Texas Civil Service Exam Grammar and Writing Ability 3

Question 1

Identify the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement.

Accepted Answer

Neither the captain nor the officers were present.

Answer

When subjects are joined by 'neither...nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it — 'officers' is plural, so 'were' is correct.

Question 2

Which sentence avoids passive voice unnecessarily?

Accepted Answer

The sergeant wrote the report.

Answer

Active voice places the subject (sergeant) before the verb, making the sentence clearer and more direct.

Question 3

Which pair of words is spelled correctly?

Accepted Answer

occurrence, maintenance

Answer

The correct spellings are 'occurrence' (double c, double r) and 'maintenance' (retain the 'ain' from 'maintain').

Question 4

Which sentence best avoids ambiguous pronoun reference?

Accepted Answer

The supervisor told the officer to file the report.

Answer

Eliminating the pronoun 'he' removes ambiguity about who needs to file the report.

Question 5

Select the sentence that uses a semicolon correctly.

Accepted Answer

The shift ended at midnight; however, the paperwork remained unfinished.

Answer

A semicolon followed by a conjunctive adverb like 'however' and a comma correctly joins two independent clauses.

Texas Civil Service Exam Practice Test