ELPAC Practice

Which sentence is missing a word? (The Saturday Shift)

Read a Student Essay · ELPAC Grades 9–10 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.

The Saturday Shift

  1. Last fall I signed up to volunteer at the food bank on Chestnut Avenue because my counselor said the hours would count toward graduation.
  2. I expected to spend the morning handing boxes to people, but the first thing the staff taught me was how to sort donations.
  3. A crate of canned goods has to be checked one can at a time for dents, rust and expiration dates.
  4. The list of items that the warehouse cannot accept were taped to the wall above the sorting table.
  5. At first I asked the supervisor about almost every can, which slowed the whole line down.
  6. By my third Saturday I could finish a crate in about six minutes without asking anyone.
  7. The warehouse was cold, and by noon my fingers were stiff enough that I had trouble writing the tally.
  8. What surprised me most was how much food is thrown away for small reasons.
  9. A dented can is usually safe, but the food bank cannot hand it out, because a dent can hide a crack in the seam.
  10. I understand that rule now, although it bothered me for the first month.
  11. The boxes we packed that morning went families living within three miles of the warehouse.
  12. I am going back in January, and this time I will be the one training the new volunteers.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Which sentence is missing a word?

  • Sentence 2: “I expected to spend the morning handing boxes to people, but the first thing the staff taught me was how to sort donations.”
  • Sentence 7: “The warehouse was cold, and by noon my fingers were stiff enough that I had trouble writing the tally.”
  • Sentence 11: “The boxes we packed that morning went families living within three miles of the warehouse.”Correct answer
  • Sentence 12: “I am going back in January, and this time I will be the one training the new volunteers.”

Why “Sentence 11: “The boxes we packed that morning went families living within three miles of the warehouse.”” is correct

This tests noticing an omitted function word, here the preposition in 'went to families'. Verbs of motion take a preposition before their destination in English, and dropping it is a persistent error for learners whose first language marks the destination with a case ending instead. Reading the sentence aloud and listening for where the sentence jolts is the most reliable check.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • Sentence 2: “I expected to spend the morning handing boxes to people, but the first thing the staff taught me was how to sort donations.” — Sentence 2 is long and has two clauses, which can make it feel unfinished, but nothing is missing from it.
  • Sentence 7: “The warehouse was cold, and by noon my fingers were stiff enough that I had trouble writing the tally.” — 'Stiff enough that' is a complete construction, and the sentence has every word it needs.
  • Sentence 12: “I am going back in January, and this time I will be the one training the new volunteers.” — Sentence 12 is complete: 'the one training the new volunteers' correctly follows 'I will be'.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 9–10, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 9–10. 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.