Would you please proofread my sentences? (Feb 5th)

[hirashin]

Hello, native English speakers,

Would you please check my sentences again?

1 I like swimming in this river.

2 My father is washing his car now.

3 My father is good at cooking.

4 That bird flying over there is a hawk.

5 Who is the girl sitting between Tom and Mary?

6 The festival held here last month was wonderful.

7 That boy practicing tennis over there is Tom White.

8 There is an old table used for many years.

9 This is a book written by a famous writer.

10 People living in this town were very kind to me.

11 I received a letter written in French.

12 These are pictures taken by Japanese high school students.

13 There were some children practicing soccer on the street.

14 Look at that boy running very fast.

15 Don't get out of the moving car.

16 Don't wake up the sleeping child.

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

 

[LewiiG]

Everything sounds fine to me. I'd say it's all correct English too. However some sound slightly unnatural.

8 "There is an old table used for many years".

Instead say, "There is an old table that has been used for many years." Depends on what it is you are actually trying to get across, cause I don't really know.

14 "Look at that boy running very fast."

Correct, but sounds unatural. Again, I don't really know what you are trying to get across here so I don't have any suggestions.

15 "Don't get out of the moving car."

This sounds like a warning on a theme park ride. (Fine if that's what you want).

Otherwise it would be "Don't get out of the car whilst it's moving"

16 "Don't wake up the sleeping child."

Sounds like a proverb or a warning or something.

You would probably omit "sleeping", and just say. "Don't wake up the child"

Otherwise everything is perfect. よくできました lol.

 

[Mike Cash]

Your correction for 8 changes the meaning of the sentence.

 

[hirashin]

Thank you very much for the help, LewiiG.

Hirashin

 

[LewiiG]

Your correction for 8 changes the meaning of the sentence.

Oh does it? I didn't really know what kind of situation Hirashin was thinking of. What would you suggest?

 

[Mike Cash]

Situation is irrelevant here. Can you not see that his original #8 and your suggested change have two different meanings? If not, then perhaps you should pause and give things a little more thought when offering corrections to sentences that are already correct.

 

[LewiiG]

Okay. I did pause and think. I was there for a while actually. I just thought it sounded like something was missing. I thought to myself, where would anyone say "There is an old table used for many years"? I know it's correct but you know what I mean.

Also I think I realize now what you mean. Do you mean it should be something like "there is an old table that was used for many years" implying that it is not used anymore? That would be in line with the original. Or are you saying that it's fine as it is?

Next time I will try much harder to avoid these situations. If I don't know what I am writing is perfeclty correct, then I shall leave it up to someone more capable than myself. Sorry.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for the help, Mike and LewiiG.

I'm sorry to say this, but I really don't know what Mike says.

How do the following sentences differ in meaning, Mike?
(a) There is an old table used for many years.
(b) There is an old table that has been used for many years.
(c) There is an old table that was used for many years.

Can (a) mean either (b) or (c)?

Hirashin wrote:
15 "Don't get out of the moving car."

LewiiG wrote:
This sounds like a warning on a theme park ride. (Fine if that's what you want).
Otherwise it would be "Don't get out of the car whilst it's moving"


That's very interesting.

"Whilst" is not used in the US. American people might say
"Don't get out of the car while it's moving"

How about "Don't get out of the car when it's moving"?

Hirashin wrote:
14 "Look at that boy running very fast."

LewiiG wrote:
Correct, but sounds unatural. Again, I don't really know what you are trying to get across here so I don't have any suggestions.


Oh, really? Do you mean you don't use the pattern "look at (noun) do(ing)" ?
Would the following sentences not be used in your country?

(c) Look at the boy run.
(d) Look at the boy running.

Hirashin

 

[Mike Cash]

Thanks for the help, Mike and LewiiG.

I'm sorry to say this, but I really don't know what Mike says.

How do the following sentences differ in meaning, Mike?
(a) There is an old table used for many years.
(b) There is an old table that has been used for many years.
(c) There is an old table that was used for many years.

Can (a) mean either (b) or (c)?

(a) and (c) are identical in meaning. They both imply that the use was in the past and that the table is no longer in use.

(b) can mean that the use was in the past but is more likely to be interpreted as meaning the table is still in use now.

 

[LewiiG]

Hirashin wrote:
That's very interesting.

"Whilst" is not used in the US. American people might say
"Don't get out of the car while it's moving"

How about "Don't get out of the car when it's moving"?

Yes, both of those are fine. I didn't know that "whilst" wasn't used in the US. Interesting indeed.

Oh, really? Do you mean you don't use the pattern "look at (noun) do(ing)" ?
Would the following sentences not be used in your country?

(c) Look at the boy run.
(d) Look at the boy running.

No, they seem fine. The "look at (noun) do(ing)" thing is fine.
It's just the original one "Look at that boy running very fast." I thought it just sounded strange somehow...But I see it again today and it seems fine. Yeah. It's fine. Really sorry for any possible confusion.