Off to university: Challenges for post-secondary students

So you aced our quiz on difficult points of language at the primary and secondary level? Time to move on to more serious matters! Choose the correct answer for each question at the post-secondary level, and see if you can earn your PhD!

1. First year of college: author Gabrielle Roy achieved phenomenal success with her first novel The Tin Flute (Bonheur d'occasion), published in 1945.

Franco-manitoban

Franco Manitoban

Franco-Manitoban

2. Second year of college: Which literary device is used in writing or speech to make a situation seem less important or serious than it is?

anaphora

understatement

oxymoron

3. First year of bachelor's: How do you write the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador?

Saint John

St-John

St. John's

4. Second year of bachelor's: When someone wishes you "congradulations" (where the third syllable is pronounced "dew"), what kind of language error are they making?

barbarism

anacoluthon

diverticulitis

5. Third year of bachelor's: In which sentence below does the verb agree in number with the collective noun?

The family are going on holidays.

The choir are singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

The orchestra are tuning their instruments.

6. Fourth year of bachelor's: Which sentence means "My professor was nonplussed when she heard the news"?

My professor was very annoyed when she heard the news.

My professor was dumbfounded when she heard the news.

My professor was ecstatic when she heard the news.

7. First year of master's: Anyone who fails to comply with the regulations will be disqualified as a competitor.

sine qua non

sui generis

ipso facto

8. Second year of master's: What does the word "hygge" refer to?

an extra-long hug you give someone that you haven't seen in a long time

the latest trend in smart technology

a coziness that creates feelings of contentment, well-being and safety

9. First year of PhD: The symbol used to create hashtags on social media networks is called an . It is also found on telephone keypads.

octothorp

obelisk

asterisk

10. Second year of PhD: What is the meaning of the combining form "eu-," which comes from the Greek and is used in words such as "euphoria," "euphemism" and "euphony"?

good

small

many