Conventions of writing questions on the GED RLA test are the most mechanical points available on the entire exam. They do not reward style or vocabulary; they reward knowing twenty rules cold. Every grammar question you will see maps onto the list below, and each rule comes with the two-second example that shows it working. Read this page twice - once to learn, once to quiz yourself by covering the explanations - and the conventions section stops costing you points.
Agreement Rules 1 to 5
1. Subject-verb agreement: the verb matches the subject, not the nearest noun. The list of items is long, not are long. 2. Indefinite pronouns take singular verbs: each, every, everyone, someone, either, neither - Everyone wants a seat. 3. Compound subjects joined by and take plural verbs; joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject: The manager or the assistants are responsible. 4. Collective nouns (team, committee, family) take singular verbs in American English when acting as one unit: The committee meets. 5. Pronoun-antecedent agreement: a singular antecedent takes a singular pronoun - every student must bring his or her notebook (or rewrite to plural). These five rules answer the majority of agreement items, which arrive as underlined-error choices between two verb forms.
Tense and Parallel Rules 6 to 10
6. Keep tense consistent inside a clause: She opened the door and sat down, not She opened the door and sits down. 7. Sequence of tenses: past reporting stays past - He said he was tired, not he is tired. 8. Parallel structure: items in a list share the same grammatical form. She likes hiking, swimming, and biking - not hiking, to swim, and a bike. 9. Parallel after conjunctions: either...or and neither...nor link equal forms: neither the teacher nor the students were ready. 10. Modifiers sit next to what they modify - misplaced placement creates comedy and wrong answers: Running down the hall, the bell rang is impossible (the bell was not running). Watch for these in revise-the-sentence choices.
Punctuation Rules 11 to 16
11. Commas separate items in a series and coordinate adjectives; use one before and in a three-item list. 12. A comma before a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) joins two complete sentences: I studied, and I passed. No comma when the second half is not a sentence on its own. 13. Semicolons join two independent clauses without a conjunction: The exam was long; everyone finished. 14. Colons introduce a list or explanation after a complete sentence: Bring three things: pencils, ID, and patience. 15. Apostrophes show possession (the candidate's score) and contractions (it's = it is); never show plurals with apostrophes - not score's for multiple scores. 16. A dash or paired commas set off an interruption: The candidate - nervous but ready - began. Mismatched or unpaired marks are a recurring error choice.
Word-Level Rules 17 to 20
17. Its versus it's: its = belonging to; it's = it is. Their = belonging to them; there = place; they're = they are. 18. Who versus whom: who subjects, whom objects - Who called? / Whom did you call? If you can answer the question with him (both h), use whom. 19. Comparisons: use than for comparisons (better than), then for time (then we left); fewer for countable items, less for uncountable. 20. Redundancy and wordiness: the GED prefers the concise choice - eliminate repetitive phrasing like in order to (just to) and due to the fact that (because). Rules 17 and 18 double as the confused-words territory, which we expand in the 35 commonly confused words list.
GED Grammar Rules - Frequently Asked Questions
How many grammar questions are on the GED?
Conventions of writing items typically number around fifteen across the test - roughly 20 to 25 percent of the multiple-choice load - which makes this list one of the highest-return study investments on the exam.
Do grammar questions appear in the essay too?
The Extended Response is scored primarily on argument development and organization, but clean conventions raise your delivery score - the reader notices consistent tense and correct punctuation while grading.
What is the single most-tested rule?
Subject-verb agreement with interrupters - long phrases between subject and verb - followed by comma placement with conjunctions. Drill those two and half the conventions items answer themselves.
Grammar is half the RLA battle; argument building is the other - see the essay in 35 minutes method, then the RLA help page for the full blueprint. Short on time? Hire someone to take the GED test for you - confidential, 2 to 5 business days, 98.6% pass rate.