Can You Correct the Grammar of These Famous Christmas Movie Quotes?

EDUCATION

300 PLAYS

By: Teresa McGlothlin

7 Min Quiz

Image: Hughes Entertainment/ Warner Bros.

About This Quiz

Admit it! You walk around every holiday season, spouting quotes from your favorite Christmas films. But do you know how to correct their grammar? During this quiz, you'll get to put your language rules knowledge to the test. Will you be able to fix our mistakes, or will we have taken things too far, like Harv and Marvin from "Home Alone"?

Classics like "It's A Wonderful Life" and "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" always warm our hearts, and it's a good idea to take that feeling into the questions you're about to be asked. For every perfect quote, there are dozens of other quotes that need your editing expertise. We haven't made it easy to find our mistakes, but we trust that you have enough goodwill in your heart to correct them and make them sparkle like a tree topper. 

If you can find the issues in all 35 of these famous Christmas movie lines, you can walk away with this year's bragging rights. Plus, you'll be inspired to spread even more cheer this year now that you've seen so many beautiful quotes staring back at you from the screen. How well will you do correcting them? Lay a finger upside your nose and see how you do! 

"We elves try to stick to the four basic food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup." Where's the mistake in this "Elf" quote?

Some of you are not going to like this! As of 2019, AP rules have discontinued the use of the Oxford comma. In this case, there should be no comma between the words "candy corn" and "and."

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How would you fix Bing Crosby's, "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas"?

If we said that Bing Crosby sang "White Christmas," it would be acceptable to have a capital "W." Since we are not talking about the title of a song, only the word Christmas needs to be capitalized.

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According to Frosty, "There's a certain magics that comes with the first snow." Can you figure out what we messed up?

Frosty did not sing about magic with an "S," and we shouldn't have added it either. If we left it, we would have to rewrite the entire sentence. Then, it would say, "There are certain magics that come with the first snow."

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"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to here." Can you correct Buddy the Elf's quote?

Here, here! Since 2003, Buddy the Elf has been singing loud for everyone to hear! Starring Will Farrell, "Elf" grossed over $220 million at the box office. It's one of America's favorite Christmas comedies.

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What's the better way to write the "Love Actually" line "To me, you are perfect"?

It's not Christmastime unless someone is walking around quoting 2003's "Love Actually." There are no errors in this quote. The comma after me adds the perfect pause to emphasize the rest of the statement, but it's better written the other way.

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Where's the issue with the "Miracle on 34th Street" line that goes, "Oh, Christmas isn't just a day, its a state of mind"?

Even Kris Kringle will tell you that we've used the wrong version of it's during this quote. Since 1947, "Miracle on 34th Street" has been filling hearts with Christmas joy and making it last all year.

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In 1955's "We're No Angels," Humphrey Bogart says, "I'm going to buy them their Christmas turkey." Can you make it better?

There, their and they're — everyone messes them up sometimes! In this quote, it's used the right way. But to enhance clarity, the better way to say it would be, "I'm going to buy them a Christmas turkey."

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What's the oops in this "The Holiday" quote? "It's Christmas eve and we are going to celebrate being young and being alive."

If we were writing Christmas card or Christmas stocking, there would be no reason to capitalize the word that follows Christmas. Since Christmas Eve is considered a day, the "eve" here should have a capital "E."

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How would you correct "You stink. You smell like beef and cheese. You dont smell like Santa"?

Leave it to Buddy from "Elf" to say exactly what he thinks. We've messed up his quote, though. We forgot to put an apostrophe in the word "don't." As a contraction, it needs the apostrophe to combine the words do and not.

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"Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to." What's wrong with this quote?

When writing in a conversational tone like movie scripts, the rules are a little different. However, even if you are authoring "Miracle on 34th Street," you should avoid ending sentences with prepositions.

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How did we mess up Buddy's quote that goes, "You have such a pretty face, you should be on a Christmas Card"?

While you do need to capitalize things like the day known as Christmas Eve, it's not necessary to capitalize the word "card." If Christmas Card were a company, you would make it a big "C." Since it's not, you don't need to do it.

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Kevin McCallister asks, "You guise give up, or are you thirsty for more?" Can you find our mistake in his question?

When "Home Alone" was released, it broke box office records! As Kevin continues his brutal assault on home invaders Marv and Harry, he says, "You guys give up, or are you thirsty for more?"

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What's wrong with "May all your Christmasses be white" from "White Christmas"?

With the iconic theme song composed by Irving Berlin, "White Christmas" has been a holiday favorite since 1954. We've botched up this quote by misspelling Christmases. There's no need for the extra "S."

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The Grinch wasn't being very nice when he said, "Your name is Rudolph, you're a freak with a red nose." Which way is the right way to state this?

Before his heart grew three sizes, The Grinch didn't have many nice things to say. If this Jim Carrey quote were written correctly, you would add "and" after the comma. You could also add a semicolon after Rudolph, or a period to create two separate sentences.

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According to "The Polar Express," you should "Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lays in your heart." Is that right?

This "The Polar Express" quote echoes the sentiment of most Christmas films. They tell us that Christmas "lies" in our hearts all year round. It's doesn't lay there, though. That would be too lazy!

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Which of the words from this "Die Hard" quote is incorrect? "I got a hundred people down here and they're all covered in glass!"

Tisk, tisk. If you were trying to rescue a few hundred people, your grammar might not be that great, either. In this quote, "got" should have been replaced by "have." It should say, "I have a hundred people down here, and they're all covered in glass."

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As Ernest is saving Christmas, he says, "Ever since I was a little kid, I always felt like it was my own personal holiday." Do you see anything wrong with the quote?

We love "Ernest Saves Christmas" so much we didn't want to mess up his words. You could end this statement with an exclamation point, but we try to use those very sparingly — or only for yelling. For once, Ernest wasn't yelling when he said this.

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Yukon Cornelius says, "This fogs as thick as peanut butter!" Where did we botch his words?

In 1964's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Yukon Cornelius leads the group through a thick batch of fog to find the misfits. We messed up his words by forgetting the apostrophe in "fogs." It's supposed to be "fog's" because it's combining the words fog and is.

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Have we made any mistakes in the "Scrooged" quote that goes, "For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hopped we would be"?

When Bill Murray was playing Frank Cross in 1988's "Scrooged," he didn't do much hopping like a bunny. He did, however, do a lot of preaching about the virtues of Christmas and how it fills up with hope.

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What's the issue with Clark Griswold saying, "Hey kids, look! It's a dear"?

Unless Clark was pointing out the window and telling Russ and Aubrey to look at someone he's fond of, we have misspelled the word "deer." The way we've written it here gives the quote a whole new meaning.

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Which was is the right way to write this "Christmas Vacation" line? "Hey Kids, I herd on the news that an airplane pilot spotted santa's sled on it's way in from New york!"

Leave it to the Griswolds from 1989's "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" to make it feel like the holidays. We made a lot of errors in our question. There are a total of five!

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Can you find the mistake in "First we’ll make snow angels for two hours, then we’ll go ice skating, then we’ll eat a whole role of Tollhouse cookie dough"?

Audiences may have eaten up the "role" Will Ferrell played in "Elf," but a roll of cookie dough is a totally different kind of roll. Buddy uses the word like a roll of paper towels — not a part in a movie!

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Lucy looked at Charlie Brown and said, "We all know that Christmas is a big comercial racket." Which word have we written incorrectly?

In 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Linus and Charlie have a hard time convincing Lucy to get into the Christmas spirit. In this quote, we have intentionally misspelled the word commercial.

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Can you correct the error in this "Home Alone" quote? "Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back?"

If we had written this quote the right way, it would end with a question mark. It would say, "Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back?"

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The mayor in "Nightmare Before Christmas" says, "Oh. How jolly our Christmas will be!" Can you pick the correct way to write it?

Although this is written conversationally and not too terribly wrong, grammar buffs will want it written completely differently to eliminate "will be" at the end. Although, it sounds so stuffy the correct way, doesn't it?

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Which of The Grinch's words are wrong in this quote? "Saving Christmas is a lousy ending, way to commercial."

Once again, we've tried to fool you by using the wrong version of "too." Jim Carrey brought brand new life into the role of The Grinch in 2000. We're sure Dr. Seuss would have been proud of his performance.

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What's the problem with "It seems I’m not an Elf" from "Elf"?

After Buddy says that, Leon the Snowman says, "Of course you’re not an elf. You’re 6-foot-3 and had a beard since you were 15." In Buddy's quote, elf does not need to be capitalized since it refers to an elf, in general, not the movie's title.

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Can you correct our error in the "Christmas with the Kranks" quote? "Youre skipping Christmas! Isn’t that against the law?"

2004's "Christmas with The Kranks" is chock full of memorable lines. In this quote, we've tried to trick you by leaving the apostrophe out of the word "you're." It helps to combine the words you and are.

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"No, only a Claus can deliver the presents, and that is a claus." Which word have we messed up in this "Fred Claus" quote?

Vince Vaughn and Kevin Spacey might make unlikely Christmas partners, but they pull it off flawlessly in 2007's "Fred Claus." Here, we've used the wrong "clause" to make this quote incorrect.

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"Jingle All the Way" and correct the grammar of "You guys are nothing but a bunch of sleazy conmen in red suites." Which way is the correct way to write it?

Long before Arnold Schwarzenegger was called Governor, he delivered a few memorable quotes during his time as an actor. In this "Jingle All the Way" quote, we've added an "e" to "suits." It would be correct if he were talking about a hotel room rather than a costume.

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In "The Santa Clause," Scott Calvin says, "You want this doll or not? Go back to asleep." Can you figure out what's incorrect about it?

When playing a reluctant Santa in "The Santa Clause," Tim Taylor says, "You want this doll or not? Go back to sleep" We added an unnecessary "a" to the word "sleep." It doesn't make any sense the way we've written it, does it?

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"Let us deal with the eviction notices for tomorrow, Mr. Cratchit." Where is the mistake in this "Muppets Christmas Carol" line?

Poor Kermit! It's a good thing Mr. Cratchit comes to his senses about Christmas before it's too late. We haven't made any mistakes here. That's the way it's written in the movie script.

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What would you do to fix "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal"?

Perhaps one of the "Home Alone" series' most memorable lines, "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal," is uttered all over the world. While you can get away with "ya" in a conversation, formal writing requires that you change it to the more proper "you." (Yes, we know it sound stuffy. What can we tell ya?)

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Do you see the error in "We’re kicking off our fun old fashioned family Christmas by heading out into the country"?

Clark Griswold knows how to turn every moment of Christmas into an adventure in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Certain phrases require a hyphen, and "old-fashioned" is one of them.

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In "A Christmas Story," Santa tells Ralphie, "You’ll shot your eye out, kid." Can you make it read correctly?

Oops! It looks like we've forgotten to add an "o" in the word "shoot." 1983's "A Christmas Story" is full of great quotes. We didn't think it was fair to ask you to correct "I want an official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle," though.

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