2. Norsemen who raided England during the
Old English period contributed to the simplification
of English grammar.
True Old English and Old Norse were related
languages. To understand one another, the Norsemen and
the Englishmen simplified their grammar. This resulted
in a simplification of English grammar throughout the
country.
3. After the Battle of Hastings 1066, the English
and the French languages began to blend in England.
True
4. Most of the modern English words for home and
family come from the French.
False They come from Old English.
5. Most of the modern English words for government
and education come from the French.
True
6. The Norman Conquest led to a further
simplification of English grammar.
True After the Conquest the English and French
languages began to blend, leading to the simplification
of English grammar.
7. English grammar is more complicated that
that of either French or German.
FalseBecause the English language was influenced
by the contacts of the English-speaking people with people
who spoke other languages, English grammar began to
break down and became more simple.
8. Shakespeare contributed hundreds of new words
to the English language.
True
9. The spelling of "knife" reflects the way it
was pronounced in 1500.
True
10. The eighteenth century lexicographer Samuel
Johnson single-handedly created a dictionary of the
English language.
True
11. Modern English avoids borrowing words from
other languages.
False Partly because of its history, English
freely borrows words from other languages. That is one
of the reasons that the English vocabulary is the richest
of any language.
12. In ancient Rome it was a crime to split an
infinitive.
False It was not a crime to split an infinitive in
ancient Rome, but it was impossible to do so. English infinitives
always contain two words: "to" + the verb.In Latin the
infinitive was only one word.