American Grammar Checkup: More Devilish Details in a New Quiz!
Since many connections here seem to love quizzes — short ones that don’t seem too daunting — here’s another one for you!
And for the one that preceded this, click here.
Which ones are correctly written in each of the examples below? And remember, I play by the American grammar rules; yours may be different.
1A Susan lives in Boston, Ma., in a blue house.
1B Susan lives in Boston, Mass., in a blue house.
1C Susan lives in Boston, MA, in a blue house.
2A John received his PhD in physics.
2B John received his Ph.D in physics.
2C John received his Ph.D. in physics.
3A Today’s date is October 9th, 2017.
3B Today’s date is October 9, 2017.
3C Today’s date is October 9 2017.
4A Dear Mr. Smith,
4B Dear Mr. Smith;
4C Dear Mr. Smith:
5A I like dogs; Ann prefers cats; and Helen likes both.
5B I like dogs, Ann prefers cats, and Helen likes both.
5C I like dogs, Ann prefers cats and Helen likes both.
6A The cars of the Jones are in the middle parking lot.
6B The cars of the Joneses are in the middle parking lot.
6C The car’s of the Joneses are in the middle parking lot.
7A Who’s book is that on the table?
7B Who’s book is that on the table?
7C Whose book is that on the table?
8A Sharon was cited for littering.
8B Sharon was sighted for littering.
8C Sharon was sited for littering.
9A The list includes: paper, scissors, and glue.
9B The list includes paper, scissors, and glue.
9C The list includes many things: paper, scissors, and glue.
Answers and explanations:
1A Susan lives in Boston, Ma, in a blue house.
1B Susan lives in Boston, Mass., in a blue house.
1C Susan lives in Boston, MA, in a blue house.
The version that has two capital letters is only supposed to be used in a full address, and there is no such abbreviation as Ma. for Massachusetts.
2A John received his PhD in physics.
2B John received his Ph.D in physics.
2C John received his Ph.D. in physics.
Although I prefer 2C, 2A is also considered correct.
3A Today’s date is October 9th, 2017.
3B Today’s date is October 9, 2017.
3C Today’s date is October 9 2017.
We never put the nd, rd, st, or th after a day’s number when we use the year.
4A Dear Mr. Smith,
4B Dear Mr. Smith;
4C Dear Mr. Smith:
In a business letter, if we address someone using a title, we should use a colon, not a comma, because it’s more formal. If we write Dear Sam, then we can use a comma because it’s an informal way of addressing the recipient. BUT: We never use a semicolon after a salutation.
5A I like dogs; Ann prefers cats; and Helen likes both.
5B I like dogs, Ann prefers cats, and Helen likes both.
5C I like dogs, Ann prefers cats and Helen likes both.
While both B and C are considered acceptable, B includes the Oxford comma, and you all know I’m a strong advocate of that mark.
6A The cars of the Jones are in the middle parking lot.
6B The cars of the Joneses are in the middle parking lot.
6C The car’s of the Joneses are in the middle parking lot.
Yes, we often do have to make a last name plural, adding either an s or an es. And we don’t use an apostrophe to form plurals.
7A Who’s book is that on the table?
7B Who’s book is that on the table?
7C Whose book is that on the table?
Who’s = who is. Whose is the possessive pronoun.
8A Sharon was cited for littering.
8B Sharon was sighted for littering.
8C Sharon was sited for littering.
Homophones (words that sound the same or similar, but don’t mean the same thing and aren’t spelled the same) are tough words to use correctly.
9A The list includes: paper, scissors, and glue.
9B The list includes paper, scissors, and glue.
9C The list includes many things: paper, scissors, and glue.
In the American system, we do not put a colon after any word that can’t logically end a sentence used to introduce a list within a sentence. We need to have a full, complete sentence to use the colon this way.
So, how did you do? If you want more help with these or any other American grammar issue, you can go to my website — www.GrmamarGoddess.com — and type a word in the search box. You’ll see the posts I’ve written about that topic.
If this post helped you, I hope you'll consider sharing it in other hives, so your connections here can learn as well. Thanks!
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Comments
don kerr
6 years ago #10
Susan \ud83d\udc1d Rooks, the Grammar Goddess I still find myself double tapping between sentences!
Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess
6 years ago #9
I'm glad you enjoyed the quiz, Jim \ud83d\udc1d Cody, and thanks for the kinds words.
Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess
6 years ago #8
Well, Don \ud83d\udc1d Kerr, single spacing between sentences has hard for many of us to get used to, myself included. Now I'm OK with it, but it took me a couple of years for my thumbs to not hit the space bar twice . . . and in terms of the Oxford comma, I still recommend it but I know many who don't like it or want to use it. It's not a rule, but I think it's a great habit to get into, just in case.
Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess
6 years ago #7
And you're always one of the first to comment and appreciate others' posts, , so that YOU for that.
Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess
6 years ago #6
Thanks, Deborah Levine! I can only imagine how tough it is to move back and forth between two similar but not exactly the same systems! I have enough trouble with my one US system sometimes!
Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess
6 years ago #5
Thanks so much, CityVP \ud83d\udc1d Manjit! I like creating the quizzes, especially when they can help others (re)learn some of the small points that are easy to miss.
Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess
6 years ago #4
And you may be right about that, Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman, beBee Brand Ambassador!
don kerr
6 years ago #3
David B. Grinberg
6 years ago #2
CityVP Manjit
6 years ago #1