Topics by priority
| Topic | What's tested | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Subject-verb agreement | Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs. Tricky cases: collective nouns, compound subjects with "and" vs. "or," and indefinite pronouns ("everyone," "none," "each"). | HIGH |
| Pronoun-antecedent agreement | Pronouns must match their antecedent in number and gender. Watch for unclear antecedents and pronoun case (subject vs. object: "she/her," "he/him," "who/whom"). | HIGH |
| Commonly confused words | affect vs. effect, their/there/they're, its vs. it's, your vs. you're, fewer vs. less, who vs. whom, lay vs. lie. Drill these until they are automatic. | HIGH |
| Comma usage | Commas in lists (including Oxford comma), before coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences, after introductory phrases, and around nonessential clauses. Avoid comma splices. | HIGH |
| Apostrophes | Contractions (it's = it is) vs. possessives (its = belonging to it). Singular possessives ("the nurse's chart") vs. plural possessives ("the nurses' station"). | HIGH |
| Sentence structure | Simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. Identifying independent vs. dependent clauses. Fixing fragments and run-ons. | MEDIUM |
| Parallel structure | Items in a list or series must have the same grammatical form. "She likes reading, writing, and to run" should be "She likes reading, writing, and running." | MEDIUM |
| Verb tense consistency | Tense should remain consistent within a sentence and passage unless the meaning requires a shift. Flag sudden tense changes as errors. | MEDIUM |
| Vocabulary in context | Using surrounding text to determine word meaning. Answers that require a dictionary rather than the passage are wrong by design. | MEDIUM |
| Word roots and affixes | Common Greek and Latin prefixes (pre-, anti-, inter-), roots (bio-, chron-, ped-), and suffixes (-ology, -itis, -ist). Useful for both English and Reading sections. | MEDIUM |
| Punctuation (semicolons, colons) | Semicolons join two independent clauses without a conjunction. Colons introduce lists or explanations after an independent clause. | LOW |
| Capitalization | Proper nouns, titles, the first word of sentences and direct quotations. Generally straightforward — do not over-study. | LOW |
The most common English mistakes
Confusing subject-verb agreement with collective nouns
Collective nouns (team, family, committee) usually take a singular verb when acting as a unit. "The team is winning," not "The team are winning."
Mixing up its vs. it's
"Its" is possessive (belonging to it). "It's" is always the contraction of "it is" or "it has." When in doubt, substitute "it is" — if the sentence works, use "it's."
Using commas before essential clauses
Essential clauses (restrictive) are not set off with commas. Nonessential clauses (nonrestrictive) are. "The nurse who finished first won" vs. "The nurse, who finished first, won."
Breaking parallel structure in lists
All items in a list should have the same grammatical form. Gerunds with gerunds, infinitives with infinitives. Check the first item and match the rest.
Trying to memorize vocabulary lists
TEAS vocabulary tests context and word parts, not rote memorization. Study Greek and Latin roots instead — they unlock hundreds of words at once.