Grammar Gurus

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Santiago
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Post by Santiago »

Those who've :wink: been members a long time will remember that we have had grammar wars on here in the past with some people criticising others' :wink: mistakes in their posts.

So here, for you grammar dogs, is a pretty tough little test.

Be honest if you post your scores.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22512744
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Sue
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Post by Sue »

What was your score Santiago?
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Post by Kate »

A dodgy seven - with three wrong that I still don't understand, two that I got right for the wrong reasons, and one lucky guess.

Fortunately, if I remember rightly, the main drift of the thread was that grammar SHOULDN'T matter on forums as long as the message was clear. Phew!
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Post by sue and paul »

8 sur 10....but some of you will know that this is right up my street. I got my which confused with my that, and the one about Hilary wrong. I'll try to sleep soundly in my bed tonight
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Post by Sue »

Got 6/10 but since I spent most of my english lessons at my public school sat in the Stationary cupboard (my choice) because I thought the teacher was a wimp I'm surprised I scored that many!!
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Post by Owens88 »

8 and Hilary was one of my failures.
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Post by Robert Ferrieux »

Sheesh! Only 7 (Honestly!) Hilary was one of the banana skins (durn him/her). "Fewer apples" was another. Good grief! I got "which" & "that" wrong. Shame on you, HF. :oops:
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Post by Santiago »

Owens88 wrote:8 and Hilary was one of my failures.
Ditto; My other was the semi-colon :D
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Post by russell »

I only got six. My excuse is that they must have changed the rules since I I took English Grammar O-level in 1961 :lol:

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Post by Sue »

Must admit Russell I had never heard of some of the things. 3 I was certain of and the other 3 I got right were pure guesswork! :?
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Post by opas »

ooops! 5/10
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Post by Sue »

:roll: :roll: :lol:
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Post by opas »

D,ont disterb doin me grammer omework;
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Post by Sue »

:!:
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Post by Owens88 »

Gerund , Gerrunder, Gerr
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Post by Colin L »

The Hilary question just illustrates how pointless some of these things can be. The sentence has been constructed purely to set a trap , not to communicate anything clearly. Its only reason for existing is to illustrate an arcane point of punctuation that would never occur in normal writing. And it's not just the punctuation: sibling is used in a forced and unnatural way solely for the purpose of the puzzle. Would you ever say or write, "Let me introduce you to my sibling." ?

As a realistic test of our grammatical grasp and our knowledge of punctuation rules, it is a complete failure. At best , it is an artificial curiosity.
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Post by Pearsonb »

I thought the test was pretty pointless - and I scored ten.
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Post by Bill O'Rikki »

I thought the test was pretty pointless
Completely agree, they got a lot of the answers wrong!
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Post by Owens88 »

Which ones?
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Post by Bill O'Rikki »

All the ones they said I got wrong of course! :wink: :oops:
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Post by Kate »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ed ... -pass.html

Daren't even publish my score it was so bad.....and I'm a language teacher!, :oops:
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Post by Sue »

50% here, which just proves what a lousy guesser I am!
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Post by sue and paul »

Actually, Sue, the odds are 1:3 of guessing right each time. So 50% is pretty lucky. You should nip out and get a euromillions ticket for tonight :wink:
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Post by Sue »

Got 2 lucky dips yesterday!!
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Post by opas »

42% :?
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Post by Owens88 »

Should we have a Grammar gripes thread?
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Post by sue and paul »

We should of done it a long time ago :wink:
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Post by Sue »

You was right Sue us won on the euro millions. 2 numbers a whole 4,60€. Itll pay for next weeks 2 lucky dips.
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Post by opas »

will you do me a borrow?
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Post by Sue »

You can ave the 60 cents!
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