Grammar and Christmas Holiday Songs Quiz

Answer: "We've been good, but we can't last..."

The "Chipmunk Christmas Song" was written by David Seville (Ross Bagdasarian) in 1958. Alvin and the Chipmunks sang this classic holiday tune. The phrase "We've been good, but we can't last..." contains the conjunction "but". A conjunction is a word which connects two phrases or clauses. Examples of the most common conjunctions in the English language are "and", "so", and "but".

Answer: "The lights are turned way down low..."

"Let It Snow" was written in 1945 by Sammy Cohn and Jule Styne. "The lights are turned way down low..." is an example of the passive voice. The passive voice is constructed by using a form of the verb "be", plus a past participle of the main verb. The passive form is used when the object of a sentence is more important than the person or thing that is doing the action.

The other three phrases in this question are examples of the active voice. The song "Let It Snow" was featured in the 1988 film "Die Hard."

Answer: An adverb

Johnny Marks composed "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" in 1958, and this song became a big U.S. hit for Brenda Lee in 1960. This classic tune was also featured in the 1990 movie "Home Alone." In the song's final lyrics, the word "merrily" is an adverb because it modifies the verb "dancing." An adverb is a word which modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Most adverbs in English end in "-ly" or "-ily." An adjective is a word which describes a noun.

Answer: "'Tis the season to be jolly..."

The classic holiday song "Deck the Halls" is several hundred years old. Most of the lyrics in the English version of this tune are examples of the imperative mood: a form which gives a command or a request. The imperative form normally uses a simple (base) verb form; the subject word "you" is not used. "'Tis the season to be jolly" is a sentence in the indicative mood, as it translates to, "It's the season to be jolly."

Answer: "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

"It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was composed in 1963 by Eddie Pola and George Wyle. The most popular U.S. version of this song was recorded by Andy Williams. The superlative form of adjectives normally consists of the words "the most" or the suffix "-est / -iest" in combination with an adjective.

The superlative form is used when we are viewing the extreme of three or more people/things in a group. An example of the superlative form would be, "Santa Claus is the nicest and the most generous man in the world."

Answer: The present continuous (progressive)

Leroy Anderson finished composing the song "Sleigh Ride" in the late 1940s, and Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1950. In the U.S., Johnny Mathis' version of this song is probably the most popular. "Sleigh Ride" makes ample use of the present continuous/progressive tense.

This verb tense is formed by using "is/are/am" plus a present participle ("-ing") of the main verb. The present progressive tense describes action which is taking place "right now" or "at this moment."

Answer: Can

The classic song "A Holly Jolly Christmas" was composed by Johnny Marks in 1962. The most popular version of this song in the U.S. was recorded by Burl Ives. The word "can" is a modal verb; it is a fixed-form auxiliary which gives special meaning to the main verb "see" in the lyrics. The verbs "can and "cannot" are perhaps the most important modal forms in the English language.

Answer: "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."

"The Christmas Song" was composed in 1944 by Mel Torme and Bob Wells. Nat King Cole recorded his version of this classic holiday song in the early 1950s. The opening line of this tune contains an example of a prepositional phrase: "on an open fire." Prepositions are words such as "in", "on", or "at" which give location to a noun.

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and a noun.

Answer: "It's the right time to rock the night away..."

The classic song "Jingle Bell Rock" was composed by Joe Beal and Jim Boothe. The Bobby Helms' recording of this song is probably the most famous version in the U.S. In this song's lyrics, the phrase "to rock" is an example of an infinitive. An infinitive normally consists of the word "to" and a simple (base) verb form: "to go." For example, Bobby Helms sang, "Jingle bell time is a swell time TO GO gliding in a one-horse sleigh..."

Answer: "When it snows, ain't it thrilling?"

The holiday song "Winter Wonderland" was composed by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith during the 1930s. In the song's final verse, the word "ain't" is used. Most grammarians would agree that this word is a substandard form of "isn't." However, song lyrics must keep up with the rhythm of the music.

The word "isn't" contains two syllables, but "ain't" only has one syllable; thus, "ain't" fits nicely into the melody.