While three students paint the wall, the fourth ______ the wall with the drawing of the design.

Vocabulary and Grammar in Context · ELPAC Grades 6–8 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Extra practice, not a separate task on the real test: a sentence with one word missing, testing the vocabulary and grammar the passages assume.

Look at the picture. Then read the sentence about it.

Read image description

Four students are working on a long wall behind a school. Two of them roll blue paint across the top half of the wall. A third fills in a large yellow sun with a brush. The fourth sits on an upturned bucket, holding a drawing of the design and pointing at the wall.

The question

Look at the picture. Choose the word that best completes the sentence about it.

While three students paint the wall, the fourth ______ the wall with the drawing of the design.

• AcomparesCorrect answer
• Bcompetes
• Ccomplains

Why “compares” is correct

This is extra vocabulary practice built on the picture: three similar-looking verbs, only one of which describes what the fourth student is doing. He holds the design drawing and points at the wall, which is what checking one against the other looks like, so "compares" fits. The pattern "compare X with Y" is also worth naming, because it appears constantly in middle-school assignments.

Why the other answers are wrong

• competes — "Competes" means trying to win against someone; nothing in the picture is a contest.
• complains — "Complains" means saying you are unhappy about something; pointing at the wall while holding the plan shows checking, not complaining.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 6–8, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 6–8. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.