WEST-E Practice Sample Questions and Answers. The WEST-E and Syntax You should know the following: –Recognize similarities and differences between the.

WEST-E Practice

Sample Questions and Answers

The WEST-E and Syntax• You should know the

following:– Recognize similarities and

differences between the syntactic systems of English and the languages of ESOL students

– Example: An ESOL student who is a native speaker of Spanish says, "I live in a house white." What is the most likely explanation for the occurrence of this error?

• Be familiar with the major syntactic structures of English and know how ESOL students experience the stages of syntactic development – Examples:

• How are declarative sentences formed in English?

• How are interrogative sentences formed in English?

• Be able to identify the parts of speech, understand the English verb system, and analyze student errors – Examples:– How does the word "treat"

function differently in the following sentences?

• Let me treat you to dinner. • Ice cream is a special treat.

– What is this aspect of grammar called?

– What is the third person singular construction of the verb "write" in the present perfect tense?

• Be familiar with idioms and nonliteral expressions and know how they can affect ESOL students' understanding of spoken and written English.– Examples:

• What is an idiom? • How are idioms different from

other nonliteral expressions?

• Understand how grammatical transformations and structural changes of sentences affect meaning – Examples:– What are the grammatical

differences between a sentence that uses the active voice and a sentence that uses the passive voice?

– What are the grammatical differences between declarative and interrogative sentences?

WEST-E Questions

• The next few questions are very similar to questions that might be asked on the WEST-E.

• They follow the pattern that is used in the WEST-E Study Guide.

Example 1

• The three most important people in my life are my mom, my dad, and my sister. My mom is important to me because she always understand me and she always help me. My dad is important to me because we always have fun together.

• On the basis of the writing sample, this student has not yet mastered

– (A) third-person singular endings for regular verbs

– (B) simple present-tense forms of irregular verbs

– (C) use of adverbs of frequency

– (D) possessive pronouns

Answer• The correct answer is A.

• This question tests your knowledge of basic grammatical terms. Although the speakers uses adverbs, irregular verbs and possessive pronouns correctly, he or she makes two errors in the use of the 3rd person singular verbs.

• Expect to be tested on your knowledge of the parts of speech.

Example 2

• I coming, I coming here when I have twelve years. I coming for eight months, came for, for eight, for, my, for eight months, uh...

• In the speech sample, the student most likely is intending to do which of the following?(A) Talk about two events that took

place in the recent past

(B) Talk about how old he was at a given time in the past

(C) Relate how long he plans to stay in the United States

(D) Relate how old he will be after a certain period of time

Answer• The correct answer is B.• This question asks you to

apply your knowledge of verb tenses to decipher a student’s utterances. The student refers to the past in two different ways: “when I have twelve years” and “for eight months.”

• Expect to be asked to figure out what a speaker means using your knowledge of English.

• Which of the following sentences is in the passive voice?1. Dmitry has been working

nights.2. He was denied a day shift.3. Eva has passed her classes.4. Dinner is being prepared.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Example 3

Answer• The correct answer is B.• This question tests your ability to

recognize the use of the passive voice. A sentence is passive when the subject is acted upon by an agent, named or unnamed

AND• It must have the verb form BE +VED2

• A good way to identify a passive sentence is to try to make it active.

He was denied a day shift.

His boss denied him a day shift.

Questions for Review

• Each of the following error contains an error or nonstandard use common to ESL students

• According to the article, “The First in the Family To Be Supersized” ,by Jennifer Tang, a lady discusses about the issues of being a big woman. 

Answer

• This is a preposition use error.

• This question tests your ability to recognize prepositions and their standard use.

• Unfortunately, this lady’s mother made her to eat a lot, and did not notice that it was bad for her daughter’s body. 

Answer

• This is an error in the use the infinitive form of a verb.

• This questions your knowledge of the standard use of verb forms and your ability to articulate that knowledge.

• Until they visited a doctor, and told her that she had to stop eating fast food, otherwise she could get heart disease.

Answer

• There are actually a couple of errors in this sentence, but the major issue is the lack of a subject in the second clause.

• This question tests your knowledge of clause structure and your ability to articulate that knowledge.

• He says that him and his brother were sent to Chinese school in the evenings.

Answer

• This sentence illustrates non-standard pronoun use. The first ‘him’ is in the objective case, but should be in the subjective case.

• This questions asks you to demonstrate your knowledge of pronouns and their standard use.

• We can learn how to speak in English if we go to school and practice it every day and try do the things that a American does.

Answer

• This sentence illustrates a nonstandard use of a determiner. The writer should have used ‘an’ in front of ‘American.’