It would seem that we have a few members on this board who pride themselves on their grammar and their spelling. So I thought it would be a bit of fun to see who really knows their theres. I did the test and got 84%, if you take the test, post your score and the person with the highest score will win this trophy and the crown of 'Grammar Guru 2014'. Here's the test. http://m.staples.ca/sbdca/en_CA/cre/programs/grammarquiz/#.UsRjhlPYMob.facebook p.s 10% decuction for anyone who points out my grammatical errors in this post!
I got 81% Dan…so not likely to take the trophy. Very funny earlier when one the geeks made some basic errors whilst criticising others!
Sorry - I got 100% - Watford Boys Grammar training However I often make spelling, typographical and grammatical mistakes as I tend to type too quickly and think too slowly. Some of my "hates" though are the use of "of" instead of "have" after could, should and would and another is the use of "of" after bored.
Although I strenuously object to the term "geek" to denote anyone who tries to maintain some sort of standard or clarity in whatever they do, I did take the test and scored 100%. The questions were straightforward and dare I write it, easy. The only question that I would suggest could have more than one answer is the "bored" by, with or of (I'll admit that bored of does look untidy). I would suggest that any of these answers could be correct. But the rest is straightforward grammar - e.g. (not i.e.) the difference between "they're", "there" and "their" is a basic one as they all mean different things and are not interchangeable. Sloppy writing turns me off - why should I believe or take notice of what people write if they cannot write what they mean? Don't give me the answer that it's what people write that matters not how they write it - how they write matters just as much. Only if you're (not your) a writing genius can you get away with breaking the rules - James Joyce and Ulysses anyone?
Don't apologise (apologize?) HH, be quietly proud. Spelling mistakes are a different matter - spelling has changed over the years - English grammar has remained virtually constant over the last 1000 years whereas spelling and pronounciation (pronunciation?) has changed considerably.
Well said Vic, I assume the main problem with poor spelling and grammar has a lot to do with twitter restricting tweets to 140 characters, enforcing tweeters to use text abbreviations in order to stay within the confines of said restriction! btw, I also scored 100 % but would have been disappointed with anything less as a former "Bungay Boys" Grammar School pupil!
Im sorry if I offended you Vic. I simply chose the words for their alliterative effect. I was going to call the thread Grammar Quiz, but that sounded boring and mundane.
Dan, I was mortally offended by your use of the word "geek". . But it was a reasonable alliteration. Seriously though, I would term the use of pejorative words such as "geek", "anorak", "nerd", even "train spotter" etc. as "social fascism" - i.e. who uses those words usually is seeking to impose his/her standards (or lack of them) on others.
You must have attended after I did then - was never required to sit through any grammar lessons there. My knowledge of grammar, such as it is, was gleaned entirely at Wardie Primary in Edinburgh. Pronunciation True, grammar has changed little, but one of the questions used provides an example of where it has - the word whom. The word all but disappeared from use in England quite some time ago, only to make a comeback thanks to its use by pretentious Americans - so I'm led to believe. I can't speak for England, but up here grammar has disappeared as a stand alone subject in schools - which probably accounts for the confusion that seems to abound. For example, the word whom simply doesn't exist here - even teachers look blankly at me when I use it... 100% by the way.
100% but then I do have an English degree. Don't suppose we'll be hearing again from those who have been mortally offended...
You can play at geeks and geniuses all you like HH - I am neither - perhaps you are one or the other?
I can rule myself out of the genius category but would have to rely on others to assess the "geek" tag
Apparently I am a grammar guru. Well, it passed a few minutes in the yawning eternity of time on an NHS rehab physio ward. One of my gripes was with the one that suggested that I would be 29 next year. If only! I'm convinced that the (perceived) poor standard in spoken and written English that is endemic these days is due to the decline in reading for pleasure. I suspect the 100% scorers are voracious readers and have been since childhoods undistracted by digital entertainment and connectivity. It is also the case that many modern novels are badly edited and riddled with poor syntax and grammar; the BBC itself is not blameless, and greengrocer's s'hould be taken out and sho't'. The one that gets me most is the automatic use of ' so-and-so and I' even when 'so-and-so and me' is correct. Somewhow people have been frightened into indiscriminately using '...and I' without thinking because they've been told '...and me' is wrong. And as for 'it's' and 'its', forget it. OK Gordon, take your medicine and REST.
This test cannot be very hard as I scored 100%, but some of the questions were guesses. My language is very grammatical so I think that helped also.
I got 100% but I had to think hard about the whom question. I wondered if it was a trick because the sentence was not structured in a way that flowed particularly well. Apostrophes are always fun in the real world, where they seem to run wild and end up in the most inappropriate places. I was taught to use commas sparingly, whilst colleagues use them more often. I once had a student who put a row of commas at the end of a page with the note, "Please place as you see fit." She has a book coming out in March!
I love potato's from the local green grocer. I just love the misuse of apostrophes, less/fewer and me/I - working within engineering there is some real creativity in getting grammar wrong. 100% from me.
