Use a short original passage, a grammar question and a punctuation question to practise reading closely. The worked answers explain the evidence and the sentence structure. These are independent Elevenate examples, not official Quest questions.
Examples reviewed
01
Finding evidence in a passage
Read this passage
Ellis reached the allotment before the rain began. He had promised to water the seedlings, but the soil was already dark and damp. A robin hopped along the fence. Ellis put the watering can back in the shed and knelt beside a row of small plants. Thin stems leaned towards the path, so he pressed a cane into the earth next to each one and tied the stems loosely. By the time his grandmother arrived, the first drops were tapping on the shed roof. Ellis lifted the empty can and grinned. ‘They needed a different kind of help today,’ he said.
Which TWO actions does Ellis take to support the leaning plants?
Choose TWO answers.
APutting the watering can back in the shed
BKneeling beside the row of plants
CPressing a cane into the earth next to each plant
DTying the stems loosely
ELifting the empty watering can
Show worked answer
Answers: C and D
The question asks which actions support the leaning plants. Find the sentence beginning ‘Thin stems leaned towards the path’.
Ellis presses a cane into the earth next to each plant and ties the stems loosely. Those details support C and D.
The other actions also happen in the passage, but none gives the leaning stems something to rest against. Choose exactly C and D.
02
Subject and verb agreement
Find the part containing a grammatical mistake. If the whole sentence is correct, select ‘None’.
The box of pencils were left on the teacher's desk.
Choose ONE answer.
AThe box
Bof pencils
Cwere left
Don the teacher's desk.
ENone
Show worked answer
Answer: C
Find the subject: ‘The box’. There is one box, so the subject is singular.
‘Of pencils’ tells us what the box contains. The plural word ‘pencils’ does not change the number of boxes.
Use ‘was left’ with the singular subject. The corrected sentence is ‘The box of pencils was left on the teacher's desk.’ The mistake is in C.
03
Commas after an opening clause
Where should the missing comma go?
If the path ▢A is slippery ▢B we will walk ▢C through the field ▢D.
Choose ONE answer.
A
B
C
D
Show worked answer
Answer: B
The opening clause is ‘If the path is slippery’. It gives the condition for what follows.
The main clause begins ‘we will walk’. Put the comma between the two clauses, at marker B.
Read the completed sentence: ‘If the path is slippery, we will walk through the field.’ The full stop is already present, so only the comma is missing.
What to practise next
For reading questions, find the words in the passage that support each answer. A detail can be true without answering the question asked.
When checking a verb, identify the subject it belongs to. A nearby plural noun can distract you from a singular subject.
Read a marked punctuation sentence through without the markers first, then locate the point where the missing mark belongs.