View Full Version : Test your punctuation
I think this is the quiz nthellworld has been waiting for- test your punctuation!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3256388.stm
Tell us how well you did and don't forget to add any punctuation-related mishaps or anecdotes you would like to share. :D
I think this is the quiz nthellworld has been waiting for- test your punctuation!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3256388.stm
Tell us how well you did and don't forget to add any punctuation-related mishaps or anecdotes you would like to share. :D
Is this aimed directly at Kronas ..... or what ???? :D
Is this aimed directly at Kronas ..... or what ???? :D
What? :angel:
Bugger !! ......... only got 4 out of 10 !! :dunce:
(Hangs head in shame :blush: )
Well it is difficult !! :spin:
Bugger !! ......... only got 4 out of 10 !! :dunce:
(Hangs head in shame :blush: )
Well it is difficult !! :spin:
Too right, it was a lot tougher than those BBC quizzes normally are - I really had to think about it!
Stuart W
02-12-2003, 15:29
I got 8, but my punctuation is almost as bad as my spelling ?!
I guess it just goes to show I know how to, just can't be arsed!
I got 8, but my punctuation is almost as bad as my spelling ?!
I guess it just goes to show I know how to, just can't be arsed!
Hmmmm........."pants on fire" comes to mind !! :rofl:
Unless your an English Lang graduate ? (Second thoughts...that'd be the poster who got 2 right !!) :D
homealone
02-12-2003, 15:42
I got 5/10 - never could get my head round colons & semi-colons.
"Eats shoots & leaves", of course describes a Panda;)
Enterian
02-12-2003, 15:46
I only got 6 and I went to a Grammar School! :eek:
8, but then i did spend some time on it :)
:dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce:
what !! else ? can . I'say...lol 3/10 :(
8 for me, first try! </gloat>
I got 7, and slipped up on Q1 (I didn't reckon a capital letter as a punctuation mark) Q2 (Missed the quote within the quote) and Q8 (The TXT one, which I think was entirely unfair!)
5 right - Glad I use M$ word to spot things like that at work!
cjmillsnun
02-12-2003, 18:16
I got 9.
8, but this is stupid:
The answer was B
It's wrong, according to the UK convention for putting the last full stop outside the closing speech marks. The US style is to put the final full stop inside the speech marks.
Punctuation goes on the INSIDE of the quotes. So I am right.
And the first question is messed up too. Italics (or underlining) is also a punctuation item.
You got 7 right! -
.... and one of those I got wrong was about Shakespeare - what has this to do with knowing puntuation ?.
Thats cuz it is called a period and not a "full stop." :p
Thats cuz it is called a period and not a "full stop." :p
I didnt read any question and just selected by guessing at random and scored 5..
I may have done worse thinking about it....
So It begs me to understand why George Bush is president.
Chimaera
02-12-2003, 21:32
Well not too bad - I got 7! :D
dieselking
03-12-2003, 00:40
I did the test this afternoon & got 3. I did it again just now & got 2 (not very good :( )
Well I got five, but frankly I think the test is a rubbish! (And *not* just because I only got five!)
Here are some criticisms:
Q1 and 2. Frankly I don't care what the Oxford Dictionary of English says, a capital letter is *not* a "punctuation mark", it is a convention in writing which follows a full stop (which *is* a punctuation mark) which means that my answer to question 2 was wrong simply because they insist it is.
Ok, I got question 1 wrong because I forgot about the dash and hyphen, but the quiz is about "how good is your punctuation" and being able to *remember* what the symbols are has nothing to do with being able to *use* them!
Q6: What the hell does it matter whether Shakespeare or anyone else called a full stop a period or not? Again what does that have to do with anyone's ability to use the things?
Q8: And again, what does text messaging have to do with punctuation? Using punctuation symbols to make pictures has nothing to do with grammar!
Q 10: "Two sentences should be joined by a semi-colon, or by adding a conjunction such as "and" or "but" after a comma. Using a comma to divide two complete sentences is not OK."
I disagree with this one because these are not two entirely separate sentences. A comma indicates a pause the end of a clause, ie a set of words that contains a subject "I", a finite verb "have been" and a predicate "good boy". The second part is *also* a clause and a comma can be used to separate a non-restrictive clause or phrase from a main clause.
All in all I give the quiz 4 out of 10 and "could try harder!"
handyman
03-12-2003, 02:00
I got 7 :)!!!!
I cannot belive it. My punctuation can't be as bad as I had thought.
I disagree with this one because these are not two entirely separate sentences. A comma indicates a pause the end of a clause, ie a set of words that contains a subject "I", a finite verb "have been" and a predicate "good boy". The second part is *also* a clause and a comma can be used to separate a non-restrictive clause or phrase from a main clause.
All in all I give the quiz 4 out of 10 and "could try harder!"
You can't connect two independent clauses with a comma. That is a comma splice.
greencreeper
03-12-2003, 03:26
Got (4) and (8) wrong. I don't see how :- means screaming and it's not a punctuation question anyway. Ditto question (2) - nowt to do with punctuation and it's such a minor quibble anyway.
You can't connect two independent clauses with a comma. That is a comma splice.
But they're not independant, the second follows from the first. The main subject of the sentence is what the child wants from Santa, the first section is a qualification, ie that the child has been good.
Of course really the sentences shouldn't have been *phrased* in that way, but that's another matter entirely.
Although I got all 10 correct, three of them were for completely wrong reasons!
Well I got five, but frankly I think the test is a rubbish! (And *not* just because I only got five!)
....<snip for brevity>...............
All in all I give the quiz 4 out of 10 and "could try harder!"
Agree m8...I too thought a lot of the answers were pedantic if not downright incorrect !!
I still got 5 though !
Although I got all 10 correct, three of them were for completely wrong reasons!
Well, congratulations on being the first to get full marks anyway - and welcome to nthellworld. :wavey:
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