Image: YouTube
About This Quiz
This subject is so important that in some places, elementary school used to be called simply "grammar school." Do you know your pronouns from your prepositions? Find out now with our quiz!
What are nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns and the like called?
determiners
grammatical units
the parts of speech
English has eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles, conjunctions and interjections. A "determiner," mentioned above, is another word for "article."
they're just words
In the sentence "I came to drink and stayed to dance," what part of speech is "and"?
an article
a conjunction
Conjunctions stand at the "intersections" of sentences, sometimes linking phrases or clauses, but sometimes cutting them off from each other. "Or," for example, means someone has to choose one or the other. (Sidebar: Nobody understands the importance of conjunctions better than computer programmers).
a preposition
a pronoun
Is "bigly" grammatically incorrect?
Of course it is!
Improbably, no, it's not.
A couple of things need to be said about this: First, it was likely then-candidate Trump was saying "big-league." Second, "bigly" really is an adverb, as confirmed by editors from Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary. Just because something is rarely used doesn't make it wrong.
Advertisement
A change in a verb's form indicating past, present or future is called its _____.
course
indicator
mood
tense
Verb tenses are one of the first things an English student learns. It's the difference between "eat," "ate" and "will eat."
To change a verb's spelling to reflect the type and number of actors is called ______.
conjugation
Verb conjugations in English are often as simple as adding an "s" or not. "I walk, you walk, he/she/it walks, they walk." This, oddly, is what can make learning English verbs so frustrating for foreign-language speakers: The changes are small but important.
inflection
reflection
deflection
What is wrong with the sentence, "Deer is a hazard to drivers on country roads"?
The verb should be past tense.
The subject and verb do not agree.
"Deer" is one of the rare words in English that is spelled the same whether singular or plural. The context makes clear whether the verb should be singular or plural.
"Country roads" should be singular.
The sentence is correct as written.
Advertisement
Words like "to, from, up, over" and the like are _______.
articles
adjectives
determiners
prepositions
Some of us were taught these words with "Preposition Mountain." You could go up the mountain, down the mountain, over the mountain, to the mountain ... et cetera.
In the sentence, "Gemma gave the keys to Charlie," what part of speech is "Charlie"?
the subject
the object
the indirect object
"Keys" is the object, and "Charlie" is the indirect object. Gemma, of course, is the subject of the sentence: More than anything, it's about what Gemma did.
the predicate
Is the word "the" a definite or indefinite article?
definite
In other words, it definitely identifies a thing. "Bring me the book" says something different from "Bring me a book."
indefinite
Advertisement
The sentence, "Courtesy is given great importance by the Japanese," is written in ______ voice.
active
passive
Writing teachers often tell students to avoid the passive voice, as it is "weak." But putting "courtesy" first, as the subject of the sentence, draws attention to it. If you want to stress "courtesy" more than "the Japanese," then this construction is the right choice.
Which of the following words could be a present participle?
keep
keeps
keeping
The present or active participle takes an "-ing" ending and refers to a action happening in the present. "She is running for mayor." It can also be used as a "progressive" participle: "She was running for mayor." In that sentence, it's clear that the action is in the past, but the use of "running" means the speaker is referring to a time in the past when it was ongoing.
kept
"At a certain stage in my drinking I decided that karaoke -- oh yes! -- was a great idea." In this sentence, what is "oh yes"?
a salutation
an interjection
An interjection need not be flashily set off by dashes and an exclamation point. It can be drier, as in, "At that time, the newspaper was still selling ads for, ahem, 'adult services.' "
a percussive
a superlative
Advertisement
In the sentence "Running can be hard on the joints," what part of speech is "running"?
a noun
A present participle that functions as a noun is called a gerund. People use these frequently, though few remember the actual name for it.
a verb
a preposition
an article
When a verb form is changed to suggest that the action is hoped, feared, wished, etc, what is this called?
the active sense
the accusative case
the future tense
the subjunctive mood
Often students don't really learn the subjunctive until they study a foreign language, because most foreign languages mark a verb as subjunctive more clearly than English does. English used to differentiate more clearly, too: We would say "If he be going to marry her ..." if that were only a possibility. Now, we say, "If he is going to marry her," and only the "if" cues you that "is" is subjunctive.
Which of the following are moods, like the subjunctive?
indicative
imperative
both
The indicative mood is the one we use most often; it simply tells facts. "Jane runs nearly every morning." The imperative is a request or demand: "Give me the gun, Bob!"
neither
Advertisement
What is the subject of the short sentence, "Get out!"
"Get"
"You" (implied)
Though short, this really is a sentence, with the implied subject "You" and the verb "get."
This is not a sentence.
There is no subject.
When a noun has units and can be counted, e.g. "birds," what is it called?
a count noun
English speakers, however, have a tradition of turning non-count nouns into count nouns. We refer regularly to a business's "moneys" or a person's "loves."
a discrete noun
a numerical noun
There is no word for this.
True or false: Is it acceptable to begin a sentence with "And," "But," or "Or"?
true
To do otherwise would sometimes lead to choppy writing. "And" makes a smooth transition when one idea follows naturally follows another. "But" or the classier "However," makes a clear transition when you are about to bring up exceptions to a rule you've been talking about.
false
Advertisement
When is it all right to use two independent clauses without starting a new sentence?
when connecting them with a semicolon
when using the word "or"
both #1 and #2
It's perfectly acceptable to say, "He went to Grandma's house, or he went to cousin Jake's." A semicolon is for formal writing, when you want one idea to flow smoothly into another: "She had dozens of admirers; no one was immune to her charm."
This is never OK.
Which of these is an example of an infinitive?
kept
have kept
will keep
to keep
An infinitive is the verb's "stem," or how we refer to it when we're referring to it as a word. For example, "The verb 'to keep' comes to us from middle English."
Is it always wrong to split an infinitive?
yes
no
It's acceptable to split an infinitive if the sentence still reads clearly. For example, "The army went on to entirely destroy the city."
Advertisement
In the progression, "good, better, best" what is "best"?
a comparative
an infinitum
an incomparable
a superlative
"Better" is the comparative in that progression, and "best" the superlative. This means it can't be improved any more. Though "superlative" sounds like praise, it also applies to words with negative meaning, like "worst."
A comma before the second-to-last item (" ... rice, tofu, and sake") in a list is called an ______ comma.
inessential comma
Oxford comma
serial comma
both #1 and #2
both #2 and #3
The Oxford or serial comma is a point of debate among grammarians. Proponents of leaving it out say it's unnecessary because of the conjunction ("and" or "or"). But leaving it out can lead to confusion. For example, in the sentences, "We invited the Claphams, Avery and Emma" we can't tell if the Claphams were invited in addition to Avery and Emma, or if those two people *are* the Claphams.
"Third person" means the the person in question is _______.
speaking
being spoken to
being spoken about
The phrase "Third person alert!" was coined to mock someone who talks about himself or herself in the third person. Celebrities are prone to doing this, maybe as a way of implying that there's a public, objectified them that the world sees and a private self that only friends and family know. (It's still pretentious).
none of these
Advertisement
Second person implies that the person in question is _______.
spoken to
The word "you" implies that you (whether a person or a group) is being directly addressed. However, on rare occasions it's used in fiction as a subject: "You climb the stairs and open the door ..." on the idea that making the reader the story's subject creates immediacy and empathy. (It's still pretentious.)
part of a group
not present
none of these
Does an adverb always take the "-ly" ending?
yes
no
"Quite" is one such adverb. A person has to be "quite smart" or "quite handsome" or similar. He can't just be "quite." Therefore, it's an adverb.
Can an adverb apply to another adverb?
sure
If your mother told you "quite angrily" not to do that again, that's different from her telling you "somewhat angrily." That's why we need adverbs for other adverbs.
nope
Advertisement
Can an adjective modify another adjective?
sure!
This happens all the time. Without it, you couldn't have a "red brick house" or a "pale yellow moon."
nope!
An uncomparable adjective cannot be ______.
easily spelled
easily defined
modified by adverbs
This is another rule English speakers break a lot. We refer to things as being "fairly unique" when in fact, something's either one-of-a-kind or not. Or we'll say, "She's very pregnant." (She's either pregnant or not, but people use this to denote the stage of pregnancy).
used as a synonym
"This is an historic occasion." How should this sentence be rewritten?
"This, is an historical occasion."
"This is a historic occasion."
Sometimes words that start with "h" require "an," but only if the "h" is silent, as in "an honorable person." This keeps the vowel sounds from running together. If the "h" is pronounced, "a" is needed.
"This is a historical occasion."
The sentence is correct as written.
Advertisement
What is wrong with the following sentence? "It's really not our problem."
"It" needs an antecedent noun (what is "it"?).
"our" needs an antecedent noun (who is the implied "we?").
"really" is an unjustified amplifier.
The sentence is correct as written.
The point here is that inadequate information is not a grammar problem. For all we know, this sentence is part of a longer passage that contains the antecedent for "it," the antecedent for "our," and enough information to tell the reader whether "really" is justified. On a sentence level, those issues are -- wait for it! -- really not our problem.
What is wrong with the following sentence? "Marie who likes modest clothing was embarrassed by the costume."
"Who likes modest clothing" should be set off with commas.
It's clear from a reading of the sentence that the phrase about modest clothing needs to be set off somehow. You can tell this because the sentence would still work in the phrase was removed: "Marie was embarrassed by the dress." Dashes would work, but commas are more common.
There should be a comma after "Marie" but not "clothing."
"Clothing" should be "clothes."
The sentence is correct as written.
Marie who likes quiet nights in is not the same as Marie who loves Mardi Gras.
"Who likes quiet nights" should be set off with commas.
"Who loves Mardi Gras" should be set off with commas.
Both phrases should be set off with commas.
The sentence is correct as written.
The key here is that the sentence wouldn't work without these phrases: You'd be left with "Marie is not the same as Marie." (Very Zen, we know). More broadly, this points out the way that punctuation is there to reproduce the way a sentence would sound when spoken aloud. When you read it, you hear no pauses (commas) in your head.
Advertisement
Which of the following contains an appositive?
"Your dog Claude is out in the street."
An appositive word or phrase is one that re-states or clarifies a noun. "Your dog is out in the street" works as a sentence, but "Your dog Claude is out in the street" provides more information. Contrary to what some grammar teachers might tell you, setting the name off with commas is not necessary if the sentence reads clearly without them.
"The book, which is blue, is on the shelf."
"I thought -- good God! -- my car had been stolen."
"I want a dog so, so badly."
"If a driver cuts you off in traffic, it is best not to confront them." How should the preceding sentence be rewritten?
If a driver cuts you off in traffic, it is best not to confront him."
"If a driver cuts you off in traffic, it is best not to confront her."
"If a driver cuts you off in traffic, it is best not to confront him or her."
any of these are acceptable
The first choice, "he" or "him: was the traditional way to deal with the gender of an unknown or theoretical person. This gradually changed to the third option, which is wordier but acknowledged both options. Alternatively, someone might choose the second option -- to use "her" as readily as "him." Of course, all this leaves out the fact that increasingly, "they" and "them" is used for a person whose identity is known, but who is genderfluid or nonbinary.
You Got:
/35
YouTube