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Quiz about Punctuation Marks the Spot
Quiz about Punctuation Marks the Spot

Punctuation Marks the Spot! Trivia Quiz


There are hundreds of punctuation marks. Some are archaic and rarely seen, while others are seen almost every day. How much do you know about the marks you use to get your point across?

A photo quiz by dcpddc478. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
dcpddc478
Time
4 mins
Type
Photo Quiz
Quiz #
377,271
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
716
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: reeshy (9/10), Nhoj_too (9/10), turaguy (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Which statement about the exclamation point is true? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. What is another name for this punctuation mark, often called a question mark? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What was the original connotation of the asterisk? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The ampersand was, at one time, which of the following things? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. What is the term for a long series of unrelated typographical symbols used to indicate profanity? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What is the term for the accent mark that you see in some Spanish words such as "seņor"? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This punctuation mark is known as an ellipsis, is usually seen in fictional novels, and indicates that the character speaking has a French accent.


Question 8 of 10
8. This punctuation mark is called a "section sign", and is usually used in which type of occupation? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. This punctuation mark is known as a pilcrow. What does it indicate? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. The "at sign" was, for many years, used almost exclusively in sales and accounting.



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 16 2024 : reeshy: 9/10
Feb 26 2024 : Nhoj_too: 9/10
Feb 08 2024 : turaguy: 8/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Which statement about the exclamation point is true?

Answer: Until 1970, most keyboards did not have an exclamation point.

The exclamation point didn't become a standard feature on keyboards until the 1970s. For years, an exclamation point was made by typing a period (full stop), backspace, and then typing an apostrophe. For those of us who remember, it made a dandy exclamation point!
2. What is another name for this punctuation mark, often called a question mark?

Answer: Eroteme

An eroteme is a punctuation mark that indicates a question or interrogation. While not all languages use a symbol to indicate a question, most written European languages do. Some, most notably Spanish, will even use one upside down at the beginning of the sentence and another one at the end of the sentence that is right side up.
3. What was the original connotation of the asterisk?

Answer: It indicated a date of birth.

Originally, the asterisk was used by printers to note a date of birth. Today, it used by editors and teachers to indicate an error or omission. An asterisk can have between five and eight arms, which can vary in shape.
4. The ampersand was, at one time, which of the following things?

Answer: The last letter of the Roman alphabet

The word "ampersand" was not popularly used until the 19th century, and has its origins in Latin. It is a corruption of the phrase "and 'per se' and". The symbol was commonly written at the end of the alphabet, and the Latin phrase 'per se' was used when saying a letter of the alphabet that could also be used as a word, to indicate that it is the symbol that is being referred to.

When the English alphabet was recited out loud, it therefore ended with "...xyz and 'per se' and". This eventually condensed into ampersand, and that term remained when the symbol stopped being written at the end of the alphabet.
5. What is the term for a long series of unrelated typographical symbols used to indicate profanity?

Answer: Grawlix

The term grawlix first appeared in 1964 in a book titled "Let's Get Down to Grawlixes". This unusual book was written American cartoonist Mort Walker, the creator of Beetle Bailey. There is no set order that a grawlix must be written in, and it was used as a polite way of implying excitement or profane words.
6. What is the term for the accent mark that you see in some Spanish words such as "seņor"?

Answer: Tilde

A tilde is an accent mark, commonly seen in Spanish and Portuguese. When placed over a vowel, or often the letter "n", this punctuation mark indicates nasalization of that letter.
7. This punctuation mark is known as an ellipsis, is usually seen in fictional novels, and indicates that the character speaking has a French accent.

Answer: False

This symbol is the pound sterling currency mark. The word sterling MUST be in there as the term "pound mark" means different things in different English speaking countries. Originally, it was a reference to a pound of silver.
8. This punctuation mark is called a "section sign", and is usually used in which type of occupation?

Answer: Legal

It is called a section sign, and is usually used as a reference to a particular section of a document. It is usually found in legal documents but is occasionally used in other occupations.
9. This punctuation mark is known as a pilcrow. What does it indicate?

Answer: A new paragraph starts here.

This archaic punctuation mark indicates that this is the spot to start a new paragraph. Paragraphs were not commonly used for many centuries as they wasted space. This punctuation mark is used in the field of law, more than any other. It is also often used by copy editors in the course of their work on any kind of writing.
10. The "at sign" was, for many years, used almost exclusively in sales and accounting.

Answer: True

For many years the "at sign" was used in the business/accounting world to mean "at a rate of". For example, "three pears @ one dollar apiece". Today the "at sign" is commonly used in computer addresses and simply means "at".
Source: Author dcpddc478

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