1.x — Chapter 1 summary and quiz

📅 January 19, 2025

1.x — Chapter 1 Summary and Quiz#

Let’s review the four main Vim modes and test your understanding.

Chapter Summary#

Lesson 1.1: Normal Mode — The Command Center#

Normal mode is Vim’s default mode where keystrokes execute commands.

Key concepts:

You spend most of your time here
Commands follow the grammar: [count][operator][motion]
The . command repeats your last change

Essential commands:

Category	Commands
Movement	`h`, `j`, `k`, `l`, `w`, `b`, `0`, `$`
Deletion	`x`, `dd`, `d{motion}`
Change	`c{motion}`, `cc`
Yank/Paste	`yy`, `y{motion}`, `p`, `P`
Undo/Redo	`u`, `Ctrl-r`

Lesson 1.2: Insert Mode — Entering Text#

Insert mode is where you type text.

Ways to enter Insert mode:

Command	Position
`i` / `a`	Before / after cursor
`I` / `A`	Start / end of line
`o` / `O`	New line below / above
`s` / `S`	Substitute character / line
`c{motion}`	Change (delete + insert)

Key techniques:

Ctrl-o executes one Normal command while staying in Insert mode
Keep insertions atomic for better undo and dot command usage
Exit with Esc or Ctrl-[

Lesson 1.3: Visual Mode — Selecting Text#

Visual mode lets you select text before operating on it.

Three types:

Mode	Command	Selects
Character	`v`	Characters
Line	`V`	Entire lines
Block	`Ctrl-v`	Rectangular regions

Key techniques:

gv reselects last selection
o toggles cursor between selection ends
Text objects work: viw, va", etc.
Block mode enables column editing

Lesson 1.4: Command-Line Mode — Ex Commands#

Command-line mode provides Ex commands for file operations and more.

Entry points:

: for Ex commands
/ for forward search
? for backward search

Essential commands:

Category	Commands
File	`:w`, `:q`, `:e`, `:wq`
Search	`/pattern`, `n`, `N`, `:noh`
Substitute	`:%s/old/new/g`
Global	`:g/pattern/command`
Settings	`:set option`

Mode Comparison#

Mode	Enter	Purpose	Exit
Normal	`Esc`	Navigate, command	—
Insert	`i`, `a`, `o`, etc.	Type text	`Esc`
Visual	`v`, `V`, `Ctrl-v`	Select text	`Esc` or operator
Command-line	`:`, `/`, `?`	Ex commands	`Enter` or `Esc`

Key Takeaways#

Normal mode is home base — return here when not actively typing
Each mode has a purpose — use the right mode for the task
Commands compose — operators + motions = powerful combinations
Visual mode previews — see selection before acting
Ex commands extend — file ops, substitution, settings

Quiz Time#

Test your understanding of Vim modes.

Question #1

What is the difference between i and a when entering Insert mode?

Show Solution

i (insert) enters Insert mode with the cursor before the current character
a (append) enters Insert mode with the cursor after the current character

Use i when you want to insert text at the cursor position. Use a when you want to add text after the current character.

Question #2

You want to delete three words starting from your cursor. What’s the most efficient command?

Show Solution

d3w — This uses the operator (d for delete), a count (3), and a motion (w for word).

Alternative: 3dw also works (count before operator).

Question #3

What’s the difference between v, V, and Ctrl-v?

Show Solution

v — Character-wise Visual mode: selects individual characters
V — Line-wise Visual mode: selects entire lines
Ctrl-v — Block-wise Visual mode: selects a rectangular block

Use v for selecting parts of lines, V for operating on whole lines, and Ctrl-v for column editing.

Question #4

How do you replace all occurrences of “foo” with “bar” in the entire file?

Show Solution

:%s/foo/bar/g

% — operate on all lines
s — substitute command
/foo/bar/ — replace “foo” with “bar”
g — global flag (all occurrences on each line)

Add c flag (:%s/foo/bar/gc) to confirm each replacement.

Question #5

You’re in Insert mode and need to save the file without leaving Insert mode. How?

Show Solution

Press Ctrl-o to execute one Normal mode command, then type :w and press Enter.

Ctrl-o temporarily switches to Normal mode for a single command, then returns to Insert mode.

Question #6

What does gv do and when would you use it?

Show Solution

gv reselects the last visual selection.

Use it when:

You need to perform another operation on the same selection
You accidentally exited Visual mode before completing your action
You want to adjust a selection you just made

Question #7

How do you add // to the beginning of lines 5-10 to comment them out?

Show Solution

Method 1 (Block Visual):

:5 to go to line 5
Ctrl-v to enter Block mode
5j to select down to line 10
I (capital I) to insert at start
Type //
Press Esc

Method 2 (Substitute):

:5,10s/^/\/\/ /

This substitutes the start of each line (^) with // .

Question #8

What’s the difference between dd and D?

Show Solution

dd — Deletes the entire current line
D — Deletes from the cursor to the end of the line (equivalent to d$)

Use dd to remove a whole line. Use D to delete only the remainder of a line.

Question #9

You have a word “hello” and want to change it to “world”. Your cursor is on the ‘h’. What are two ways to do this?

Show Solution

cw then type “world” — Changes from cursor to end of word
ciw then type “world” — Changes the entire inner word regardless of cursor position

ciw is often preferred because it works no matter where in the word your cursor is positioned.

Question #10

How do you delete all blank lines in a file?

Show Solution

:g/^$/d

:g — Global command
/^$/ — Pattern matching empty lines (start of line immediately followed by end of line)
d — Delete command

This executes the delete command on every line matching the pattern.

What’s Next?#

In Chapter 2, we’ll dive deep into navigation — learning all the ways to move around efficiently in Vim. You’ll master:

Character and line movement
Word-based navigation
Line-level movements
Screen and file navigation

Efficient navigation is the foundation of editing speed in Vim!