Beware of online grammar quizzes. Their authors often do not have a clue about grammar! Here are some examples from a recent one that make me despair.
There’s no pronoun in sentence (b)! For most grammars the correct pronouns are ‘its’ in (a), ‘their’ in (c) and ‘your’ in (d). (Though in the National Curriculum, confusingly, all of these are also labelled determiners.)
All these sentences are grammatically fine, so it’s not clear why (d) is chosen as the correct answer. Most grammars of English would say that English has only two tenses: the present tense and the past tense. There is no future tense in English. So sentences (a) and (c) are in the present tense, while (b) and (d) are in the past tense.
This is not a grammar question. Given the right circumstances, all these words can be used in the slot, though (b) would make the most sense outside of a context.
Sentence (a) has no comma. (b) and (d) are both fine, depending on your personal preferences.
Sentences (a), (b) and (d) are all fine. The prescriptive rule about ‘hopefully’ is just silly.
Sentences (a) and (d) use ‘you’re’ correctly.
It’s so easy to get confused by these online tests. If you’re a teacher and worried about your knowledge of grammar, use the Englicious website. It was written by experts, is FREE and in line with the National Curriculum for England.
englicious.org
Recent comments