Grade 9 English Language Arts Practice Questions

1. Choose the word that correctly fills the blank the following sentence:
Joanne still needs to finish her homework: revise her essay, ______ the next chapter, and complete the math problems.

1. reading
2. to read
3. read 
4. will read

2. Our vacation time was over, but we didn’t want to go home.
The bolded words represent a(n)…

1. Dependent clause
2. Independent clause 
3. Relative clause
4. Adverbial clause

3. Which of the following sentences is correct?

1. I am going to buy a new car it is a blue sedan.
2. I am going to buy a new car, it is a blue sedan.
3. I am going to buy a new car; it is a blue sedan. 
4. I am going to buy a new car, therefore, it is a blue sedan.

4. Which of the following sentences is correct?

1. Rachel excels in several activities, including: swimming, hiking, and biking.
2. Rachel excels in: swimming, hiking, and biking.
3. Rachel excels in several activities: swimming, hiking, and biking. 
4. Rachel excels in several activities, such as: swimming, hiking, and biking.

5. Mara enjoyed great felicity when her missing dog found his way home.
What does the word “felicity” mean in this sentence?

1. Discomfort
2. Anxiety
3. Disbelief
4. Happiness

6. Choose the correct spelling of the word that completes the following sentence:
The black mangrove tree is native, or __________, to South Florida.

1. indigenous
2. endigenous
3. indegenous
4. endeginous

7. Choose the word that best fills the blank the following sentence:
Peter is so talented with horses that the skittish colt became _________ once Peter took over his training.

1. frantic
2. docile
3. lucid
4. prudent

8. Choose the word that best fills the blank in the following sentence:
Stanley had never liked Nathan, but he grudgingly ______________ Nathan for his idea of holding a car wash for the school fundraiser.

1. exalted
2. praised
3. honored
4. commended

9. Identify the figure of speech used in the following sentence:
Caroline was rendered speechless to such a degree that she talked of nothing else for the rest of the day.

1. Irony 
2. Hyperbole
3. Personification
4. Euphemism

10. The detective dedicated his life to hunting down the truth.
What does “hunting down the truth” mean in this sentence?

1. The detective preferred to work with a gun.
2. The detective was determined to tell the truth.
3. The detective wanted to eradicate the truth.
4. The detective was determined to learn the truth.

Answers and Explanations

1. C: “Read” (present tense form of the verb) maintains the parallel structure of the sentence and matches the verb tense for “revise” and “complete.” The other answer choices represent the present participle (“reading”), infinitive (“to read”), and future tense (“will read”) of the word.

2. B: The highlighted words represent an independent clause because they contain both a subject and verb and because they express a complete thought.

3. C: “I am going to buy a new car” and “it is a blue sedan” are independent clauses (they each contain a subject and a verb and express a complete thought). It is appropriate to join two independent clauses in a single sentence with a semicolon. Choice A is a run-on sentence. Choice B is a comma splice. Choice D uses a comma to precede the conjunctive adverb “therefore,” which is incorrect.

4. C: It is appropriate to use a colon to introduce a list. It is not appropriate to use a colon following a preposition (choice B) or after the phrases “including” and “such as,” which make the use of a colon redundant (choices A and D).

5. D: The context of the sentence indicates that Mara would feel great happiness.

6. A: The correct spelling of the word is “indigenous.”

7. B: The word “docile” means easily taught or ready to be taught. The sentence should read: Peter is so talented with horses that the skittish colt became docile once Peter took over his training.

8. D: Although the word choices all have similar denotations, the context of the sentence, and especially the use of the word “grudgingly,” indicate that Stanley gave only a perfunctory congratulations to Nathan for his good idea. The sentence should read: Stanley had never liked Nathan, but he grudgingly commended Nathan for his idea of holding a car wash for the school fund raiser.

9. A: Irony is an expression where words are attributed with the opposite of their usual meaning. The fact that Caroline was not rendered speechless, but quite the opposite, is indicated by the fact that she did not stop talking the rest of the day.

10. D: “Hunting down the truth” is a figure of speech that means “determined to learn the truth.” This is indicated by the context of the sentence which references the life goal of a detective.