READING WRITINGENGLISH SKILLS

California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) Practice Exam Questions And Correct Answers (Verified Answers) Plus Rationales 2026 Q&A | Instant Download Pdf

READING & WRITING/ENGLISH SKILLS

• Which of the following sentences contains a subject-verb agreement

error?

• The teacher explains the lesson clearly.
• The students enjoys reading novels.
• The library opens at 8 a.m.
• She writes her notes carefully.
• The students enjoys reading novels.

Rationale: The plural subject "students" requires the plural verb

"enjoy," not "enjoys." 1 / 4

• Identify the correctly punctuated sentence.
• Its raining outside; bring an umbrella.
• It's raining outside; bring an umbrella.
• Its raining outside, bring an umbrella.
• Its raining outside bring an umbrella.
• It's raining outside; bring an umbrella.

Rationale: "It's" is the correct contraction of "it is," and a semicolon correctly separates two independent clauses.

3. Choose the word that best completes the sentence: The committee

reached a ______ decision after hours of discussion.

• contradict
• decisive
• indecisive
• contradicting
• decisive

Rationale: "Decisive" means conclusive or firm, fitting the context of a decision reached after discussion.

• Which of the following is an example of a metaphor?
• Her smile was like the sun.
• He runs as fast as a cheetah.
• Time is a thief.
• She is as tall as her brother.
• Time is a thief. 2 / 4

Rationale: A metaphor directly equates two things without using

"like" or "as."

5. Select the sentence that demonstrates proper parallel structure:

• She likes swimming, jogging, and to ride a bike.
• She likes to swim, jog, and ride a bike.
• She likes swimming, to jog, and biking.
• She likes swim, jogging, and riding a bike.
• She likes to swim, jog, and ride a bike.

Rationale: All items in the list follow the same verb form "to [verb]."

• Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?
• The cats tail is very fluffy.
• The cat's tail is very fluffy.
• The cats' tail is very fluffy.
• The cats tail's is very fluffy.
• The cat's tail is very fluffy.

Rationale: The tail belongs to one cat, so the singular possessive

"cat's" is correct.

7. Identify the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement:

• Neither the teacher nor the students was ready for the fire drill.
• Neither the teacher nor the students were ready for the fire drill.
• Neither the teacher nor the students are ready for the fire drill.
• Neither the teacher nor the students is ready for the fire drill.
• Neither the teacher nor the students were ready for the fire drill. 3 / 4

Rationale: When the subject joined by "nor" is plural (students), the

verb agrees with the nearest subject ("students"), so "were" is correct.

8. Choose the word that best completes the sentence: The scientist

conducted an ______ experiment to test the hypothesis.

• anecdotal
• empirical
• theoretical
• hypothetical
• empirical

Rationale: "Empirical" means based on observation or experiment,

fitting the context of testing a hypothesis.

9. Identify the sentence that correctly uses a semicolon:

• I bought apples; oranges, and bananas.
• I went to the store; and I bought milk.
• She loves reading; writing; and painting.
• I have a meeting tomorrow; therefore, I cannot attend the party.
• I have a meeting tomorrow; therefore, I cannot attend the party.

Rationale: A semicolon is correctly used to connect two independent

clauses with a transitional adverb "therefore."

• Which word is an antonym of "benevolent"?
• kind
• malevolent
• / 4