Please check my sentences

[hirashin]

Hello, native English speakers.

I made some English sentences to teach English to my students.
Would someone check them? Do all of them sound natural?

1a) Have you eaten lunch yet?
1b) Did you eat lunch yet?
1c) Have you had lunch yet?
1d) Did you have lunch yet?

2a) I have to go home now..
2b) I must go home now.
2c) I've got to go home now.

3a) Tom runs in the park every morning.
3b) Tom jogs in the park every morning.

4a) I like dogs better than cats.
4b) I like dogs more than cats.

5a) I hear (that) you are going to study in America next year.
5b) I hear you're studying in America next year.
5c) I hear you'll study in America next year.

6a) Tom is that tall boy talking with Mike.
6b) Tom is that tall boy who's talking with Mike.

7a) I've lived in Australia for three years.
7b) I've been in Australia for three years.

8a) There are two hotels near the lake.
8b) There are two hotels by the lake.
8c) There are two hotels beside the lake.

9a) Do you know (that) he is from China?
9b) Do you know (that) he comes from China?

10) Please tell me why he didn't come.

11a) Who is older, Tom or Mike? Mike is.
11b) Which one is older, Tom or Mike? Mike is.
11c) Which boy is older, Tom or Mike? Mike is.

12a) When Jane came, I was watching TV.
12b) I was watching TV when Jane came.
12c) When I was watching TV, Jane came.
12d) While I was watching TV, Jane came.

13a) I'll call you when I get to the airport.
13b) I'll call you when I arrive at the airport.
13c) I'll give you a call/ring when I get to the airport.
13d) I'll give you a call/ring when I arrive at the airport.

14) This is the best movie/film (that) I've ever seen.

15a) I often went to the shop/store when/while I was in London.
15b) I went to the shop/store a lot when/while I was in London.

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

 

[RickNZ]

They all sound good. 5c is less common and a little old fashioned. 12c and d are less common in conversation but you'd find them in writing.

 

[letianchen]

This might be me, but 9a, and 9b sound very weird to me, if you exclude "that". If you include it , it sounds normal.

 

[Yzlot]

I find 2b) an outdated term. Most people say the equivalent, "I need to go home now."

6a) strange. It isn't wrong, but I prefer wording it "Tom is that boy talking to Mike."

9a, 9b, I agree with letianchen. Without 'that', it should be worded "Did you know he....."
Use of "do" and "did" are often confused in this context. Sometimes they are interchangable, sometimes they are not; in this case, they are not, because you are establishing the said statement as a fact, rather than asking a question. Adding "that" modifies the statement to more closely resemble a question, than an assertion in the form of a question.

 

[RickNZ]

9a and b are quite normal and common. "that" is optional.

 

[RickNZ]

9a and b are quite normal and common. "that" is optional. I'd normally say "that", but it looks like I'm in the minority. Googling gives 31 million hits for "do you know he is from" vs 22 million for "do you know that he is from"

 

[letianchen]

The only time I would ever not be surprised to 9a, and 9b, is unless there is a pause

Do you know ( pause) he is from China?

 

[hirashin]

Thank you all for the help.

Hmm... In 9a and 9b, native speakers' views are divided. That's interesting.

Yzlot says: I find 2b) an outdated term. Most people say the equivalent, "I need to go home now."

Do other people agree with that? Don't you say "I must go home now"?

Yzlot says: 6a) strange. It isn't wrong, but I prefer wording it "Tom is that boy talking to Mike."

Yzlot, how about 6b? Does it also sound strange?

I'd like to know what other people view about 6a and 6b.

6a) Tom is that tall boy talking with Mike.
6b) Tom is that tall boy who's talking with Mike.

I believe that "talk with Mike" and "talk to Mike" are used interchangeably. Am I right?

Hirashin

 

[RickNZ]

Yzlot says: I find 2b) an outdated term. Most people say the equivalent, "I need to go home now."

Do other people agree with that? Don't you say "I must go home now"?

"I have to" would be the most common and usual, probably "I need to" is next most common. "Must" is less common and slightly formal, but you'll still hear it a lot. Also very common is "I'd better", but that's less emphatic, it doesn't sound as urgent as "have to" or "need to".

Yzlot says: 6a) strange. It isn't wrong, but I prefer wording it "Tom is that boy talking to Mike."

"Talking to" is probably most common, probably because it's a little easier to pronounce. "Talking with" has nearly interchangeable meaning, but sometimes "to" implies it's more of a one-way conversation and "with" implies both parties are talking. The difference is subtle and not really important. Myself I don't often say "talking with", so I tend to use "talking to" for any situations without worrying about the difference.

 

[Yzlot]

Let me provide a more in depth reason as to why I feel the following are incorrect.

I'll start with 9a, 9b since it seems to be the most contradicting. Confusion between 'Did' and 'Do' are common even amongst native speakers. These are all correct(to my understanding).Here are a few examples.
1. Did you know the capital of France is Paris?
2. Do/Did you know that the capital of France is Paris? (also can be worded 'Are you aware the capital of France is Paris?' to avoid ambiguity)
3. Do you know what the capital of France is?

As you know, 'Did' is considered the past form of 'Do'.The reason 'Did' is used in the first one is because you mentioned the said fact. Think of it worded like this: "Did you know the capital of France was Paris before I told you?" This sentence is exactly the same as the first. However, in #3, it was never mentioned what the capital of France was. That is why you use 'Do'. 'That' in #2 is used as a complementizer, and is often thrown around in colloquial speech to make phrasing of sentences more malleable. In this way, Do/Did both work in #2. Note: Use of 'that' is far more complicated to teach to a foreign speaker, and I recommend making it as a separate lesson, to avoid confusion. (But you could also introduce it in this lesson and let them think about it as homework).

There is nothing wrong with 6b). The problem is, you cannot always consider 'with' the equivalent of と. In the case of speaking, USUALLY, only one person speaks at a time(i.e. talks). This means He is talking to him, not "with", because at the moment, only one person is talking to the other(as the other listens). 6b) is phrased so it is a nomalization of the verb. This represents the entirety of the talk they had. In this situation, either "with" or "to" can be used.

For 2b), by outdated, I mean to say it is no longer used colloquially. It is still used in writings, but I almost never hear anyone say it. "Must" sounds too formal for something as simple and daily as 'going home'. "need to" or "have to" is much more oftenly used in its place.

Someone pointed out something was wrong with 12d) and I checked it over. Most people wouldn't really word it in this way in America. But I'm sure it's used in other english-speaking countries.

 

[eeky]

Probably you already have enough opinions here(!), but here are mine anyway.

Hmm... In 9a and 9b, native speakers' views are divided. That's interesting.

It would be fairly common to omit "that" where I come from (England), and both your sentences would be normal in conversation without it (except that in conversational style "he is" would normally be "he's"). In my opinion it is better to include "that" in more careful English, especially written English.

Yzlot says: I find 2b) an outdated term. Most people say the equivalent, "I need to go home now."
Do other people agree with that? Don't you say "I must go home now"?

For me it is not outdated, and I can imagine saying it or hearing others say it. However, it is not the most common phrasing in in my part of the world. That would be "I have to go home now" or often "I've got to go home now".

I'd like to know what other people view about 6a and 6b.

Both are natural to me.

 

[hirashin]

Rick, Yzlot, and eeky, thanks for your views. I really appreciate them.

English is a little different from country to country. So it is interesting to know
your different views. Thank you.

HIrashin

 

[BrucePHR]

Hirashin, English is different from region to region as well! My girlfriend is French. I am American, and I like to listen to British radio programs. Her English is excellent, but it is American English, and so some of the BBC programs I listen to are impossible for her to understand. If the speaker is from Scotland or northern England, she won't be able to hear half of their words, and some of the grammar will throw her, too.

 

[RickNZ]

Churchill described England and the USA as "two nations divided by the same language".

 

[Shandria]

1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 13, and 14 all sound pretty natural

4a, 5a, 9b, 11c, 12c&d, and 15a sound a little stiff.

For 6a&b I'd say "to" instead of "with":
6a) Tom is that tall boy talking to Mike.
6b) Tom is that tall boy who's talking to Mike.

For 9a I'd say "Did you know he's from china?"

Hope this is helpful

 

[Shandria]

oh yeah and "I must go home now" sounds urgent or like the person speaking is irritated. Under normal conditions "I gotta go" (informal) or "I've got to go" are what I would expect in conversation.

 

[hirashin]

Hi, Bruce. Thanks for your information. How interesting!

Hirashin

 

[hirashin]

Hi, Shandria. Thank you for your help. I appreciate it.

It is really difficult for an English teacher like me who has never lived in an English
speaking region to teach good English to Japanese students. So I really need native
speakers' help.

By the way, are you from Detroit? According to the TV program I watched recently,
Detroit has become one of the most dangerous cities in the US. Is that true? Are
there a lot of unemployed people there?

Hirashin

 

[letianchen]

I live across detroit in the border and can tell you in specific parts it is indeed quite violent. Alot of my teachers in school said they had relatives who got stolen cars there, and in fact my parents once got there windows cracked while buying food from a restaurant in detroit, I can't say the whole city is dangerous, but I think its fair to say specific parts of the city are generally much more dangerous than most places in michigan or for that matter America. Its rather funny how the suburbs of detroit are quite rich and have many nice malls, yet the actual city seems to be doing quite poor.

 

[Shandria]

Yes, I'm from Detroit. Yes, it probably is one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. But, that would be because Detroit is a city of intense poverty, surrounded by a vast sea of money and opportunity, that we are barred from by white racism. In Detroit, the schools have been run by different dictators for most of my life. I've seen the effect that having a state takeover had on our communities. As public education was being dismantled, the communities that surrounded schools had started to fall apart. The people of this city refuse to just allow our schools to be taken apart, but with the lack of opportunity in education, jobs, and assistance, many of the older people adopted a very cynical, "I'll go down fighting" or a "I'll get mine" type of attitude. However, in the youth of the city, there's a civil rights movement around immigrant rights that's budding. There's a push for unity among the minorities (we have a growing Latino [hispanic] population) and there are some gains that movement has aquired towards immigration reform. I would say, in Detroit, you see both the gross inequalities of America and where that was headed even before the big crash of 2008. But, you also see the way forward from it. Built from the struggles and tears of the older generation, and galvanized by the hopes and demands of this new civil rights movement.

 

[hirashin]

Thank you for your replies, letianchen and Shandria.

I'm afraid I don't understand some parts of Shandria's remarks. What do you mean by
"public education was being dismantled"? Can't many children in Detroit learn at school?

And what do the people do for civil rights?

I'm not sure about "I'll go down fighting" or a "I'll get mine" type. Would you explain it?

There seems to be no such dangerous areas in Japan today.

I hope your city will be back in peace in the near future.

Please correct my English if needed.

Thank you in advance.

Hirashin

 

[Shandria]

What do you mean what do you do for civil rights? You march. lol (Laughing Out Loud)
If you're from Los Angeles you riot.
There have been massive austerity measures put in place that have meant the closure of well over 100 of our schools here. The quality of the education has been deeply cut into in an attempt to make Charter schools, privately run schools that also recieve public funds, look more appealing. Charter schools are not accountable to the public, meaning the charter company has the ability to exclude special needs students, take teachers out of the classroom, replace them with advisors and have the students try to teach themselves online, and won't have to answer to parents about it. The regulations that are placed on public schools do not apply to them. A lot of these things have already happened. There were massive cuts in our special ed progams and the closure of our special ed schools (Detroit Day School for the Deaf, Kettering West Wing, Oakman Orthopedic Elementary), some of our elementary schools and middle schools, and most of our high schools. There's also a district seperate of Detroit Public Schools called the EAA, that has been taking schools out of our district and taking the money those students bring with them (the state and federal governments provide money for education). The secretary of education Arne Duncan said he wanted to make Detroit ground zero for what he wanted to do to public education. Not to long before that he was saying that hurricaine Katrina was the best thing that ever happened to New Orleans, LA public education system. There are only about 3 public schools in that city. Most of New Orleans education is run by charter schools.
In my last year in high school (2009), my school had no AP classes available to us (which it had in 2008), in my pre-calculus class I was pretty much teaching the class, and most of my classes had 40 to 45 students in a classroom. No, most students can't learn under those conditions.
"I'll go down fighting" Is something someone says when they know they'll lose but they refuse to lose without a fight. "I'll get mine" Is what a person says when they see no way out of a difficult life other than to cut off whatever baggage they carry (many times that means friends, the community they're from) and make money using whatever means are available. That could range from petty theft to selling out.
It would take a true revolution of values in the U.S. for there to be peace in Detroit...
A True Revolution of Values

 

[Shandria]

View attachment 12655View attachment 12656View attachment 12657View attachment 12658
Oh yeah! You also picket and occupy.