Year-End Quiz 2019
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Year-End Quiz 2019
What fun it has been completing another twelve-month trip in our always-running grammatical journey. The year 2019 led us through both familiar and exotic terrain as we considered more of the many parts driving our language.
In particular we are grateful for the continuing desire to learn among you, our faithful readers. Your interest and engagement help to fan the fire that inspires clear, precise, and meaningful communication.
Each twelve-month leg of the trip concludes with a review. The 2019 master quiz includes twenty-five items drawn from topics covered in many of this year’s GrammarBook articles. Choose your answers and then check them against our answer key that follows. For your convenience and reference, each answer also includes the title and date of the article that focused on the topic.
We wish you good luck on the quiz—and look forward to exploring more grammatical ground with you in 2020!
Jumbo Pop Quiz: 2019 in Twenty-five Questions
1. Your offer is attractive, but I will [withstand/notwithstand] the temptation to take it.
2. [Withstanding/Notwithstanding] the temperature outside, it might be a good day for a walk.
3. Why does Amanda look so [slow/slowly] today?
4. Think [quick/quickly]—we must get there soon.
5. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
a. The boss said not to be late.
b. The boss said to be on time.
6. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
a. I can’t barely tell if that’s a house or a barn.
b. I can barely tell if that’s a house or a barn.
7. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
a. It’s not that I don’t like it.
b. I could like it more than I do.
8. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
a. Anita rarely watches that show.
b. Anita doesn’t hardly ever watch that show.
9. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
a. Jermaine talks to Cynthia more than Brian.
b. Jermaine talks to Cynthia more than Brian does.
10. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
a. Mount Everest is taller than any other mountain.
b. Mount Everest is taller than any mountain.
11. Is the following sentence complex or compound-complex? When I take a shower, I use a sand timer to monitor how long the water runs.
a. Complex
b. Compound-Complex
12. Is the following sentence complex or compound-complex? Since you asked, that house, which is also where I live, is a historical landmark in town, and it will soon be recognized by the state as well.
a. Complex
b. Compound-Complex
13. Identify the type of subject in the following sentence: The moon is more visible with my SuperScope eyepiece.
a. Simple subject
b. Complete subject
14. Identify the type of subject complement in the following sentence: Yesterday afternoon remains the suspected window of time when the burglary took place.
a. Subject complement: adverb
b. Subject complement: adjective
15. Identify the type of predicate in the following sentence: We anticipate the roses will bloom beautifully next spring.
a. Simple predicate
b. Complete predicate
16. Identify the predicate part in the following sentence: Her bread is a triumph in low-carb recipes with good flavor.
a. Predicate nominative
b. Predicate adjective
17. In the following sentence, choose the correct verb by first considering the correct sentence subject: Sausage pizza with buffalo wings and a couple beers [goes/go] well with Sunday football games.
18. Identify the sentence that uses proper parallelism:
a. Lijuan prefers eating lunch at noon and to dine at seven p.m.
b. Lijuan prefers eating lunch at noon and dining at seven p.m.
19. Identify the sentence that uses proper parallelism:
a. The nursery rhyme has lasted and made many children happy.
b. The nursery rhyme lasts and has made many children happy.
20. There’s been much talk of [who/whom] they think will be the first reporter to break the story.
21. Tomasz has more experience with carpentry than [he/him].
22. The committee selected [her/she] to accompany [he/him] on the diplomatic mission.
23. The author of the letter is [I/me].
24. Identify whether the following comparison is fine as written or better expressed with the alternative sentence: That sandlot is probably as rough, if not more rough than, the one we played on last week.
a. That sandlot is probably as rough as, if not more rough than, the one we played on last week.
b. Fine as written
25. Identify whether the following comparison is fine as written or better expressed with the alternative sentence: Patricia speaks to Felicia as much as Alicia.
a. Patricia speaks to Felicia as much as Alicia does.
b. Fine as written
Jumbo Pop Quiz Answers
1. Your offer is attractive, but I will withstand the temptation to take it. Notwithstanding, Can We Withstand Confusion of Meaning? 1-22
2. Notwithstanding the temperature outside, it might be a good day for a walk. Notwithstanding, Can We Withstand Confusion of Meaning? 1-22
3. Why does Amanda look so slow today? Adjectives and Adverbs: Another Look at –ly 2-19
4. Think quickly—we must get there soon. Adjectives and Adverbs: Another Look at –ly 2-19
5. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
b. The boss said to be on time. Navigating Negative Constructions 3-5
6. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
b. I can barely tell if that’s a house or a barn. Navigating Negative Constructions 3-5
7. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
b. I could like it more than I do. Detaining the Double Negative 3-19
8. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
a. Anita rarely watches that show. Detaining the Double Negative 3-19
9. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
b. Jermaine talks to Cynthia more than Brian does. Overseeing Omissions in Writing 4-2
10. Choose the better sentence from the following pair:
a. Mount Everest is taller than any other mountain. Overseeing Omissions in Writing 4-2
11. Is the following sentence complex or compound-complex? When I take a shower, I use a sand timer to monitor how long the water runs.
a. Complex Becoming Savvy with Sentence Structures: Part Two 4-30
12. Is the following sentence complex or compound-complex? Since you asked, that house, which is also where I live, is a historical landmark in town, and it will soon be recognized by the state as well.
b. Compound-Complex Becoming Savvy with Sentence Structures: Part Two 4-30
13. Identify the type of subject in the following sentence: The moon is more visible with my SuperScope eyepiece.
b. Complete subject Securing the Subject of Subjects 6-25
14. Identify the type of subject complement in the following sentence: Yesterday afternoon remains the suspected window of time when the burglary took place.
a. Subject complement: adverb Securing the Subject of Subjects 6-25
15. Identify the type of predicate in the following sentence: We anticipate the roses will bloom beautifully next spring.
b. Complete predicate Predicating Our Knowledge of Predicates 6-18
16. Identify the predicate part in the following sentence: Her bread is a triumph in low-carb recipes with good flavor.
a. Predicate nominative Predicating Our Knowledge of Predicates 6-18
17. In the following sentence, choose the correct verb by first considering the correct sentence subject: Sausage pizza with buffalo wings and a couple beers goes well with Sunday football games. Drawing the Subject Out of Hiding 7-23
18. Identify the sentence that uses proper parallelism:
b. Lijuan prefers eating lunch at noon and dining at seven p.m. Practicing Parallelism 8-20
19. Identify the sentence that uses proper parallelism:
a. The story has lasted and made many children happy. Practicing Parallelism 8-20
20. There’s been much talk of who they think will be the first reporter to break the story. Picking Proper Pronouns: Part I 9-3
21. Tomasz has more experience with carpentry than he. Picking Proper Pronouns: Part I 9-3
22. The committee selected her to accompany him on the diplomatic mission. Picking Proper Pronouns: Part II 9-10
23. The author of the letter is I. Picking Proper Pronouns: Part II 9-10
24. Identify whether the following comparison is fine as written or better expressed with the alternative sentence: That sandlot is probably as rough, if not more rough than, the one we played on last week.
a. That sandlot is probably as rough as, if not more rough than, the one we played on last week. Composing Comparisons 10-29
25. Identify whether the following comparison is fine as written or better expressed with the alternative sentence: Patricia speaks to Felicia as much as Alicia.
a. Patricia speaks to Felicia as much as Alicia does. Composing Comparisons 10-29
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
Fantastic!
This is a very comprehensive quiz that will challenge the best editors. Thank you.
I would like to comment on two of the quiz questions:
7. Your sentence choice b., “I could like it more than I do,” seems “uncomfortable” to me. I don’t see anything awkward about having a negative in both clauses of sentence choice a., “It’s not that I don’t like it.” As a matter of fact, suppose that the sentence following choice a. is “It’s that I despise it!” In the latter case those two sentences would seem quite natural to me.
14. The use of the verb “remains” in your sentence “Yesterday afternoon remains the suspected window of time when the burglary took place” seems unlikely to me. Couldn’t one say “Yesterday afternoon is still the suspected window of time when the burglary took place”?
Also I still prefer the terms “predicate noun, pronoun and adjective” to your favored “subject complement,” etc. I guess you are saying that “window” is the subject of that sentence. Couldn’t “yesterday afternoon” be the subject and “window ” (in my terms) the predicate noun? If the sentence were reversed and said “The suspected window of time when the burglary took place is still yesterday afternoon,” I would identify “window” as the subject and “yesterday afternoon” as the predicate noun (adverbial noun). Word order matters.
Thank you for your attention. I continue to enjoy your newsletters on one of my favorite topics—the structure and clear use of our language.
We appreciate why you might question the choice in question number 7. As you know, our language is replete with euphemisms and circumlocutions. Sometimes we’re just not comfortable clearly stating what we really mean.
The objective of number 7 was not to distinguish which colloquialism has more merit, but rather to draw attention to use of the double negative, which amplifies ambiguity. The two familiar expressions presented express the same
thought differently. If we’re going to be evasive or noncommittal with our meaning, we may as well not make another person’s mind work even harder by processing the negative too.
For number 14, “remains” and “is still” are synonymous and therefore determined by the writer’s style and preference (i.e., one is not decisively better). One might also argue that it’s better form to apply the verb (one word) than the linking verb “to be” with the adjective subject complement (or predicate adjective), which requires two words.
Similarly, “subject complement” and “predicate adjective” are equally acceptable synonymous terms to describe a linking verb’s completing part. Once again, which to use becomes a matter of preference rather than correctness.
It is true that “window” and “yesterday afternoon” may be inverted. In this case, “window (of time)” would be the subject and “yesterday afternoon” would be the adverb subject complement (or predicate adverb). The meaning would
not change, although we feel leading with “window” as the subject creates a more-cumbersome sentence.
We hope that helps. Thank you for your kind words.