Quiz playing is a wonderful way to increase your knowledge of English as a Second Language. Remember that all of our ESL quizzes have titles that are both friendly and technical at the same time… In the case of this quiz you might like to tell your friends about “Which One’s Right?” but no doubt your teachers will talk about the “Mixed Detailed ‘Proofreading’ quiz”! If you hear a technical term and you want to find a quiz about the subject then just look through the list of quiz titles until you find what you need.
This Mixed Detailed ‘Proofreading quiz is a mixture of all sorts of English knowledge: words, culture and who knows what else? (We hope YOU do!).
In each case, Which one's right? Let’s see how you do mixed Detailed ‘Proofreading!
'Machinery' on the other hand, is a collection of machines! (Or it can also be used metaphorically, e.g. 'the political machinery of a nation'.) In a typical British telephone directory, you may notice a whole section of 'M[a]c ...' names. Shortly after that you may find the Irish equivalent, with names like O'Connell, O'Reilly etc. (where 'O'' means 'of ...' ~ almost like 'o'clock'!), and a little further on again, lots of names beginning with P, such as Probert, Pugh and Parry, which are Welsh ('ap' in Welsh, also meaning 'of': so these people are descended from Robert, Hugh and Harold/Henry).
Generally it is a good idea to observe and remember family names when you are learning another language. In many cultures, the names come from:
(1) jobs that people did (Butcher, Baker, Farmer etc.);
(2) places where they lived (Woods, Field, Bridge, Lake, Rivers, Hill, Bywater etc.)
(3) what they were like as people, physically or by character, e.g. Smart, Armstrong, Whitehead;
(4) 'Patronymics' such as Robinson, McTavish, O'Connor and Price ( = 'Ap Rhys').
It can't do much harm if you write down, remember and perhaps investigate some of these. This will give you a bit more cultural insight into our history and the whole matter of how things get their names. What could be more important than the names of a nation's people? And how about your own name? Is there an English equivalent?
If you happen to be Russian and your name is Ivan Petrovich Melnikov, you would be John Peterson Miller, for instance. Well worth some of your thinking-time!