Free EETC Practice Questions (Objective Language Tasks, With Answers)

The EETC — Quebec’s English-language certification for teachers — tests your command of standard written English through objective language tasks (multiple-choice grammar and usage) and a professional writing task. The best preparation is practising the exact grammar points the objective tasks target. Below are 8 practice questions with clear explanations of why each answer is correct.

Then explore SN Academy’s EETC preparation for the full set of objective-task drills and writing guidance.

Choose your answer first, then read the explanation — knowing the rule is what lets you apply it under time.

The questions

1. Subject–verb agreement

Choose the correct verb: “The list of approved textbooks ( is / are ) on the shelf.”

Answer: is. The subject is list (singular); “of approved textbooks” is just a describing phrase. The verb agrees with list, not textbooks.

2. Its vs it’s

“The committee published ( its / it’s ) findings last week.”

Answer: its. Its is the possessive (the findings belonging to it). It’s only ever means “it is” or “it has” — and “it is findings” makes no sense here.

3. Verb tense

“By the time the bell rang, the students ( had finished / finished ) the task.”

Answer: had finished. One past action happened before another. The earlier action (finishing) takes the past perfect — had finished — to show it was already complete when the bell rang.

4. Affect vs effect

“The new schedule had a positive ( affect / effect ) on attendance.”

Answer: effect. Here you need a noun (a result), which is effect. Affect is usually the verb (“to affect something”).

5. Fewer vs less

“There were ( fewer / less ) errors in the second draft.”

Answer: fewer. Errors can be counted, so use fewer. Use less only for things you can’t count (less time, less noise).

6. Dangling modifier

Which is correct? (a) “Walking into the classroom, the noise was overwhelming.” (b) “As I walked into the classroom, the noise was overwhelming.”

Answer: (b). In (a), the opening phrase wrongly describes the noise (as if the noise walked in). (b) makes clear who walked in, fixing the dangling modifier.

7. Parallel structure

“The role involves planning lessons, marking work, and ( to communicate / communicating ) with parents.”

Answer: communicating. Items in a list should match in form. Planning… marking… communicating are all the same (-ing) form; to communicate breaks the parallel.

8. Who vs whom

“The student ( who / whom ) submitted the essay is waiting outside.”

Answer: who. The student is doing the submitting — that’s the subject, so use who. (Whom is for the object: “the student whom I emailed”.)

The professional writing task

The written task is judged on more than error-free grammar — it looks for clear organisation, an appropriate professional register, and precise word choice. Plan a brief structure before you write, keep sentences clean, and re-read once for the exact grammar points above (agreement, tense, its/it’s, parallelism). See the criteria your writing is judged on.

Keep preparing

Drill the objective tasks until the rules are automatic, and practise the writing task against the marking criteria. Start with mastering the EETC’s objective language tasks and the EETC, explained.

FAQ

Are these real EETC questions? No — real questions are confidential. These are original questions targeting the same grammar and usage points, so the skills transfer directly.

Is the EETC in English or French? The EETC certifies English-language competence for teaching. (SN Academy prepares you for the English EETC.)

What if I fail one part? You can rewrite just the failed section — see rewriting a failed part of the EETC.

When and how do I register? See when to sit the EETC and how to register through CEETC.