NAPLAN Year 3 Language Conventions Practice Test

Try each question first, then open the worked solution to check your answer and see how to reach it.

1. 1.Which word is an adjective?

   • AJump
   • BQuickly
   • CHappy
   • DRun
   Show answer and working

   Answer: C (Happy)

   An adjective is a describing word that tells us more about a noun, such as how something looks or feels. 'Happy' describes a person, as in 'a happy girl', so it is an adjective. 'Jump' and 'run' are verbs (doing words), and 'quickly' is an adverb because it describes how an action is done.

2. 2.Which word is spelled correctly?

   • ABecoz
   • BBecause
   • CBecuse
   • DBecuase
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   Answer: B (Because)

   The correct spelling is 'because'. A helpful way to remember it is the saying 'Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants', where the first letters spell b-e-c-a-u-s-e. 'Becoz' spells the word the way it sounds, and 'becuse' and 'becuase' leave out or swap the 'au' in the middle.

3. 3.Identify the verb in this sentence: "She runs fast."

   • AShe
   • BRuns
   • CFast
   • DThe
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   Answer: B (Runs)

   A verb is a doing or action word. In 'She runs fast', the action is 'runs', so that is the verb. 'She' is a pronoun naming who does the action, and 'fast' tells us how she runs. A quick test is to ask 'What is she doing?' The answer, 'runs', is the verb.

4. 4.Which sentence needs a question mark?

   • AI like apples
   • BWhere are you going
   • CStop that
   • DThe sky is blue
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   Answer: B (Where are you going)

   A question mark goes at the end of a sentence that asks something. 'Where are you going' asks for information and begins with the question word 'where', so it needs a question mark. 'I like apples' and 'The sky is blue' are statements that end with full stops, and 'Stop that' is a command.

5. 5.Choose the correct word: "They ___ going to the park."

   • AIs
   • BAre
   • CAm
   • DBe
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   Answer: B (Are)

   The verb must agree with the subject. 'They' is plural, meaning more than one person, so it uses 'are': 'They are going to the park.' 'Is' goes with one person or thing (he is, she is), 'am' only goes with 'I', and 'be' does not fit after 'they' in this sentence.

6. 6.Which word should be capitalized?

   • Adog
   • Bcity
   • Caustralia
   • Dtable
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   Answer: C (australia)

   Proper nouns, which are the names of particular people, places and countries, always start with a capital letter. 'Australia' is the name of a country, so it needs a capital A. 'Dog', 'city' and 'table' are common nouns that name general things, so they only need a capital letter at the start of a sentence.

7. 7.Choose the correct past tense of "eat".

   • AEated
   • BAte
   • CEating
   • DEats
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   Answer: B (Ate)

   The past tense shows something has already happened. Most verbs add -ed, but 'eat' is an irregular verb, so its past tense is 'ate': 'I ate my lunch.' 'Eated' wrongly adds -ed, 'eating' is the -ing form used with helping verbs ('I am eating'), and 'eats' is present tense.

8. 8.What punctuation mark is used at the end of a question?

   • A.
   • B,
   • C!
   • D?
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   Answer: D (?)

   A question mark (?) is used at the end of a sentence that asks a question, such as 'Can I help you?' A full stop (.) ends a statement, a comma (,) separates parts of a sentence, and an exclamation mark (!) shows strong feeling or surprise. Reading the sentence aloud helps, because questions often rise at the end.

9. 9.What is the plural of "child"?

   • AChilds
   • BChildren
   • CChildrens
   • DChildes
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   Answer: B (Children)

   Most nouns become plural by adding -s, but 'child' is an irregular noun. Its plural is 'children', which already means more than one, so it never takes an extra s. 'Childrens' is wrong for the same reason, and 'childs' and 'childes' follow the regular rule that does not apply to this word.

10. 10.Which word is spelled correctly?

    • Afrend
    • Bfriend
    • Cfreind
    • Dfrennd
    Show answer and working

    Answer: B (friend)

    The correct spelling is 'friend'. Many students mix up the order of the i and e. A useful memory trick is that you are a friend to the end, and 'friend' ends with 'end'. 'Frend' and 'frennd' miss the i completely, and 'freind' puts the e before the i.