My older sister runs faster then anyone else on her track team. Which word is used incorrectly?
Use Standard Grammar, Usage, and Spelling to Edit · TELPAS Grades 6–7 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
Read the sentence. One word is used incorrectly.
My older sister runs faster then anyone else on her track team. Which word is used incorrectly?
- runs
- faster
- thenCorrect answer
- anyone
Why “then” is correct
This tests two commonly confused words, "then" and "than." "Than" is used to compare (faster than anyone), and "then" tells when something happens (first we ate, then we left). Here a comparison is being made, so "then" should be "than." On the real test, a two-part item would next ask the student to type the correct word.
Why the other answers are wrong
- runs — "Runs" agrees with the singular subject "sister" and is in the correct tense.
- faster — "Faster" is the correct comparative form of "fast."
- anyone — "Anyone" is correct here; it means any other person on the team.
Practice more of this
More writing practice for Grades 6–7, or see the TELPAS practice test for 6th and 7th 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.