We are waiting, Mr. Corbett. Please tell us that there are more of these quizzes to come, and soon!
1
My grandmother was a copy editor in the early 1900s for the “Columbus Dispatch.”
My mother was a “grammar nazi” and I inherited the term “word police.”
William Strunk and E.B. White’s “The Element of Style” is my bible.
Every day the NYT uses incorrect grammar, syntax, and even spelling--usually with homonyms. The sentence “I could not BARE the pain” hurts my brain.
Never use “utilize” as ‘use” is a fine word.
PLEASE use a possessive pronoun in front of a gerund.
Wrong: We hated HIM writing that derisive letter
Correct: We hated HIS writing that derisive letter.
We hate the action not the man.
In an age of tweets, texting, emojis, not teaching cursive writing, replacing Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter for “modern language” I am distressed that our English language will not survive. (Yes, I didn’t use parallelism.)
I hear “if a person gets the message across, who cares?”
Read this book title: “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.” Is this a psychotic serial killer who eats at the table with his family, then shoots them all and leaves the house?
or
Is this what a Panda Bear does: She eats shoots and leaves of the bamboo plant.
Punctuation especially apostrophes and commas are usually incorrect. Since when do we use “apostrophe’s” for the plural of simple “noun’s?” /s
Yes I used the text abbreviation for sarcasm: /s
I am cursed with the genetic makeup of being a familial grammar nazi. At least I don’t take out a sharpie and correct signs anymore.
My mother was a “grammar nazi” and I inherited the term “word police.”
William Strunk and E.B. White’s “The Element of Style” is my bible.
Every day the NYT uses incorrect grammar, syntax, and even spelling--usually with homonyms. The sentence “I could not BARE the pain” hurts my brain.
Never use “utilize” as ‘use” is a fine word.
PLEASE use a possessive pronoun in front of a gerund.
Wrong: We hated HIM writing that derisive letter
Correct: We hated HIS writing that derisive letter.
We hate the action not the man.
In an age of tweets, texting, emojis, not teaching cursive writing, replacing Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter for “modern language” I am distressed that our English language will not survive. (Yes, I didn’t use parallelism.)
I hear “if a person gets the message across, who cares?”
Read this book title: “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.” Is this a psychotic serial killer who eats at the table with his family, then shoots them all and leaves the house?
or
Is this what a Panda Bear does: She eats shoots and leaves of the bamboo plant.
Punctuation especially apostrophes and commas are usually incorrect. Since when do we use “apostrophe’s” for the plural of simple “noun’s?” /s
Yes I used the text abbreviation for sarcasm: /s
I am cursed with the genetic makeup of being a familial grammar nazi. At least I don’t take out a sharpie and correct signs anymore.
3
#2 of 12
“uninhabitable for mammals like ourselves”
There are TWO errors
1) Yes, use “us” vs “ourselves
2) The more egregious error is using the word “like” as anything but a verb.
LIKE. Not to be used for the conjunction “as.”
Wrong: “We spent the evening LIKE in the old days.”
Correct: “We spent the evening AS in the old days."
Wrong: “Chloë smells good, LIKE a baby should.
Correct: "Chloë smells good, AS a baby should.
The use of “like for as" has its defenders; they argue that any usage that achieves currency becomes valid automatically. This, they say, is the way the language is formed. It is and it isn't. An expression sometimes merely enjoys a vogue, much as an article of apparel does.
"LIKE” HAS LONG BEEN WIDELY MISUSED BY THE ILLITERATE; lately it has been taken up by the knowing and the well- informed, who find it catchy, or liberating, and who use it as though they were slumming. If every word or device that achieved currency were immediately authenticated, simply on the ground of popularity, the language would be as chaotic as a ball game with no foul lines. For the student, perhaps
“the most useful thing to know about LIKE is that most CAREFULLY EDITED PUBLICATIONS regard its use before phrases and clauses as SIMPLE ERROR.
Stop using “like” as a comparative or conjunction!
The phrase should be:
“uninhabitable for mammals AS US” This is a sloppily written sentence.
“uninhabitable for mammals like ourselves”
There are TWO errors
1) Yes, use “us” vs “ourselves
2) The more egregious error is using the word “like” as anything but a verb.
LIKE. Not to be used for the conjunction “as.”
Wrong: “We spent the evening LIKE in the old days.”
Correct: “We spent the evening AS in the old days."
Wrong: “Chloë smells good, LIKE a baby should.
Correct: "Chloë smells good, AS a baby should.
The use of “like for as" has its defenders; they argue that any usage that achieves currency becomes valid automatically. This, they say, is the way the language is formed. It is and it isn't. An expression sometimes merely enjoys a vogue, much as an article of apparel does.
"LIKE” HAS LONG BEEN WIDELY MISUSED BY THE ILLITERATE; lately it has been taken up by the knowing and the well- informed, who find it catchy, or liberating, and who use it as though they were slumming. If every word or device that achieved currency were immediately authenticated, simply on the ground of popularity, the language would be as chaotic as a ball game with no foul lines. For the student, perhaps
“the most useful thing to know about LIKE is that most CAREFULLY EDITED PUBLICATIONS regard its use before phrases and clauses as SIMPLE ERROR.
Stop using “like” as a comparative or conjunction!
The phrase should be:
“uninhabitable for mammals AS US” This is a sloppily written sentence.
2
You write like a prescriptivist.
Love this section! As an English as Second Language speaker, this is a super helpful and fun way to improve my English grammar + writing skill! I look forward to the next quiz!
1
"You took 21 tries to complete the quiz.
Over all, you did better than 88 percent of Times readers. The median score on this quiz is 30."
Overall. Not "over all." I see this error constantly in NYT. There is a difference in meaning and you consistently use the wrong one.
Over all, you did better than 88 percent of Times readers. The median score on this quiz is 30."
Overall. Not "over all." I see this error constantly in NYT. There is a difference in meaning and you consistently use the wrong one.
2
Over all, you did better than 88 percent of Times readers. The median score on this quiz is 30.
Hey, NYT...it's "overall" not "over all." I see this mistake in the NYT constantly! The context determines which to use, but you always use this one, which is almost always incorrect!
Hey, NYT...it's "overall" not "over all." I see this mistake in the NYT constantly! The context determines which to use, but you always use this one, which is almost always incorrect!
1
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/us/politics/trump-north-korea-china-t...
Note the misuse of forego and criteria. Forego was also misused in an article today.
Note the misuse of forego and criteria. Forego was also misused in an article today.
The copy edit quiz is my favorite occasionally-appearing feature of the NY Times. I've learned something from each one. I'm so glad you're still with us and have time to share, Mr. Corbett. I was afraid after the May 31, 2017 story about cuts in editing staff
( https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/business/media/new-york-times-buyouts... ) that the column might be ending. I express displeasure at possible watering down of careful editing and writing so prized by NY Times subscribers. Thank you for your diligence!
( https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/business/media/new-york-times-buyouts... ) that the column might be ending. I express displeasure at possible watering down of careful editing and writing so prized by NY Times subscribers. Thank you for your diligence!
3
Wow, that was harder than expected. Now I have to try the previous quizzes.
2
I LOVE this stuff! When will the next segment appear?
4
Love, love, love this column! Thanks!
3
Why capitalize "in a Capitol"? It's just a capitol. This is like capitalizing "the President" until Watergate.
1
Doesn't #10 have a second error? In this context I think "scrutiny over" should be "scrutiny of", no? It's certainly a much more common construction.
9
I love the Copy Edit column. Is there a way I can get it to come up automatically on my FB feed?
5
These days most NYT columns are Copy Edit quizzes, whether intentionally so or not. The loss of Copy Desk editors has been a disaster for the NYT. Wat a misteak/ thogh won eezily remedeed. NYT ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?
2
What fun. I didn't realize I was such a klutz.
Please continue these fascinating tests.
Please continue these fascinating tests.
9
I really enjoy the copy-editing segment. It's a great way to improve my non-native English skills. However, I think the text underneath the quiz may not be correct - in terms of statistics, not grammar. It said: "You took 25 tries to complete the quiz. Over all, you did better than 41 percent of Times readers. The median score on this quiz is 25". If 25 is the median score, then, by definition, I should have done better than eaxctly 50 percent of Times readers, not 41. The median separates the higher half of a data sample from the lower half, the (arithmetic) mean or average is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the number of numbers of that collection.
Best and greetings from Berlin
Lisa
Best and greetings from Berlin
Lisa
2
It sounds like you did better than 41%, worse than 41%, and exactly the same as 18%
1
You're forgetting the people who have done just as well as you. In your example 41 percent needed more than 25 tries, and 59 percent needed 25 or fewer. Since there are discrete steps (number of tries) all the people who needed 25 tries performed exactly the same and can't be said to have performed any better or worse than other 25ers.
Another example, with only 4 people. One needed 1 try, two needed 3, and the last one needed 4 tries. The median is 3, but the two people with 3 tries only performed better than 25% of people, just as well as 50% of people, and worse than another 25% of people.
Another example, with only 4 people. One needed 1 try, two needed 3, and the last one needed 4 tries. The median is 3, but the two people with 3 tries only performed better than 25% of people, just as well as 50% of people, and worse than another 25% of people.
3
Thanks for this segment. I used to be a crack proofreader, and my skills have definitely slipped. Yet I will keep trying, and this is a great tool.
8
Seriously, right? I figured this would be a no-brainer. That was tricky! I enjoyed it, despite the incorrect answers on my part.
7