We (Edith Hope Fine and Judith Josephson) are the Grammar Patrol. Both of us taught for years and are now writers, with thirty plus books between us, including our two popular grammar guides, Nitty-Gritty Grammar and More Nitty-Gritty Grammar. For close to twenty years, we taught writing and grammar basics and now we blog about grammar for writers.

 

A gracious happy new year to all. In 2015, resolve to review key grammar points. To check your memory, take our quick pop quiz on topics we’ve covered over the course of writing this Grammar Patrol blog. Examples come from Edith’s new Jump, Froggies!, an ebook for folks who want to write children’s books.

 

Ready? Set? Go!

1.

A. Ask Jennifer. Her and me are in charge of the cake.

B. Ask Jennifer. She and I are in charge of the cake.

 

2.

A. That report gave John and me a chance to redeem ourselves.

B. That report gave John and I a chance to redeem ourselves.

 

3.

A. ”I’ll never tell,“ said Theo.

B. “I’ll never tell,” said Theo.

 

4.

A. “Fire!” yelled Andrea.

B. “Fire,” yelled Andrea!

 

5.

A. (Sign:) Bouquets for sale: $7

B. (Sign:) Bouquet’s for sale: $7

 6.

A. Possessive its never splits.

B. Possessive it’s never splits.

7.

A. “Wait-what’s that noise?”

B. “Wait—what’s that noise?”

C. “Wait–what’s that noise?”

8.

A. Camilla is the youngest of the two sisters.

B. Camilla is the younger of the two sisters.

 

A froggy thumbs up for these answers:

 

1. B. Put Out a BOLO (Be On the LookOut) on Pronoun Agreement

2. A. Put Out a BOLO (Be On the LookOut) on Pronoun Agreement

3. B. Did you spot the quotation mark mix-up?

Straight quotes, curly quotes, ellipses: what’s a writer to do?

4. A. Quotation Mark Questions? Think Symphony Orchestra!

5. A. Apostrophes: Flowers or Weeds?

6. A. Apostrophes: Flowers or Weeds?

7. B. Ems and Ens for Writers

8. B. Grammar Tips for Comparisons

 

 How did you do?

Banishing grammar rust is a great way to start the new year. And if you or your friends have longed to write books for children, take a look at Jump, Froggies: 89+ Beginners’ Tips for Writing Children’s Books from eFrog Press.

That’s it from the Grammar Patrol. You’ll find more answers to grammar questions in our zany Nitty-Gritty Grammar and More Nitty-Gritty Grammar guides. Let us know when you hear or see bloopers of any kind. We love hearing from you.