9 punctuation rules the TEAS actually tests

It does not test every rule. It tests these, and it tests them by swapping one mark.

Conventions of standard English is the largest English sub-area. Almost every question is a sentence you must repair, not a rule you must name.

1 comma splicetwo complete sentences joined by a comma is always wrong. Use a period, a semicolon, or add a conjunction.

2 semicolonjoins two complete sentences that could each stand alone. If one half cannot stand alone, it is wrong.

3 colonintroduces a list or explanation, and what comes before it must be a complete sentence.

4 apostrophe: possessionsingular adds ’s (the nurse’s chart); plural ending in s adds only ’ (the nurses’ station).

5 apostrophe: never pluraldecades and plain plurals take no apostrophe. 1990s, not 1990’s.

6 introductory commaafter an introductory phrase or clause. After the shift ended, she left.

7 nonessential commasa clause you could delete gets commas on both sides. One comma alone is the trap.

8 quotation marksperiods and commas go inside the closing quote in American usage.

9 dash vs hyphena hyphen joins words (well-known); a dash sets off a break in thought.

Read the sentence aloud in your head and stop where the mark is. If the pause is wrong, the mark is wrong.

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