ENGLISH & LANGUAGE USAGE

📘 ATI TEAS: ENGLISH & LANGUAGE USAGE NOTES

This section tests your understanding of grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, vocabulary, and writing clarity.

✍️ 1. PARTS OF SPEECH

Main Types

• Noun – person, place, thing, idea
• Verb – action or state (run, is)
• Adjective – describes a noun
• Adverb – describes verb/adjective (quickly)
• Pronoun – replaces a noun (he, they)
• Preposition – shows relationship (in, on, under)
• Conjunction – connects words (and, but)

🧠 2. SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Types of Sentences

• Simple – one independent clause
  • She studies.
• Compound – two independent clauses
  • She studies, and she passes.
• Complex – independent + dependent clause
  • She studies because she cares.

Key Terms

• Subject – who/what the sentence is about
• Predicate – what the subject does

⚖️ 3. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Rules

• Singular subject → singular verb
  • She runs ✔
• Plural subject → plural verb
  • They run ✔

Tricky Cases

• Everyone, someone, each → singular
  • Everyone is ready
• A number of → plural
• The number of → singular

🔄 4. VERB TENSES

Common Tenses

• Past – walked
• Present – walk
• Future – will walk

Rule

• Keep tense consistent in a sentence/paragraph

🔗 5. PRONOUN USAGE

Agreement

• Pronoun must match noun in number & gender
  • The student forgot his/her book

Types

• Subject: he, she, they
• Object: him, her, them
• Possessive: his, her, their

❗ 6. PUNCTUATION

Commas (,)

• Separate items in a list
• After introductory phrases
• Before conjunctions in compound sentences

Apostrophes (’)

• Possession: John’s book
• Contractions: don’t = do not

Semicolon (;)

• Connect closely related sentences

Colon (:)

• Introduce a list or explanation

🧱 7. COMMON SENTENCE ERRORS

Fragments ❌

• Incomplete sentence
• Because she was tired.

Run-ons ❌

• Two sentences joined incorrectly
• She ran she fell

Fixes ✔

• Add conjunction
• Use punctuation
• Break into two sentences

🧾 8. VOCABULARY & WORD MEANING

Context Clues

Use surrounding words to determine meaning.

Word Parts

• Prefix: un- = not
• Root: bio = life
• Suffix: -logy = study

🧩 9. WRITING & ORGANIZATION

Paragraph Structure

1. Topic sentence
2. Supporting details
3. Conclusion

Good Writing

• Clear and concise
• Logical flow
• No repetition

🔍 10. EDITING & REVISION

Look for:

• Grammar mistakes
• Spelling errors
• Punctuation issues
• Clarity and tone

⭐ HIGH-YIELD TIPS FOR ATI TEAS

• Focus on basic grammar rules
• Watch for trick questions (agreement & tense)
• Choose the clearest and simplest sentence
• Practice identifying errors quickly

🧠 QUICK EXAM STRATEGY

• Read the full sentence before choosing
• Eliminate clearly wrong answers
• Trust grammar rules, not how it “sounds”

If you want, I can:

• Give you ATI TEAS English practice questions
• Create a quick revision cheat sheet
• Test you with a mini mock exam