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Good grammar test: can you pass?

You've got WAY too much time on your hand.

"gurundative adjective of the anterior postulative derivation of the latin......":confused:
 
Lutherf said:
You've got WAY too much time on your hand.

"gurundative adjective of the anterior postulative derivation of the latin......":confused:
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English grammar was among one of my worst subjects in school.
However, it wasn't until I went through an extensive course to learn the German language, customs, and history that I began to understand English and how it works. And, just how different American English is from British. I once heard, the only different between the Yanks and Brits is their language. :roll:
 
Not gonna lie; I'm a natural-taught writer. I passed grammar courses not because I knew what the adverb-modifying-adverb was, but because I could demonstrate that I understood the concept. I don't know a whole lot about the terminology of grammar to this day.

I correctly answered all the questions where I had to pick the grammatical sentence, but when you start asking me what the technical term for it is, I really couldn't tell you in a lot of cases. I just know what's correct, and what isn't.

So my score was nothing to write home about. :lol:
 
MaggieD said:
I scored 42%. I don't think that passes. :rofl

I was particularly disappointed that I got this one wrong:
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I got to that one and just answered "c" for the rest.

I well remember sitting there in english class when we were covering diagramming sentences and thinking to myself "why will I ever need to know this?".

35 years later I have yet to lose out on anything other than a grammar test where I need to know what an adverb was for and "gerundive".....I'm pretty sure that someone just made that up.

- edit -

Just for grins I checked the wiki for that word -
Gerundive is a term applied to particular verb forms, usually non-finite, occurring in certain languages. It is used particularly with regard to Latin, where it denotes the future passive participle – a verbal-adjectival form such as portandus, meaning "(which is) to be carried", in the sense of either futurity or necessity. The Latin gerundive is similar in form to the gerund, which is a different non-finite verb form, serving as a verbal noun.
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:surrender
I'm no better off for having done this.
 
50%. Not very impressed with myself.
 
longknife said:
Give it a try! [I did and, as an author/novelist, I'm ashamed to tell you my score] @ Good grammar test: can you pass? - Telegraph
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I've never been very good at formal grammar. Things like "prepositions," "pronouns," and "adverbs" have always been more or less Greek to me. Trying to keep the terms straight tended to drive the more OCD apects of my nature completely up the wall more often than not.

Thankfully, I seem to have been blessed with a more or less instinctual grasp of the English language which allows me to be an excellent writer in spite of this failing. :mrgreen:

Adverbial phrases? I don't need no stinkin' adverbial phrases!
 
I scored 75.

But, I can't understand why the answer for Q.11 is "Evelyn is male".

Not wanting to speculate "Evelyn" is absolutely used by people as female name I chose the answer "Impossible to know from the wording of the sentence whether Evelyn is male or female" due to the reference "other sibling" to Evelyn.

Q.11 “I should like to introduce you to my sister Amanda, who lives in New York, to Mark, my brother who doesn't, and to my only other sibling, Evelyn."

✓Evelyn is male

Evelyn is female

X
Impossible to know from the wording of the sentence whether Evelyn is male or female.

​
 
dolphinocean said:
I scored 75.

But, I can't understand why the answer for Q.11 is "Evelyn is male".

Not wanting to speculate "Evelyn" is absolutely used by people as female name I chose the answer "Impossible to know from the wording of the sentence whether Evelyn is male or female" due to the reference "other sibling" to Evelyn.

Q.11 “I should like to introduce you to my sister Amanda, who lives in New York, to Mark, my brother who doesn't, and to my only other sibling, Evelyn."

✓Evelyn is male

Evelyn is female

X
Impossible to know from the wording of the sentence whether Evelyn is male or female.

​
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I figure Evelyn might have been a transsexual...
 
I got 47%. Yikes! :shock:
 
Dang- I was about to feel really bad about my score, but after reading through the thread, I don't feel quite so inept. :lol:
 
lizzie said:
Dang- I was about to feel really bad about my score, but after reading through the thread, I don't feel quite so inept. :lol:
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I haven't studied the diagramming of sentences since grade school. Who the hell remembers the terminology? As long as others can understand my posts, I'm satisfied with my grammatical knowledge...
 
I've been on the site too much, it wants me to pay.

Evelyn is male (and presumably lives in New York) because Mark is the brother who doesn't live there.
 
lizzie said:
Dang- I was about to feel really bad about my score, but after reading through the thread, I don't feel quite so inept. :lol:
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Hey! I know my grammar. I just don't know what to call . . . stuff. :lol:
 
Manc Skipper said:
Evelyn is male (and presumably lives in New York) because Mark is the brother who doesn't live there.
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Yes, no comma after brother. I might try it later.
 
Manc Skipper said:
I've been on the site too much, it wants me to pay.

Evelyn is male (and presumably lives in New York) because Mark is the brother who doesn't live there.
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The poor structure and wordings of Q.11 were just ambiguous.

I got 3 wrongs out of 12. Two of them, Q.9 and Q.11, are controversial as noted by the authors:

Even grammarians get it wrong - Telegraph


"As certain readers pointed out, this sentence was in fact ambiguous, suggesting an impossible scenario in which the speaker had two brothers who were both called Mark, and an "only other sibling" called Evelyn. Having sifted through the readers' comments, Mr Gwynne says the sentence should have read ... <snip>

Furthermore, question nine asked which of two sentences was grammatically correct. The answer given as the correct response was "Are you happy with the idea of my teaching you grammar?" However, the author also now accepts that the second option presented – "Are you happy with the idea of me teaching you grammar?" – could be grammatically correct."​

The bold part for Q.9 was my answer for Q.9. Since they changed it to "also now accepts that the second option ....could be grammatically correct", somehow my answer which was once considered correct is now incorrect because of the change.
 
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SmokeAndMirrors said:
Not gonna lie; I'm a natural-taught writer. I passed grammar courses not because I knew what the adverb-modifying-adverb was, but because I could demonstrate that I understood the concept. I don't know a whole lot about the terminology of grammar to this day.

I correctly answered all the questions where I had to pick the grammatical sentence, but when you start asking me what the technical term for it is, I really couldn't tell you in a lot of cases. I just know what's correct, and what isn't.

So my score was nothing to write home about. :lol:
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I'm pretty certain I was asleep the day they taught grammar. ;) It's been my practice to let editors (who usually majored in English) edit my grammar when they must.

An architect may design a house, but craftsmen build it.
 
Risky Thicket said:
I'm pretty certain I was asleep the day they taught grammar. ;) It's been my practice to let editors (who usually majored in English) edit my grammar when they must.

An architect may design a house, but craftsmen build it.
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Frankly, many of the English language's most famous authors (Hemmingway, Joyce, etca) have often demonstrated a tendency to completely eschew "technically correct" grammar in favor of style anyway.

As long as your writing is intelligible and flows well, dogmatic adherence to grammatical rules isn't strictly necessary IMO. A lot of the rules governing written English are painfully artificial and always have been.
 
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