Parts of Speech Cause Such Sweet Sorrow Quiz

Answer: eight

Some people argue that there are greater or fewer than eight. For example, I have heard differing opinions regarding certain sub-groups such as articles are sometimes considered to be their own parts of speech

In fact, almost any dictionary or grammar guide will agree they are merely a specific sub-type of adjective, but there are exceptions to this, especially in recent years, but for the sake of this quiz they are considered a specialized determiner that is a sub-group of one of the eight accepted parts of speech by both my main source materials, that are the basis on how I decided to choose the popular, traditional view based upon most lexical and grammar guides.

This does not mean that the "correct" answer is the only valid argument, but as I have stated that there are only eight parts of speech, which is the mass consensual answer, and then any remaining questions posed by me will adhere to this standard.

The mass consensus among grammatical guides, such as the "Harbrace Handbook for Canadians 5th Ed.", the "Gage Dictionary", and various grammar-based websites, is that only eight parts of speech technically exist within the English language.

The most commonly accepted list of the eight parts of speech is as follows: nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, interjections, conjunctions, prepositions, and pronouns (which are not nouns that get paid for their work}.

Answer: or

A noun is described as a person, location, or object. Lions, towns, and even abstract concepts like ideas are all nouns, whereas words like "or" are conjunctions.

Very specific nouns are known as "proper nouns" and should be capitalized. This can get tricky. An example would be: I find language is hard to master, but the French language is the most difficult for me to learn to use properly.

Names of people and specific places also count; for example, Theodore Roosevelt is my favourite face on Mount Rushmore. If this quiz passes, I may eventually be persuaded to create more in-depth quizzes on each specific part of speech.

Answer: see

The word "see" is the only one of the bunch that can be attached with the word "to" in order to form an infinitive, or to a subject to form a sentence, (e.g. I see). The other three are nouns. A sea is a large body of water, the word "cee" is how to spell the letter C, and a seer is a fortune-teller or prophet.

One should remember that verbs actually can often be changed into nouns and vice versa by changing their placement in a sentence. For example, Fred was jogging. Jogging is a verb in that sentence, but in the following sentence it acts as a noun: "Jogging is a fun activity, which Fred enjoys."

Also, like nouns they can be concrete, "Fred runs", or abstract, "I am" (merely existing is a state of action). So, I must reiterate that there is no need to "tense up" when using verbs, even though proper usage can be hard to attain at times.

I will mention once again, another quiz can be arranged on the finer points of verbs, if this quiz generates enough interest in the subject.

Answer: pronoun

Pronouns act in place of nouns in sentences to avoid awkward sounding, run-on, or cumbersome and redundant sentences. The other three choices serve to modify words or enhance a sentence by providing additional, but optional, data. Plus, in my opinion anyway, it sounds creepy when people refer to themselves in the third-person over and over.

One should always remember that, when there is more than one noun in any formal sentence, it should be clear which noun the pronoun is replacing. One common error in overcomplicating a sentence is overusing pronouns and not being sure which subject, noun, object, etc. the pronoun is replacing.

This is often called ambiguity by most high-school and college grammar textbooks, and a good writer authoring a composition should strive to avoid ambiguity. Please, notice how I did not use "it," as it would not be certain whether the writer is avoiding ambiguity or his composition. The context should make it clear, but one should try not to take the chance that the reader will not be sure; after all "composition" would have been the last noun mentioned in the sentence.

One way to commit this to your memory is with the mnemonic "always avoid ambiguity" - it should be apparent at this juncture that our language can be confusing enough, to both speakers of English and international audiences, let's help them out by making our sentences as clear as possible.

Finally, don't forget that words like, "who" or "what," or even indirect forms (e.g. him/her and so on), are pronouns (e.g. her, him, us, them, etc.).

Answer: the, blue, best

If you guessed "the, blue, best," then you are indeed smart, which is another adjective.

You correctly knew that an adjective describes a noun. This can be done by describing a qualitative property of the noun, such as naming the balloons as blue (my personal favourite colour of balloon), showing off exactly which balloons are being described (the blue balloons in this case, not just any balloon will do for the speaker). In fact, according to my main reference guide the "Harbrace Handbook for Canadians 5th ed.," all articles, such as "a", "an", or "the" are adjectives because they specify about which noun the writer is speaking (thanks again to "Harbrace...," and the "Gage Dictionary," which both back me up on this issue). I should really take this time to point out that articles such as "a, an, and the" are often a large source of argument amongst most people who speak English as their primary language. Some sources claim that they are their own separate parts of speech classified as a type of word known as a determiner. When constructing my quiz, I went with the most popular consensus amidst traditional grammarians, my source material, and what I was taught in multiple English classes. However, the articles are definitely still a hot source of debate among lexical and grammar-based societies. Ultimately, I still consider them to be adjectives (a very notable sub-group to be certain, but ultimately one of the most contentious issues that still exists between experts of the fundamentals of modern English, even today). Since I am basing my "correct" answers on my sources, and it is a correct answer and the only real one possible based upon the choices I provided as blue and best are typically agreed by most grammarians to be adjectives. Therefore, I have presented my question as such. However, that does not necessarily mean that there is not still ongoing debate to determine the classification of determiners or make my side of the debate the absolute final word on the topic of articles.

Words that compare or contrast properties of nouns are still descriptors, thus comparison words, like tall, taller, tallest, or "superlative" words like perfect (e.g. I am perfect, and got a better score than everyone else who took it - perfect, better, else, and than, all compare the arrogant author from the rest of the pack, even if they are not directly mentioned). As these types of words qualify the nouns they are describing, they are also considered to be adjectives.

Answer: Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here

An adverb is a word that typically modifies verbs but sometimes adjectives by answering questions about reason, time, how something is done, comparison and contrast, the place where the verb or adjective was carried out, or anything else to do with the condition of the word it is describing. An "-ly" suffix on the end often gives an adverb away in a sentence, but notable examples like "very" exist. They can also modify other adverbs and other modifiers! We should head down to the store and pick up some of these awesome words.

The other three incorrect answers are based on characters in the song, completely made up, or a completely different "Schoolhouse Rock" song about conjunctions. Very well done, that is if you got it correct, "indubitably." (Schoolhouse Rock - 1974).

Answer: 6

Prepositions, interjections and conjunctions are the only parts of speech that cannot themselves be modified. Prepositional phrases consist of more than one word, and often function as adjectives or adverbs, but they are still technically one preposition. The prepositions in the sentence to which this question referred are (in order) "Prior to", "on", "from", "into", "on" and "below".

At least, that is what I learned in an Academic Writing 101 class taught by an instructor who holds a PhD in "compositional in-reading." (Plus, I wish to thank "Harbrace Handbook for Canadians 5th Edition", for clarification on proper prepositional usage rules}.

Others taking this quiz may have different ideas regarding what is a phrasal verb and how many words of them should count as individual prepositions, whether or not they are adverbs, and so on. I wrote this quiz based upon what I learned, and what the aforementioned references also said, but this part of speech is very controversial, so it is hard to provide just one answer unless you specifically shut out other possibilities so only the author's desired answer remains.

If someone out there could create a better definition about prepositions, I encourage him or her to author their own quiz, the site could always use more thinly disguised grammar lessons, so more articulate quizzes could be created that could be enjoyed worldwide. I'm just saying.

Answer: Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is pink-eye, or an inflammation of the conjunctiva. The others are all types of conjunctions.

It is usually considered by grammarians to be bad form to start a sentence with a conjunction, but there is no clear rule that overtly states that doing so violates any official usage or syntax rules.

Another thing to consider is that often there is no need to be fancy when using conjunctions and you may cause a comma splice or run-on sentence if you overuse them. It is best if one sticks to the most common conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, as well as so. One can easily remember these most commonly used conjunctions with the acronym "FANBOYS." I am a big fan boy of not having to talk about prepositions; those little words always cause me big problems.

Answer: Hooray

Congrats! Hopefully, you chose hooray: an exclamation of joy or excitement.
I is pronoun, know is a verb, and speech is a noun.

Whew, I have a new appreciation for those people who take the time to author and/or edit the quizzes we all enjoy taking, and after learning how tricky and complex even basic sentence strucure rules are. I truly, sincerely hope you do too.

Answer: The girl in the rain.

What is the girl in the rain doing? We may never know. The other three selections all have a subject and tell what he/she/it does. Even the question is making "you" the subject, and I do hope you chose the right answer.

Conversely, an object is a secondary noun in a sentence that supports the subject and makes a sentence's structure more complex, such as when: a man (subject/noun) opens (simple predicate/verb) a bag (a noun being acted upon by the subject, but not essential to know). It just goes to show that atoms make up matter, so too parts of speech make up all sentences; even so-named "simple sentences" are in reality quite complex.

Thank you for trying to piece together the confusing building blocks of the English language. Also, I hope you both enjoyed the quiz and don't forget to rate it.

Whew, I am starting to feel like English is my second language. Again, I would like to acknowledge "Harbrace Handbook for Canadians 5th Ed.", the "Gage Dictionary", "SchoolHouse Rock" (1974), the many free online dictionaries and grammar guides online used for cross-reference, and my past English instructors, for helping me produce this quiz.

Well, now you be the judges, just please remember to rate it (even if you hated it) before you leave the results page. That is all he wrote... for now.