apart: a verb separated from its subject by a phrase, a pronoun separated from the noun it replaces, an opening phrase separated from the subject it describes. Each one has a quick test - cross out the phrase, find the antecedent, ask who is doing the action. Second, the question format mattered. The modifier rule scored 50% to 69% when learners were asked to find the broken sentence and 15% when they were asked to pick the correct one. On "choose the correct sentence" items, run your tests on every option before you commit. At 37 questions in 37 minutes, that is the one place worth spending the extra seconds. Our TEAS English practice set works through subject-verb agreement, pronoun case and semicolons with the same quick tests.
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The success ratios on this page come from the ATI TEAS practice course that produced them - all four sections, with a worked explanation behind every question.