ELPAC Practice

Which sentence is missing a word? (My Job at the Farmers Market)

Read a Student Essay · ELPAC Grades 3–5 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

An essay written as if by a classmate, with numbered sentences. The student finds the sentence containing the error.

Read the essay. Then answer the questions.

My Job at the Farmers Market

  1. Every Saturday my family sells oranges at the farmers market in our town.
  2. We wake up at five in the morning and load the truck while it is still dark.
  3. My sister and I builds the table out of two boxes and a long board.
  4. Then we stack the oranges into a tall pyramid so people can see them from far away.
  5. By seven o'clock the first customers arrive with their shopping bags.
  6. Last summer a woman bought twelve oranges and told me they were the sweetest she had ever tasted.
  7. I felt proud because I picked those oranges myself.
  8. Sometimes the market is slow and we sit in folding chairs and wait.
  9. We pack up the empty boxes and drive home before sun goes down.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Which sentence is missing a word?

  • Sentence 4: “Then we stack the oranges into a tall pyramid so people can see them from far away.”
  • Sentence 6: “Last summer a woman bought twelve oranges and told me they were the sweetest she had ever tasted.”
  • Sentence 7: “I felt proud because I picked those oranges myself.”
  • Sentence 9: “We pack up the empty boxes and drive home before sun goes down.”Correct answer

Why “Sentence 9: “We pack up the empty boxes and drive home before sun goes down.”” is correct

This tests noticing an omitted word, here the article 'the'. Sentence 9 reads 'before sun goes down' and needs 'before the sun goes down'. Dropped articles are one of the most common errors for English learners whose first language does not use them, so reading the sentence aloud and listening for the gap is the most reliable check.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • Sentence 4: “Then we stack the oranges into a tall pyramid so people can see them from far away.” — Sentence 4 is long, which can make it feel unfinished, but every word it needs is present.
  • Sentence 6: “Last summer a woman bought twelve oranges and told me they were the sweetest she had ever tasted.” — 'The sweetest she had ever tasted' leaves the word 'oranges' understood, which is correct English rather than an omission.
  • Sentence 7: “I felt proud because I picked those oranges myself.” — Sentence 7 is complete: it has a subject, a verb and a reason attached with 'because'.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 3–5, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 3–5. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.

This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California Department of Education or the official ELPAC program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published task formats.