Grammar Test 1

[SF18C]

If this is not the correct forum please curse me and flag this post.

I thought this might be fun.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/Homework/?page=Quiz146&Quizid=146&GT1=6065

If posting scores is acceptable then:

Grammar Gotcha's
Excellent! You got 8/10 correct.

However, with this crowd I think 8 out of 10 might be a very low score!


SF18C
CCNP, MCSE, A+, N+ & HPCC
Tis better to die on your feet than live on your knees!

 

[GPOTony]

CajunCenturion,
Thanks for that. I thought I had made a mistake in formatting my comments. Good facility, that.

[white]
Re #10, the point I was making is that, where two alternatives are being discussed, it is ambiguous and therefore incorrect to describe one as "long". Both may be long, but only one could be the "longer" of the two. It would not be appropriate to say "longest" in the context of two things, only for three or more. Similarly, you would divide money up "between" two people, not "among" them.

Finally, just because a and b are wrong, this does not make c right.[/white]

 

[UniqueFD]

10/10 - a fluke, I recon.

 

[CajunCenturion]

GPOTony

[white]The term 'long' can be used as an attribute as opposed to being used in a direct comparison.  When long is used as an attribute, it is relative to some baseline, but is not a comparison to the alternative.  Please consider the following, assuming that you are in Los Angeles.  "It's a short trip to San Diego. It's a short trip to Santa Barbara.  It's a long trip to San Francisco.  It's a long trip to Sacramento.  I am going to take one of the long trips."  Long and short are being used as relative terms, but not relative to each other.  They are relative to some arbitrary baseline in between, such as any trip over 100 miles in consider 'long', and any trip 100 miles or less is 'short'.  On the other hand, consider the following.  It is a long trip to San Francisco.  It is even longer to Seattle.  Here the two distances are being directly compared to each other.

In the question, it is not clear if long is relative to abritrary standard, or is relative to the length of the other route.  But if long is based on some arbitrary standard, then all three answers use 'long' correctly.[/white]

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[GPOTony]

CajunCenturion,
It seems to me that #10 is a comparison between two things.
I googled and found the following references. For comparing two things, see

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives-comparative.htm

and for comparing three or more things, see

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives-superlative_3.htm

 

[CajunCenturion]

GPOTony -

[white]How do you know that 'the long way' is the longer route of the two?  Maybe the routes are 'the long way' and 'the longer way'.  Maybe the routes are the 'the long way' and 'the short way'.  Maybe the routes are 'the long way' and 'the fast way'.  My point is that given what is said, you don't have enough information to know that a direct comparison based on length is taking place; therefore, you cannot claim that 'long' is grammatically wrong.  By the same token, you cannot say that 'long' is grammatically correct either.  For me, I'll give the benefit of the doubt towards being grammatically correct if at all possible.[/white]

.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[strongm]

>The funny thing is ... I only chose what sounded good to me

And why not? The real reason behind grammar and punctuation is to make text easier to comprehend. So, in theory, even if you don't understand the 'rules', the best-sounding or most easily read text should be the the text with the best grammar and punctuation

 

[TheRambler]

I missed #10 although I was tempted to pick the correct answer. Now I know better:

For question 10, a is wrong because it is a comma without a conjunction, and b is wrong because it's a conjunction without a comma. Therefore, the two sentence option is correct.

 

[GPOTony]

CajunCenturion,
Thanks for the interesting and thought-provoking reply.
Basically, what I am saying is that "long" and "longest" are wrong when two things are being discussed, and that "longer" is right when (only) two things are being discussed.

It would be OK to say "long", "short" or "fast" when describing a single way. However, if comparing two ways, it is correct to say "longer" (or "faster"), and if comparing three or more, it is correct to say "longest" (or "fastest").

The second sentence says "long way", which refers to one of the (two) "ways" mentioned in the first sentence. To assume otherwise is to make the second sentence a complete non sequeter, and there is no basis for that assumption.

The longer way may or may not be the faster way. This is not at issue at all. It makes no sense to me to assume that the length of one way is being compared with the speed of the other. Like can only be compared with like.

Therefore, I am sure that you will agree that the second sentence is comparing the lengths of the two ways mentioned in the first sentence, and that the proper word to use is "longer", not "long" or "longest".

 

[IanAble]

Ye gods. I scored 10 out of 10. So, at some level, I was awake during english lessons after all...

Ian

 

[CajunCenturion]

GPOTony - I understand, but the issue of long, longer, and longest is not in question. You are correct, that you use the comparative form when comparing two objects and the superlative when comparing three or more. However, this only applies if both or all objects are being compared using the same metric. The metric of 'shortness', if you will, is not, from a grammatical perspective, the same as the metric of 'longness'. It is true that they are both distance metrics, but grammatically speaking, they are not the same, therefore the comparative rule for two objects doesn't necessarily apply.

You can have a long route and a longer route. (Same metric)
You can have a long route and a short route. (Different metric)

Both of those statements are grammatically correct.
However, "You can have a long route and a longest route" does require at least one intermediate (longer route) to be grammatically correct.

The question, as written, provides no insight as to how the other route is being characterised. To say that all three answers are grammatically incorrect assumes that the other route is judged on the basis of 'longness', and I do not believe that to be a valid assumption.

Comparisons, at least with two objects, can be tricky when you have an 'opposite metric' that can be used -- long vs. short, good vs. bad, light vs. dark, or light vs. heavy, etc.
You can have a good choice and a better choice. (Same metric)
You can have a good choice and a bad choice. (Different metric)

You can have a light box or a lighter box. (Same metric)
You can have a light box or a heavy box. (Different metric)

You can have a light beer, or a dark beer, or any beer will do just fine.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[paskuda]

Grammar Gotcha's
Excellent!
Learn more grammar rules from Sylvan Learning Center. You got 10/10 correct.

I guess that's pretty good for someone, who learned English all by himself just by reading technical docs and having girlfriend in England

 

[Stella740pl]

And I bet your first language is one of the Slavic languages ;-)

 

[mscallisto]

Nine of 10 were very easy.

I really don't understand the dog/cat explanation!

 

[paskuda]

Stella,
you're right I'm from Poland.

 

[rosieb]

8/10

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[cpushrink1]

I recieved a 8 of 10 also. English has never been one of my strong suites.

Destiny Is Defined of Life choices.

<url>

http://www.car-and-stereo.com</url>

 

[Stella740pl]

paskuda,

Would you mind to explain in thread1256-969227 why did you choose your handle? I am dying to know, I hope it wasn't too impolite of me to ask. Thanks.

 

[mscallisto]

Carefull Stella740pl...paskuda just may be Katarzyna Paskuda

 

[Stella740pl]

So? If this is a last name, then that's what it is.

 

[ESquared]

10/10. I object to the cat/dog question as others already have. There is no grammar rule that separate sentences must list their subjects in the same order.