Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Quiz grammaticale

Solo dodici innocenti domandine :-)
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=test-your-english-13-grammar_1

):

92 out of 100?? What the flock...?
-- 
Joey from NY


7. She could have left me. Maybe if I ______ in her shoes, I would 
have. She could have had a lot more kids with a healthy man.


In the quiz, the supposedly best answer is "had been".
But Joey's answer ("were") makes me wonder if both are equally 
possible. (?)

 Solo dodici innocenti domandine :-)
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=test-your-english.
..
Alcune più che la grammatica riguardano il lessico. (Ad es. la 2 l'ho
sbagliata perché non sapevo se si dicesse "to set out" o "to be set
out", l'ultima perché non sapevo cosa significasse "lay"...)


E anche perché avevo letto "would" invece di "wound".
Questi test non li devo fare prima di essermi svegliato del tutto...


Beh, a volte la distinzione è sottile, ma diciamo che in quei quiz il 
lessico si dà per scontato e si chiede la forma più appropriata secondo 
grammatica e stile.

 possible. (?)
I contemplated choosing "had been" but then I went for the more common 
"were." Common in spoken speech, anyway. You'll also hear "..was in her 
shoes..." but that sounds bad. Even to me. :)
Some choices are made based on stylistic preferences rather than strict 
grammar rules, and I think the difference is that AmE tends to be much less 
strict about "rules" than Italian (maybe because of the Latin base? IDK.) 
Rules are more important in writing than in speaking, and since the phrase in 
the question was conversational in nature, I went for the spoken option. It's 
just me: I go for efficiency, and what most people expect to 'hear.'
It's like this: I'm bothered terribly by people who say '"between you and I" 
because I know that "between you and me" is correct. Ask 10 Americans which 
is right, and they'll say "Between you and I," of course! We're taught in 
grade school that "you and I" is correct. They fail to understand when it's 
correct and when it isn't, and they also don't understand what "object of the 
preposition" means. So what does that mean? I say "between you and me" in a 
sentence and I can almost "hear" the listener thinking "He made a mistake! It 
should ALWAYS be "you and I! I thought he knew better!"
I'm ranting. I think I need to go back to bed. Terribly gray, rainy day here 
in New York City. Bleh.
-- 
Joey from NY

 in New York City. Bleh.
Should humans migrate in the winter like some astute birds do? :-D

 Should humans migrate in the winter like some astute birds do? :-D
Some astute human beings do just that: heading to Florida right after 
Thanksgiving and staying until the forsythia is in bloom. I'm not one of 
them. :(
-- 
Joey from NY

@ edevils:
Do you also have problems in Mesnews downloading messages in certain 
groups? Trying to find out where the problem is; me, server, MesNews, 
group.
-- 
groetjes Renée
The way to know life is to love many things.
 Vincent van Gogh

 Trying to find out where the problem is; me, server, MesNews, group.
Often it's the server. Try a different one.

 Which groups?


Thanks. It isn't a group on usenet, funny thing is that on that same 
server another group is working just fine.


 another group is working just fine.
I noticed you are using Newszilla.
Does the following apply to that group of yours, by any chance?
<paste>
[...]
however the newszilla newsfeed doesn't fill the forementioned groups. 
so you can't download anything from those groups that wasn't uploaded 
by another newszilla user. and seeing as no newszilla users use the 
groups, they're usually almost empty
imho newszilla should either support these groups fully, or just drop 
them. as it is, newszilla users have little to no use of them and they 
only get in the way
</paste>
<paste>
Thx for full and understandable explanation Smile
Look like I have to sign up for some other server where those 
newsgroups will be supported .....
</paste>
| 
http://www.newsleecher.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3241&sid=4ccdca8f111a26dda6700b50ce5a46dd

 
http://www.newsleecher.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3241&sid=4ccdca8f111a26dda6700b50ce5a46dd
thanks, Newszilla works fine for Usenet groups. So far that is :)
I can download and read and write. It was the only server I could 
connect to for usenet groups when I was in Italy as well.
What server do you suggest?
I will "investigate" if the other server (a private one) has trouble.
* feels like Sherlocka Holmes now........



http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=test-your-english-13-grammar_1
Your Score »     33   out of   100 ( 33.33 %) 
  Answered Correctly »     4   out of   12   correct  
Your Result »   Grade F
Bleah!
Maybe if I was more careful I could have reached 50%.
-- 
"Le travail, c'est bon pour ceux qui n'ont rien à faire."
                -- Henri Jeanson 

 Maybe if I was more careful I could have reached 50%.
Haven't you heard? 33 is the new 50.  :)
-- 
Joey from NY

 What server do you suggest?
Aioe (free, no registration required), or Individual or Giganews (you 
pay a small subscription fee but you get a better service).
Aioe and Individual only carry text groups, if I recall correctly.

 Maybe if I was more careful I could have reached 50%.
I had the same result I think, what can I do :)


> What server do you suggest?
The free newsgroup that I use:
http://www.eternal-september.org/
A review site for newsgroups:
http://www.newsgroupreviews.com/

 I had the same result I think, what can I do :)
I wish I knew what *I* can do!
I suppose the only way to learn English as it is spoken, is to
go where most people do that all the time.
-- 
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked
about, and that is not being talked about.
    -- Oscar Wilde

Joey from NY, 04:02, martedì 14 dicembre 2010:

Huh?
 
-- 
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable
one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. 
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
    -- George Bernard Shaw

Joey from NY brought next idea :



lol


 go where most people do that all the time.
in a Dutch "coffee shop" :)


Tony The Ice Man formulated the question :



I will look into it, thank you


edevils expressed precisely :


Thank you, seems the problem is solved now I kicked out some messages. 
Looks like it (not me) was corrupted


 Huh?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_new_black
-- 
Joey from NY

 in a Dutch "coffee shop" :)
An Italian journalist, Indro Montanelli, said that when he was
in Britain he went in churches to listen sermons, where he
could listen and learn the best English for free.
:-)
Hm, that was looong time ago...
-- 
If parents would only realize how they bore their children.
    -- G.B. Shaw

 like it (not me) was corrupted
BTW, in Mesnews you can use the menu command "Options" - "Check Groups" 
to check for errors.

 Huh?
They say Bollywood is the new Hollywood.
Facebook is the new Google. :-(
Is Obama the new Kennedy?
The elderly: Seventy is the new sixty.

 go where most people do that all the time.
An Elbonian call centre?

 
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=test-your-english-13-grammar_1
Queste erano le domande e le possibili risposte.
Choose the answers that fit best.
Total Questions » 12
Q.1) 	 1. Now I am a librarian, but ten years ago I ______ as a teacher 
in private schools.
 	 A.
 had worked
 	 B.
 used to work
 	 C.
 would have worked
 	 D.
 would be used to work
 	 E.
 used to have worked
 	 E.
 have worked
Q.2)
2. The other means by which the fish loading hatches ______ opened 
during the sinking would be by gravity if the vessel went beyond 90° in 
either a vertical or horizontal plane.
Source: Report of the re-opened formal investigation into the loss of 
the FV Gaul, by Justice David Steel, Great Britain. Dept. for Transport
 	 A.
 can
 	 B.
 could
 	 C.
 can have
 	 D.
 could have
 	 E.
 would
 	 F.
 ought have
Q.3)
3. Rarely ______ set out looking for one particular subject. The whole 
idea in terms of my process is to let these images build up as I 
develop several of them through photographs, sketches, and color 
notations and determine which ones are really important to me.
Source: "American Artist" magazine, Dec. 1992.
 	 A.
 I
 	 B.
 I am
 	 C.
 I do
 	 D.
 I have
 	 E.
 am I
 	 F.
 do I
Q.4)
4. When Marlon Brando suggested that he and Charlton Heston ___ 
themselves to the Lincoln Memorial, Heston politely declined.
 	 A.
 chained
 	 B.
 will chain
 	 C.
 have chained
 	 D.
 had chained
 	 E.
 chain
 	 F.
 did chain
Q.5) 	 5. Would you mind ______ me a lift?
 	 A.
 give
 	 B.
 to give
 	 C.
 giving
 	 D.
 to giving
 	 E.
 that you gave
 	 F.
 that you give
Q.6) 	 6.
Mary: "I don't like coffee."
Sarah: "I don't like coffee, ______."
 	 A.
 neither
 	 B.
 nor
 	 C.
 either
 	 D.
 both
 	 E.
 too
 	 F.
 also
Q.7) 	 7. She could have left me. Maybe if I ______ in her shoes, I 
would have. She could have had a lot more kids with a healthy man.
 	 A.
 have been
 	 B.
 am
 	 C.
 would be
 	 D.
 were being
 	 E.
 would have been
 	 F.
 had been
Q.8) 	 8. I won't believe it unless she ______ me herself.
 	 A.
 tell
 	 B.
 told
 	 C.
 doesn't tell
 	 D.
 tells
 	 E.
 won't tell
 	 F.
 will tell
Q.9) 	 9.  A few years ago you never ______ anyone with feet tattoos. 
Now you see tattooed feet wherever you go.
 	 A.
 saw
 	 B.
 have seen
 	 C.
 see
 	 D.
 could see
 	 E.
 had seen
 	 F.
 can see
Q.10) 	 10. Yesterday the sun ______ at 5.
 	 A.
 sat
 	 B.
 setted
 	 C.
 set
 	 D.
 has setted
 	 E.
 had set
 	 F.
 has sut
Q.11)
11. The man told Wendy that she ______ do what he said or else 
something bad would happen to her parents.
 	 A.
 had rather
 	 B.
 would have had better
 	 C.
 had had better
 	 D.
 had better
 	 E.
 would have had rather
 	 F.
 had had rather
Q.12)
12. The man with the knife wound ______ on the ground, but was still 
moving.
 	 A.
 lied
 	 B.
 lain
 	 C.
 laid
 	 D.
 lay
 	 E.
 lie
 	 F.
 has lain

  :-)

yeah, only the trip to Britain would cost a fortune already..


on 15-12-2010, edevils supposed :


I did that and it said 'no errors', well there certainly was one!
But now back to normal.


 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_new_black
I understand the concept, not the reference to 33 or 50.
 
-- 
"I read somewhere that 77 per cent of all the mentally ill live
in poverty. Actually, I'm more intrigued by the 23 per cent who
are apparently doing quite well for themselves."
                -- Jerry Garcia, dei "Grateful Dead"

 The elderly: Seventy is the new sixty.
I thought there was a reference to some particular 33 or 50,
like in politics or SLT.
-- 
In a Bangkok temple:
"It is forbidden to enter a woman even a foreigner if dressed as
a man."

 An Elbonian call centre?
I am not a Dilbert reader. 
What is the sense of your answer?
-- 
"Yes, that was Richard Nixon.  He used to be President.  When he
left the White House, the Secret Service would count the
silverware."
                -- Woody Allen, "Sleeper"

 What is the sense of your answer?
Just a joke. I guess that in a call centre English is spoken all the 
time.

 
Sorry. There's no specific reference either to 33 or to 50. I was just using 
the concept in a new context, to imply that 33 is as good as 50 now.
-- 
Joey from NY

 is as good as 50 now.
Sorry, I thought there was some deeper meaning I was not aware
of. 
:-)
-- 
"Cure the disease and kill the patient."
                -- Francis Bacon

):

No problem. That's the beauty (such as it is) of that formula. You can use it 
for anything at all, provided you're making a joke.
Cats are the new dogs.
Brown is the new black.
Rude is the new polite.
Old is the new new.
Old is the new young. (HOORAY! I'm back IN.)
-- 
Joey from NY

 Q.9) 	 9.  A few years ago you never ______ anyone with feet tattoos. 
Corretto a "foot tattoos".
