--- title: "TEAS English practice test: 37 questions in 37 minutes" description: "What TEAS 7 English and Language Usage tests: 37 questions in 37 minutes, the three sub-areas with item counts, and the rules that decide most items." url: https://nurseadmit.com/teas-practice-test/english --- 1. [Home](https://nurseadmit.com/) 2. [How to use a TEAS practice test](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-practice-test) 3. TEAS 7 English practice test # TEAS 7 English practice test **37** questions on the real section **37** minutes **33** of them scored **10** free here **10 free English and language usage questions** Answer one and the explanation opens underneath it. **1** Conventions of standard English Which sentence is punctuated correctly? **2** Conventions of standard English Which sentence is capitalized correctly? **3** Conventions of standard English Which sentence uses standard subject-verb agreement? **4** Conventions of standard English Which sentence contains a comma splice? **5** Knowledge of language Which revision changes the sentence below to the active voice without changing its meaning? \> The results of the survey were summarized by two nursing students in a one-page report. **6** Knowledge of language Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly? **7** Knowledge of language Each sentence below uses the passive voice. In which sentence is the passive voice the best choice? **8** Using language and vocabulary to express ideas in writing Read the sentence below. \> The pantry stores **perishable** items such as milk, fresh fruit and raw chicken in a separate > refrigerated room. As used here, _perishable_ most nearly means **9** Using language and vocabulary to express ideas in writing A supervisor is writing an incident report and wants to state that an employee was not present at a required meeting, without implying any judgment about the employee. Which sentence best serves that purpose? **10** Using language and vocabulary to express ideas in writing Given that _glyc-_ refers to sugar, the term _hyperglycemia_ most likely describes ## Ten questions cannot score you They tell you whether this section feels hard. A score needs all four sections and enough questions to separate a run of bad luck from a real gap. The diagnostic is 30 questions, free, and it returns a section-by-section report with the points-per-hour table. [Take the free diagnostic](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-practice-test) English and Language Usage gives you 37 questions and 37 minutes, 33 of those questions scored. One minute each is the quickest pace anywhere on the exam, and it sets the character of the section. The content is a short list of rules you either apply without thinking or you don't, so the marks that go missing here are usually taken by the clock rather than by the grammar. ## What the English section is Thirty-three scored items make English 22.0% of your total score. Four of the 37 are unscored pretest items, mixed in and unmarked, so treat every question as if it counts. | Sub-area | Scored items | Share of the whole exam | | ------------------------------- | ------------ | ----------------------- | | Conventions of standard English | 12 | 8.0% | | Knowledge of language | 11 | 7.3% | | Using language and vocabulary | 10 | 6.7% | | **English total** | **33** | **22.0%** | It is the shortest section on the exam and, on the standard form, the last — it arrives after about two and a half hours of testing. Sections are timed separately, so nothing saved earlier is available here. The other three sections are on the [TEAS 7 blueprint page](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-7). ## What is actually tested **Conventions of standard English — 12 scored items.** Spelling and commonly confused words, homophones such as _their / there / they're_ and _affect / effect_, capitalization, punctuation (commas in a series, after an introductory element, around an appositive and before a conjunction joining two independent clauses; semicolons and colons; apostrophes; quotation marks and dashes), fragments, run-ons and comma splices, subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement and case, verb tense consistency, and sentence types. **Knowledge of language — 11 scored items.** Clarity and concision, formal against informal register and choosing the right one for an audience, transitions and connectors, topic sentences and paragraph organization, which sentence does not belong in a paragraph, the writing process, when a citation is needed, misplaced modifiers, parallel structure, and active against passive voice. **Using language and vocabulary — 10 scored items.** Working out a word's meaning from context, prefixes, roots and suffixes with the medical ones prominent (_cardi-, -itis, hypo-, -ectomy, brady-_), parts of speech, connotation against denotation, precise word choice, figurative against literal language, and multiple-meaning words. ## The rules that decide the most questions **Comma splices.** Two complete sentences joined by nothing but a comma. - Incorrect: _The clinic opens at seven, the laboratory does not open until nine._ - Correct: _The clinic opens at seven, but the laboratory does not open until nine._ - Correct: _The clinic opens at seven; the laboratory does not open until nine._ Cover the comma and read each half alone. If both would stand as sentences, a comma cannot hold them, and the fix is a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus _and, but, or, so, yet_. **Subject-verb agreement across an intervening phrase.** The verb agrees with the subject, not with the nearest noun. - Incorrect: _The box of gloves were left on the counter._ - Correct: _The box of gloves was left on the counter._ The subject is _box_, and nothing inside the phrase _of gloves_ can be the subject. Cross out everything between the subject and the verb and read what remains. This cuts both ways, so do not overcorrect: in _the results of the study were published_, the subject is _results_ and the plural verb is right. **Apostrophes: possession against contraction.** An apostrophe marks a missing letter or ownership, and _its_ is the exception. - Incorrect: _The unit changed it's visiting hours._ - Correct: _The unit changed its visiting hours._ — _It's the second change this year._ _It's_ always expands to _it is_ or _it has_. If the expansion does not read, the word is _its_. The other half of the pattern is placement: _the nurse's station_ is one nurse, _the nurses' station_ is several. ## Why the points go to pace, not knowledge Sixty seconds a question gives you a simple check: the clock and the question number should stay level. At 12 minutes you should be finishing question 12; at 24 minutes, question 24\. On question 9 at the 12-minute mark you are three down, and it does not come back on its own. The section funds itself unevenly. A homophone or an apostrophe question is a 10 to 20 second answer; a paragraph you have to reorganize can take 90\. The fast items pay for the slow ones only if you take them fast, and the usual way to lose a minute here is reading a four-sentence paragraph three times hoping it resolves. It does not. Two habits protect the pace. Decide by the rule rather than by ear, because "sounds right" fails on exactly the items that are tested. And when you have read the options twice with no progress, take the shorter, more direct version and move — in Knowledge of language the wordy option is wrong more often than right. ## How to prepare for this section Conventions responds fast to drilling. Twelve scored items are governed by about a dozen rules, they do not change, and a few focused hours usually converts most of them. If you are short of time and looking for points, this is where the hour goes. The other two sub-areas are slower. Vocabulary is partly a memorization list, and the medical prefixes and roots are worth learning once because they pay off in Science too; the [medical terminology quiz](https://nurseadmit.com/medical-terminology-quiz) tests them both ways round. Knowledge of language is judgment rather than rule, so it improves through volume and through reading the explanation on every miss. Whatever you drill, drill it against a clock at 60 seconds a question. Untimed practice trains the half of this section that was never the problem. The free [30-question diagnostic](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-practice-test) reports by sub-area, so it will tell you whether your English losses sit in conventions, in language or in vocabulary. The free [study guide](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-study-guide) carries the same weights. ## Common questions ### Is the TEAS English section hard? English and Language Usage is the shortest section and the fastest: 37 questions in 37 minutes, one minute each, with 33 of them scored. The content is a short list of rules — punctuation, agreement, word choice, paragraph organization, word parts — which is why people who apply the rules find it straightforward and people who decide by ear find it unpredictable. The usual reason for a low score here is the pace rather than the grammar, because 60 seconds a question is the tightest budget on the exam. ### Do you have to write an essay on the TEAS? No. The TEAS 7 is 170 questions across 209 minutes in four separately timed sections, and none of that time is set aside for writing. The sub-area named "using language and vocabulary to express ideas in writing" is 10 scored questions about writing choices — word choice, register, clarity — not a piece of writing you produce. If your program has told you to expect a written component, that is its own admissions requirement rather than part of the exam, and its admissions office can confirm which it means. ### Are all four TEAS sections worth the same? No. Of the 150 scored questions, Science carries 44, Reading 39, Mathematics 34 and English and Language Usage 33, so Science is worth about a third more than English. The time is distributed differently again: English gets 37 minutes for 37 questions while Mathematics gets 57 minutes for 38\. Your total score is the percentage across all 150 questions, so one question is worth the same wherever it sits — about 0.67 points — but a longer section can move your total further. ### What is a good score on the TEAS English section? There is no national passing score, and a program's published requirement is normally a total score rather than an English minimum. Typical totals are 55 to 65 for LPN and PN programs, 60 to 70 for ADN, 70 to 80 for BSN and 80 to 90 or higher for selective BSN programs, against a national average in the 60 to 70 range. English is 33 of the 150 scored questions, so it can move your total by at most 22 points. The number that applies to you is on your program's admissions page. ### What happens if you run out of time on the TEAS English section? The section closes at 37 minutes with whatever you have answered, and because the four sections are timed separately there is nothing to borrow from and nothing carried over. Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer, so a blank costs you exactly what a wrong answer costs and gains you nothing. Running out of time here is usually decided at the halfway mark: at 18 minutes you want to be at about question 18, and if you are several behind, the recovery is taking the quick items quickly rather than rescuing the slow one in front of you. #### On this page [What the English section is](#what-the-english-section-is) [What is actually tested](#what-is-actually-tested) [The rules that decide the most questions](#the-rules-that-decide-the-most-questions) [Why the points go to pace, not knowledge](#why-the-points-go-to-pace-not-knowledge) [How to prepare for this section](#how-to-prepare-for-this-section) [Common questions](#common-questions) ## The rest of this guide - [TEAS 7 math practice test8 min](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-practice-test/math) - [TEAS 7 reading practice test7 min](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-practice-test/reading) - [TEAS 7 science practice test8 min](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-practice-test/science) ## Also worth reading - [How to study for the TEAS 76 min](https://nurseadmit.com/how-to-study-for-the-teas) - [The ATI TEAS 7 study guide14 min](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-study-guide) ## Start from a score 30 questions across all four sections, scored against the blueprint. The report names the sub-areas costing you the most points and how many hours each one is worth. [Take the free practice test](https://nurseadmit.com/teas-practice-test) [See the Pass Kit](https://nurseadmit.com/pass-kit) Last reviewed 2026-10-04. --- Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ATI, Elsevier or NCSBN. TEAS® and ATI® are registered trademarks of Assessment Technologies Institute. HESI® is a registered trademark of Elsevier. NCLEX® is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Scores from NurseAdmit practice tests are estimates for study planning. They are not official TEAS scores and do not predict an official result.