If you don’t believe you need an editor, take the following quiz and rate your grammar IQ.

1. Identify the Error
Some of the following sentences contain an error. Can you find the errors and explain why they’re wrong?

A. A good deed is it’s own reward.
B. John is a researcher of many years standing in the field.
C. There’s an understanding between you and me.
D. His wife Mary is a brunette.
E. I wish I was rich.
F. Jeopardy tapes in front of a live audience.

 

2. Hyphenation
In the following sentences, add or delete hyphens as needed.

A. This is state-of-the-art equipment.
B. This equipment is state of the art.

 

3. Punctuation
In the following sentences, add or delete punctuation as needed.

A. It is sometimes said, that the purpose of life, is to live.
B. To sum up we have added four quarters three dimes and two pennies to the total which now stands at ten dollars.
C. It was a long, cold, winter.
D. The sentence trailed off….
E. Oh professor, when is the test?

 

4. Word Choice
In each of the following sentences, choose the word that correctly completes the sentence.

A. Animals (comprise/constitute) a zoo.
B. A chef has an educated (palette/palate).
C. We offer (complementary/complimentary) gift wrap.
D. Your choices (affect, effect) your future.
E. Your choices will have an (affect, effect) on your future.

 

5. Spelling
Make any corrections necessary to the words below.

inoculate
embarrass
acknowledgments
curiosity
1990s
flourescent
jodhpurs
barbeque
millenium
MBAs
Ph.D.’s

 

Quiz Answers and Explanations

1. Identify the Error

A. The word it’s is incorrect. It’s is a contraction of it is. The possessive pronoun is spelled its. The problem here is simple confusion. English generally forms the possessive by adding ’s: John’s book, Jane’s apple. But the possessive pronouns have lost the apostrophe, if in fact they ever had it: his, hers, theirs, ours, yours, and its. However, the form it’s does exist as a legitimate spelling, and thus there is confusion. Can’t identify a contraction or a pronoun? You need an editor!

B. The parts of this sentence are not properly coordinated. As it is written, years is the object of the preposition of, and standing must be a participle, an adjective modifying John: John, a researcher of many years, is standing in the field. To show that standing is in fact a gerund and the object of the preposition, as the writer intended, we have to make years an adjective modifying standing, which we achieve by making it possessive: “a researcher of many years’ standing” gets John off his feet and gives him his due as a researcher of renown. Don’t remember ever learning about gerunds and participles? You need an editor!

C. No error; me is correct. The object of a preposition, in this case between, must be in the accusative case. English has lost case inflections except for pronouns. Never heard of the accusative case? You need an editor!

D. If he has only one wife, wife is sufficient identification; the name is additional, parenthetical information that could be deleted without changing the meaning. Mary is therefore a nonrestrictive addition and must be set off with commas: “His wife, Mary, is a brunette.” If he has a second wife, the name is needed to distinguish which one is meant and is restrictive, and therefore commas would be incorrect: “His wife Mary is a brunette, and his wife Alice is a blonde.” Most people have trouble punctuating restrictive and nonrestrictive phrases, which is why you often see errors such as “He wrote the book, The Fixer.” The punctuation says this is the only book ever written. Think restrictive and nonrestrictive are terms best suited to undergarments? You need an editor!

E. Because the sentence expresses a wish or a condition contrary to fact, the verb should be in the subjunctive mood: “I wish I were rich.” Wish you’d never heard of the subjunctive? You need an editor!

F. The word tapes is being used incorrectly in an intransitive way. Since the show cannot operate the camera and is not performing the action, a passive construction is needed: “Jeopardy is taped in front of a live audience.” This is probably an example of hypercorrection, where the attempt to avoid one kind of problem, passive constructions, creates a different problem. Don’t have a clue about verbs transitive or intransitive? You need an editor!

2. Hyphenation

No changes are needed; both A and B are correct as written. The rule is that unit modifiers are hyphenated when they precede the noun they modify (A) but not when they follow it (B). Wouldn’t know a unit modifier if it bit you? You need an editor!

3. Punctuation

A. Delete both commas. Neither is needed or justified.

B. Four commas are needed: “To sum up, we have added four quarters, three dimes, and two pennies to the total, which now stands at ten dollars.” The first separates an introductory element, the second and third separate the items in the list, and the fourth separates a dependent clause from the main sentence. Some style manuals will tell you the third of these (the serial comma) is not needed, but it conveys important information and should not be omitted in serious writing.

C. Delete the comma after cold. Use a comma between adjectives if it could be replaced with and, as in this example between long and cold. There is no reason to isolate cold entirely from the sentence (i.e., make it parenthetical) with a second comma.

D. Ellipses, which indicate missing material, consist of three dots and are used instead of a period. If there are four dots, the first is by definition a period indicating the completion of the sentence. The following ellipsis indicates that the next sentence or its beginning has been left out.

E. A direct address is always set off with two commas: “Hello, John, how are you?” Moreover, an interjection such as oh is always set off with a comma. There are thus two reasons to place a comma after Oh. Also, because the title professor is being used as a form of address, it should be capitalized: “Oh, Professor, when…”

4. Word Choice

A. constitute. A zoo comprises animals, but animals constitute a zoo; the whole comprises the parts, but the parts constitute the whole.

B. palate. This is an example of possible confusion between homophones, a common problem. Spellcheck will not tell you if you’ve picked the wrong one.

C. Either might be correct depending on what is meant. Complementary gift wrap would presumably match the gift or box being wrapped, so as to complement it. Complimentary gift wrap, on the other hand, is free. I suspect the business that advertised this service meant the latter despite their use of the former.

D. affect. “Affect” is generally correct as a verb. Its meaning as a noun is restricted to specialized use in psychology.

E. effect. “Effect” is more often used as a noun than as a verb meaning to cause or bring about.

5. Spelling

The misspelled words are flourescent, barbeque, and millenium (should be fluorescent, barbecue,  and millennium). Use 1990s to refer to the decade; 1990’s means of or referring to the single year 1990. MBAs is the correct way to pluralize an abbreviation without periods. Ph.D.’s is the correct way to pluralize an abbreviation with periods. PhDs and Ph.D.’s are both correct as plurals (although using both in the same manuscript is bad style), but PhD’s is not.

Scoring

Give yourself 1 point for each correct change and each correct nonchange. A score of 25 to 28 indicates a broader knowledge of grammar than most. A score of 20 to 25 is excellent (but not perfect, and perfect is achievable). A score of 10 to 20 is good (but not good enough for submission). A score of 9 or less means you really need my help!