From Twitter
1. What are they doing?
A) It is sanitize itselves.
B) They is sanitize theyselves.
C) The dog and cat is sanitizing themselves.
D) They are sanitize themselves.
E) They dog and cat are sterilizing their paws.
T or F?
2. We use sanitizer to cure our hands.
3. It doesn’t help
Answers:
1. E shows proper tense and proper subject/verb agreement
2. False, because sanitizer kills germs, it doesn’t cure.
3. False, because sanitizer does help.
From Twitter:
In “Subway,” a French romantic dramedy directed by Luc Besson, a man breaks into a woman’s house, robs her of her documents and retreats to the subway, where he calls her to demand money–so he can meet her, as he’s actually in love with her. We could say he is __.
Choices:
nuts
smitten
Answer And Explanation: Both answers are okay, because ‘nuts’ means a bit or really very crazy, but smitten means crazy in love.
From Twitter
Jo: I ① a video yesterday from an man in Italy; it was smart.
Mo: Yeah; what’d ya ②?
Jo: He warned us.
Mo: Us?
Jo: Everyone, Mo!
Mo: What’d he ③?
Jo: Protect ourselves. He ④: use phones less outside. The virus can fall on ’em. Don’t meet friends. Care.
Choices:
said
watched
see
say
saw
Answers And Explanations:
① Jo: I [saw] a video yesterday from an man in Italy; it was smart.
‘Watched‘ would work, but we say ‘saw‘ (especially with movies in the theater–that is not the case here), to indicate, I think,* the happenstance of the situation.
② Mo: Yeah; what’d ya [see]? ‘See’ is the only option here.
Jo: He warned us.
Mo: Us?
Jo: Everyone, Mo!
② Mo: What’d he [say]? ‘Say‘ is the only option here.
Jo: Protect ourselves.
③ He [said]: use phones less outside. ‘Said‘ is the only option here.
The virus can fall on ’em. Don’t meet friends. Care.
_________________________________________
*I say ‘think’ because this is a case of dominant dialect and style, not grammar. There is no rule about it. It just sounds better and carries a nuance of brevity.
From Twitter
Taku: Have you heard from your family in Japan?
Sawa: Yes; everyone is ⓪.
Taku: Do you wanna go to Jim’s for a drink?
Sawa: Are you joking?
Taku: It’ll be ①.
Sawa: Are you ②? Is Jim? This is ③. You’re ④ everyone. I’m staying home.
Choices
fun
endangering
okay
serious
crazy
Answers And Explanation:
⓪ okay
① fun
② crazy
③ serious
④ endangering
Choose the best option to fill in the blank.
① give
② gave
③ gives
④ sacrificed
⑤ gives up
⑥ sacrifices
⑦ worked
⑨ work
⑩ working
The answer is option 6, ‘sacrifice.’
Explanation: First, sacrifice is in the right tense. And word choice-wise it is practically a set expression, culturally, one knows it is right. Second, gives and gives up work grammatically, but gives up doesn’t make sense in the context of the sentence and meaning and gives is okay, but slightly off in nuance. This is the kind of thing one learns in cultural immersion in another country–or in class. You cannot learn it from grammar.
From Twitter:
Jo: Hello?
Mo: Hi!
Jo: How’ya doin‘?
Mo: Okay. You?
Jo: All right.
Everyone okay there?
Mo: OK.
Mo: Have ya ① masks?
Jo: One! ② it help?
Mo: If you’re careful with it and don’t touch the front.
Jo: Yeah?
Mo: Well, you can save old folks!
Jo: Hmm!
Choose:
Do
get
had
got
does
Answers And Explanation
① got, is the answer, because ‘have’ requires the Present Perfect form of the verb ‘get,’: got or gotten.
② does, as in does it help?,’ because it is a set expression, which is the only one that fits the sentence.
Did you have your hair done?
From Twitter:
Im: Ya_①_ your hair?
Jo: No. It’s always been purple.
Im: Come on! You’re 55. No one 55 keeps her hair color!
Jo: Okay, I did.
Im: YOU _②_ it or had it done?
Jo: I did it. I’m older, but not a fool; have you seen the stupid prices people pay to _③_? color dye dyed have it dyed
Choose:
color
dye
dyed
have it dyed
Note: The product is called hair dye.
Answers And Explanation
① dyed, because we dye our hair.
② dyed, because we dye our hair.
③ have it dyed, because when someone else does the dying we say “have it dyed” or “have it done.”
“It is not only possible; it is essential!”
– Dr. Strangelove
From Twitter:
Teacher: What are the _?_ physical needs of human life?
Student: Air, Food, water, shelter, warmth, rest.
Choose the best option:
needed
non-essential
essential
essentials
Answer And Explanation
The answer is ‘essential‘ because:
essential ⓪ (the correct answer）
essentials is plural; we need a singular answer.
needed is redundant (repetitive; the verb ‘need’ is used later in the sentence).
non-essential means ‘non-essential’ means not essential (not necessary).
That’s it? That’s That!
Jo: Why do they saying not to wear a mask?
Al: They don’t want medical staff to lack them.
Jo: That’s __?
Al: Masks aren’t perfect.
Jo: And they make us too confident?
Al: Yes.
Jo: Shouldn’t they say, ‘just be careful and don’t buy too many?’
Al: Of course!
Choose:
that
it
Note: “They” is often used without describing the subject (the people speaking or the people who spoke) and refers to the government, the media or some other authority, as in “They want people to stay home during the pandemic,” or “They’re building a new road out by the old mill.”
The answer is ‘it,’ because “that’s that” means “finished,” or there’s nothing more (to say/do/hear/deal with).
From Twitter:
On The Train Why do you reach up and grab the bar–instead of holding the ring or strap?
It ① difficult. You aren’t very tall.
It ② difficult for me–a bit, but everyone holds the rings; I think they are dirty.
Oh, I see.
Choose:
look
looks
looking
is
was
will be
Answers And Explanation
① The answer is looks, because when something seems difficult, we say ‘looks’ difficult, and because we would not tell another person something is difficult for him or her without asking and;
② Here the answer is difficult (the only possible sensible answer), because we wouldn’t say something looks difficult for ourselves; rather we know whether it is or not.
