Grammar test for would-be pedants

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  • Sir Velo
    Full Member
    • Oct 2012
    • 3268

    Grammar test for would-be pedants

    An opportunity for all of our resident pedants to demonstrate their impeccable knowledge of English grammar with this BBC quiz. For the record, yours truly scored 9/10, falling down on the "Hilary" question.
  • Nick Armstrong
    Host
    • Nov 2010
    • 26575

    #2
    Grammar test for would-be pedants



    I come in as a 'grammar guru'....

    Just sayin'
    "...the isle is full of noises,
    Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
    Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
    Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

    Comment

    • Flay
      Full Member
      • Mar 2007
      • 5795

      #3
      Ahem...



      (I only scored 7 )
      Pacta sunt servanda !!!

      Comment

      • Nick Armstrong
        Host
        • Nov 2010
        • 26575

        #4
        Originally posted by Sir Velo
        Already flagged...
        Ah! Quite so, apologies. I'll tidy up...
        "...the isle is full of noises,
        Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
        Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
        Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

        Comment

        • Flay
          Full Member
          • Mar 2007
          • 5795

          #5
          Originally posted by Caliban View Post
          Ah! Quite so, apologies. I'll tidy up...
          No need to tidy up - grammar could do with a thread of its own
          Pacta sunt servanda !!!

          Comment

          • Nick Armstrong
            Host
            • Nov 2010
            • 26575

            #6
            Originally posted by Flay View Post
            No need to tidy up - grammar could do with a thread of its own
            Grammar we love you

            Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
            "...the isle is full of noises,
            Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
            Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
            Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

            Comment

            • mercia
              Full Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 8920

              #7
              yes I fell over Hilary too, but I'm still a guru apparently


              I regularly get which and that confused, also less and fewer
              I honestly don't remember having any formal grammar lessons at school, except in foreign language and Latin classes
              I must have done at some point surely
              Last edited by mercia; 14-05-13, 13:29.

              Comment

              • Nick Armstrong
                Host
                • Nov 2010
                • 26575

                #8
                Originally posted by mercia View Post
                yes I fell over Hilary too, but I'm still a guru


                I regularly get which and that confused, also less and fewer
                I honestly don't remember having any formal grammar lessons at school, except in foreign language and Latin lessons
                must have done at some point surely
                Same here, mercs, in all respect save the 'less/fewer' which I find ok ... plus I'm virtually sure that I never had ANY English grammar training - it was all via Latin and French...
                "...the isle is full of noises,
                Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
                Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
                Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

                Comment

                • french frank
                  Administrator/Moderator
                  • Feb 2007
                  • 30526

                  #9
                  I had to copy and paste the Hilary question and then blow it up to 24 pt before I got that.

                  A couple of the others I have doubts about (is my grammar that shaky?). On the semicolon question I should have built in to the answer that ONE was correct. But I would have preferred a colon in

                  SPOILERSPOILERSPOILERDON'TLOOK








                  Landing a plane isnโ€™t difficult; I once saw a child do it.


                  I wouldn't see those as being 'independent clauses' but rather that the second elaborates, expands on or explains the first (i.e. it explains the reasoning behind my statement). Or, as Fowler describes its special function, 'delivering the goods that have been invoiced in the preceding words'. IOW, I would use a colon, not a semicolon.

                  Otherwise it is simply a statement of fact based on knowledge/experience (Landing a plane isn't difficult) and then an additional fact, 'oh, and, by the way, I once saw a child do it. Let me tell you about it ...'

                  Jean?

                  But I got the that/which question wrong too, so I was only 7/10 Still pondering that one - and whether context matters.
                  It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.

                  Comment

                  • french frank
                    Administrator/Moderator
                    • Feb 2007
                    • 30526

                    #10
                    And looking at The Complete Plain Words (Gowers rev. Sir B Fraser) it says you may use a colon 'to precede an explanation or particularisation'. He then quotes Fowler's 'delivering the goods' metaphor.

                    But it does show the danger of being dogmatic about such things.
                    It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.

                    Comment

                    • Sir Velo
                      Full Member
                      • Oct 2012
                      • 3268

                      #11
                      Ah, the "Hilary" question. I excused myself for coming up with a different answer to the BBC () on the grounds that, in spoken English, it would be impossible to know whether a semicolon or a comma had been used. Moreover, the gender neutral word "sibling", allied to the fact that Hilary is an epicene name, led me, I think excusably, to go for the "could be male or female" option. All of which, is a long way of saying I screwed up.
                      Last edited by Sir Velo; 14-05-13, 13:59. Reason: too many commas!

                      Comment

                      • Flay
                        Full Member
                        • Mar 2007
                        • 5795

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Sir Velo View Post
                        Ah, the "Hilary" question.
                        I still don't get it. I disagree with their conclusion. But who am I to say?
                        Pacta sunt servanda !!!

                        Comment

                        • french frank
                          Administrator/Moderator
                          • Feb 2007
                          • 30526

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Flay View Post
                          I still don't get it. I disagree with their conclusion. But who am I to say?
                          The lack of a strategically placed comma indicated that there was more than one brother; therefore ...

                          But the semicolon one is defintely wrong. There appears to be no 'rule' that says you can't follow a semicolon by a conjunction. Gowers/Fraser does so anyway. I would go for the whiskers as the only correct one.
                          It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.

                          Comment

                          • Simon

                            #14
                            9/10. I fell foul of Hilary too - wasn't looking far enough into the trick! Good point, Sir Velo, that it wouldn't be clear in dialogue - unfortunately no excuse here.

                            ff How can you of all people possibly not get the "that/which" one? It's as clear as day!

                            Comment

                            • jean
                              Late member
                              • Nov 2010
                              • 7100

                              #15
                              I can't find the questions

                              Comment

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