Understand the properties of metals: Metals are generally good conductors of electricity, ductile (can be drawn into wires), malleable (can be hammered into sheets), and tend to form basic oxides.
Understand the properties of metalloids: Metalloids have properties intermediate between metals and nonmetals. They often have some metallic and some nonmetallic characteristics.
Compare the options given: 'They are generally ductile' and 'They are highly malleable' are typical metallic properties, but metalloids are usually brittle and not ductile or malleable.
'They form basic oxides' is a property of metals, but metalloids tend to form amphoteric or acidic oxides instead.
Recognize that metalloids share the property of being good conductors of electricity with metals, although their conductivity is usually less than that of metals.