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[FINISHED] The Grammar Game!
https://phpbb.mfgg.net/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=17856		 Page 1 of 4
Author:  DJ Coco [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:37 pm ]
Post subject:  [FINISHED] The Grammar Game!
Hello, MFGG, welcome to another forum game! And this will be the LEAST FUN experience you could possibly think of! After all, this one will test your grammar; and it won't be easy!

You can sign up now. Once enough people have signed up, the game will begin. Everyone will be given a text with lots of grammar errors and spelling mistakes hidden within. Your job will be to find every single one and correct them. You'll have to post your results here. UPDATE: You will have to send them to me via PM, so looking at other people's posts and editing is not possible. I will post all corrections handed in myself then. The topic will be locked until all corrections have been handed in to me via PM. If you overlooked a mistake, you will be removed from the game. UPDATE: You'll be allowed to overlook 2 mistakes in the first round and one in the second round. After that, any oversights will remove you from the game. Corrections of things that were already correct will count as mistakes! Rewording as well as rephrasing is also not allowed. All others will be able to proceed to the next round. The texts will become significantly harder over time. A round ends once everyone has handed in their corrections. After that, the correction phase starts. You win by collecting the most points. You can earn points the following way:

  • Point out an oversight of someone else (at the end of the round): +1 point (maximum of 3 points to be collected after a round ends)
  • Survive round: +3 points

The game ends when the first person reaches 20 points (or you are the only one left!). If you point out an oversight that was actually correct, you will lose 2 points!

After a round is completed, the correction phase is open for the remaining day, and the next day. NOTE: The correction phase starts after everyone has handed in their corrections. The correction phase will be closed when I, the great DJ Coco, get up that day which is probably around 18:00 GMT+1

This game will really test your intellect! You will have to know punctuation, spelling, apostrophes, usage, tenses, and so on. Good luck!

The texts will all be in AMERICAN ENGLISH. There won't be any penalties if it's correct in British English, though.

Status Quo:
CouchTomato is the winner!

scaled image
Author:  Langton [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
I think I'll sign up for this.

What could possibly go wrong?
Author:  DracoHandsome [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
Sounds brutal. I'll do it I guess, but I don't really understand the rules or the game flow.

Please point out whether the tests are of American or English grammar, since they differ in more than just spelling.
Author:  Mors [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
I would sign up, if my English wasn't garbage. I'm pretty sure that text will have less grammar errors than my posts.
Author:  DJ Coco [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
I added that all texts will be in American English.
If enough people sign up, I might even hand out rewards to the winners.

Don't be afraid to sign up! Mors, didn't you say you were always good at English? :P
Author:  Langton [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
DJ Coco wrote:
American English.

Uh oh.
Author:  DJ Coco [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
LangtonSoft wrote:
Uh oh.
Added a disclaimer. You won't get a penalty if it's correct in British English.
Author:  Hypernova [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
I'm in!
Author:  Mors [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
DJ Coco wrote:
Don't be afraid to sign up! Mors, didn't you say you were always good at English? :P

That's school. I'm sure I can't notice every error.
Author:  DJ Coco [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
It'll start easy.
Author:  SuperArthurBros [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
Dang it
im still learning correct english
Why are u so evil, miss coco? :laugh:
-
Found two mistakes in the main post. :soveryhappy:
DJ Coco wrote:
And this will the LEAST FUN experience you could possible think of! After all, this one will test your grammar; and it won't be easy!

And this will be the least fun[...]
DJ Coco wrote:
Your job will be to find everyone and correct them.

"Everyone" doesn't sound appropriate here.
Author:  Cruise Elroy [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
I'm signing up!

DJ Coco wrote:
And this will the LEAST FUN experience you could possible think of! After all, this one will test your grammar; and it won't be easy!

It can't be that hard since you're missing a "be" between the "will" and "the."

(I was typing this when SAB joined, but I refuse to say I was ninja'd)
Author:  DJ Coco [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
Oops. Well, luckily all the texts handed out and the solution templates are checked by Vinny himself.
I'm glad no-one caught the typo on "possibly"
Author:  Old Yuanxian [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
i wanna join
Author:  DracoHandsome [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
Fine, let me jump on the pre-test "Ha, I got you" bandwagon.

DJ Coco wrote:
Hello, MFGG, welcome to another forum game! And this will be the LEAST FUN experience you could possibly think of! After all, this one will test your grammar; and it won't be easy!

  • First sentence runs on; best solution is a conjunction
  • Second sentence begins with unnecessary conjunction
  • Ending a sentence with a preposition is valid, but informal and at times awkward
  • Use of semicolon with conjunction

Quote:
Hello, MFGG, and welcome to another forum game! This will be the least fun experience you could possibly imagine! After all, this one will test your grammar, and it won't be easy!


DJ Coco wrote:
[...] If you overlooked a mistake, you will be removed from the game. All others will be able to proceed to the next round. [...]

  • Proper tense is "If you've overlooked" or "If you overlook", the former being favored here
  • "All others" should clarify "All other players"
  • "be able" is superfluous

Quote:
[...] If you've overlooked a mistake, you will be removed from the game. All other players will proceed to the next round. [...]


DJ Coco wrote:
You can earn points the following way:

  • Point out an oversight of someone else (at the end of the round): +1 point (maximum of 3 points to be collected after a round ends)
  • Survive round: +3 points

  • Should read "in the following [...]"
  • "Way" is singular, yet two ways are listed
  • (Minor) Standard tense for lists beginning with verbs that are not sequential instructions is present participle ("Pointing out [...]", "Surviving [...]")
  • More proper to say "an oversight of someone else's"
  • Should say "a round" instead of "the round"
  • Formality changes from including articles in the first item to not doing so in the second

(I don't understand what "at the end of the round" means -- I presume you mean the correction phase. I have adjusted the quote under this understanding.)

Quote:
You can earn points in the following ways:

  • Pointing out an oversight of someone else's during a correction phase: +1 point (maximum of 3 points to be collected after a round ends)
  • Surviving a round: +3 points


Quote:
The game ends when the first person reaches 20 points (or you are the only one left!). If you point out an oversight that was actually correct, you will lose 2 points!

  • Arbitrary parentheses
  • Punctuation within and outside of the same parenthesis
  • Missing conditional ("when the first person reaches 20 points (or [when] [...]")
  • "You" is not a proper identifier for the unknown theoretical last contestant
  • Change of chronological tense ("the game ends when" --> "an oversight that was")

Quote:
The game ends when the first person reaches 20 points or when only one player remains! If you point out an oversight that is actually correct, you will lose 2 points!


DJ Coco wrote:
After a round is completed, the correction phase is open for the remaining day, and the next day.

  • "Is open" should be "will open"
  • "Remaining day" should be "rest of the same day"
  • Unneeded comma, though not strictly forbidden either
  • "and the next day" would be better clarified as "as well as the next day"

Quote:
After a round is completed, the correction phase will open for the rest of the same day as well as the next day.




I expect a good deal of argument over what constitutes proper American grammar.
Author:  DJ Coco [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
You missed an oversight:
Quote:
The game ends when the first person reaches 20 points, when only one player remains or when you are DracoHandsome! If you point out an oversight that is actually correct, you will lose 2 points!

You are good. Though about that "is open" that should apparently be a "will open": The correction phase is scheduled like in a time table. Isn't will future wrong in that case?
e.g. "The train will leave at 12:00" is incorrect. It should be "The train leaves at 12:00".
Author:  DracoHandsome [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
DJ Coco wrote:
You missed an oversight:
Quote:
The game ends when the first person reaches 20 points, when only one player remains[,] or when you are DracoHandsome! If you point out an oversight that is actually correct, you will lose 2 points!

You are good. Though about that "is open" that should apparently be a "will open": The correction phase is scheduled like in a time table. Isn't will future wrong in that case?
e.g. "The train will leave at 12:00" is incorrect. It should be "The train leaves at 12:00".

That depends on context. If you're asking only about a specific train trip ("When does the next train leave?"), then answering with either form is acceptable; but when querying for the schedule itself, only the simple present ("leaves") is proper because it implies repetition.

In your particular phrasing, I prefer the simple future ("will open") because the correction phase's opening is sequential to another event in the same sentence, but I think both forms would be acceptable. It's more my particular writing style than a linguistic mandate, I suppose, and that's part of why I expect a lot of argument over the course of the event.

There are a lot of ambiguities in English that individual writers interpret very differently, such as the use of semicolons & ampersands and how to format A&A's (abbreviations & acronyms.)
Author:  Q-Nova [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
Hm, I think I'll have a go at this.
Author:  Koopatroopa323 [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 7:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
I may sign up, but I'm very scared.
Author:  Xandalf [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 7:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [OFFICIAL] The Grammar Game!
Bestest Game Ever

i Sign Up Please
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