Free ATI TEAS 7 English & Language Usage guide
October 2026 - Common Grammatical Mistakes Study Guide for nursing students in
Subject-verb agreement, shifting verb tense mid-passage, double negatives and misplaced modifiers account for most of the errors tested here. The single most useful habit is ignoring the words between a subject and its verb — in "the box of samples is heavy", the subject is box, not samples.
Subject-verb agreement
The verb matches the subject in number. Finding the real subject is the whole difficulty.
- Ignore prepositional phrases. In
the box of samples is heavy, the subject isbox. Cross out "of samples" and the agreement is obvious. - Indefinite pronouns are singular — each, every, everyone, somebody, neither, either:
Each of the nurses has a locker. - Compound subjects joined by "and" are plural:
The nurse and the doctor were present. - With "or" or "nor", match the nearer subject:
Neither the doctor nor the nurses were available. - Collective nouns are usually singular:
The team has submitted its report.
Tense consistency
A passage should stay in one tense unless the time genuinely changes. Drifting from past to present mid-paragraph — "she checked the chart and then goes to the ward" — is one of the most frequent errors offered on the exam.
Where a shift is legitimate, something in the sentence signals it: She checked the chart yesterday; the results are still pending. Two different times, so two different tenses, correctly marked.
The other recurring errors
| Error | Wrong | Right |
|---|---|---|
| Double negative | She didn't see nothing. | She didn't see anything. |
| Faulty parallel structure | She likes reading, to swim and cycling. | She likes reading, swimming and cycling. |
| Double comparative | more easier | easier |
| Comparative for two, superlative for three or more | the best of the two | the better of the two |
| Wrong past participle | She should have went. | She should have gone. |
Could of |
He could of called. | He could have called. |
Comparatives are for two things and superlatives for three or more: the better of the two options, the best of the three. Doubling them — "more better", "most easiest" — is always wrong, since the -er or -est already does the job.
Finding the real subject
Worked example
Choose: The list of medications on the two charts (was / were) incomplete.
- Find the verb: was or were.
- Ask what is incomplete. Cross out the prepositional phrases: "of medications", "on the two charts".
- What remains is "the list", which is singular.
- A singular subject takes the singular verb.
The list of medications on the two charts was incomplete. The plural nouns sitting between the subject and the verb are there precisely to pull you towards "were".
Terms to know
- Subject-verb agreement
- Matching a verb to its subject in number.
- Prepositional phrase
- A phrase beginning with a preposition. Never contains the subject.
- Tense shift
- An unjustified change of tense within a passage.
- Double negative
- Two negatives in one clause, which is non-standard in English.
- Parallel structure
- Matching grammatical form across items in a list or comparison.
- Comparative
- The form comparing two things: better, easier, more careful.
- Superlative
- The form comparing three or more: best, easiest, most careful.
What the TEAS asks most
The same core ideas appear in different wording. If you can answer these without stopping to think, you have what this section requires.
Which verb correctly completes the sentence?
Cross out the prepositional phrases and find the real subject.
Which sentence contains an error?
Check agreement, then tense consistency, then parallel structure.
Which revision is correct?
The one fixing the error without introducing a new one — often another choice fixes the tense but breaks the agreement.
Key points
- The subject is never inside a prepositional phrase.
- Each, every, everyone and neither are singular.
- With "or" or "nor", the verb matches the nearer subject.
- Keep one tense unless the time genuinely changes.
- Comparative for two, superlative for three or more, and never double either.
Review quiz
4 questions on this topic, each with the reasoning worked through. Pick an answer to see how it went, or open the explanation straight away.
-
Question 1 of 4
Which sentence is correct?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. The box of sterile gloves is on the trolley.
The subject is "box", singular, and "of sterile gloves" is a prepositional phrase that cannot contain it. The plural noun sitting immediately before the verb is what makes "are" and "were" tempting, and the last choice fixes the agreement in the wrong direction.
-
Question 2 of 4
Which sentence contains a tense shift error?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. She checked the chart and then goes to the ward.
One clause is in the past and the next in the present, with nothing to justify the change. The first and third are internally consistent, and the fourth shifts legitimately because "yesterday" and "still pending" refer to genuinely different times.
-
Question 3 of 4
Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. The role involves documenting care, administering medication and supervising students.
All three items take the same -ing form, so the list reads as a single series. Every other choice mixes an infinitive or a noun into the sequence, which breaks the pattern the reader has been set up to expect.
-
Question 4 of 4
Which sentence is correct?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Of the two options, this one is the better.
With exactly two things the comparative form is required, and "better" is that form. "Best" is the superlative for three or more, while the last two double the comparison, which is never correct.
Put this TEAS topic into practice
Build a set on common grammatical mistakes and use the rationale on every question to reinforce what you just reviewed.
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