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To: RightWingAtheist
I just had to go through the your-you're and its-it's distinction with a whole bunch of university students, LOL!

University students??? Good grief!

1,249 posted on 07/29/2006 3:04:10 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer (Senior member of Darwin Central)
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To: RadioAstronomer; RightWingAtheist

yes: University students. ie: high-school graduates.

this is nothing new.

once upon a time, my grandfather devised a test for applicants seeking translator positions in the organization of which he was a part.

it had become apparent that possession of a college degree, even one from an Ivy League school, was no guarantor of linguistic competence, even in English - let alone a multiplicity of foreign tongues.

so... a test:

*******
Given:
1. The sentence "I went to the store to purchase one pound of butter"
2. the word "only"

Instructions:
1. Insert the word "only" before, between, or after each word in the given sentence, once per iteration. Transcribe each result.
example:
a. "Only I went to the store to purchase one pound of butter"
b. "I only went to the store to purchase one pound of butter"
etc...
2. In one paragraph per result, describe the difference in meaning between the original given sentence and the modified result.
*******

the ones who passed the test were those who asked "HOW long do we have for this test?" within thirty seconds of having read the Given and Instructions.


1,256 posted on 07/29/2006 4:32:58 PM PDT by King Prout (many complain I am overly literal... this would not be a problem if fewer people were under-precise)
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