Commonly Confused Words Test

[mbarker]

Kind of fun (that means I scored well, doesn't it?). Anyway, you can try it at http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-commonly-confused-words-test

Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test ...

English Genius

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 87% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

I'm not convinced that 40 questions doth a genius make, but it was fun. And spotting my error in the Expert answers interesting. I'm not sure that I agree that farther is for physical measures, while further is for metaphorical usage, but . . .

Comments

[jasini.livejournal.com]

I got the same results as you. I think, though, that what I got wrong was the "awhile" "a while" question.

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

In the Baen's Bar Sarah's Diner newsgroup (which is where I saw this), that's one of the discussion points. Several people seem to have tripped over that one, and they are saying it's an English versus American thing?

I can see that

[pakwa26.livejournal.com]

I'm going to turn into one of those really annoying kids from primary school whose mother is a teacher & who whines (sorry, I did it again) "my mother says...". Bill Bryson says, again in his wonderful book 'Troublesome Words', "To write 'for awhile' is wrong because the idea of 'for' is implicit in awhile. Write either 'I will stay here for a while' (two words) or "I will stay here awhile' (one word)." No mention of the divide across the pond or anything. He's a Yank who spent quite some time living with the Poms, so I'd say he'd know.

Re: I can see that

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

I think they are just hunting for excuses, myself. Not really thinking about the basis for the test, either, which might help explain differences. Personally, I find it a lot easier on myself to consider identified differences in such tests as opportunities to learn something -- and I may or may not end up agreeing with the identified point.