A couple of weeks ago, I continued the series of posts on confusing words with B words. But don’t look back until after you take this little quiz! Scroll down for the answers.
- The (bimonthly, semimonthly) newsletter comes out the second and fourth weeks of every month.
- She felt (bad, badly) about breaking the plate, but I told her it wasn’t worth much.
- She has (born, borne) eight children in ten years!
- His fear of heights is (because of, due to) falling out of a tree as a child.
- It was my first time sleeping on a (berth, birth) on a train.
- Could you please (bring, take) these groceries over to Grandma’s house?
- There is no one in the house (beside, besides) me.
- That is a really (bazaar, bizarre) story you told me.
- I am waiting with (baited, bated) breath to hear the end of that story!
- (Both, Each) of you should take a cookie.
- Because she was a top athlete, she got a (buy, by, bye) into the semifinals.
- That is certainly a tough (break, brake) you had.
- I told her the secret (by accident, on accident) when we were talking about Jill.
- Most of the Miss America contestants were (blond, blonde) last time I watched.
- I performed really (bad, badly) on the quiz.
- Every two years we have a (semiannual, biennial) celebration.
- I used to be very (board, bored, borde) in math class.
- The little girl enjoyed (baiting, bating) the fishing hook.
- He sat (beside, besides) me in school every class.
- I can’t go to the conference (because of, due to) conflicting plans I made.
Scroll down for the answers:
More . . .
More . . .
More . . .
More . . .
More . . .
Again . . .
One more time . . .
- The (bimonthly, semimonthly) newsletter comes out the second and fourth weeks of every month.
- She felt (bad, badly) about breaking the plate, but I told her it wasn’t worth much.
- She has (born, borne) eight children in ten years!
- His fears of heights is (because of, due to) falling out of a tree as a child.
- It was my first time sleeping on a (berth, birth) on a train.
- Could you please (bring, take) these groceries over to Grandma’s house?
- There is no one in the house (beside, besides) me.
- That is a really (bazaar, bizarre) story you told me.
- I am waiting with (baited, bated) breath to hear the end of that story!
- (Both, Each) of you should take a cookie.
- Because she was a top athlete, she got a (buy, by, bye) into the semifinals.
- That is certainly a tough (break, brake) you had.
- I told her the secret (by accident, on accident) when we were talking about Jill.
- Most of the Miss America contestants were (blond, blonde) last time I watched.
- I performed really (bad, badly) on the quiz.
- Every two years we have a (semiannual, biennial) celebration.
- I used to be very (board, bored, borde) in math class.
- The little girl enjoyed (baiting, bating) the fishing hook.
- He sat (beside, besides) me in school every class.
- I can’t go to the conference (because of, due to) conflicting plans I made.
In case you missed the teleseminar and would like to listen, here is my grammar talk with Stephanie Chandler, CEO of the Nonfiction Writers Association:
Got 19 right, out of 20. Didn’t know the answer to #19
Good job!
I did not know 9 & 11 🙂
But now you do!:)
RE no. 4: Shouldn’t it be either “fears are” or “fear is”?
Oops! Typo. Fixed. Thank you!
Don’t see the difference between 4 and 20. Can you explain?
So confusing!!!! I have to look it up every time. Because of is not used after the “to be” verb and means as a result of.
Due to is always used after a form of “to be”: Her lack of interest in tennis is due to her lack of skill.
Enjoyed this one, Arlene.
Happy 4th!
Thanks!!!! Hope you had a good one.
Thank you for always teaching me something! I had no idea that “get a bye” was spelled that way. I would have sworn it was “get a buy!”
I always teach myself something too!!
This is why you have the blog and I just read it. I’m not sure I got (sorry, it’s my day off) half of them right.
Well, thank you so much for reading it! Greatly appreciated. Look back at the blog two weeks ago for information on most of the words in the quiz. I did stick a few in that I hadn’t talked about in the blog. I used my book of confusing words.
I got all right except #11 and I take exception to your answer. “Bye” as in sports is usually the plural form, as in “they all got byes for the third round.” One person usually gets a “by”… But the dictionary definition shows both forms being acceptable, so I’ll accept your answer if you accept mine.
Dictionary.com definition for “bye”
noun Also by.
1. Sports. in a tournament, the preferential status of a player or team not paired with a competitor in an early round and thus automatically advanced to play in the next round:
“The top three seeded players received byes in the first round.”
Golf. the holes of a stipulated course still unplayed after the match is finished.
Cricket. a run made on a ball not struck by the batsman.
2. something subsidiary, secondary, or out of the way. “By the bye, …”
adjective: by
The online dictionary I used does not have by as the singular, but I will take your word for it! Thanks for the info.
The online dictionary I used does not have by as the singular, but I will take your word for it! Thanks for the info.
Re # 4, why is “is” used with “fears”?
That was a typo. Sorry. Should be fear is.