TEAS V7 English Conventions and Vocabulary Study Guide

Spelling Rules: I Before E and the C Exception

• Primary Rule: Use I before E, except after C. This rule applies specifically when the "IE" combination produces a long E sound ($/I s E E v/$).

  • Correct Orthography:

    • Achieve

    • Believe

    • Piece

  • Incorrect Orthography (Common Mistakes):

    • Acheive

    • Beleive

    • Peice

• The "Except After C" Application: When the combination follows the letter C and produces a long E sound, the order is reversed to EI.

  • Examples:

    • Receive ($/r I s E E v/$)

    • Receipt ($/r i S E E T/$)

    • Ceiling ($/S E E + L I N G/$)

    • Deceive ($/D I + s E E V/$)

    • Preconceive ($/P R E E + k u h n + S E E V/$)

• Rule Exceptions: The rule does not apply if the vowel sound is not a long E.

  • Ancient: Pronounced "AYN" + "shuhnt"

  • Efficient: Pronounced "i" + "FISH" + "uhnt"

  • Science: Pronounced "SY" + "uhns"

  • Sufficient: Pronounced "suh" + "FISH" + "uhnt"

  • Other Exceptions: Their, foreign, weird, leisure, height, neighbor, weight, vein.

Spelling Rules: Dropping the Final E

• General Rule: Drop the final "e" when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. Keep the "e" when adding a suffix that begins with a consonant.

• Vowel Suffixes (-ing, -ed, -able):

  • $hope + ing = hoping$

  • $care + ed = cared$

• Consonant Suffixes (-ful, -less):

  • $hope + ful = hopeful$

  • $care + less = careless$

• Exceptions for "CE" and "GE": Keep the final "e" if the word ends in "ce" or "ge" and the suffix starts with "a" or "o" to maintain the soft consonant sound.

  • $notice + able = noticeable$

  • $change + able = changeable$

  • $courage + ous = courageous$

  • $outrage + ous = outrageous$

Spelling Rules: Doubling the Final Consonant (The $1:1:1$ Rule)

• The $1:1:1$ Rule: Double the final consonant if the word meets three criteria: it has $1$ syllable, contains $1$ vowel, and ends in $1$ consonant.

  • Applicable Examples:

    • $run + ing = running$

    • $trip + ed = tripped$

    • $jog + ing = jogging$

    • $hug + able = huggable$

• Words Failing the Criteria:

  • Dream + ing = dreaming: Has $1$ syllable and $1$ consonant, but $2$ vowels.

  • Rest + ing = resting: Has $1$ syllable and $1$ vowel, but ends in $2$ consonants.

  • Open + ed = opened: Contains $2$ syllables.

• Exceptions Based on Ending Letters: Words ending in H, W, X, and Y do not follow the doubling rule.

  • $mix + ing = mixing$ (not mixxing)

  • $play + able = playable$ (not playyable)

  • $brew + ing = brewing$ (not brewwing)

Spelling Rules: Changing Y to I

• Consonant + Y: When a word ends in a consonant followed by "y", change the "y" to an "i" before adding any suffix except those starting with "i" (like -ing).

  • $baby = babies$

  • $happy = happiness$

• Exception: Final Y + -ing: If adding the suffix -ing, keep the final "y" because the English language does not typically use a double I vowel team.

  • $copy + ing = copying$

  • $enjoy + ing = enjoying$

• Exception: Vowel + Y: If a vowel precedes the final "y", do not change the "y" to "i".

  • $stay + ed = stayed$

  • $valley + s = valleys$

Pluralization Rules

• General Rule: Most nouns become plural by adding "-s" (e.g., cars, bags, tables).

• Nouns Ending in S, X, Z, CH, SH, SS: Add "-es" to the end.

  • Examples: Buses, benches, boxes.

  • Phonetic Exception: If "ch" is pronounced like "k" (e.g., stomach), just add "-s" (stomachs).

  • Irregular Exceptions: Fish (plural: fish), Ox (plural: oxen).

• Nouns Ending in F or FE: Usually change "f/fe" to "-ves".

  • Examples: Calves, shelves, wolves.

  • Exceptions (Add -s only): Roofs, chiefs, chefs, beliefs, oafs, reefs, giraffes, refs, safes, surfs.

• Nouns Ending in O:

  • Preceded by a Vowel: Add "-s" (e.g., radios, stereos, videos).

  • Preceded by a Consonant: Add "-es" (e.g., potatoes, heroes, dominoes).

  • Consonant Exceptions: Pianos, photos, halos.

• Nouns Ending in Y:

  • Consonant + Y: Change "y" to "i" and add "-es" (e.g., cities, candies, ladies).

  • Vowel + Y: Retain "y" and add "-s" (e.g., days, toys, donkeys).

Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms

• Homophones: Words that sound the same but have different meanings and/or spellings (e.g., Mail/Male; Knight/Night).

• Homographs: Words that are spelled the same but may have different sounds and meanings (e.g., Bow [front of ship]/Bow [hair ribbon]; Lead [metal]/Lead [guide]).

• Homonyms: Words spelled and sounding the same but carrying different meanings (e.g., Ring [jewelry]/Ring [sound]; Bat [animal]/Bat [sports equipment]).

Punctuation and Capitalization

• Period: Concludes declarative sentences. Example: "She loves chocolate."

• Capitalization Rules:

  • Always capitalize the first letter of a sentence.

  • Always capitalize proper nouns (specific names), but not common nouns (general items).

  • Proper vs. Common Examples:

    • David (proper) vs. boy (common)

    • Friday (proper) vs. day (common)

    • July (proper) vs. month (common)

    • Canada (proper) vs. country (common)

    • Atlantic Ocean (proper) vs. ocean (common)

• Apostrophes:

  • Usage: Used for contractions (e.g., I'm, you're, he's) or to show possession (e.g., Jack's car, teacher's wife).

  • Prohibited Use: Never use an apostrophe to form a simple plural (Incorrect: car's; Correct: cars).

• Question Marks: Mandatory for every interrogative sentence. Example: "Do you like pizza?"

• Exclamation Marks: Used to express excitement, strong emotion, or urgency. Examples: "You look beautiful!", "Watch out!", "Sit down!"

• Commas:

  • Series: Separate items in a list of $3$ or more. Example: "coffee, tea, and milk."

  • Independent Clauses: Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So) joining two complete thoughts. Correct: "He is a doctor, and she is a lawyer."

• Semicolon: Separates closely related independent clauses. Example: "Calvin is a teacher; Jennifer is a nurse."

• Colon: Used to introduce a list. Example: "They serve many types of food: Chinese, Indian, and American."

• Hyphen:

  • Adjective Combinations: Joins two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun (e.g., well-known author, brand-new television).

  • Compound Numbers: Use for numbers between $21$ and $99$ (e.g., forty-two, ninety-nine).

Quotation Styles

• Direct Quotes: State the speaker's exact words and require quotation marks. Example: Stephanie said, "I am learning a new topic."

• Indirect Quotes: Report what was said without using exact words. Do not use quotation marks. Often utilizes the word "that" and shifts the verb to past tense. Example: Stephanie said that she was learning a new topic.

Parts of Speech

• Verb: Describes an action or experience (Run, walk, push, bake).

• Noun: Names a person, place, thing, or idea (House, instructor, China).

• Adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun (Short, beautiful, red, huge).

• Adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb. It answers how, where, when, or how often (Slowly, always, yesterday, really).

• Pronoun: Replaces a noun (I, she, they, it). Example: "Becky is my friend. She always helps me."

• Interjection: Expresses strong emotion, often followed by an exclamation mark (Wow!, Hey!).

• Conjunction: Connects words, phrases, or clauses (And, but, although, whereas).

• Preposition: Describes place, time, or direction and is used before a noun/pronoun (Under, above, during, over).

Sentences, Clauses, and Complements

• Subject: Who or what the sentence is about (e.g., Angel, The watermelon).

• Predicate: Tells what the subject is or does (e.g., lost his dog, buzzed around me).

• Modifier: A word (adjective/adverb) or phrase that adds info about another word (e.g., "grey" in "grey truck").

• Complements:

  • Subject Complement: A noun that renames the subject (e.g., "teacher" in "Melissa is a teacher") or an adjective describing the subject (e.g., "handsome" in "He is handsome") following a linking verb.

  • Object Complement: An adjective or noun that follows the direct object to provide more info (e.g., "genius" in "They call Melissa genius").

• Independent Clause: A group of words with a subject and verb that forms a complete thought (e.g., "The cat is sleeping.").

• Dependent Clause: Contains a subject and verb but starts with a subordinating conjunction and is not a complete thought (e.g., "When the cat is sleeping").

  • Common Subordinators: Since, when, if, while, because, who, that, which, as, although, whether, until, unless, in case, even though.

• Sentence Complexity:

  • Simple: One independent clause with one subject and verb (e.g., Grace opened the door).

  • Compound: Two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (e.g., Grace opened the door, and she looked outside).

  • Complex: One independent clause and at least one dependent clause (e.g., When he won the award, everyone cheered).

Sentence Verification and Correction

• Direct vs. Indirect Objects:

  • Direct Object: Receives the action; answers "What?" or "Whom?"

  • Indirect Object: Recipient of the direct object; answers "To/For/From whom?"

• Complete vs. Incomplete Sentences:

  • Complete: requires both Subject + Predicate.

  • Incomplete: Missing a component (e.g., "Slept in the tent" lacks a subject; "American geese" lacks a predicate).

• Imperative Sentences: Issue commands. The subject is usually the "implied you" (e.g., "Stop it.", "Go straight.").

• Run-on Sentences: Occur when independent clauses are fused without punctuation. Fix by dividing into two sentences or inserting punctuation and a conjunction.

Transition Words and Logical Order

• Agreement: Correspondingly, equally important, in the same way.

• Opposition: But, although, however, conversely.

• Cause/Effect: If, unless, therefore, consequently, accordingly, as a result.

• Examples: Including, in other words, for example.

• Conclusion: After all, in short, altogether, ultimately.

• Chronology: Before, after, suddenly, first, later, then, finally.

• Location (Spatial): Here, there, wherever, adjacent to, to the left/right, across from.

• Logical Orders in Paragraphs:

  • Chronological: Following time sequence (e.g., mixed, served).

  • Order of Importance: Persuading by ranking (e.g., Most importantly, just below the president).

  • Spatial Order: Organizing based on physical location (e.g., attached to the wall, turning my head further to the right).

Verb Tense Matrix

Narrative and Professional Writing

• Diction: The choice of words affecting tone, formality, and strength (Chubbi enjoys vs. Chubbi fancies jaunts).

• Narrative Structure:

  • Characters: Entities performing actions.

  • Setting: Time and location.

  • Conflict: The central problem.

  • Climax: Peak of the action.

  • Resolution: Conclusion/solution.

• Language Formality:

  • Formal: Professional, full sentences, no contractions, passive voice (e.g., "The director submitted his resignation").

  • Informal: Casual, contractions, exclamation marks, idioms, active voice (e.g., "The boss quit").

• Paragraph Components:

  • Topic Sentence: Usually the first sentence; states the main idea.

  • Main Idea: On the TEAS, often found as the last sentence of the first paragraph.

  • Supporting Details: Clarify the topic sentence within the same paragraph.

  • Summary: Often the first sentence of the last paragraph.

The Writing Process and Citations

• Five Key Steps:

  1. Prewriting: Planning via Stream of Consciousness (unstructured), Brainstorming (structured), or Mind Mapping (visual branching).

  2. Writing: Drafting the initial version.

  3. Conferencing: Discussing with others to find gaps or ambiguities.

  4. Revision: Macro-level changes (structure, logic, irrelevant passages).

  5. Editing: Micro-level changes (grammar, spelling, punctuation).

• APA Style Citations:

  • In-text: (Smith, $2020$, p. $16$).

  • Narrative Citation: According to Smith ($2022$)…

  • Reference: Smith, J. ($2020$). Title of Article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), pages.

• Multiple Author Rules:

  • 1 Author: (Cheung, $2024$)

  • 2 Authors: (Cheung & Taylor, $2024$)

  • 3+ Authors: (Cheung et al., $2024$)

• Missing Citation Info:

  • No Author: Use organization or title.

  • No Year: Use ($n.d.$).

  • No Page: Use timestamp, chapter, or paragraph number.

Vocabulary Acquisition: Affixes

• Prefix: A word part at the beginning (Dis- [dislike], Un- [unable], Pre- [predict]).

• Suffix: A word part at the end (-able, -ism, -ness, -less).

• Suffix Types:

  • Inflectional: Shows grammatical function without changing core meaning (Cat + s = Cats).

  • Derivational: Creates a new word with a different meaning (Fear + less = Fearless).

• Analysis Strategy: Determine meanings by breaking words into known parts (e.g., Disband = Dis [opposite/not] + band [group] = to end an organization).