Grammatical dilemmas
Analyze these two sentences:
Each of the two finalists received a trophy.
Every of the two finalists received a trophy.
Which sentence is grammatically correct, and give at least 1 distinct reason why the other sentence is wrong?
Sentence 1 is correct.
Reason 1: 'Every' refers to three or more people or items; for exactly two, you must use 'each'.
Reason 2: 'Every' can never be used as a pronoun (you cannot say "Every of...").
The regular past tense suffix "-ed" can be pronounced in three distinct ways (/t/, /d/, /ɪd/). Match the correct sound to these three verbs:
worked - lived - decided.
worked -> /t/
lived -> /d/
decided -> /ɪd/
Correct the spelling errors in these three words taken from the list of 100 commonly misspelled words:
embaras
neccessary
unforseen
embarrass (-rr-, -ss-)
necessary (-c-, -ss-)
unforeseen (-re-)
The standard rule states: "'i' before 'e', except after 'c'". Which of the following words breaks this rule by placing 'e' before 'i' without a preceding 'c'?
believe, weird, achieve, relief
weird (words like neither and foreign are also explicit exceptions).
Explain how the mnemonic "It's necessary that a shirt has one collar and two sleeves" helps you remember the correct spelling of necessary.
A shirt has one collar (1 x 'c') and two sleeves (2 x 's'). This reminds you that necessary contains one 'c' and two 's'es.
Is the following sentence correct? If not, fix the error AND explain the grammatical role of the word you modified:
"The board of directors was not sure who to appoint as the new CEO."
Incorrect. It must be "...whom to appoint...".
Explanation: 'Whom' acts as the object of the sentence/verb (the board appoints him/her), whereas 'who' is reserved for subjects.
Identify the silent letter in each of the following four words:
knight - honest - column - receipt
knight -> k (and gh)
honest -> h
column -> n
receipt -> p
Apply the suffix rule to the root word "refer".
What are its past tense (refer + ed) and present participle (refer + ing) forms? Explain the underlying rule.
referred and referring.
Rule: When a single consonant (preceded by a single vowel) ends an accented syllable, double the consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.
Apply the suffix rule to "try" when adding "-ing". Does the 'y' change to an 'i'? State the exact rule.
It remains trying.
Rule: Change a final 'y' to an 'i', unless the suffix itself begins with 'i' (to avoid double 'i's)
Analyze these sentences. Determine which is grammatically correct based on the rules for
'Who vs. Whom' and 'I vs. Me':
A: "Whom did you give the book to? To I or to my brother?"
B: "To whom did you give the book? To me or to my brother?"
C: "To whom did you give the book? To I or to my brother?"
D: "Whom did you give the book to? To me or to my brother?"
Sentence B is correct.
'Whom' acts as the object of the preposition to (To whom...).
In the phrase "To me or to my brother?", 'me' is required because it is the object of the preposition to (not the subject 'I').
Fill in the blanks using the correct forms of affect or effect and explain the subtle distinction in usage:
"The new laws will _______ major changes in the economy, but whether this will ________ inflation remains to be seen."
effect ("effect major changes") – Here 'effect' is used as a verb meaning "to bring about / to accomplish".
affect ("affect inflation") – Here 'affect' is used as a verb meaning "to influence / to produce a change in".
Explain how word stress shifts for "project" and "contrast" when switching from a noun to a verb.
Noun: Stress is on the first syllable (PROject, CONtrast).
Verb: Stress shifts to the second syllable (proJECT, conTRAST).
Which three words in this list contain incorrect single or double consonants?
accommodate, agressive, disappoint, ocassion, paralel
agressive -> aggressive (-gg-)
ocassion -> occasion (-cc-, -s-)
paralel -> parallel (-r-, -ll-)
Under what specific phonetic condition does 'e' come before 'i' even when not preceded by the letter 'c'? State the condition (When it sounds like ...) and provide one example.
When the letter combination sounds like /eɪ/ (the 'ay' sound as in say).
Examples: neighbour, weigh, neigh, ...
Rewrite this sentence to eliminate all four spelling and grammar errors:
"Me and my colleague, who's curiosity is endless, were truly dissappointed by there behaviour."
"My colleague, whose curiosity is endless, and I were truly disappointed by their behaviour."
Errors fixed:
Me and my colleague... were -> My colleague and I (subject pronoun 'I').
who's -> whose (possessive relative pronoun).
dissappointed -> disappointed (one 's', double 'p').
there -> their (possessive pronoun).
A manager sends this email:
"To whom it may concern, you're performance this year was better then expected."
Identify two homophone errors in this sentence, provide the correct words, and state their grammatical functions.
you're -> your (a possessive pronoun indicating ownership, not the contraction of 'you are').
then -> than (a conjunction used for comparisons, not an adverb indicating time/sequence).
Provide a rhyming word or phonetic equivalent for the "-ough" ending in each of these three words:
tough
through
though
1. tough -> rhymes with rough / stuff (/ʌf/)
2. through -> rhymes with blue / shoe (/uː/)
3. though -> rhymes with go / no (/oʊ/)
The word "argument" drops the 'e' from its root argue. However, "noticeable" keeps the 'e' from notice. Why does noticeable retain its 'e' despite the standard suffix rule?
The 'e' is retained after a soft 'c' (or 'g') to preserve its soft sound (/s/ instead of a hard /k/ sound as in applicable and a hard /s/ sound in noticeable).
Explain the difference in spelling and meaning between "teacher will pronounce it" and "teacher will pronounce it".
Which consonants are doubled in both? What is the meaning of the words?
Millennium is singular, while millennia is the plural form. Both words require a double -ll- and a double -nn-.
Millennium = period of 1000 years
Millennia = more than 1 period of 1000 years
What is an acrostic, and how does it function as a mnemonic? Provide the acrostic example from your text for the word "BECAUSE" or "RHYTHM".
An acrostic is a mnemonic device where the first letter of each word in a phrase spells out a target word.
BECAUSE: Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants.
RHYTHM: Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move.
Compare these two sentences:
A: "My neighbour, who lives next door, bought a dog that changed his life."
B: "My neighbour, that lives next door, bought a dog who changed his life."
Can Sentence B be grammatically defended according to the provided rules? Explain using the rules for human vs. inanimate targets.
No. According to the rules, 'that' refers to inanimate objects, not people (neighbour). Conversely, 'who' refers to people, not objects or general animals (dog). Sentence A is the only correct sentence under these rules.
Explain how placing stress on the wrong syllable can lead to complete miscommunication or grammatical misunderstanding. Provide a concrete word example and explain.
Incorrect stress changes the part of speech (word class) and meaning. For example: REfuse (noun: garbage/trash) vs. reFUSE (verb: to decline), or CONduct (noun: behaviour) vs. conDUCT (verb: to lead/direct).
Which words are misspelled based on the 100-words study guide?
A) conscience
B) priviledge
C) maintenance
D) thresshold
B) privilege
D) treshold
A student argues: "The word 'receive' breaks the 'i before e' rule because it is spelled with an 'e' before 'i'." Is the student correct? Justify your answer using the complete rule.
No, the student is incorrect. The full rule states: "i before e, except after c". Because receive has a c preceding the pair, it must be written as 'e' before 'i'. It follows the rule perfectly!
A draft publication contains three major grammar and spelling errors. Identify all errors and explain the exact rule violated in each instance:
"Neither of the managers were ready to affect any changes, which had a terrible affect on company morale."
Neither of the managers was ready to effect any changes, which had a terrible effect on company morale.
"...were ready" -> was ready. 'Neither' is singular and requires a singular verb.
"...to AFFECT any -> effect. Here, the verb means "to bring about / accomplish," which requires effect (verb form).
"...had a terrible AFFECT" -> effect. Here, a noun is needed to refer to a result/outcome, which requires effect (noun form).