GED — All Questions

Choose the sentence that is written correctly.

• a.Neither the manager nor the employees were ready for the audit.✓
• b.Neither the manager nor the employees was ready for the audit.
• c.Neither the manager nor the employees is ready for the audit.
• d.Neither the manager or the employees were ready for the audit.

With 'neither/nor,' the verb agrees with the nearer subject, which is 'employees' (plural), so 'were' is correct. The correlative conjunction requires 'nor,' not 'or.' This is a standard subject-verb agreement rule for compound subjects.

Read the passage: 'The volunteers arrived early. They planted over two hundred trees before noon.' Which word in the second sentence is a pronoun?

• a.planted
• b.before
• c.They✓
• d.arrived

A pronoun replaces a noun; here 'They' stands in for 'The volunteers.' 'Arrived' and 'planted' are verbs, and 'before' is a preposition. Recognizing pronoun reference helps track subjects across sentences.

Which sentence handles apostrophes correctly?

• a.Whose coming to the meeting later?
• b.The company increased its profits this year.✓
• c.The students turned in there essays.
• d.The dog wagged it's tail happily.

'Its' is the possessive form and needs no apostrophe, so 'increased its profits' is correct. 'It's' means 'it is,' 'there' is a place word (not possessive 'their'), and 'whose' should be 'who's' for 'who is.' Possessive pronouns never take apostrophes.

Select the best transition word to complete the sentence: 'The report was thorough; ______, it failed to suggest any solutions.'

• a.similarly
• b.however✓
• c.therefore
• d.because

The two clauses contrast a strength with a weakness, so a contrasting transition like 'however' fits. 'Therefore' and 'because' show cause, and 'similarly' shows comparison. Matching the transition to the logical relationship is key to coherent writing.

Which revision corrects the run-on sentence: 'The storm knocked out power we lit candles for light'?

• a.The storm knocked out power we lit candles, for light.
• b.The storm knocked out power, we lit candles for light.
• c.The storm knocked out power, so we lit candles for light.✓
• d.The storm knocked out power we lit, candles for light.

A run-on joins two independent clauses without proper punctuation or a conjunction. Adding a comma plus the coordinating conjunction 'so' correctly links them. Joining the two clauses with only a comma would create a comma splice, which is still an error.

In the sentence 'The ancient bridge, which was built in 1890, still carries traffic,' the phrase 'which was built in 1890' is what type of clause?

• a.An independent clause
• b.A prepositional phrase
• c.An essential clause
• d.A nonessential clause✓

The clause adds extra information and is set off by commas, which marks it as nonessential. A nonessential clause can be lifted out and the sentence still says what it said before. An essential clause, by contrast, narrows the noun it follows and takes no commas. An independent clause could stand alone as its own sentence, and a prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and contains no verb.

Read: 'Maria practiced every day for months. On the day of the recital, her hands did not shake at all.' What can the reader most reasonably infer?

• a.Maria forgot the piece she practiced.
• b.The recital was canceled.
• c.Maria disliked playing music.
• d.Practice steadied her nerves.✓

The passage puts two facts side by side — months of daily practice, then hands that did not shake — and invites you to connect them. That is what an inference is: a conclusion the text supports without stating. Nothing in the passage says the recital was canceled; it plainly happened, since she was there with steady hands. Nothing says she disliked music, and months of voluntary daily practice points the other way. And nothing says she forgot the piece.

Which sentence maintains parallel structure?

• a.She likes hiking, swimming, and biking.✓
• b.She likes hiking, swimming, and to bike.
• c.She likes to hike, swimming, and biking.
• d.She likes hike, swim, and biking.

Parallel structure requires items in a list to share the same grammatical form; here all three end in '-ing.' Mixing '-ing' forms with infinitives ('to bike') breaks the pattern. Parallelism makes sentences clearer and more balanced.

What is the meaning of the word 'meticulous' in this sentence: 'The accountant was meticulous, checking every figure three times'?

• a.Confused
• b.Very careful✓
• c.Quick and rushed
• d.Careless

The clue in the sentence is 'checking every figure three times,' which describes someone who is very careful about detail. That evidence points away from 'careless,' which is the opposite, and away from 'quick and rushed,' since checking three times is the slow way to work. 'Confused' would not explain the repeated checking either — a confused accountant is not described as checking figures methodically.

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

• a.After the movie ended, we went to dinner.✓
• b.After the movie ended we went to dinner.
• c.After the movie, ended we went to dinner.
• d.After, the movie ended we went to dinner.

When an introductory dependent clause begins a sentence, a comma should follow it before the main clause. 'After the movie ended' is introductory, so the comma belongs after 'ended.' The other placements interrupt the clause incorrectly.

Which word correctly completes the sentence: 'The committee will ______ its final decision on Friday'?

• a.to announce
• b.announce✓
• c.announcing
• d.announced

After the helping verb 'will,' the main verb must be in its base form: 'announce.' The other forms create incorrect verb constructions. Modal verbs like 'will' are always followed by the base form of the verb.

Read: 'Some argue that homework builds discipline. Others counter that it steals family time.' The author's purpose in this passage is mainly to—

• a.present two sides of a debate✓
• b.persuade readers to end homework
• c.give step-by-step instructions
• d.describe a personal memory

The passage lays out one view and then an opposing view without favoring either, so it presents both sides. Identifying author's purpose means asking why the text was written. There is no call to action or personal narrative here.

Which sentence corrects the misplaced modifier: 'Running down the street, the backpack fell off her shoulder'?

• a.Running down the street, the backpack slipped away.
• b.As she ran down the street, the backpack fell off her shoulder.✓
• c.Running down the street off her shoulder, the backpack fell.
• d.The backpack, running down the street, fell off her shoulder.

A modifier must clearly describe the right noun; a backpack cannot run down a street. Rewriting so 'she' performs the running fixes the dangling modifier. The corrected version makes the action logically belong to a person.

Identify the verb tense in the sentence: 'By next June, she will have finished her degree.'

• a.Simple future
• b.Present perfect
• c.Future perfect✓
• d.Past perfect

'Will have finished' is the future perfect tense, showing an action completed before a future point ('next June'). Future perfect uses 'will have' plus the past participle. It differs from simple future ('will finish'), which lacks the sense of prior completion.

Choose the sentence with correct capitalization.

• a.We traveled to the pacific Ocean last summer.
• b.we traveled to the Pacific Ocean last Summer.
• c.We traveled to the Pacific Ocean last summer.✓
• d.We traveled to the Pacific ocean last Summer.

Proper nouns like 'Pacific Ocean' are capitalized, but seasons such as 'summer' are not. The sentence should also begin with a capital 'We.' Only the option that capitalizes 'Pacific Ocean' but lowercases 'summer' applies all these rules correctly.

Which choice best combines the two sentences: 'The lecture was long. It kept everyone's attention.'?

• a.The lecture was long because it kept everyone's attention.
• b.Although the lecture was long, it kept everyone's attention.✓
• c.The lecture was long everyone's attention.
• d.The lecture was long, it kept everyone's attention.

'Although' signals the contrast between the lecture being long yet still engaging. It joins the clauses smoothly while showing their relationship. The comma-only version is a splice, and using 'because' reverses the logic.

In formal writing, which sentence is most appropriate?

• a.The results were super weird and stuff.
• b.The results were kinda surprising, you know?
• c.The results, like, shocked us all.
• d.The results were somewhat unexpected.✓

Formal writing avoids slang and filler words like 'kinda,' 'super,' and 'like.' 'Somewhat unexpected' uses precise, standard vocabulary. Matching tone to audience and purpose is an important editing skill.

What does the pronoun 'they' refer to: 'The scientists shared their findings with reporters, and they published the story widely'?

• a.The findings
• b.The scientists
• c.The story
• d.The reporters✓

Logically, 'they' who published the story are the reporters, since publishing news is what reporters do. Clear pronoun reference depends on context and reasonable meaning. Ambiguous pronouns can confuse readers, so writers should keep antecedents clear.

Which sentence uses the correct homophone?

• a.She hoped to affect on the outcome.
• b.The affects of the medicine were mild.
• c.The medicine did not effect her mood.
• d.The medicine had a calming effect on her.✓

'Effect' is usually a noun meaning result, as in 'a calming effect.' 'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence. The correct sentence uses the noun 'effect' after the article 'a.'

Read: 'The old lighthouse stood alone, its cracked paint peeling in the salt wind.' The description mainly creates a mood of—

• a.cheerfulness
• b.desolation✓
• c.excitement
• d.humor

Words like 'alone,' 'cracked,' and 'peeling' create a lonely, worn atmosphere of desolation. Mood is the feeling a text evokes through word choice and imagery. The details point away from cheerfulness or humor.

Which sentence is grammatically complete?

• a.Which caused many people to be late.
• b.The train was delayed by an hour.✓
• c.Because the train was delayed by an hour.
• d.Waiting on the crowded platform in the rain.

A complete sentence needs a subject and a verb and expresses a full thought. 'The train was delayed by an hour' has both and stands alone. The others are fragments that depend on additional information.

Choose the best word to replace the vague term in: 'The plan was good because it did nice things.'

• a.The plan worked because it cut costs and saved time.✓
• b.The plan was good because it was good.
• c.The plan was okay because it worked out.
• d.The plan was good because it did helpful things.

Strong writing replaces vague words with concrete ones. 'Cut costs and saved time' names what the plan actually did, which is what 'nice things' failed to do. Swapping 'nice' for 'helpful' leaves the sentence just as vague, only with a different vague word. Saying the plan 'was good because it was good' is circular and adds no information at all. And 'okay because it worked out' weakens the claim while still explaining nothing.

Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?

• a.The road; was icy and dangerous.
• b.The road was icy; and dangerous.
• c.The road was icy; the drivers slowed down.✓
• d.The road was icy; because of the storm.

A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses that could each stand alone. 'The road was icy' and 'the drivers slowed down' are both complete. A semicolon should not precede a conjunction or connect a fragment.

Read: 'Critics claim the new policy will hurt small businesses, but they offer no data to support the claim.' The author most likely wants readers to—

• a.ignore all policy debates
• b.doubt the unsupported claim✓
• c.start a small business
• d.accept the critics' view fully

The sentence reports the critics' position and then immediately notes that they 'offer no data,' which is the author steering the reader toward skepticism about a claim with nothing behind it. Accepting the critics' view fully ignores the second half of the sentence entirely. Ignoring all policy debates is far broader than anything the sentence supports — the author questions one claim, not the enterprise of debate. And starting a small business is a course of action the sentence never raises.

Which sentence is in the active voice?

• a.The window was broken by the storm.
• b.The storm broke the window.✓
• c.Mistakes were made during the process.
• d.The report was written by the committee.

In active voice, the subject performs the action: 'The storm broke the window.' In passive voice, the subject receives the action, as in the other choices. Active voice is usually clearer and more direct.

What is the main idea of this passage: 'Regular exercise strengthens the heart, improves mood, and boosts energy. Even a short daily walk offers these benefits.'?

• a.Walking is difficult for many people.
• b.The heart is the body's most important organ.
• c.Mood cannot be improved by activity.
• d.Exercise has several health benefits.✓

Every detail in the passage names a benefit — a stronger heart, better mood, more energy — so the point they jointly support is that exercise is good for you in several ways. The heart sentence is one of those supporting details, not the main idea; a passage that was really about the heart would not spend its other sentences on mood and energy. The claim that mood cannot be improved by activity contradicts the passage outright. And nothing in it says walking is difficult.

Choose the sentence that correctly uses commas in a list.

• a.We bought apples oranges, and pears.
• b.We bought apples oranges and pears.
• c.We bought, apples oranges, and pears.
• d.We bought apples, oranges, and pears.✓

Items in a series are separated by commas, so a comma belongs after 'apples' and after 'oranges.' Dropping the comma after 'apples' runs the first two items together as though 'apples oranges' were one thing. Leaving out both internal commas does the same to all three. And placing a comma after the verb 'bought' cuts the sentence between the verb and its object, which is never correct.

Which word signals a cause-and-effect relationship?

• a.meanwhile
• b.in addition
• c.consequently✓
• d.for example

'Consequently' shows that one event results from another, marking cause and effect. 'Meanwhile' signals time, 'for example' introduces an illustration, and 'in addition' adds information. Recognizing signal words helps readers follow logic.

Read: 'The witness said she 'clearly' saw the car, yet admitted it was dark and raining.' The word 'clearly' is best described as—

• a.ironic given the poor conditions✓
• b.a spelling error
• c.strongly supported by the situation
• d.a technical legal term

The claim of seeing 'clearly' conflicts with the dark, rainy conditions, creating irony. Irony occurs when words contrast with the actual situation. This contrast invites readers to doubt the reliability of the statement.

Which revision fixes the pronoun-antecedent agreement error: 'Each company must file their own tax return'?

• a.Each company must file they own tax return.
• b.Each companies must file their own tax return.
• c.Each company must file its own tax return.✓
• d.Each company must filed their own tax return.

'Each company' is singular, so the pronoun that refers back to it must be singular too, and the singular pronoun for an organization is 'its.' Writing 'Each companies' breaks agreement in the other direction by pairing a singular determiner with a plural noun. 'Must filed' is not a possible verb form — after the modal 'must' the verb stays in its base form, 'file.' And 'they own' uses a subject pronoun where a possessive is needed.

Which sentence best uses precise vocabulary to describe fast movement?

• a.The runner was not slow on the track.
• b.The runner went fast down the track.
• c.The runner did running on the track.
• d.The runner sprinted down the track.✓

'Sprinted' is a single, vivid verb that precisely conveys fast running. It is stronger than the vague phrase 'went fast' or the awkward 'did running.' Choosing exact verbs sharpens writing.

Read: 'First, gather your materials. Next, measure twice. Finally, cut once.' This passage is organized by—

• a.problem and solution
• b.comparison and contrast
• c.cause and effect
• d.sequence of steps✓

The words 'first,' 'next,' and 'finally' show a step-by-step order, which is sequential organization. This structure guides a reader through a process in order. Recognizing text structure aids comprehension.

Read: 'City buses ran every ten minutes during the strike. Ridership rose by a third. When normal service returned, the buses came every twenty minutes again and ridership fell back.' The main idea of this passage is that—

• a.the city should hire more bus drivers
• b.strikes are good for public transit
• c.more frequent service attracts more riders✓
• d.bus riders dislike waiting in the cold

Every sentence links how often buses came to how many people rode them, and the passage rises and falls with that one relationship, which is what makes it the main idea. Nothing here praises strikes; the strike is only the occasion that changed the schedule. Cold weather is never mentioned. And hiring more drivers is a recommendation the passage does not make.

Read: 'The new library opened in March. Within a month, card applications had tripled.' The second sentence functions mainly to—

• a.give a result of what the first sentence describes✓
• b.offer an opinion about the new library
• c.flatly contradict the claim made in the first sentence
• d.define a technical term that the first sentence used

The tripling is presented as what followed from the opening, so the second sentence supplies the outcome. It does not contradict anything; the two sit comfortably together. No term in the first sentence is defined. And the sentence gives a number rather than a judgment, which is what keeps it out of the realm of opinion.

Read: 'Sleep researchers once treated naps as a sign of laziness. Recent studies suggest a short afternoon nap improves alertness and memory.' The organizational pattern here is—

• a.a description of how a physical process unfolds
• b.a list of the steps in a standard research method
• c.contrast between an older view and a newer one✓
• d.a story told in the order it happened

The passage sets an earlier belief against later findings, and the word 'once' against 'recent' is the hinge. No procedure is laid out step by step. Nothing describes how a process physically unfolds. And there is no narrative here, only two positions placed side by side.

Read: 'The manual warns that the blade must be locked before the housing is closed. Skipping this step has caused several injuries.' The author's purpose is mainly to—

• a.compare two brands of equipment
• b.warn readers about a specific danger✓
• c.entertain readers with a workplace story
• d.persuade readers to buy a safer model

The passage names a required step and states the harm that follows from omitting it, which is the shape of a safety warning. It tells no story and is not written to amuse. No product is being recommended for purchase. And only one piece of equipment appears, so nothing is being compared.

Read: 'The proposal is ambitious, expensive, and, if the last three attempts are any guide, unlikely to survive its first winter.' The tone of this sentence is best described as—

• a.neutral
• b.enthusiastic
• c.skeptical✓
• d.apologetic

The writer grants the proposal's ambition and then undercuts it with a prediction of failure drawn from past attempts, which is doubt rather than approval. Enthusiasm would not raise the record of three failures. A neutral report would give the details without the closing verdict. And nothing here offers an apology for anything.

Read: 'The negotiations collapsed when the smaller union walked out. Its members had been promised a vote on the contract and never received one.' The second sentence mainly—

• a.explains why the walkout happened✓
• b.predicts what the union will do next
• c.summarizes the contract's main terms
• d.questions whether the walkout occurred

The broken promise is offered as the cause of the walkout announced in the first sentence, so the second supplies the reason. Nothing is predicted about the future. The walkout is treated as a fact, not doubted. And the contract's terms are never described.

Read: 'Few applicants had any formal training. Nevertheless, the shop hired eleven of them and trained them itself.' The word 'nevertheless' signals—

• a.a conclusion drawn from evidence
• b.a step following in sequence
• c.an example of what came before
• d.a contrast with what came before✓

'Nevertheless' introduces something that happens in spite of the preceding statement, so it marks contrast. An example would be signaled by a phrase such as 'for instance.' A conclusion would be signaled by 'therefore' or 'so.' And a sequence would use 'next' or 'then.'

Read: 'The report was exhaustive: four hundred pages, nine appendices, and an index that ran to thirty pages by itself.' In this sentence, 'exhaustive' means—

• a.extremely thorough✓
• b.unusually brief
• c.poorly organized
• d.physically tiring

The details after the colon are all measures of extent, and they define the word by illustrating it: the report leaves nothing out. 'Exhausting' would mean tiring, but that is a different word doing a different job. Nothing in the sentence suggests disorder; an index of that length suggests the opposite. And brevity is plainly the opposite of what is described.

Read: 'By the third week the kitchen ran like a clock: every pan in its place, every order out in six minutes.' The phrase 'ran like a clock' is—

• a.a quotation from another writer
• b.a literal statement about a timepiece
• c.a simile describing smooth operation✓
• d.an exaggeration meant to be doubted

The comparison uses 'like' to liken the kitchen's regularity to a clock's, which is a simile, and the details that follow spell out what the comparison means. The kitchen is not a clock, so the statement is not literal. It is not an exaggeration the reader is meant to reject; the six-minute detail supports it. And nothing marks the phrase as borrowed from another author.

Read: 'I had promised myself I would not look back at the house. At the corner I looked back anyway, and the porch light was still on.' The passage is told from—

• a.an omniscient point of view
• b.the second-person point of view
• c.the first-person point of view✓
• d.the third-person limited point of view

The narrator uses 'I' and reports her own promise and her own failure to keep it, which is first person. Third-person limited would use 'she' while staying inside one character's mind. Second person would address the reader as 'you.' And an omniscient narrator would move among several characters' thoughts.

Read: 'He set the cup down without drinking, straightened the napkin twice, and asked again what time the train left.' These details mainly reveal that the character is—

• a.anxious✓
• b.exhausted
• c.angry
• d.cheerful

Untouched coffee, fussing with a napkin and repeating a question are small restless acts, and together they read as nerves. Exhaustion would show as stillness or heaviness rather than fidgeting. Nothing in the behavior suggests good humor. And anger usually shows in sharper action or speech than straightening a napkin.

Read: 'The apartment was cheap because the train passed ten feet from the bedroom window. She had stopped hearing it by October.' What does the second sentence suggest?

• a.She moved to a new apartment
• b.Her hearing had been damaged
• c.The trains stopped running
• d.She grew used to the noise✓

Ceasing to notice a constant sound is the ordinary meaning of getting used to it, and the date marks how long it took. Nothing indicates the trains stopped; the rent had already been set by them. No move is mentioned. And reading the line as hearing loss takes a common idiom far more literally than the passage invites.

Read: 'Two clerks handled every claim by hand. After the new system arrived, one clerk handled four times as many, and the backlog that had taken months cleared in three weeks.' Which detail best supports the idea that the new system was effective?

• a.The months-long backlog cleared in three weeks✓
• b.Two clerks had handled the claims by hand
• c.A new system was installed at the office
• d.Claims had to be handled one at a time

The backlog figure compares before and after directly and is the only number that measures the result. The two clerks and the manual handling describe the old arrangement, which is the problem rather than the evidence. That a system arrived is the event, not proof it worked. And handling claims one at a time is a description of method.

Read: 'Most guides say to water a fern twice a week. Ferns in dry indoor air often need more, and the surest test is the soil rather than the calendar.' The writer's attitude toward the standard advice is—

• a.that it is completely mistaken
• b.that it is a rough guide, not a rule✓
• c.that it applies mainly outdoors
• d.that it is the only safe method

The passage does not reject the twice-a-week figure; it offers a better test and says the figure often falls short, which treats it as approximate. Calling it completely mistaken is stronger than anything written. Nothing presents it as the only safe method, since an alternative is recommended. And the passage is about indoor air, not a contrast with outdoors.

Read: 'Pumice is light enough to float. It forms when frothy lava cools so fast that the gas bubbles are trapped inside the rock.' The relationship between the two sentences is that the second—

• a.restates what the first sentence says in other words
• b.explains the cause of what the first states✓
• c.questions the accuracy of the first
• d.gives a particular example of what the first states

Trapped gas bubbles are why the rock is light enough to float, so the second sentence supplies the cause of the property named in the first. An example would be a particular instance of floating pumice. A restatement would repeat the same fact differently. And nothing casts doubt on the first sentence.

Read: 'The article lists the mayor's spending on parks, on street repair, and on the new transit center, then asks where the money for schools went.' The article's structure is best described as—

• a.a set of instructions
• b.a chronological narrative
• c.a comparison of two cities
• d.details leading to a question✓

Three parallel items of spending are laid out and the piece closes by asking what was left out, so the details build toward the question. No sequence of events over time is given. Only one city appears. And nothing directs the reader to do anything.

Read: 'Applicants must submit the form by May 1. Late forms are not reviewed. Applicants who miss the date may apply again in the fall.' The passage is best described as—

• a.informational writing stating a policy✓
• b.a persuasive appeal to applicants
• c.a fictional scene about a deadline
• d.a personal account of applying

The passage states requirements and consequences plainly, which is what a policy notice does. Nothing here argues that the reader should do anything or urges a position. No narrator recounts a personal experience. And there is no scene, character or invented action.

Read: 'The committee met for six hours. It adjourned without a vote, scheduled another meeting, and issued a statement praising the discussion.' The passage implies that the committee—

• a.voted down the proposal
• b.reached a firm agreement
• c.disbanded permanently
• d.made no decision✓

Six hours with no vote and a further meeting scheduled is the picture of an unresolved matter, and the statement praising the discussion says nothing about an outcome. An agreement would have produced a vote or a decision. The new meeting shows the committee continues to exist. And voting a proposal down would itself be a vote, which the passage says did not happen.