The proper use of ‘too, to and two’ and ‘they’re, their and there’ are just some of the grammatical rules drummed into us from a very young age.
And yet, people still make basic slip ups on an all too frequent basis.
Now, a new book is attempting to establish just how pedantic people are when it comes to grammar.
John Sutherland, one of Britain’s most celebrated professors of English literature, penned How Good is Your Grammar? to test, stretch and teach people wrong from right with his definitive quiz on all things grammatical. So how many of the below can you get right?
Scroll down for the answers…
John Sutherland, one of Britain’s most celebrated professors of English literature, penned How Good is Your Grammar? to test, stretch and teach people wrong from right. So how many of the below can you get right?
1. Pick the WRONG one:
a. If you could’ve seen him
b. If you could of seen him
c. If you could have seen him
2. Pick the WRONG one:
a. Please pass the carrots to me and Alice
b. Please pass the carrots to Alice and me
c. Please pass the carrots to Alice and I
3. Pick the RIGHT one:
a. You should have told me you’re going to be there
b. You should have told me your going to be there
c. You should have told me your’e going to be there
4. Pick the RIGHT one:
a. The cat had it’s legs outstretched
b. The cat had its legs outstretched
c. The cat had its’ legs outstretched
5. Pick the WRONG one:
a. The cats’ whiskers were all askew
b. The cat’s whiskers were all askew
c. The cats whiskers were all askew
6. Pick the RIGHT one:
a. They’re there with their grandchildren
b. They’re their with there grandchildren
c. Their there with they’re grandchildren
7. Which one of these is a simile?
a. The windows were mirrors
b. The windows were next to a mirror
c. The windows were shiny as a mirror
8. Which sentence features a greengrocer’s apostrophe (an apostrophe placed incorrectly before the final ‘s’ of a plural noun)?
a. That banana’s off
b. I would like some banana’s
c. The banana’s skins are too green
9. Choose the sentence that includes a gerund verb:
a. The boy disturbed his mother while she read
b. Don’t disturb your mother while she reads
c. Reading a book can be difficult with children around
10. Pick the WRONG one:
a. The sky, which was very blue that day, was cloudless
b. The sky, that was very blue that day, was cloudless