United States
Hong KongCompetency 3: Knowledge of standard English conventions
Twelve of the 19 skills on subtest 826 sit under Competency 3, which on our split is about 19 of the 30 questions. It covers verb forms and tense shifts, four pronoun skills, adjectives and adverbs, comparatives, spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
If you prepare one competency on this subtest, prepare this one. Twelve skills of nineteen is not a section. It is the subtest, with two smaller competencies attached.
All twelve, as the rule states them
1. Determine and select standard verb forms. 2. Determine and select inappropriate shifts in verb tense. 3. Determine and select agreement between subject and verb. 4. Determine and select agreement between pronoun and antecedent. 5. Determine and select inappropriate pronoun shifts. 6. Determine and select clear pronoun references. 7. Determine and select pronoun case forms (e.g., subjective, objective, possessive). 8. Evaluate the correct use of adjectives and adverbs. 9. Determine and select appropriate comparative and superlative degree forms. 10. Demonstrate command of standard spelling conventions. 11. Demonstrate command of standard punctuation. 12. Demonstrate command of standard capitalization.
Section 82, Knowledge of standard English conventions, incorporated into Rule 6A-4.0021, F.A.C.
How the twelve group up
| Group | Skills | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Verbs | 1, 2, 3 | Irregular forms, tense consistency, agreement |
| Pronouns | 4, 5, 6, 7 | Antecedents, shifts, reference, case |
| Modifiers | 8, 9 | Adjective versus adverb, comparative versus superlative |
| Mechanics | 10, 11, 12 | Spelling, punctuation, capitalization |
Pronouns get four skills. Punctuation gets one. That ratio is the most useful thing on this page and it is the opposite of how most people revise, because punctuation feels like the hard part and pronouns feel like something you already know.
FLDOE publishes 30 questions for the English Language Skills subtest and nothing beneath that. We apportioned the 30 across the three competencies in proportion to the skills the rule states under each, which gives roughly 19 here. The 12 is the state's. The 19 is ours.
The two skills nobody prepares
Skill 8: adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives modify nouns. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. The tested cases are small in number.
- good versus well: "she writes well", not "she writes good"
- bad versus badly: after a linking verb, use the adjective. "I feel bad", not "I feel badly"
- real versus really: real modifies a noun, really modifies an adjective
Linking verbs are the trap. Feel, seem, appear, look, taste, smell and be take an adjective describing the subject rather than an adverb describing the action.
Skill 9: comparative and superlative
Comparative for two, superlative for three or more. "The better of the two options." "The best of the three." One-syllable words take -er and -est; longer words take more and most; and you never use both, so more easier is wrong.
Absolute adjectives cannot be compared at all. Nothing is more unique, more perfect or more equal. That is a test item waiting to happen.
Where to start
- Pronoun case, because four skills touch pronouns and case is the most mechanical of them
- Subject-verb agreement, because the fix is a deletion you can do in two seconds
- Comma rules, because punctuation is one skill but a large share of what a question can look like
- Adjective and adverb pairs, which are a fifteen-minute list
Each of those has a page of its own in this section, and why conventions is most of the ELS subtest shows the derivation behind the 19-question figure in full.
A word about what this competency is not
It is not writing. Every skill statement starts with determine and select, evaluate or demonstrate command of, and all of them are satisfied by choosing the right option among four. The productive version of these conventions belongs to the essay subtest, which is registered and scored separately, and which we do not mark.
Common questions
How many skills are under Competency 3 on subtest 826?
Twelve of the nineteen skills on the whole subtest. They cover verb forms, tense shifts, subject-verb agreement, four pronoun skills, adjectives and adverbs, comparative forms, spelling, punctuation and capitalization, in that order in the rule.
How many questions cover standard English conventions?
FLDOE publishes 30 for the subtest and no split below that. Our estimate is about 19, apportioning the published total across the three competencies by the number of skills stated under each. The skill counts are the state’s; the question counts are ours.
Do I use good or well after a verb?
Use well to describe how an action is performed, because it is an adverb: "she writes well". Use good after a linking verb such as feel, seem or look, where the word describes the subject rather than the action: "the plan looks good".
Can you say more unique on the FTCE?
No. Unique, perfect and equal are absolute adjectives and do not take comparative or superlative forms. Doubling a comparison is also wrong, so more easier and most fastest would both be marked incorrect under skill 9.