MDE English Language Proficiency 2

Question 1

A student reads 'The committee have reached their decision.' Which grammatical issue does this sentence illustrate for American English learners?

Accepted Answer

British collective noun agreement vs. American singular agreement

Answer

In American English, collective nouns like 'committee' take singular verbs ('has reached'), while British English allows plural agreement.

Question 2

Which sentence correctly uses a subordinating conjunction to show cause and effect?

Accepted Answer

Because she studied hard, she passed the test.

Answer

'Because' is a subordinating conjunction that correctly introduces a cause clause explaining why she passed.

Question 3

An ELL student writes 'I am agree with you.' What is the error?

Accepted Answer

Unnecessary use of 'am' with a stative verb

Answer

'Agree' is a stative verb and should not be used in the progressive form; the correct form is 'I agree with you.'

Question 4

Which word pair represents a minimal pair useful for English pronunciation instruction?

Accepted Answer

ship / sheep

Answer

'Ship' and 'sheep' differ only in the vowel sounds /ɪ/ and /iː/, making them a classic minimal pair for distinguishing short and long vowels.

Question 5

A student says 'Yesterday I go to school.' Which language acquisition stage does this most likely reflect?

Accepted Answer

Early production

Answer

Using base-form verbs without past tense inflection is typical of the early production stage when learners produce simple utterances with grammatical gaps.

(MDE) Minnesota Department of Education Practice Test

(MDE) Minnesota Department of Education Practice Test

MDE English Language Proficiency 2