Take practice tests• Take as many as you can. Be strict about time and check your

answers when you're finished. Don't move on until you know and understand the correct answer. The time you spend is worth it.

• Understanding the Part I test format• This 75-minute test has 50 multiple-choice questions in it. The

test covers the following subjects, each of which is described in detail in the "Testing your skills for Part I" section:

• Mechanics (25 percent; 12 or 13 questions)• Organization (15 percent; 7 or 8 questions)• Sentence structure (30 percent; 15 questions)• Usage (30 percent; 15 questions)

Mechanics • Mechanics: The mechanics of writing include the following:• • Capitalization: You have to recognize which words should start with a capital letter and which

words don't. All sentences start with a capital letter, but so do titles, like "Miss," "President," and "Senator," when followed by a person's last name. Names of cities, states, and countries are also capitalized.

• • Punctuation: This includes everyone's personal favorite, commas. (Actually, most people hate commas because they aren't sure how to use them, but the rules are simple to apply after you know them.) The more you read, the better you get at punctuation. If you're reading and don't understand why punctuation is or isn't used, check with your guidebook.

• • Spelling: You don't have to spot a lot of misspelled words, but you do have to know how to spell contractions and possessives and understand the different spellings of homonyms.

• • Contractions: This has nothing to do with those painful moments before childbirth! Instead, contractions are formed when the English language shortens a word by leaving out a letter or a sound. When you say or write, "can't," you're using a shortened form of "cannot."

• • The important thing to remember about contractions is that the apostrophe (that's a single quotation mark) takes the place of a letter or letters that are left out.

• • Possessives: Do you know people who are possessive? They're all about ownership, right? So is the grammar form of possessives. Possessives are words that show ownership or possession, usually by adding an apostrophe to a person or object's name. If Marcia owns a car, you say that it is Marcia's car. The word, "Marcia's" is a possessive.

• However – if it is a plural possessive

Grammar tips•Understand punctuation. Know how to use capitals, commas, semicolons, colons, and other forms of punctuation.•Keep in mind that these questions are multiple choice. Multiple-choice questions always give you the correct answer. Of course, they also tell you four other answers that are incorrect. All you have to do is find the correct one! As you practice speaking and writing, you tune your ears so that the correct answer sounds right. This makes finding the correct answer easier.

Grammar Usage

• Grammar has rules. Subjects and verbs must agree. Verbs have tenses that must be consistent. Pronouns must refer back to nouns properly.

Possessives

• Possessives: Do you know people who are possessive?

• They're all about ownership, right? So is the grammar form of possessives. Possessives are words that show ownership or possession, usually by adding an apostrophe to a person or object's name. If Marcia owns a car, you say that it is Marcia's car. The word, "Marcia's" is a possessive.

Examples of Plural Possessive Nouns

• A noun is a part of speech that names a person, place, thing, action, feeling or ideal. Possessive nouns show ownership. Plural nouns show a quantity of more than one. Plural possessive nouns incorporate the concepts of ownership and "more than one."

• Plural Nouns Ending with S• To show possession with regular plural nouns that end with "s," simply add an

apostrophe at the end.• Examples of this type of plural possessive noun include:• Airplanes' wings• Alarms' ringing• Ankles' bones• Appendices’ entries • Armchairs' arms• Attorneys' fees • Babies' rash

Plural Noun Possessive

• For a plural noun ending in “S” just add an apostrophe

• The Jacksons’ first home• Ms. Ross’ assignment• The wolves’ pack leader for boy scouts

Plural Nouns that do not end in S – add ‘s

• The school alumni’s favorite reunion spot• The cattle’s food• The adult education student’s classes

Sentence examples of plural nouns ending without an s

• Dolphins got caught in the fishermen's nets.• Postmen’s bags are made of leather.• The geese’s eggs were found on the road,

smashed into pieces.

Apostrophe’s

• Can be for possessives AND contractions.• A possessive (to possess) shows ownership or

some close connection between a noun and pronoun and for follows:

• The company’s employees• Adult Education’s students• The little girl’s mother

Be careful with Apostrophe in these Plural Nouns

• Men’s (not mens’)• Women’s (not womens’)• Children’s (not childrens’)• The men’s room is in the back of the store.• All Children’s proceeds for the bake sale will

go to the orphanage.• The Women’s Rotary Club meets on Monday.

Irregular Plural Nouns Ending Without S

With irregular plural nouns that do not end with "s," add an apostrophe and "s.“ Examples are:media’s influence men’s worriesmice’s feet nuclei’s compositionpeople’s beliefs oxens’ yokesstimuli’s effect teeth’s cavitieswomen’s issues children’s toys

Compound Words - With compound words, if the plural form ends with "s," add only an apostrophe. Examples are:

• Printouts’ clarity Salesclerks’ tips• Run-throughs’ School days’• Time-frames’ Two-year olds’ tantrumsSENTENCE EXAMPLES WITH COMPOUND WORDSThe drive-ins’ lines were all very long. Our get-togethers’ after work were always fun.My photocopies’ font color turned out too dim.The ground waters’ contamination was extreme.

Contractions

• Contractions are formed when the English language shortens a word by leaving out a letter or a sound. When you say or write, "can't," you're using a shortened form of "cannot."

• The important thing to remember about contractions is that the apostrophe (that's a single quotation mark) takes the place of a letter or letters that are left out.

CONTRACTIONS

• The other use of an apostrophe is in contractions A contraction is a word made up of at least two words from which letters have been omitted for easier pronunciation.

• If in doubt, figure out which letter was left out and that will help you to determine where the apostrophe should go.

• We’ve got = We have got or She won’t mind = • She would not mind

Following list of common contractions

• NOT ARE• Can’t = cannot they’re = they are DO NOT CONFUSE with their or there• Couldn’t = could not we’re = we are• Didn’t = did not you’re = you are• Hadn’t = had not AM• Hasn’t = has not I’m = I am• Haven’t = have not WILL• Isn’t = is not I’ll = I will• Wasn’t = was not he’ll = he will• Weren’t = were not she’ll = she will• Won’t = will not they’ll = they will• Wouldn’t = would not it’ll = it will • HAVE• I’ve = I have• They’ve =they have

CONTRACTIONS AND HOMONYMS• DO NOT confuse certain contractions with their homonyms. These words

appear frequently on the GED test.• It’s (it is) There are no secrets to scoring high; it’s all a matter of practice.• Its The groundhog saw its shadow and so we will have more cold weather

ahead.• There’s - In case there’s any doubt, I’ve brought proof to show I am a

citizen.• Theirs – Victory was once ours, but now it is theirs. People• They’re (they are) Once they’re gone, we will finally have peace. • There – In order to get there, you’ll need to take a ferry. A place

Verb Tenses• Verb Tense Tips in English Grammar• Besides showing the action or state of being in the sentence, the verb

also indicates the time the action or “being” took place. By learning about the different kinds of simple, perfect, past, and present tenses, your speaking and writing will be clear and concise.

• Simple present tense: tells what is happening now• Simple past tense: tells what happened before now• Simple future: talks about what has not happened yet• Present perfect tense: expresses an action or state of being in the

present that has some connection with the past• Past perfect tense: places an event before another event in the past • Future perfect tense: talks about something that has not happened yet

in relation to another event in the future

Specialized tense word

• Lay and lie are both present-tense verbs, but they don't mean quite the same thing. Lay means to put or set something down, so if the subject is acting on an object, it's “lay.” For example, I lay down the book. You, (the subject), lay down the book. (the object)

Use lay in the past tense only

• Every afternoon we lay down and rest for an hour. Here we need the verb that means “to recline,” “to assume a horizontal position,” which is to lie.

• The present tense form of the verb to lie is lie. The only time we can use lay to mean “to recline” is in the past tense.

SPELLING

• Spelling: You don't have to spot a lot of misspelled words, but you do have to know how to spell contractions and possessives and understand the different spellings of COMMON homonyms.

The Possessive Pronouns Rules

The possessive pronouns - his, hers, its, ours, yours, and theirs contain no apostrophes.It was his day off.The jacket was hers.That table was ours.The table was theirs, now it’s mine.

AFFECT vs EFFECT

• Affect is a verb. It means to produce a change in or influence something.

• Effect is a noun that can also be used as a verb. It means a change that occurred. When an "s" is added, "effects" means personal belongings.

Examples of Affect

• An early frost in Florida can affect the orange crop negatively.• The boss’s negativity affected all the workers.• Colorado was affected by severe flooding last summer.• Not winning didn’t affect her as much as I thought it would.• Your opinions do not affect my decision to move.• Smoking tobacco can adversely affect your lungs and blood flow.• The memoirs affected me so deeply I was brought to tears.• Television can negatively affect young, developing minds.• Hugs can affect a person’s immune system in a positive way.• Congress will pass a law that will greatly affect the economy.• The crime rate in that area will affect the housing market.• How much a student studies will affect his grade point average.• Reducing our carbon footprint will affect the environment.• Petting a cat or a dog affects blood pressure in a positive manner.• Raising the minimum wage affects many people living in poverty.• Movies have the power to affect people’s thinking.• Positive beliefs affect the healing time of patients recovering from surgery.• Going to war affects everyone in the country.• That teacher affected my self image and helped me believe in myself.• The eulogy affected all the visitors in a profound way.

Examples of Effect

• Transportation costs have a direct effect on the cost of retail goods.• The effect of the medicine on her illness was surprisingly fast.• The new law prohibiting texting while driving will go into effect tomorrow.• Graffiti added a strong negative effect to the aesthetics of a neighborhood.• How fast you drive will have an effect on your gas mileage.• In her will, she left all her personal effects to her daughter.• A dark color of paint will have the effect of making the room seem smaller.• One of the side effects of this particular drug is blurred vision.• The special effects in movies today are aided by computers.• The speech had an effect on increasing attendance.• The effect of her singing off-key was apparent on people’s faces.• Does seeing a film about car crashes have an effect on teenagers?• News broadcasts can have a huge effect on public opinion.• The nose job had an effect on her appearance, but at what cost?• A good night’s sleep has a positive effect on your whole day.• Creepy music in a movie gives the effect that something is about to happen.• Two effects of her promotion were a raise in salary and a new office.• How will you tell if the medication has taken effect?• Complex carbohydrates will have an effect on your athletic performance.