*rolls eyes in total lack of surprise*

Nov 14, 2006 18:25


Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz
Bitch please, I would have gotten that score in second grade ( Read more... )

quiz

Leave a comment

Comments 14

a_leprechaun November 15 2006, 00:58:50 UTC
Uh, wow. That quiz was ridiculously easy.
Here I was expecting questions on the proper use of semi-colons, or split infinitives or something.

I have no idea what a split infinitive is, by the way. I just know it's a grammar thing that.....I don't know.

Reply

lassarina November 15 2006, 01:33:26 UTC
An example of a correct infinitive would be: to go quietly.

An example of a split infinitive would be: to boldly go.

The rule comes about because in Latin, infinitives are a single word (cf. "amare," "to love" or "videre," "to see") and cannot be split. When the rules of English grammar were codified in the 1600s, Latin was the langauge of scholars, so certain artificial constraints based on Latin were introduced to English. For example, it is considered incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition not because you cannot do so in English, but because you cannot do so in Latin (the object of a preposition MUST follow after it, never precede it.)

This is your random daily dorkdom from Meglet.

Reply

a_leprechaun November 15 2006, 02:06:07 UTC
It was no less than I expected, to tell the truth. :D Merci!

Reply

(The comment has been removed)


stevenharper November 15 2006, 04:44:19 UTC
I went to public school. Does that mean I'm a failure?

Reply

lassarina November 15 2006, 04:46:40 UTC
No; there are always exceptions that prove the rule. But go have a gander at Fanfiction.net's "Just In" page. It will make you cry for the state of education in the modern age.

Reply


cheekylee November 15 2006, 08:16:27 UTC
The funny thing is, the quiz doesn't even know the correct usage of the posessive apostrophe. There is the question about the dog throwing up, and the 2 answers that include its' also have spelling errors for threw. Quite anoying, but I simply applied standard internet American logic in order to score 100%.

Reply

lassarina November 15 2006, 14:51:22 UTC
I was always taught that one doesn't use a possessive apostrophe in that situation. I don't know if y'all are taught differently, but essentially, "its" does not require a possessive apostrophe because the word itself is possessive. One only puts an apostrophe at the end when using a plural, i.e. "The farmers' wagons" or when using a Biblical or mythological name that ends in s, i.e. "Zeus' lightning bolts" or "Jesus' compassion."

So I was always taught that one would say "The dog shook its head," not "The dog shook its' head." However, I can't pull up the quiz right now to cross-reference, because I am at work.

Reply

cheekylee November 15 2006, 15:07:30 UTC
The apostrophe is meant to go after the s. However, current accepted practice is to drop it completely.

None of this matters. What matters is that we both scored 100%!

Reply

lassarina November 15 2006, 15:19:17 UTC
Can you point me to a reference that lays that out? It was never in my grammar books in school (I was always instructed not to use the apostrophe) and I am now unrelentingly curious. I believe Strunk & White, MLA, and AP styles all indicate that the apostrophe should not be used in this circumstance.

*demands reference!* :)

Reply


secretsquirrel2 November 15 2006, 20:52:00 UTC
My grammar sucks and I scored a 100%. So clearly not a very good grammar test. Of course, all the grammar tests I've seen have been easy.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up
[]