HESI A2 · Grammar section
HESI A2 Grammar Practice Test: Parts of Speech, Agreement, Confused Words and Punctuation
Practice set 1 has 20 HESI A2 grammar questions on parts of speech, subject-verb agreement, pronouns, verb tenses, commonly confused words, adjectives and adverbs, punctuation and sentence structure, on an exam-style screen. Check each answer to see the rule behind it and a note on every option; a table of the rules, with examples, follows further down. Schools publish the section's details (Tarrant County College lists 55 grammar questions). These questions are free, with no sign-up.
Practice sets
HESI A2 grammar practice sets
Five sets of grammar questions. Each opens on an exam-style test screen, one question at a time: answer, select Check answer, and see the correct answer, the explanation and a note on every option before you go on. Untimed, and your progress is saved in this browser.
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
Set 1 spreads its 20 questions over eight topics; the topic cards below show how many fall in each group. The grammar section of Practice Exam 1 suggests about 60 seconds a question; your school or testing site sets the real timing (Tarrant County College allows 5 hours for its five sections). When the sets feel easy, take the full-length HESI A2 Practice Exam 1, with each section on its own clock.
Sample HESI A2 grammar questionFrom practice set 1, with the answer and a note on every option
What part of speech is patience in “The task requires patience”?
Answer: Noun
Patience names a quality, making it an abstract noun. Requires is the verb, and patience is its direct object.
Adjective: This mistakes a word naming a quality for a word modifying a noun.
Noun: Correct. Patience is an abstract noun naming a quality.
Adverb: This mistakes the object of requires for a word modifying that verb.
Verb: This mistakes the quality required for the action expressed by requires.
Parts of speech · Parts of speech
Content
What the HESI A2 grammar section covers
Schools describe the A2 grammar section on their own pages. The practice sets here and the grammar section of Practice Exam 1 draw on the topics below, in four groups.
- Questions
- 50
- In Practice Exam 1 here; Tarrant County College lists 55
- Suggested time
- 50 min
- Your school or testing site sets the limit
- Per question
- 60 s
- At the suggested time
- Calculator
- None
- In this section of the practice exam
Parts of speech
Questions here ask what job a word does in one particular sentence: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection or article. A word can change jobs between sentences, so decide from the sentence in front of you: chart is a verb in "Please chart the dose" and a noun in "The chart is on the desk".
- Parts of speech
Agreement, pronouns and verb forms
The largest group in the sets here: a verb that matches its true subject, a pronoun in the right case (I or me, who or whom) that agrees with the noun it replaces, and the right tense, including irregular forms such as chose, swum and had gone, and were in a statement contrary to fact.
- Subject-verb agreement
- Pronouns: agreement and case (who and whom, I and me)
- Verb tenses and irregular verbs
Word choice: confused words, adjectives and adverbs
Pairs that sound alike or sit close in meaning, such as affect and effect, than and then, or lose and loose, and the choice between an adjective and an adverb: good or well, bright or brightly, and comparisons that take -er or more, never both.
- Commonly confused words (affect and effect, their, there and they're, lay and lie)
- Adjectives and adverbs (good and well, comparatives)
Punctuation and sentence structure
Commas in dates, series and direct address, apostrophes that show who owns what, and quotation marks; then whole sentences: fragments, run-ons, misplaced and dangling modifiers, parallel lists, and how many independent and dependent clauses a sentence holds.
- Punctuation
- Sentence structure and errors (fragments, run-ons, misplaced modifiers)
What schools say about the grammar section
| Source | What its page says |
|---|---|
| Tarrant County College | Grammar is one of four sections of 55 questions, with reading comprehension, vocabulary and math; anatomy and physiology has 30. The exam is computerized and multiple choice and lasts 5 hours. The page says nothing more about the grammar section. |
| Central New Mexico Community College | Lists grammar first among the six sections it gives, without a question count. It allows no outside materials such as books or notebooks, and applicants to its nursing program need 75% on every sub-test and a 75% composite. |
| Germanna Community College (Academic Center for Excellence) | Its guide (updated January 2023) lists six sections: reading comprehension, vocabulary, math, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and critical thinking. Grammar is not among them. |
| Community College of Rhode Island (Tutoring Center) | Lists five kinds of grammar question: the eight parts of speech; grammatical terms such as clauses, subjects, predicates and objects; common mistakes such as fragments, run-ons, agreement, commas, apostrophes and misplaced modifiers; clichés, euphemisms, sexist language and textspeak; and tricky word pairs such as affect and effect, lay and lie, fewer and less, and who and whom. It says its list of topics is not exhaustive. |
| University of Nevada, Reno (University Writing & Speaking Center) | Explains what to know for the A2's English portion: subjects and predicates, parts of speech and commonly confused words. It says a question may ask for the subject noun or noun phrase of a sentence, and suggests finding the verb first and then the noun that attaches to it. |
Sources: Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023); Community College of Rhode Island Tutoring Center, HESI Grammar; University of Nevada, Reno, University Writing & Speaking Center, HESI A2: Grammar
Question formats
How HESI A2 grammar questions work
Each question here is right or wrong, with no partial credit. In Practice Exam 1 you can flag a question, see which are still blank and go back to any question in the section until you end it. Testing sites differ here: Germanna Community College's guide says its students cannot skip a question or go back to one they have already answered.
| Format | How you answer | In set 1 here |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple choice | Choose the one correct option of four | 20 of 20 |
Every question in set 1 here is multiple choice with four options. About half give a sentence with a blank and ask which word or pair of words completes it; others ask what part of speech a word in bold is, or show four sentences or phrases and ask which is correct. Tarrant County College describes its HESI A2 as a computerized multiple-choice exam, and the University of Nevada, Reno's writing center says a question may ask you to pick out the subject of a sentence.
No handbook to check a rule in
Central New Mexico Community College allows no outside materials, books and notebooks included; check your own testing site's rules. The rules have to be learned before test day: the Community College of Rhode Island's tutoring center advises memorizing common terms and word pairs and balancing study of the concepts with practice questions. The practice sets here have no look-up tool either.
Sources: Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam; Community College of Rhode Island Tutoring Center, HESI Grammar; Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; University of Nevada, Reno, University Writing & Speaking Center, HESI A2: Grammar; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023)
Method
How to prepare for HESI A2 grammar
What to study first and how to pace the section, for grammar in particular.
- 01Learn the rule behind every answerWhen you miss a question, read the explanation, then write the rule in one sentence of your own with a new example. A rule you can state is one you will apply the next time the same point comes up in a different sentence. Balance this rule study with answering practice questions, as the Community College of Rhode Island's tutoring center advises.
- 02Find the verb first, then its subjectThe University of Nevada, Reno's writing center suggests finding the verb first and then the noun that goes with it: ask who or what does the action or is described, and that is the subject. Then match the verb to it, ignoring the words in between: in "The list of new patients is long", the subject is list, so the verb is is. Phrases such as along with and as well as never make a subject plural.
- 03Settle pronoun case with a quick swapPut he or him in place of who or whom inside its own clause: "the aide (who or whom) I trained" becomes "I trained him", so whom. After than or as, finish the thought in your head: "She charts faster than I (do)", so I, not me. With two people, drop the other one: "for Sam and me" works because "for me" does.
- 04Keep a list of confused pairsWrite each pair with a short meaning and a sentence: affect (to influence) and effect (a result), than (comparing) and then (time), lie (to recline: lie, lay, lain) and lay (to put down: lay, laid, laid), fewer (things you count) and less (amounts). Review the list until you can sort a pair without saying the sentence aloud.
- 05Check comparisons and modifiersCompare two things with -er or more and three or more with -est or most, never both at once. Good describes a noun and well describes an action, except that well also means healthy. An opening phrase describes whoever follows the comma: "Rushing to class, my books fell" says the books were rushing.
- 06Compare the options where they differWhen four versions of one sentence are offered, line them up and find the one spot where they differ: a comma, a verb form, a pronoun. Decide that one point by its rule and the answer follows; rereading each version whole wastes time and lets a version that sounds natural win over one that is correct.
- 07Pace at about 60 seconds a questionPractice Exam 1 here suggests 50 minutes for 50 grammar questions; your school or testing site sets the real timing (Tarrant County College allows 5 hours for its five sections). Most questions are a single sentence, so a rule you know takes seconds; spend what you save on the sentence-structure questions, which take longer to read.
Rules
HESI A2 grammar study guide: the rules, with examples
The rules behind the topics schools list for the grammar section and the topics in the practice sets here, in standard American English, written for this page with new example sentences. Learn the rule, then test it on the practice set.
| Topic | Rule and example |
|---|---|
| Parts of speech | Noun: a person, place, thing or idea (clinic, honesty). Pronoun: stands in for a noun (she, it, which). Verb: an action or a state (lift, seem). Adjective: describes a noun (a narrow hall). Adverb: describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb (spoke softly, very tired). Preposition: links a noun to the rest of the sentence (on the cart, before noon). Conjunction: joins words or clauses (and, but, because). Interjection: an exclamation (wow, ouch). Article: a, an or the, before a noun |
| One word, two jobs | The job decides the part of speech: chart is a verb in "Please chart the dose" and a noun in "The chart is on the desk"; after is a preposition before a noun (after dinner) and a conjunction before a clause (after the shift ended) |
| Parts of a sentence | Complete subject: who or what the sentence is about, with its modifiers (The new aide on the night shift); simple subject: the main noun alone (aide). Predicate: the verb and what follows it. Direct object: receives the action (She signed the form). Indirect object: the one to or for whom it is done (She handed the patient a gown). Predicate nominative: a noun after a linking verb that renames the subject (Ravi is a medic). Predicate adjective: an adjective after a linking verb that describes the subject (The broth tasted bland) |
| Clauses and sentence types | Independent clause: a subject and a verb that can stand alone. Dependent clause: a subject and a verb introduced by a word such as because, although, when or which; it cannot stand alone. Phrase: a word group without its own subject and verb. Simple sentence: one independent clause. Compound: at least two independent clauses. Complex: an independent clause with at least one dependent clause. Compound-complex: at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause |
| Subject-verb agreement | Match the verb to its subject, not to a noun in between (The list of new patients is long). Each, every, either, neither, everyone and somebody take a singular verb. Subjects joined by and are plural (The nurse and the aide are here) unless together they name one thing (Rice and beans is the special today); with or or nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject (Neither the residents nor the doctor is late). Along with and as well as do not add to the subject. A group acting as one unit takes a singular verb in American English (The team has voted). Some, all and most follow the noun after of (Some of the soup is cold; some of the cups are clean) |
| Pronoun case and agreement | Subject forms (I, he, she, we, they, who) for subjects, and after a linking verb in formal writing (It was he who signed). Object forms (me, him, her, us, them, whom) as objects of action verbs and prepositions (between you and me). Possessive pronouns take no apostrophe (its, hers, ours, theirs, whose). Reflexive forms (myself, themselves) only when the subject acts on itself (She cut herself) or for emphasis. A pronoun agrees in number with the noun it replaces (The pumps were alarming, so the nurse silenced them) |
| Verb tenses | Simple (walks, walked, will walk), progressive (is walking, was walking, will be walking), perfect (has walked, had walked, will have walked) and perfect progressive (had been walking). Keep one tense through a passage unless the time changes. For a present condition contrary to fact use were (If I were taller); for a past one, had and the past participle (If the room had been larger, we could have stayed) |
| Irregular verbs | Learn all three forms: choose, chose, chosen; swim, swam, swum; bring, brought, brought; go, went, gone; see, saw, seen; write, wrote, written; lie (recline), lay, lain; lay (put down), laid, laid. Use the third form after has, have or had (had gone, never had went). Drag is regular: dragged, not drug |
| Commonly confused words | affect (usually a verb: to influence) and effect (usually a noun: a result); than (comparing) and then (next, or at that time); their (belonging to them), there (that place) and they're (they are); its (belonging to it) and it's (it is); lose (misplace, or fail to win) and loose (not tight); accept (take) and except (other than, or to leave out); advice (a noun) and advise (a verb); fewer (things you can count) and less (amounts); precede (come before) and proceed (go on); principal (main, or the head of a school) and principle (a rule or belief) |
| Adjectives and adverbs | An adjective describes a noun, including after a linking verb (The lamp looks bright); an adverb describes how an action is done (She spoke calmly). Good is an adjective; well is its adverb, and also an adjective meaning healthy (I feel well). Compare two with -er or more (lighter, more careful) and three or more with -est or most; never both (not more lighter). Irregular forms: good, better, best; bad, worse, worst |
| Commas | Before and, but, or, so or yet when it joins two independent clauses; after an opening dependent clause or a long opening phrase (When the shift ended, the unit emptied); around words the sentence could do without (Dr. Lin, the new resident, called back); between items in a series; between the day and the year in a date, and after the year when the sentence goes on (On June 3, 2025, the unit opened); before or after the name of the person spoken to (Please sit down, Omar) |
| Semicolons, colons, apostrophes, quotation marks | A semicolon joins two independent clauses without a conjunction, or separates list items that already contain commas (Dover, Delaware; Salem, Oregon; and Reno, Nevada). A colon follows a complete sentence to introduce a list or an explanation. An apostrophe shows possession: one owner takes 's (the doctor's coat), a plural ending in s takes only the apostrophe (the doctors' lounge), and a compound noun takes 's on its last word (my sister-in-law's car). In American English, periods and commas go inside closing quotation marks, and a quotation inside a quotation takes single marks |
| Sentence errors | Fragment: a word group missing a subject or a verb, or a dependent clause standing alone (Because the line was long.). Run-on: two independent clauses with nothing between them; a comma splice joins them with only a comma. Fix either with a period, a semicolon, or a comma followed by and, but, or, so or yet. Misplaced modifier: a phrase next to the wrong word (She returned the jacket to the store that was torn). Dangling modifier: the word the phrase describes is missing (Rushing to class, my books fell). Faulty parallelism: list items in different forms (She likes hiking, to swim and running) |
| Informal, biased or overused language | Named by the Community College of Rhode Island's tutoring center; the practice sets here do not test it. Cliché: a worn-out phrase (at the end of the day). Euphemism: a mild word in place of a plain one (passed away for died). Sexist language: a gendered word where a neutral one fits (chairman for chair). Textspeak: texting shorthand (u, b4, lol), which does not belong in formal writing |
FAQ
HESI A2 grammar: questions people ask
How many grammar questions are on the HESI A2?
What is on the HESI A2 grammar section?
How do you pass the HESI A2 grammar section?
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Do all schools require the HESI A2 grammar section?
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Is HESI A2 grammar the same as TEAS English?
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Are these real HESI A2 grammar questions?
Keep practicing
Next practice exercise
HESI A2 Anatomy and Physiology, practice set 1: 20 questions on the same screen. Take the sections your school requires first, then come back to the one you find hardest.
Pages this page relies on: Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023); Community College of Rhode Island Tutoring Center, HESI Grammar; University of Nevada, Reno, University Writing & Speaking Center, HESI A2: Grammar; Western Technical College Library, Nursing: TEAS Prep Guide
Checked against the schools' pages and last reviewed November 4, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.