Citizenship · Question Words and Function Words

In the question 'Who is the first President?', the answer is:

Correct answer

George Washington (the first President of the United States, 1789-1797)

  1. A George Washington (the first President of the United States, 1789-1797)
  2. B Benjamin Franklin
  3. C Abraham Lincoln
  4. D Thomas Jefferson

Why this is the answer

Sample reading test question: 'Who is the first President?' Answer: GEORGE WASHINGTON. This is a common question pattern on the USCIS reading test: a WH-QUESTION word + a sentence asking about a fact from the civics curriculum. Other similar question patterns: 'WHEN is Independence Day?' → July 4. 'WHERE does the President live?' → The White House. 'WHAT is the capital of the United States?' → Washington, D.C. 'WHO was George Washington?' → The first President. 'WHO was Abraham Lincoln?' → The 16th President (or: The President who freed the slaves). The reading test combines vocabulary from multiple categories: PEOPLE (Washington, Lincoln), CIVICS (President), PLACES (Washington, the capital), HOLIDAYS, QUESTION WORDS, and VERBS. Note: Benjamin Franklin, although a famous Founding Father, was NEVER President. He played key roles in: drafting the Declaration of Independence; representing the U.S. as ambassador to France; helping negotiate the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War; serving as President of Pennsylvania (a state-level office). Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President (1861-1865). Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President (1801-1809) and wrote most of the Declaration of Independence.
Source: USCIS Reading Vocabulary — WHO questions

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About this topic: Question Words and Function Words

Question words and function words — how, what, when, where, who, why, and the small words a, for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we — make up most of every reading-test sentence. Reading them smoothly is what the officer listens for. This is one of 5 Reading Vocabulary questions on question words and function words, each with a full explanation on a single study page.

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