Grammar quiz in the Grauniad

[summerdays]

Well done! I expect they are two of your weak points though.

Yes! see I'm glad I didn't try to claim I was an expert!

 

[Cubist]

Well done! I expect they are two of your weak points though.

 

[ASC1951]

Well done! I expect they are two of your weak points though.

Well, you say so. But you could just as well see 'grammar and spelling' as an elliptical phrase meaning 'correct usage', which would be singular. [/grammar Nazi mode]

 

[Cubist]

Guilty as charged. 14/14

Yebbut. Does it matter? Language is about being understood and technically 'incorrect' grammar doesn't often matter in practice.

No, to the users of a language it doesn't matter. Language evolves with usage, but it does help to understand the history and mechanics of a language. That only matters in the same way that complex equations matter to a mathematician. As far as I'm concerned, maths is for making sure I get the right change and can work out my bank balance.

 

[ASC1951]

In that case the post should have read 'grammar and spelling has always been one of my weak points'.

A good point, well made!

I do this stuff for a living.

And I thought being a commercial lawyer was a white-knuckled ride...

 

[Beebo]

I'm a child of the 80's and don't remember ever being taught any of that.
What would the results have been without multiple choice?
I used educated guesswork to answer most of the questions right, but would have got zero if I had to answer them with no prompting.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Not knowing (never having been taught) that gerunds end in 'ing' doesn't prevent one using such words correctly. Likewise, not being able to identify which part is a 'prepositional phrase' doesn't mean that one cannot use such phrases correctly in writing. Some of the questions were 'labelling' questions.

Yes, I dropped a point (13/14) because I didn't know what a prepositional phrase was. I'm not convinced I know now either but I can use one.

 

[Crackle]

I'm swopping to the Telegraph.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

What's your maths like?

Worse

 

[martint235]

Yes, I dropped a point (13/14) because I didn't know what a prepositional phrase was. I'm not convinced I know now either but I can use one.

Rather than knowing what one was, I used the logic of it's got a "pre" "position" in it therefore a location/space must be involved and "foot of the stairs" was the only one that met that criteria.

 

[Over The Hill]

Isn't it a bit like telling Wiggo he is a crap cyclist just because he cannot name all the components on his bike?

As long as you can use grammar correctly (which I lay no claim to) then you do not need to know what a gerund is.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

12 for me and I was notably poor in the English class at school. Technical language terms are either known or not. I've come across Gerund before tho' - so I'm still learning

 

[Cubist]

Isn't it a bit like telling Wiggo he is a crap cyclist just because he cannot name all the components on his bike?

As long as you can use grammar correctly (which I lay no claim to) then you do not need to know what a gerund is.

Isn't what is it like?

 

[MontyVeda]

10/14.... i had to do an 'ip-dip' on number 14

 

[asterix]

13/14

As far as I am concerned 'team' is an abstract concept, York City being my local football club.