Grammar Questions

[RRR]

Gah! Firefox deciding to unexpectedly quit right when I'm almost done with my post is NOT amusing.

So... I took "The Commonly Confused Words Test" on OK Cupid, and I made a 66% on the expert section. It doesn't list the answers, and I've been spending the past 20 or so minutes trying to figure out the answers. I took it again and made 72% on that section, which means I have 2.7 questions wrong. 2.7? I'm not really sure how that works out. Anyway, to the questions.

31.  They __________ her for __________ witchcraft.
A. hanged / practicing
B. hanged / practising
C. hung / practicing
D. hung / practising

Doesn't the answer to this depend on whether you use British or American spelling? I think A is right if you use American, and B is right if you use British. I chose B.

32.  The bombing had an adverse __________ on __________ issues.
A. affect / economic
B. affect / economical
C. effect / economic
D. effect / economical

I'm almost positive A is correct.

33.  Please stay __________.
A. a while
B. awhile
C. for a while
D. all of the above

I chose D. All of them sound right.

34.  He is working __________ his Bachelor's degree, __________ she is pursuing her Master's degree.
A. toward / while
B. toward / whilst
C. towards / while
D. towards / whilst

I have no idea on this one. They all sound like they could be right. I don't think I've ever used whilst before. I guess that's a British thing. I chose D.

35.  She would not __________ as to __________ stole her money.
A. enquire / who
B. enquire / whom
C. inquire / who
D. inquire / whom

I know whom is right, but I'm not sure about enquire/inquire. I chose D.

36.  Boat travel makes me __________.
A. nauseated
B. nauseous
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

I know this one is A.

37.  The amazing still flight of the hummingbird is a natural __________.
A. phenomena
B. phenomenon
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

Isn't phenomena plural and phenomenon singular? That's what I thought, so I chose B.

38.  She enjoys smelling and tasting things__ she is a __________ being.
A. : / sensual
B. : / sensuous
C. ; / sensual
D. ; / sensuous

At first I thought this was sensual, but after looking it up I think it's senuous. I'm not really sure about the puncuation, but I'm leaning toward the semicolon so I went with D.

39.  That information is __________ to this case.
A. impertinent
B. irrelevant
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

I chose B. Not really sure about this one.

40.  The water from the river flows through the __________ into the ocean.
A. canal
B. channel
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

Both canal and channel sound right to me. I dunno.

So, what do you guys think?

[rivka]

31.  They __________ her for __________ witchcraft.
A. hanged / practicing
B. hanged / practising
C. hung / practicing
D. hung / practising

Doesn't the answer to this depend on whether you use British or American spelling? I think A is right if you use American, and B is right if you use British. I chose B.

It's definitely hanged. (Pictures get hung, people get hanged.) But both A and B should be fine (although A is the more common American variant, I believe.)

32.  The bombing had an adverse __________ on __________ issues.
A. affect / economic
B. affect / economical
C. effect / economic
D. effect / economical

I'm almost positive A is correct.

Affect as a noun means emotional state. You want "effect." And "economical" is a synonym for thrifty. So my choice would be C.

33.  Please stay __________.
A. a while
B. awhile
C. for a while
D. all of the above

I chose D. All of them sound right.

I'm pretty sure "awhile" is archaic (or poetic). And C seems redundant. So I choose A.

34.  He is working __________ his Bachelor's degree, __________ she is pursuing her Master's degree.
A. toward / while
B. toward / whilst
C. towards / while
D. towards / whilst

I have no idea on this one. They all sound like they could be right. I don't think I've ever used whilst before. I guess that's a British thing. I chose D.

*grin* A few weeks ago, I would have said definitely A. But Jonathon has cured me of my "toward" preference -- well, somewhat, anyway. I still think it sounds better. "Whilst," OTOH, is definitely archaic. So A, but I think C is also correct.

35.  She would not __________ as to __________ stole her money.
A. enquire / who
B. enquire / whom
C. inquire / who
D. inquire / whom

I know whom is right, but I'm not sure about enquire/inquire. I chose D.

Actually, it's who. Drop the beginning of the sentence and it's easier to see. (That is, make it "_________ stole her money?") "Enquire" is legit, but I think "inquire" is preferred. C.

36.  Boat travel makes me __________.
A. nauseated
B. nauseous
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

I know this one is A.

A and B are synonyms. Thus, C would be my choice.

37.  The amazing still flight of the hummingbird is a natural __________.
A. phenomena
B. phenomenon
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

Isn't phenomena plural and phenomenon singular? That's what I thought, so I chose B.

That makes sense, as that is the way Latin plurals work (as far as I know). However, usage (and a search confirms that this usage dates back several hundred years) allows both to be used as singular. "Makes sense" doesn't always help when it comes to English. C.

38.  She enjoys smelling and tasting things__ she is a __________ being.
A. : / sensual
B. : / sensuous
C. ; / sensual
D. ; / sensuous

At first I thought this was sensual, but after looking it up I think it's sensuous. I'm not really sure about the punctuation, but I'm leaning toward the semicolon so I went with D.

I can see the argument for either colon or semicolon. But I think the semicolon works better. So yeah, D.

39.  That information is __________ to this case.
A. impertinent
B. irrelevant
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

I chose B. Not really sure about this one.

Impertinence is chutzpah. I agree, B.

40.  The water from the river flows through the __________ into the ocean.
A. canal
B. channel
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

Both canal and channel sound right to me. I dunno.

Canals are for water drainage and farm irrigation, I think. Would they drain into the ocean? I vote B.

[RRR]

Affect as a noun means emotional state. You want "effect." And "economical" is a synonym for thrifty. So my choice would be C.

*bangs head* I swear I know the difference between affect and effect. Gah. For some reason I thought it was a verb in that sentence.

Actually, it's who. Drop the beginning of the sentence and it's easier to see. (That is, make it "_________ stole her money?") "Enquire" is legit, but I think "inquire" is preferred. C.

*bangs head again* I should have known that. Sigh.

[rivka]

I get effect and affect mixed up too, unless (and sometimes even if) I'm very careful. I double-checked to be sure. *grin*

[Pepe the Inamimated]

*grin* A few weeks ago, I would have said definitely A. But Jonathon has cured me of my "toward" preference -- well, somewhat, anyway. I still think it sounds better. "Whilst," OTOH, is definitely archaic. So A, but I think C is also correct.

o_O

Jon done cured you wrong, then. You use toward, not towards. I have verified this.

-o-

"Nauseated" and "Nauseous" are not synonyms, though they are often incorrectly used as such. Somethine is "nauseous" if it induces nausea. A person suffering from nausea is nauseated.

-o-

I disagree on 38. I read sensuous as meaning pleasing to touch or something along those lines, and sensual as being oriented toward using the sense of touch.

[Pepe the Inamimated]

Update on "toward" and "towards": quick googling indicates that "towards" is more accepted in British usage, while "toward" is preferred in American usage.

I have no idea which is preferred among Kiwis. :-p

[Jono]

o_O

Jon done cured you wrong, then. You use toward, not towards. I have verified this.

Oh no! Icarus has fallen prey to this urban myth of grammar!

[Porter]

Firefox deciding to unexpectedly quit right when I'm almost done with my post is NOT amusing.

I've been getting a lot of crashes from the latest firefox version.

[Jono]

37.  The amazing still flight of the hummingbird is a natural __________.
A. phenomena
B. phenomenon
C. Either a or b
D. Neither a nor b

Isn't phenomena plural and phenomenon singular? That's what I thought, so I chose B.

That makes sense, as that is the way Latin plurals work (as far as I know). However, usage (and a search confirms that this usage dates back several hundred years) allows both to be used as singular. "Makes sense" doesn't always help when it comes to English. C.

It's true that phenomena is often used for a singular form, but that doesn't make it right according to traditional standards. If you're aiming for good usage, you shouldn't confuse the two.

[Porter]

Jon, I can't figure you out.  Half the time it seems that you're preaching "The rules are dumb!  English is what English is spoken!"  and other times you are saying "You've got to stick to the rules, people!"

[RRR]

I've been getting a lot of crashes from the latest firefox version.

Yeah, me too. It's been quitting on me at least once a day. I've had to revert back to using 0.8.

[Jono]

I try to base my rules on education and common sense. When you take the time to look into the issue, you discover that there's really nothing wrong with towards; it just happens to be less common in America and more common in Britain, so then people go too far and edit it out in America. Most people who edit it out or call it incorrect don't really understand the whole issue, which is why I argue against those people.

But with phenomena, educated people know that it's the plural form. For the purposes of this quiz, that's what it is. And if you want your writing to sound educated, you should probably follow that rule.

The underlying problem is that about half of the rules are decent, logical rules, and the other half are myth and superstition. Hence my schizophrenia.

[Porter]

So, should we all choose which rules we wish to follow, or should we all follow the rules that you think we should?

edit:  Because I really don't like GC's winking smiley.

[Jono]

I really believe that language is ultimately a personal thing, and I think fashion is a pretty good analogy. People can tell you what's in style and what's out of style, or what looks good on you and what looks bad on you, but it's really up to you to decide what to wear. And even though those fashion experts may have pretty reasonable arguments, it's not like there's any sort of objective, universal law of fashion that those arguments are based on. I can give you my educated opinion on language, but in the end, that's all it really is.


Edit: I really don't like it either. Nathan once described it as "confused and uncomfortable." One of these days I'll get around to editing it.

[Pepe the Inamimated]

Actually, when I was a newspaper editor, I instinctively felt that "towards" was wrong and "toward" was correct. When one of my associate editors disagreed, I looked up the grammar sources to back me up. But my reasoning is basically that we already have a perfectly good word in "toward," and it means what people generally mean when they say "towards." Looking at it as some sort of amalgam of "to+ward," my view makes sense as well. We don't look "skywards," we look "skyward." Thomas Wolfe, of course, looks homeward.

Frankly, while I can accept that brits say "towards" and "backwards" and the like, I don't correct these simply for the sake of having different practices from Britain, but because I think they are wrong, or at best silly. I would say that "our way" is better than this British way.

-o-

My other pet peeve was "honors student," which should, of course, be "honor student." Unless you're British, in which case I suppose it's "honours stuodsents" or some silly thing with lots of extra letters.    

[Porter]

Crap, Jon.  How am I supposed to mock that post?  That made a lot of sense.  

OK, smiley editorializing time, broken up into chunks because the board won't let me post too many smileys in one post:

 -- this one is OK, but it seems that it's just a less evocative form of or
   Pretty much the same thing
  This guy needs to remove the beam from his eye.
 

[Porter]

I think the tongue smiley needs to look less blissful and more mocking, like
  This guy looks like he's really happy, while looks like he is trying to look happy.  I think they both have their place.
  This is one of my favorite looking smileys, but it doesn't emote like does.
  This one's cool.  My only beef is that A) when I do a list like this I accidentally put it in C) and it makes  me look foolish.
  I like this one.
 

[Porter]

I really like this one.
  KISS.  I like it.
I thought this one was really weird when I first saw it, because whenever people used it I saw unintended romantic overtones.  But now that I'm used to it, I like it.
  This one rocks.
  Not nearly as evocative as The color really adds to it.
 

[Porter]

I've got no problems with this one.
  This one is good.  It makes me laugh that we have two of them. (don't we?) :fear: I have not really figured this one out.
  This one's fine.
  This one I have come to enjoy.
  It's OK.  He can make it on his own!  I dig it.
 >.< I like this one too.
 Another useful one.
It seems odd to me to have an emoticon to express essentially no emotion.  No wonder it's rarely used.
My problem with this one is that the smiley doesn't express the same emotion to me as the ASCII version.
 

[Porter]

Her's a bunch that I don't really see the point to, and I'm not surpsied to see them used rarely, if at all:
:alien:        B?  :phone:          :thecheat:  :sideways:  

OK, that's enough for now.  Back to work.
 

[Jono]

The s on towards is the same ending that's found on a lot of other adjectives and adverbs (amongst, amidst, whilst, against, days, nights, needs, hence, since, once, twice . . . ).

And here's what the OED says:

In English the history of -wards as an advb. suffix is identical with that of -ward (see -WARD 3 and 4); beside every adv. in -ward there has always existed (at least potentially) a parallel formation in -wards, and vice versa. The two forms are so nearly synonymous (the general sense of the advs. being ‘in the direction indicated by the first element of the compound’) that the choice between them is mostly determined by some notion of euphony in the particular context; some persons, apparently, have a fixed preference for the one or the other form. Sometimes, however, the difference in the form of the suffix corresponds to a difference in the shade of meaning conveyed, though it would not be possible to give any general rule that would be universally accepted. Where the meaning to be expressed includes the notion of manner as well as direction of movement, -wards is required, as in ‘to walk backwards’, ‘to write backwards’. In other instances the distinction seems to be that -wards is used when the adv. is meant to express a definite direction in contrast with other directions: thus we say ‘it is moving forwards if it is moving at all’, but ‘to come forward’, not ‘forwards’ (see further the note on FORWARD adv.); so ‘to travel eastward’ expresses generally the notion of travelling in the direction of an eastern goal, ‘to travel eastwards’ implies that the direction is thought of as contrasted with other possible directions. Hence -wards seems to have an air of precision which has caused it to be avoided in poetical use.

To me, it seems silly to call it incorrect. It has cognates in German, Dutch, and Gothic (though Gothic is dead). That means it goes back probably two thousand years or more. It seems to me that the only real motivation for calling it incorrect is so that we can legitimize our language by claiming that it's more correct than British English.

[Jono]

Whoa. Look what I missed while making my long post. Excellent critiques, Porter. I think I agree with you on pretty much everything. Maybe I should start editing emoticons tonight.

[Porter]

While the HR ones generally seem to emote better, the ones over her are are better pictures.  Jut compare   with the extremely pixelated .

*goes to try to change the color of the GC one*

[Pepe the Inamimated]

It seems to me that the only real motivation for calling it incorrect is so that we can legitimize our language by claiming that it's more correct than British English.

Actually, as I already noted, my motivation is that it sounds like butt to me.

-o-

And regarding smilies, I prefer the hatrack rolleyes. I don't find a smiling rolleyes sarcastic at all.

[Porter]

All I did was mess with the colors, but I like this one much better:

Except for the transparency part.  I guess I broke that.