Point of view Test

Number 1 to 20
On each line write whether you think the answer is
in Omniscient (O), 3rd person limited (3rd L) or first
person point of view (1st).
Don’t look at other’s answers.
Good luck, do your best!
 1. Which point of view?

Once upon a time, there lived a princess who would

have been perfectly happy except for one thing: In a
moment of weakness, she had promised to marry a
frog. Her father felt sorry for her, but he insisted that
she keep her word. (In fact, he was a little nervous-
he’d never met a talking frog before.) “After all, a
promise is a promise,” agreed her mother, who
thought the frog was better looking than the princess’s
last boyfriend. Little did any of the royal family know
who the frog really was.
Omniscient
 2. Which point of view?

I couldn’t believe that my parents were actually

going to make me marry a slimy, ugly, bulgy-eyed
frog! They didn’t feel sorry for me at all! All they
cared about was a stupid promise I never thought I’d
have to keep.
First person
 3. Which point of view?

The princess tried desperately to get out of her

promise. “It was all my parents’ fault,” she thought.
They were so unfair. But she had a nagging feeling
that she had only herself to blame- and the frog. “I
wonder if the royal chef knows how to cook frogs’
legs!” she said to herself.
3rd limited
 4. Which point of view?

The two men started up the street, arm in arm. The

man from the West, his egotism enlarged by success,
was beginning to outline the history of his career.
The other, submerged in his overcoat, listened with
interest. At the corner stood a drugstore, brilliant
with electric lights. When they came into this glare,
each of them turned simultaneously to gaze upon the
other’s face.
 Omniscient
 5. Which point of view?

After we all grew up, Patsy moved to New York and then to Los
Angeles. I began
to see her on television. Then I saw her in movies. At the end of one
movie, I
searched closing credits for her name, but it wasn’t there. So I
called my sister
and said, “I can’t believe they left Patsy’s name off the credits.” My
sister said,
“They didn’t. She changed her name.” I hung up the phone feeling
confused. To
me Patsy would always be Patsy. Why would she need a new name?
First Person
 6. Which point of view?

My old sister had the hardest time getting an

American name for herself because Mauricia did not
translate into English. Ironically, although she had the
most foreign- sounding name, she and I were the
Americans in the family. We had been born in New
York City when our parents had first tried immigration
and then gone back “home,” too homesick to stay. My
mother often told the story of how she had almost
changed my sister’s name in the hospital.
First Person
 7. Which point of view?

The Shade peered around a thick tree and looked up the

trail. It was too dark for any human to see, but for him
the faint moonlight was like sunshine streaming
between the trees; every detail was clear and sharp to
his searching gaze. He remained unnaturally quiet, a
long pale sword in his hand. A wire-thin scratch
curved down the blade. The weapon was thin enough
to slip between a pair of ribs, yet stout enough to hack
through the hardest armor.
3rd limited
 8. Which point of view?

Yeh-Shen, the little orphan, grew to girlhood in her stepmother’s

home. She was a bright child and lovely too, with skin smooth as
ivory and dark pools for eyes. Her stepmother was jealous of all this
beauty and goodness, for her own daughter was not pretty at all. So in
her displeasure, she gave poor Yeh-Shen the heaviest and most
unpleasant chores.
The only friend that Yeh-Shen had to her name was a fish she had
caught and raised. It was a beautiful fish with golden eyes, and
everyday it would come out of the water and rest its head on the bank
of the pond, waiting for Yeh-Shen to feed it. Stepmother gave Yeh-
Shen enough food for herself, but the orphan child always found
something to share with her fish, which grew to enormous size.
Omniscient
 9. Which point of view?

I couldn’t believe it. My best friend in the whole

world had become a cop. We broke the law together.
How could he just have some guy hand me this note
and then get me arrested. I’ve been running from
the law my whole life and now I’m finally caught.
Well, it won’t last long. I’ll find a way to get out and
break free then, I’ll find Jimmy Wells and show him
what friendship is all about.
First Person
 10. Which point of view?

The ledge of the rock exit was worn down, but it

scraped my palms and shins as I scrambled through
it. It hurt, stiff as I was, to wrench myself erect, and
my breath caught. My head swam as the blood
flowed downward.
First person
 11. Which point of view?

Gary scooted deeper under the Cadillac and loosened the drain
plug. Heavy oil clumped out in globs, some splashing on his
already-stained shirt. He scowled. Surely, people could take
better care of their cars.
Something kicked at his foot. Probably the new kid again. He
couldn't do anything without asking questions. Gary set the plug
aside and rolled from beneath the car.
His brother Ray waited. "We gotta talk."
Gary swiped at the sweat on his forehead. It wasn't like Ray to
interrupt him at work. "I get off at three."
"Now.“
3rd limited
 12. Which point of view?

Ray walked the mile from the hospital to Bob's Sunoco. He found Gary in the bay, changing
the oil on a pale blue Cadillac. He kicked his brother's feet until Gary rolled from beneath the
car. "We gotta talk.“
Gary wiped sweat from his eyes. It wasn't like Ray to interrupt him at work. "I get off at
three."
"Now."
Gary stood and wiped his hands on an oily rag. "What's up?"
"Let's walk." Ray feared his brain was going to explode. Too much was going on, too many
things were changing. He'd read the front page of the newspaper over and over while waiting
in the doctor's office. The Apollo 7 astronauts were heading home after eleven days in space.
President Johnson was negotiating for the release of fourteen North Vietnamese POW's. And
Jackie Kennedy, the dead President's wife, was marrying a Greek billionaire the very next
day. He didn't even know if it was legal for the President's widow to marry a foreigner.
Gary followed Ray outside and toward town. He didn't like it that Ray was so quiet. "What
did the doctor say about Mom?"
Ray hated to break the news. "He put her in the hospital.“
Omniscient
 13. Which point of view?

She looked down at the two priests that were staring up at her awestruck. Both
of their mouths hung open. It made the nun smile to see them so astonished.
She’d warned them about the ghosts that lived in the cathedral, but they hadn’t
listened to her. Who was the fool now? She thought and a slight grin spread
across her face. Soon enough her and ghosts would take over the cathedral and
then someday the world!
The older priest looked up at her and opened his mouth, “What is the meaning
of this?”
“You are no longer safe,” she whispered and cackled loudly. She could see both
of them recoil from her.
The younger priest, the one she’d always loved spoke, “Why Dresielle? Why
would you do this?”
It almost hurt her to hear pain in his voice, but she ignored the pain and
almost yelled, “Revenge!”
3rd limited
 14. Which point of view?

The two fairies stared at the young boy sleeping. He was so tired from the
long day of play that he didn’t even hear his window unlatch when the fairies
snuck in. Belda, the head fairy, flew towards the boy’s head. She got a good
look at him and nodded towards Edwin, the second in command fairy. Edwin
flew close to the boy’s ear and then pulled out a small knife. He poked the boy
in the earlobe. The boy rolled over and tried to rub his ear, but his hand
didn’t reach anything but his head and no ear.
He opened his eyes and groped at his head, but he couldn’t feel anything. He
stood and looked in the mirror. By now, the fairies were hiding behind the
curtain waiting for the boy’s transformation to finish. The boy screamed
when he saw that most of the left side of his body has disappeared. It was the
same side that Edwin had poked. By the time the boy’s parents entered the
room the boy had completely disappeared as well as the fairies.
Omniscient
 15. Which point of view?

I could feel the cool breeze in the air. My strings hummed slightly
with the wind. I wanted to make my strings sing for the beauty of the
area, but I could not. I had to first see my master, the master of the
harp, before I could play for him. It was my only chance to become a
real harp. I had been placed here by the elder harps. The elders were
real harps, strong and beautiful. I was a transparent harp. I would
only become real to the master of the harp. A human would have to be
so musically talented and if they saw me then, I would become real.
I heard a rustling behind a bush. I tried to stand taller and I heard the
human climb out. It was a small boy who looked lost. He lifted his
eyes to me and stared. I could feel everything becoming solid in my
form. I knew it was happening. I was becoming a real harp.
First person
 16. Which point of view?

Karen stretched out her hand to shake Bill’s, but

Bill wouldn’t have any of it. He yanked Karen into a
bear hug. Her breath caught, but she smiled with
glee into his chest. His arms is where she would
inevitably be for the rest of her life. Bill smiled
gratefully for his permanent new love.
omniscient
 17. Which point of view?

Karen couldn’t believe her eyes. It was really Bill.

They had dated in high school, all four years, but had
broken up at the end of their senior year. Karen’s
eyes pricked with tears. She knew Bill would always
be the one for her. He was her other half.
3rd limited
 18. Which point of view?

I stepped onto Ellis Island and took a deep

breath. The air was cold, even colder than it had
been on the boat. I hitched up my thread bare wrap
to try and keep warm. I knew it was impossible, but
I still felt courage growing in my chest.
First person
 19. Which point of view?

“I need to know how you feel about me,” Jessica said with
a slight catch in her voice.
“What do you want to know?” Fred asked slightly
chuckling. He always laughed when he felt nervous and
uncomfortable.
“I want to know why you’re not talking to me anymore,”
Jessica could feel the tears coming, but she wouldn’t cry
in front of him.
“Well, I want to know why you’re hanging out with Craig
all the time,” Fred said and ground his teeth in anger.
Omniscient
 20. Which point of view?

“I need to know how you feel about me,” Jessica

asked Fred. Fred could feel his palms turning into
pools of sweat, but the last thing he wanted was for
Jessica to know how uncomfortable he was, so he
decided to be nonchalant.
“What do you want to know?” He asked and heard
the chuckle in his voice that always gave him away
when he was nervous.
3rd limited
 Total

Give yourself a score out of /20