Are you a word master? Take our word challenge and find out.
Writing is a critical business skill.
At the least, using the wrong word in a report, proposal or memo can be embarrassing. At its worst, misusing words can damage your credibility and even prove costly.
So, how good are you? Can you get 25 out of 25 right?
Good luck! Plus, check out all of our other quizzes and tools.
A Handy Guide You Can Download
Want a handy list of words many managers regularly misuse? Download this PDF and keep it by your desk. It includes most of the mistakes listed in this challenge – plus, others that probably give you trouble.
Alma says
I loved the quiz, it helped me see if I still remembered some things. I did pretty good, but some of them I second guessed myself and it ended up wrong. Oh well, at least I knew the true answer.
John Walston says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Lynette says
Nice refresher! Missed two and it is the same two that always trip me up.
John Walston says
Wow, you only missed two! That’s very good.
BgDmbBnny says
100% Right, too easy.
BTW – (High school dropout)
John Walston says
Congrats…. you know your stuff…. btw… a lot of college grads aren’t scoring 100%…
Vicki Mueller says
I wield the red pen in our office, and love it or hate it, I’m usually right. Great quiz, just wish I could see which one I missed. (The “Review Your Score” link doesn’t seem to be working.)
Shane Hughes says
Great quiz! I wanted to review what I got wrong but the link did not work. But still, fun quiz.
ESD says
Missed one…I’m OK with it.
As mentioned above, I would like to see which one I missed. I suspect the effect/affect question.
John Walston says
Sorry about the quiz review. I think it is fixed now if you’d like to try the quiz again.
john
John Walston says
Sorry about the quiz review. I think it is fixed now if you’d like to try the quiz again.
john
John Walston says
Sorry about the quiz review. I think it is fixed now if you’d like to try the quiz again.
john
John Walston says
Sorry about the quiz review. I think it is fixed now if you’d like to try the quiz again.
john
HDH says
My memory is not as bad as I expected. I scored 80%. Not bad for a 50 year old operations manager.
mv says
Today is April 16. I enjoyed taking the quiz. Unfortunately, I did not receive a score.
Janet Collazo says
Great Quiz! Missed two…it is good to review your work. I have someone that always takes the red pen to what I write and I love it! Keeps you on your toes…
Roy J. Wood says
Question 14 is incorrect:
“With whom should I speak” would be correct.
royjwood@royjwood.com says
I enjoyed the quiz…admittedly, I had to laugh at some of the questions. People annoy me all the time with these mistakes.
looopy says
That’s right! Otherwise, you’re ending the sentence with a preposition. This is the only one I missed, because being so formal at the beginning of the sentence doesn’t fit with the grammatically incorrect sentence structure.
looopy says
Great quiz, here’s one that bothers me…. irritate/aggravate. How do you feel about this one? Recently got into it with family, one of whom pointed out that the dictionary now lists the definition of “aggravate” not only as “to make worse” but also as “to irritate” (though it also says “informal”). I was always taught that you can aggravate a situation or condition, but not a person.
Donna C. says
I missed 3 so I guess that’s not too bad. Thanks for the review!!
Safe-Y-Man says
Only missed two, principal and farther. They’re burned in now.
Thanks for the mental and literary aerobics.
J Peck says
I got all 25 questions correct. How come I only got a 96%, rather than 100%?
Phil_G says
I missed only one. Not bad for an old engineer. Of course, my mistake was the first who/whom question. I knew it was wrong as soon as I submitted it. That little preposition “to” was screaming at me and I ignored it.
My “Business English for Engineers” professor was by far the most strict and exacting teacher I ever had, whether in my major technical subjects or the rest of my undergraduate courses. It was also the most thrilling “B+” I ever received, considering my professor had declared that earning an “A” in her course was a rare and wonderful achievement.