GED Language Arts Study Guide: Mechanics

We discussed the dreaded comma splice earlier in this guide. However, there are a few more things you need to know about the mechanics of English to earn your best score on the GED RLA test.

Practice Quiz

Commas and Colons

Commas are used to:

• Separate items in a list.
  • Example: I wanted to buy a blanket, a candle, and some chocolate.
• Separate two independent clauses (with a coordinating conjunction).
  • Example: I wanted to go to the movies, but I didn’t have enough money.
• Separate a dependent clause from an independent clause.
  • Example: Whenever I see you, I feel happy inside.
• Set off a phrase that is not essential to the sentence.
  • Example: Tom, who is a great cook, lent me this cookbook.

Besides remembering these rules, you can determine whether a comma is necessary by analyzing if it interrupts a sentence’s flow. If something seems off, it’s probably unnecessary.

A colon has two important uses you need to know for the GED RLA test:

• Joining two independent clauses where you want to emphasize information in the second clause.
  • Example: The boy was sad: he had lost every close friend.
• Separating an independent clause from a related list.
  • Example: There are many reasons to be happy: coffee, sunrises, cupcakes, and sweet dreams.

Capitalization

Regarding capitalization, here are some rules you need to know for test day.

• Capitalize the pronoun I.
  • Although I don’t like cookies, I do like cake.
• Capitalize the first word of every sentence.
  • Example: Nice weather today, isn’t it?
• Capitalize proper nouns (i.e., nouns that refer to a specific person, place, or thing).
  • Example: While walking through Central Park in New York City, John decided to visit the Museum of Natural History nearby.
• Capitalize titles of media (e.g., films, books, TV shows).
  • Example: I’m not a big fan of The Lord of the Rings movies.
• Capitalize official titles only if they immediately precede the person they describe.
  • Example: I wrote a letter to President Barack Obama. I told him that he was a great president.
• Capitalize directions if they refer to a specific region.
  • Example: I moved to the South as a young child.
• Capitalize months and holidays.
  • Example: I love December because we get to celebrate Christmas.
• Capitalize acronyms.
  • Example: Some FBI agents came to see me after I reported seeing a flying saucer.

Note
There are rules beyond capitalization that may apply to a few mechanics questions on the GED. For example, The Lord of the Rings is shown in italics because movie titles are italicized.

Contractions vs. Possessives

This section discusses the apostrophe. You use an apostrophe to create a contraction of two words or to indicate possession. Contractions are common in informal writing.

Possessive apostrophes indicate ownership.

• I think that is Maura’s phone.
• It was all my mom’s idea.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.

• They’re going to the beach this weekend in their new car.
• After buying the meat, I went to meet my friends at the mall.
• I went to the sea to see the rolling waves.
• When you’re here, try to hear the sound of the wind.

The GED RLA test will likely ask you a few homophone questions. They might trip you up; as in the cases above, the spelling differences can be very minor. Under a time limit, you’re also likely to feel stress, increasing your odds of missing something.

Here’s a chart comparing some of the most common homophones and their meanings.

Note
As you further prepare for test day, pay close attention to your ability to identify and use homophones correctly. Knowing them is equally important to all three parts of the GED RLA test.

Use our review quiz below to ensure you have a strong grasp on the mechanics of the English language. Then, apply all you’ve learned to the final section of our GED RLA study guide: the essay!

Mechanics Review Quiz