January 30

Read the following passage:


I was late coming home and missed my curfew.  My mother was so angry.  She yelled, "I've told you a million times not to be late!"  I guess she was worried about me, but I still hate being yelled out.




What from above is the example of a hyperbole?


a. "I was late coming home and missed my curfew."
b. "My mother was so angry."
c. "She yelled, "I've told you a million times not to be late!""
d. "I guess she was worried about me, but I still hate being yelled out."
























Scroll down for the answer.


















___________________________
A hyperbole is an exaggeration used to make a point.  In this case, C is the correct answer.

January 26

Read the following (slightly modified) excerpt taken from an article published by the NCHSAA:

Recently an assistant swimming coach was fired for pulling a student’s hair at the end of her swim because he felt she had deliberately disqualified herself - obviously an indefensible reaction. However, what was most surprising was the differences in the reaction of the parents of the kids on the team. One group of parents wants the coach to be prosecuted for assault while the other group applauded the coach’s behavior.

This split in opinion speaks volumes for the need for coaches to be able to effectively communicate with their parents and athletes about expectations and resolving differences.

The author of this article feels that the pulling of hair was:

a. justifiable

b. clearly wrong

c. O.K. if the parents are O.K. with it

d. unbiased either way

Scroll down for the answer.

__________________________________

Because of the comments, "obviously an indefensible reaction," and "the need for coaches to be able to effectively communicate . . . about . . . resolving differences," we know that the author does not agree with the hair pulling tactic.  The correct answer is b.

~

January 25

Read the following sentence.

The group of students are walking down the hall while the assistant principal checks for cell phone violations.

What needs to be changed to make this sentence grammatically correct?

a. are walking to were walking
b. are walking to is walking
c. hall while to hall; while
d. assistant principal to Assistant Principal







Scroll down for the answer.






________________________

a. is incorrect.  Since the other verb in this sentence is present tense, you need to keep this verb in the present tense.
b. is correct.  The subject here is group - not students.  Nothing that comes after "of" will be the subject.  There is one group, so you would use is not are.
c. is incorrect.  Since the clause that comes after hall is a dependent clause (or an incomplete sentence), you cannot use a semicolon to join them.
d. is incorrect.  Do not capitalize a title unless it is a part of the person's name.  For example, you would capitalize it here:  I had to go to Assistant Principal Jones's office. 

This is a Test, this is Only a Test...

We are testing!  See you when the new semester starts on Jan. 25.  Good Luck!

If you'd like to submit some questions for next semester, feel free to use the link on the right!

January 12

Look at this picture:

What needs to be changed to make this poster correct?

a. Light's to Lights
b. Party's to Parties
c. Cowboy's to Cowboys
d. A and B
e. B and C
f. A and C






Scroll down for the answer.







___________________
f. is correct.  Both A and C are incorrect.  NEVER USE AN APOSTROPHE TO MAKE A PLURAL!

Not to mention the awful capitalization.  ThE?  Really?  Stupid Cowboys fan.

Go Panthers!


~

Free Tip

READ THE PASSAGE!

If there was any other way to do this, I would tell you.  This is not the EOG.  You cannot seek and find answers.  The evil people who create this test make sure that the wrong answers are in the text. 

What you can do is read the grammar sections quickly and save your intense concentration for the textual analysis (reading comprehension) passages.

January 9

Read the following passage:


There were a lot of great TV shows in the 1980's.  I remember watching The A-Team, Magnum PI, and MacGyver.  It seems that they cannot make good shows like that anymore.


What needs to be changed to make the above correct?


a. change a lot to alot
b. change 1980's to 1980s
c. change The A-Team, Magnum PI, and MacGyver to "The A-Team," "Magnum PI," and "MacGyver"
d. change cannot to can not








Scroll down for the answer.
























______________________________

a. is incorrect.  "A lot" is two words. 
b. is correct.  Never use an apostrophe to make a plural.
c. is incorrect.  Titles of TV shows are treated like books.  They should be underlined or italicized.
d. is incorrect.  It gets tricky since a lot is separated, but cannot remains one word.