Grammar tests for editors

6/10 and 50% but I'm no editor :D

While I'm sure many would argue, I don't see how knowing most of that stuff makes you any better equipped to write. I don't need to know the name of a hammer, to be able to drive nails :)
 
Well, I knew NEAR was an adjective, so I did OK but fucked up on the question of me teaching vs my teaching. As both are correct it doesn't matter which you use, and knowing that near is an adjective is moot, too.

Richard Feynman said KNOWING THE NAMES OF THINGS TELLS YOU NOTHING ABOUT THE THINGS. And that goes for parts of speech, too.
 
I went 8 for 10 on the BBC one.

Egads, only 42% on the Telegraph one. I have to admit, though, that I don't remember specifically covering a lot of that stuff. Nor did I ever take Latin.
 
I scored 8/10 on the first and 75% on the second (guessing at a few of them).

While I'm sure many would argue, I don't see how knowing most of that stuff makes you any better equipped to write. I don't need to know the name of a hammer, to be able to drive nails :)

I agree. I'm not sure knowing what a gerund is, would be very useful to a writer, or an editor for that matter.
 
9/10 (tripped up on the sibling question) and 50%. I can see value in knowing the terminology & theory, but I don't think it's essential for editing, as long as you know what's correct.
 
but I don't think it's essential for editing, as long as you know what's correct.

As long as you know to recheck and look up in authorities a little deeper than the level of what you think you know off the top of your head.
 
I got 42% and have been teaching English for many years. But I never heard of an adverb modifying and adjectival phrase. As far as I am concerned, if it modifies an noun it is an adjective.


Also with "near". that one threw me. If it had said "near the door", I would have said preposition, but "near me", that got me. I should have pulled out my list of prepositions.
 
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I got tangled up amongst the prepositions and the 'adverbs governing' ... er, something. And what on earth was the reason for tacking on 'imported direct from Latin' in that question about nominative feminine singular...?

Results: 9/10 and 83%

I think it's important to consider, as an editor, whether the author is incorporating a certain 'flow' or meaning through conscious word placement in a sentence. Sometimes the author might place a word in the sentence to draw attention to the word, which then could do any number of different things to the meaning or the direction of the story. Words are mechanisms and writing is art, after all.
 
You're Blinded By Your Education

Being a good editor is not about your college education, which are many of you are so prideful of. It's about being less of a narcissistic asshole and being more of a person.

While SR71 gloats about being a world-class editor, what good does it do here? He's a nuisance who has only hurt this forum.

I'm back. I was reminded by writers how much they appreciated me in my dark hours of depression. And so I return.
 
Being a good editor is not about your college education, which are many of you are so prideful of. It's about being less of a narcissistic asshole and being more of a person.

While SR71 gloats about being a world-class editor, what good does it do here? He's a nuisance who has only hurt this forum.

I'm back. I was reminded by writers how much they appreciated me in my dark hours of depression. And so I return.

Being a good editor is not about your college education, of which many of you are so prideful; it's about being less of a narcissistic asshole and more of a person.

Call me what you wish, but that phrase was wrong.
 
Most people would do better on the Beeb test than the Telegraph because the Beeb's was mainly about usage and the Telegraph's was more about knowing the terminology and origin.

If you did well, 75% or more then you would be very useful in the software industry working on natural language processing.

I scored 7/10 and only 25% so I'll have to be content with telling people to hit the sharp pointy thing with the heavy lump of metal on a stick.
 
I was surprised with my score, 7/10 and 75%, with me losing part of my brain and knowledge every day.

I really thought I wouldn't score as high as this. Looks like I was wrong.
I'm quite happy to be wrong this time.:D
 
Maybe I followed the wrong link. Said I needed plug-ins that I don't have and I'm reluctant to load in extra crap that might slow my computer down or be virus-infested.

But glad to see that LadyC is back. Welcome!
 
Maybe I followed the wrong link. Said I needed plug-ins that I don't have and I'm reluctant to load in extra crap that might slow my computer down or be virus-infested.

But glad to see that LadyC is back. Welcome!

Being a good editor is not about your college education, of which many of you are so prideful; it's about being less of a narcissistic asshole and more of a person.

Call me what you wish, but that phrase was wrong.

Wrong. You mean spelling-wise? Grammatically? Please explain.
 
Wrong. You mean spelling-wise? Grammatically? Please explain.

1) Sentences shouldn't end in prepositions.
2) The second sentence is a thought-continuation of the first, so connecting them with a semicolon helps them to parse smoothly.

As a complete aside, I learned most of my grammar and editing skills in high school, but they were polished in college. ;)
 
Commercial fiction (which is what is being published here) doesn't adhere to the "no prepositions at the end of sentences" stricture. You also can start sentences with "And" or "But." And you can use sentence fragments. All should be used in moderation, unless you're using them for effect.

The publishing industry uses an editorial skills set learned beyond high school or college English--in professional university courses or on the job.
 
Took one of the grammar tests...

I'm not an editor, but I've been one in the past. I haven't written anything on Lit except for what I post in the forums... Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever posted in this particular thread, even ("even" pronounced Snagglepuss-style, if you remember him... ;)). I do write, however. And, I'm a closet grammer nazi... traffic cop, too, but that's a different thread.
I also know that grammer rules do change with the times... for some people, anyhow... :rolleyes:
Plus... check out my score...? Yeah. Uh-huh. :nana:

BBC Test Score-mine:D
 
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Got 5/10 and 58%. Not too bad for a non-native.

Many questions no idea because I simply don't know those technical terms, I was more expecting a quiz like "which sentence is correct?". I'd have scored much better on such a quiz - most of those questions I had correct. While the technical questions were often a wild guess. Got lucky on them.
 
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