Maya sings beautiful, and everyone in the choir listens when she starts. Which word is used incorrectly?
Use Standard Grammar, Usage, and Spelling to Edit · TELPAS Grades 8–9 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 in the sentence is used incorrectly.
Maya sings beautiful, and everyone in the choir listens when she starts. Which word is used incorrectly?
- sings
- beautifulCorrect answer
- everyone
- listens
Why “beautiful” is correct
This tests adjectives and adverbs. The word describes how Maya sings, which is an action, so it needs the adverb "beautifully." Many English learners use the adjective form because both words share the same root.
Why the other answers are wrong
- sings — "Sings" is the correct verb form for "Maya."
- everyone — "Everyone" is the correct word for all the people in the choir.
- listens — "Listens" agrees with "everyone," which is singular.
Practice more of this
More writing practice for Grades 8–9, or see the TELPAS practice test for 8th and 9th 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.