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Answers to the editing quiz
I hope that didn’t take you more than five minutes. The errors are in white below.
I don’t know who to give it to. (The “who” should be “whom.” Objective case is required, because the pronoun is the object of the preposition “to.” If you thought the preposition ending the sentence was an error, think again! It is poor formal style but is not a grammatical error.)
I can’t believe he missed it, the prize was right under his nose! (This error is so common it has its own name: comma splice. Two independent clauses (which could stand as complete sentences) are improperly joined with a comma.)
He was literally hovering over her through the whole lunch. (Wrong word! “Literally” means using a word with its actual meaning, as opposed to figuratively. He was not literally hovering – unless he had a jet-pack or personal helicopter.)
One must remember his p’s and q’s. (This sentence changes pronoun use. Since the author started with “One,” he must use “one’s,” not “his.”)
Each artist was to enlarge the square as accurate as possible in whatever medium they chose. (Two errors. First is the use of the adjective “accurate” instead of adverb “accurately.” Second is the disagreement in pronoun number: “Each artist” is singular, so “they” should be “his or her” – unless all the artists are of one gender, in which case it can be "his" or "her.")
Its a wise man who counts his chickens after they’ve hatched. (The first word is not the possessive pronoun “its,” but the contraction of “it is”; therefore, it needs an apostrophe.)
Experts expect the severe effects of global climate change won’t be felt for between 80 to 100 years. (The correct idiomatic preposition use is “between . . . and . . . .” One could also drop the “between” and use “to” alone.)
You and me really should of taken the money when we had the chance. (Two errors. First is the obvious misuse of an objective pronoun; it should read “You and I.” Second, and perhaps equally obvious, is the error in the verb form “should have.” This common error arises from the contraction “should’ve” used so frequently in spoken English.)
There perfect record is a truly historical event. (Again there are two errors. “There” should be the plural possessive pronoun “Their,” and “historical” is the wrong adjective. “Historical” means of or pertaining to history; “historic” means something that will have significance as part of history.)
How did you do? Could you use an editor?
