Holiday Grammar Quiz

Whatever holiday we celebrate, we like everything to be just right.

We also like a little light-hearted relief.

Take our holiday quiz and see how Just Right you are, and don’t worry if it doesn’t make you feel light-hearted.

Getting Correct is easy to do.

1. There are (a. fewer, b. less) holiday cookies in the break room this year.
2. Between you and ( a. I, b. me) I think that’s a shame.
3. Rudolph and (a. I, b. me) are planning a cookie exchange.
4. Dasher, as well as Dancer and Blitzen, (a. is, b. are) going to ask everyone to bring a favorite holiday treat.
5. Last year the favorite was (a. yours, b. your’s), I think.
6. A party, (a. which, b. that) everyone will want to attend, can be held on Friday.
7. So (a. its, b. it’s) important to keep everyone away from the break room until then.
8. Last year there were (a. fewer, b. less) people in the office.
9. But (a. its,b. it’s) clear that someone ate all the treats before the party, unless some random elf ate more than (a. its, b. it’s) share.
10. (a. Let’s, b. Lets) be sure no-one (a. let’s, b .lets) that happen this year!

Answers: 1 a; 2 b; 3 a; 4 a; 5 a; 6 a; 7 b; 8 a; 9 b; a; 10 a; b

If you aren’t feeling cheerful about your score, take heart; communication skills training can help.  These are some of the most common grammar problems, and they show up all too frequently in serious writing.  Many otherwise strong writers make errors such as these from time to time.

The pesky apostrophe frequently causes trouble because people confuse the possessive function and the contraction function.  Or they want to use it to form plurals.

http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp.

Fewer and less are easier to master.  Fewer is used with items that can be counted:  She has fewer presents to buy this year.  Less is used with a mass, such as snow or rain.  Or money:  And that’s good because she has less money this year.

These and other grammar gremlins can be found and conquered in our grammar course.  When people take this course, they’ll have lots of quizzes to help them identify their own persistent gremlin, and they’ll learn strategies for keeping them under control.

Check our Good Stuff page to see more on the fascinating topic of GRAMMAR, and for training that works; contact Language at Work!

What do you think?      I would love to hear how you or your organization approaches communication skills training. Is it overlooked as an area of professional development, or is there a focus on it? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below.

Judith Pollock, President
Language at Work
4931 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
Phone 202-298-7700
www.languageatwork.com