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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 9.8 | Chapter 9.9.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Mencken, the name of what game puzzles etymologists?
(a) Poker.
(b) Badminton.
(c) Whist.
(d) Football.

2. What is frequently omitted in phrases indicated desire or intent, as indicated in Chapter 9.9?
(a) Adjectival modifiers.
(b) Adverbial modifiers.
(c) The subject noun(s).
(d) Verbs of action.

3. According to Mencken, how do the English pronounce "been?"
(a) Bean.
(b) Bein.
(c) Bain.
(d) Bin.

4. What difference in pronunciation does Mencken state most sharply distinguishes the two dialects?
(a) The normative "a."
(b) The normative "-ary" suffix.
(c) The normative "ch."
(d) The normative "o."

5. In what language does Mencken state the double negative was once "quite respectable?"
(a) French.
(b) Russian.
(c) Spanish.
(d) Anglo-Saxon.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which word do Americans use for "angry" that was once an English provincialism considered base?

2. In terms of politics, an American candidate "runs" for office. What does an English candidate do?

3. How does Mencken characterize the vulgar American habitual use of the double negative?

4. What purpose does the double negative primarily serve?

5. In what sort of languages are double negatives "perfectly allowable"?

(see the answer key)

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