TEAS English Practice Test
This is a free 15-question sampler in the style of the TEAS 7 English and Language Usage section. It covers grammar and sentence structure, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary, mixing multiple choice, select all that apply and fill in the blank. Answer all 15 questions, then check your score and read the explanation for every question.
Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence: "Neither of the nurses ___ available to cover the shift."
All 15 questions at a glance
Prefer to read before you play? Every question in the sampler is listed below. Answers and explanations stay collapsed until you open them.
1. Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence: "Neither of the nurses ___ available to cover the shift."
- A. were
- B. was
- C. are
- D. have been
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. was
Neither is a singular pronoun, so it takes the singular verb was. The plural noun nurses sits inside a prepositional phrase and does not control the verb.
2. Which word is spelled correctly?
- A. recieve
- B. receive
- C. receeve
- D. receve
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. receive
The rule is i before e except after c. Because the vowel pair follows c, it is written ei: receive.
3. Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?
- A. The charts for all the patients' were updated.
- B. The patients' charts were updated.
- C. The patients charts' were updated.
- D. The patient's charts were updated for all of them.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The patients' charts were updated.
For a plural noun ending in s, the apostrophe goes after the s: the charts belonging to the patients are the patients' charts.
4. Complete the sentence.
The patient was told to lie down; yesterday she _____ down for an hour.
Options for blank 1: lay, laid, lain, lied
Show answer and explanation
Answer: lay
Lie (to recline) conjugates lie, lay, lain. The past tense is lay. Laid is the past tense of lay, which means to put something down and needs an object.
5. Which sentence uses the semicolon correctly?
- A. The exam was long; but fair.
- B. The exam was long; it covered every chapter.
- C. The exam was long; covering every chapter.
- D. The exam; was long and covered every chapter.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The exam was long; it covered every chapter.
A semicolon joins two complete independent clauses. Only choice B has a full clause on each side of the semicolon.
6. Which of the following are complete sentences?
Select all that apply.
- A. The lab results arrived this morning.
- B. Because the results were delayed.
- C. She reviewed the chart before rounds.
- D. Running down the hallway with the paperwork.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The lab results arrived this morning., C. She reviewed the chart before rounds.
A complete sentence needs a subject and a verb and must stand alone. Choice B is a dependent clause left hanging by because, and choice D has no main subject and verb.
7. Read the sentence: "The doctor's terse reply left no room for follow-up questions." What does terse mean?
- A. Cheerful
- B. Brief and abrupt
- C. Confusing
- D. Very loud
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Brief and abrupt
Terse means using few words, often to the point of seeming abrupt. The clue is that the reply left no room for follow-up.
8. Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence: "The charge nurse asked Maria and ___ to restock the supply room."
- A. I
- B. me
- C. myself
- D. she
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. me
The pronoun is an object of asked, so it takes the object form me. Test it by dropping Maria: the nurse asked me, not the nurse asked I.
9. Complete the sentence.
_____ going to review _____ notes together before the final exam.
Options for blank 1: They're, Their, There
Options for blank 2: they're, their, there
Show answer and explanation
Answer: They're, their
They're is the contraction of they are, which fits the first blank. Their shows possession, which fits the notes. There refers to a place and fits neither.
10. Which word is closest in meaning to beneficial?
- A. Harmful
- B. Helpful
- C. Optional
- D. Temporary
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Helpful
Beneficial means producing a good effect, so helpful is the synonym. Harmful is the antonym.
11. In the word hyperglycemia, what does the prefix hyper- mean?
- A. Below normal
- B. Excessive or above normal
- C. Related to sugar
- D. Slow
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Excessive or above normal
Hyper- means excessive or above normal, so hyperglycemia is high blood sugar. The opposite prefix is hypo-, as in hypoglycemia. Glyc- is the root that means sugar.
12. Which of the following words are spelled correctly?
Select all that apply.
- A. occurrence
- B. separate
- C. neccessary
- D. accommodate
- E. embarass
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. occurrence, B. separate, D. accommodate
Occurrence has double c and double r, separate has an a in the middle, and accommodate has double c and double m. Necessary takes one c and two s's, and embarrass needs double r and double s.
13. Which sentence is most appropriate for a formal email to a professor?
- A. Hey, gonna miss class tomorrow, my bad.
- B. I will be absent from tomorrow's class because of a medical appointment.
- C. Can't make it tomorrow lol, catch me up?
- D. Tomorrow is a no-go for me, sorry!!
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. I will be absent from tomorrow's class because of a medical appointment.
Formal writing avoids slang, contractions of casual speech and chat abbreviations. Choice B states the situation plainly and politely, which fits the audience.
14. Complete the sentence.
A clause that has a subject and a verb and can stand alone is an _____ clause; a clause that cannot stand alone is a _____ clause.
Options for blank 1: independent, introductory, adjective, appositive
Options for blank 2: parallel, dependent, compound, declarative
Show answer and explanation
Answer: independent, dependent
Independent clauses are complete sentences on their own. Dependent clauses start with words like because, although or when, and must attach to an independent clause.
15. Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence: "The medication had a positive ___ on the patient's recovery."
- A. affect
- B. effect
- C. affects
- D. effecting
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. effect
Effect is the noun, meaning a result. Affect is almost always a verb, meaning to influence. The sentence needs a noun after the article a.
What's on the TEAS 7 English section
The English and Language Usage section of the ATI TEAS 7 is the shortest of the four: 37 questions in 37 minutes, exactly one minute per question. 33 questions are scored and 4 are unscored pretest questions you cannot identify, so treat them all the same.
The scored questions cover three content areas. Conventions of standard English is worth 12 questions: spelling, punctuation and sentence structure. Knowledge of language is worth 11: grammar in context, clarity, and choosing language that fits a formal or informal situation. Vocabulary acquisition is worth 10: working out word meanings from context and from word parts like prefixes, roots and suffixes.
Because the timing is tight, this section rewards pattern recognition. Most questions test a small set of recurring rules: subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, commonly confused words, apostrophes and clause structure.
How to use this sampler
The 15 questions below hit the same rule set the real section leans on. Take them at pace, about a minute each, then read every explanation. Each one names the rule being tested, so a wrong answer tells you exactly what to review.
Keep a personal error list. If you missed the lie versus lay question, that goes on the list next to the rule. Reviewing a short list of your own recurring mistakes is far more efficient than rereading a whole grammar chapter. When you finish here, the science, math and reading samplers linked below round out all four TEAS sections.
How StudyPDF builds full practice tests from your prep book
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Written by the StudyPDF team. Last updated 2026-08-19.