With National Grammar Day almost upon us, it’s a great time to test your skills. Whether you’re a professional writer or editor, a student or a recreational wordsmith, this quiz will let you know where you stand on a handful of the grammar, word choice and punctuation basics everyone should know. 

 

1. Choose the correct sentence. 

a. The team of ball players consistently earn good marks.

b. The team of ball players consistently earns good marks.

2. Choose the correct sentence.

a. Our hospital’s new surgical robot is small, quiet and is easy to move from room to room.

b. Our hospital’s new surgical robot is small, quiet and portable.

 

3. Find the right use of set up. 

a. Her home entertainment center set up looked expensive.

b. Her home entertainment center set-up looked expensive.

c. Her home entertainment center setup looked expensive.

4. Choose the best use of a comma and which/that.

a. Cassandra is excited for her upcoming trip to Disneyland, that is a six-hour drive from her house. 

b. Cassandra is excited for her upcoming trip to Disneyland which is a six-hour drive from her house. 

c. Cassandra is excited for her upcoming trip to Disneyland, which is a six-hour drive from her house. 

5. Choose the sentence with the correct comma placement.

a. Thanksgiving dinner will be served at 4 p.m., but the host said guests can arrive as early as 3 p.m. for appetizers and cocktails.

b. Thanksgiving dinner will be served at 4 p.m. but the host said guests can arrive as early as 3 p.m. for appetizers and cocktails.

c. Thanksgiving dinner will be served at 4 p.m. but, the host said guests can arrive as early as 3 p.m. for appetizers and cocktails.

 

6. Choose the sentence with the correct word. 

a. Sam attended less baseball games this year than he did last year.

b. Sam attended fewer baseball games this year than he did last year.

 

7. Choose the sentence with the correct word. 

a. With hard work, the right coaching and a dedication to strength and conditioning, he could elevate his skills even further.

b. With hard work, the right coaching and a dedication to strength and conditioning, he could elevate his skills even farther.

8. Choose the sentence with the right word.

a. A fight broke out between several team members. 

b. A fight broke out among several team members. 

 

9. Choose the sentence with apostrophes used correctly. 

a. The dogs’ leash is hanging by the door.

b. The cars’ engine was making a strange noise. 

c. Its’ design is both sleek and modern. 

d. It’s been a long day at work.

 

10. Choose the sentence that matches this meaning:  Maria was the only recipient of the flowers.

a. Only he gave flowers to Maria.

b. He gave the flowers only to Maria.

c. He gave only flowers to Maria.

d. Only he gave the flowers to Maria.

 

Answers to our grammar quiz

  1. B. When choosing the verb, you need to determine the subject of the sentence — which does not include the prepositional phrase (phrases that begin with words like of, from, to). In this case, the subject is “team,” which means the verb is “earns.”
  2. B. This is the better choice because a list should ideally be parallel. In this sentence, having three adjectives is not only parallel, but it’s also a more succinct sentence.
  3. C. Set up is a verb, while setup is a noun. (Never use set-up.)
  4. C. “which is a six-hour drive from her house” is a non-defining clause, meaning you can take the clause out without destroying the sentence. Non-defining clauses call for a , which construction.
  5. A. This is a compound sentence, which means there is a conjuction (e.g., and, but, or) joining together two or more independent clauses. An independent clause can stand alone as its own sentence. In a compound sentence, a comma always precedes the conjunction.
  6. B. While “less” and “fewer” have similar meanings, they are not interchangeable. If the word you’re modifying can be counted, the right word is “fewer.” 
  7. A. “Further” is the best choice when you mean “additional.”
  8. B. Use “between” when two items are being discussed and “among” when there are three or more.
  9. D. The dogs would have multiple leashes, the engine would belong to only one car, and its’ isn’t a word.
  10. B. It’s important to understand modifier placement. Modifiers must be placed correctly to avoid confusion.

 

How’d you score? 

If you didn’t get at least 8 out of 10 on this pop quiz, it may be time to pick up one or two of our favorite resources on writing. And be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter to get a grammar tip (among other cool advice) delivered to your inbox once a month. (Sorry, we’re shameless.) 

Enjoy Grammar Day 2025!