Which word should replace the underlined word? “Each of the students in the robotics club [have] a different job during competitions.”
Use Standard Grammar, Usage, and Spelling to Edit · TELPAS Grades 10–12 writing. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 2: find and fix an error in a short text. On the real test some of these are typed answers or sentence rewrites. Here they are multiple choice so they can be checked.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Read the sentence. The underlined word has an error. Each of the students in the robotics club [have] a different job during competitions. Which word should replace the underlined word?
- have been
- are having
- hasCorrect answer
- having
Why “has” is correct
This tests subject–verb agreement with a tricky subject. The subject is 'Each', which is singular, not 'students', which is the object of the preposition 'of'. A singular subject takes 'has'. Students can test it by covering 'of the students in the robotics club'.
Why the other answers are wrong
- have been — This keeps the plural form 'have', which does not agree with the singular subject 'Each'.
- are having — 'Are' is plural and does not agree with 'Each'; 'having' also sounds wrong for this meaning.
- having — 'Having' alone is not a complete verb, so the sentence would have no main verb.
Practice more of this
More writing practice for Grades 10–12, or see the TELPAS practice test for 10th–12th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.