Grammar and Spell Check Answers
(Answers to Ex 7.xxx ‘How good is your English?’ Spelling and Grammar Exercise.)
Choose the correct word in each of the nine statements below:
1. They took there/their/they’re dog with them on the walk.
2. In order to improve morale/moral, the company decided to increase pay.
3. The most relevant/relative ideas were those which helped solve the problem.
4. ‘It is defiantly/definitely/definately the correct answer!’ he shouted.
5. He was unsure whether/weather to choose the black or brown shoes.
6. ‘Of course, the main question is which/witch road to choose’.
7. ‘Let’s start at the begging/beginning, shall we?’
8. The biggest affect/effect he had was to cause the company to close down.
9. You’re/your clearly the tallest person here.
10. didn’t want to take his advice/advise.
11. It was common practice/practise to plagiarise work.
12. Three weeks ago, he choose/chose to finish his employment.
Please choose the correct spelling in each of the 18 statements below:
1. Accommodation Accomodation Acommodation
2. Conscus Conscious Conscous
3. Embaras Embarrass Emmbaras
4. Immediatly Immediately Imediately
5. Ocasion Occasion Occassion
6. Preferred Prefered Prefferd
7. Personel Personnel Personnal
8. Separat Separete Separate
9. Necesary Nesessary Necessary
10. Devided Divided Dividid
11. Benefited Benefitted Bennefited
12. Disappeared Disapeared Disappered
13. Ocured Occurred Occured
14. Comitted Committed Comited
15. Garantee Guarantee Guarante
16. Laison Liason Liaison
17. Questionare Questionnaire Questionaire
18. Posess Posses Possess
Please indicate which of the following sentences use the apostrophe (’) correctly:
1. The students’ had always liked the lecturer.
2. The students had always liked the lecturer’s.
3. Sometimes the lecturer’s liked the students.
4. The lecturer’s books were on the shelf.
5. The students usually kept their books’ on the floor.
6. The parents were worried about their children’s studies.
7. The students and lecturers always got on well with each other.
8. It was nice of the lecturers to care about their student’s.
9. It was nice of the lecturers to care about their students.
10. It was nice of the lecturers’ to care about their students’.
The apostrophe (‘) is only ever used for two purposes:
- To abbreviate a word (such as it is becomes it’s).
- To indicate possession (such as the lecturer’s book means the book belonging to the lecturer).
It should never be used to indicate plurals (e.g. the student’s thought that he was a good lecturer).
If the word requiring the apostrophe ends in –s, then the apostrophe goes at the end of the word: the lecturers’ books means the books of the lecturers. (The lecturer’s books would indicate the book of the single lecturer.)
