Applying for the Grammar Police? Take this test!
The real grammar police (the ones for whom a split infinitive is a sacrilege) would foam at the mouth over these sentences. Can you spot what would set them off (the “error’)?
Click on the link to jump to the corrections and explanations.
Neither of us are going to be there.
The data explains why the theory is wrong.
McDonald’s raised their prices again.
None of us like making mistakes.
Education in Europe is a lot cheaper than the United States.
Would you worry about correcting these in your own writing? Why or why not?
Education in Europe is a lot cheaper than in the United States. (You can’t logically compare “education” to “the United States.” They’re not the same class of things.)
None of us likes making mistakes. (“None” is also technically a singular pronoun.)
McDonald’s raised its prices again. (“McDonald’s” is a collective noun; these are usually singular.)
The data explain why the theory is wrong. (“Data” is the plural of “datum.”)
Neither of us is going to be there. (“Neither” is considered a singular pronoun.)
