Year-End Quiz 2017
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Year-End Quiz 2017
Review is good for retention. That’s why GrammarBook.com likes to start the new year with a jumbo quiz that spans the last twelve months of topics we’ve covered with you.
In 2017 we explored an array of ways to enhance your grammar and writing. We hope what you learned follows you well into 2018 as you continue your aim to communicate with even greater precision and eloquence.
The quiz includes twenty-five sentences addressing a range of subjects. Choose your answers and then check them against our answer key that follows the quiz. For your convenience and reference, each answer in the key also includes the title and date of the article that focused on the topic. Best of luck to you!
Jumbo Pop Quiz: 2017 in Twenty-five Questions
- Jennifer is still choosing [between / among] three job offers: bank supervisor, financial analyst, and portfolio manager.
- The principal has [appraised / apprised] us of the changes to school policy.
- The coach [substituted / replaced] the bigger, slower player [with / for] a smaller, quicker one.
- My uncle owns a [40-foot / 40-ft.] house boat.
- The salesperson gave us three [choices / options] of current LED TV models to pick from.
- My favorite book is [“To Kill a Mockingbird” / To Kill a Mockingbird] by Harper Lee.
- Robert is an [honest, hard-working / honest hard-working] man.
- The due date for the invoice is [September 1 / September 1st].
- When hiring website developers for our company, we always look for [experts / trained experts] in JavaScript and SQL.
- I [made the decision / decided] to attend grad school after earning my bachelor’s degree.
- Jason is averse [to / of] doing the military press in the weight room because it’s adverse [against / to] his right shoulder.
- By holding an auction for rare memorabilia, the VFW raised more than $60,000 [on behalf of / in behalf of] families of deceased or wounded veterans.
- Between you and [I / me], I think the restaurant is way overpriced.
- Please return the supplies you don’t use to Mark or [me / myself].
- [Young people / Youth] today have to contend with more distractions.
- The review panel found the film to be an [exploitive / exploitative] treatment of postmodern feminism.
- Crystal composed her essay much (differently from how / differently than) Christian wrote his.
- The house across the street belongs to the Sanchez family. The SUV in the driveway is the [Sanchez’s / Sanchezes’] car.
- The lack of voter participation [affected / effected] the outcome of the election.
- The band eventually left their rented practice space because of the [continual / continuous] drip from the ceiling. It never stopped while they tried to play.
- The crowd [is / are] so large that the city may need to request extra security from the neighboring town.
- For the following sentence, identify whether the verb used is a transitive or intransitive verb and whether the pronoun is a direct or indirect object:
Mrs. Johanssen likes to bring [transitive / intransitive] us [indirect / direct] freshly baked cookies every Sunday after church.
- Peter is always ready to help [whoever / whomever] might be struggling with the assignment.
- Which salutation punctuation would be appropriate for informal correspondence between good friends?
a) Dear Susan,
b) Dear Susan:
- [Most importantly / Most important], her credit cards weren’t in her wallet when she lost it.
Jumbo Pop Quiz Answers
- Jennifer is still choosing between three job offers: bank supervisor, financial analyst, and portfolio manager. Among vs. Between 1-11
- The principal has apprised us of the changes to school policy. In Print Is Forever 1-25
- The coach substituted the bigger, slower player for a smaller, quicker one. (For those who are less than avid sports fans, you are forgiven for selecting: The coach replaced the smaller, quicker player with a bigger, slower one. Strictly speaking, a “replacement player” is only used during labor disputes.) A Fine Distinction 2-7
- My uncle owns a 40-foot house boat. Hyphenation with Numbers and Units of Measure 2-22
- The salesperson gave us three options of current LED TV models to pick from. Choices vs. Options and Alternatives 3-8
- My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Titles of Books, Plays, Articles, etc.: Underline? Italics? Quotation Marks? 3-15
- Robert is an honest, hard-working man. Comma Chameleon 4-5
- The due date for the invoice is September 1. Writing Dates and Times 4-19
- When hiring website developers for our company, we always look for experts in JavaScript and SQL. Striking the Surplus from Tautologies 4-24
- I decided to attend grad school after earning my bachelor’s degree. Tightening Verb Phrases for Making an Engine That Purrs 5-10
- Jason is averse to doing the military press in the weight room because it’s adverse to his right shoulder. Proper Prepositional Pairing 6-7
- By holding an auction for rare memorabilia, the VFW raised more than $60,000 in behalf of families of deceased or wounded veterans. In Behalf Of vs. On Behalf Of 6-13
- Between you and me, I think the restaurant is way overpriced. I vs. Me 6-20
- Please return the supplies you don’t use to Mark or me. Reflexive Pronouns 7-5
- Young people today have to contend with more distractions. Stubborn Stinkaroos 7-25
- The review panel found the film to be an exploitative treatment of postmodern feminism. Putting Out the Patrol for Made-Up Words 8-1
- Crystal composed her essay much differently than Christian wrote his. Diving Back Into Different From and Different Than 9-5
- The house across the street belongs to the Sanchez family. The SUV in the driveway is the Sanchezes’ car. Apostrophes with Names Ending in s, ch, or z 9-7
- The lack of voter participation affected the outcome of the election. Effect vs. Affect 9-27
- The band eventually left their rented practice space because of the continuous drip from the ceiling. It never stopped while they tried to play. Commonly Confused Words That Bring Bumps to Writing 10-4
- The crowd is so large that the city may need to request extra security from the neighboring town. Collecting the Truth About Collective Nouns 10-18
- Mrs. Johanssen likes to bring [transitive verb] us [indirect object] freshly baked cookies every Sunday after church. Taking Charge of Transitive and Intransitive Verbs 11-1
- Peter is always ready to help whoever might be struggling with the assignment. Whoever vs. Whomever 11-8
- Which salutation punctuation would be appropriate for informal correspondence between good friends?
a) Dear Susan, Hitting the Right Notes with Salutations and Closings 12-6
- Most important, her credit cards weren’t in her wallet when she lost it. Worn-Out Words and Phrases: Resolving to Keep Writing Fresh in 2018 12-20
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.
i love this quiz! but there seems to be no way to choose answers, and when one does, one is directed to an article about each choice. is there any way one can take it in its entirety and then get a score?
This is a self-graded quiz, much like our occasional Pop Quizzes. You select an answer for each question, scroll down to the bottom to view the correct answers, then add up your score. Each answer in the key includes a link to the article that focused on the topic so that you can better understand why you selected a wrong answer or so that you can read more about it.
1) I thought that you always used “among” when there are three options. ??
Please see our post Among vs. Between for a complete explanation.
I felt so smug when I read the title: Jumbo Pop Quiz. I thought to myself, “I can ace this.” However, I blush with shame to say that I missed several, including the very first one! But thanks for the challenge which has motivated me to do some studying. And thanks for GrammarBook.com.
Thanks for this great year-end wrap up! Nicely done!
What is this called? “John, he always. . . . .” Or, “Weathermen, they . . . . ” We have a news station here in Salt Lake City, that does this constantly! If you would please address this – it is a need and I’d love to share it with them.
Much thanks!
The term for the error is left dislocation. It is usually not recommended in formal contexts.
Rob may help fight the robbers. Please let me know what part of speech is help. Eternally grateful for an answer.
In the sentence “Rob may help fight the robbers,” “help” is an auxiliary (or helping) verb and “fight” is the main verb. In this instance, “fight” appears as the verb’s bare infinitive, or the infinitive without “to.” Some writers may choose to include the full infinitive (“Rob may help to fight the robbers”), but the bare infinitive is the most common usage.
Just curious about a hyphen.
Can I say:
“I doomed customs without let-up.”
Or, “I doomed customs without letup.”
Thanks so much!
We see no reason for a hyphen, but a few dictionaries recommend one.
In Jumbo Pop Quiz: 2017 in Twenty-five Questions you have the following as the correct answer:
“The coach [replaced] the bigger, slower player [with] a smaller, quicker one.”
This is incorrect. In sports, a replacement player is completely different from a substitute player. Replacement players are not part of a league and play only during labor disputes. They are also known as strikebreakers. A substitution occurs when one player comes off the bench to play for another during a game or match. These players may substitute for any starter, anytime, for any reason, per the coach’s discretion. They are also known as backups or bench players. Therefore, the correct answer is:
The coach [substituted] the bigger, slower player [for] a smaller, quicker one.”
I think the point of the quiz was knowing the correct usage of replace/with and substitute/for, but the sports scenario used made your “correct’ answer “incorrect.”
Thank you for pointing that out for us. We were approaching the sentence from a technical linguistic viewpoint as opposed to one informed by the nuanced vernacular of the action in practice. Those who read your response may likewise appreciate understanding the distinction. We have revised our answer accordingly.