Would you check my sentences (for Polestar II Lesson 1 Part 2)?

[hirashin]

Micahel2, there seems to be a difference between the UK and the US.
What do you think of this? Does it still sound off?
When I was much younger, I would often go to work part-time.

 

[Michael2]

Yes that still sounds off to me, for so many reasons.1) It's completely unnecessary - "used to" or just "worked part-time" would be fine 2) "would often" is usually used to indicate nostalgia 3) Working part-time is not a regularly repeated event, it's a state you are in. You don't say "I often work at Hitachi," as in individual days, you say "I work at Hitachi". 4) It's incomplete - You worked part-time where?

"I would often help out at my uncle's shop" would be fine. It is indicating a regularly repeated number of days and indicating nostalgia.


Btw the earlier sentences using "sure" and "surely" were all great! "I'm sure" sounds much more certain than "surely" though. Again, using "surely" indicates you are trying to persuade others of your opinion, that in fact you are not completely sure of something.

 

[Jorge AVM]

When I got on the train, I found a lot of passengers were looking at their smartphones.

Does "watching the screen of their smartphone" sound off?

Remember that English is spoken in many countries and in different ways. Here in Canada, at least in Montreal, for screens, tvs or movies we use "watch", "to look at" is more general: "look at me", "look at the picture", so if you say: "When I got on the train, I found a lot of passengers were looking at their smartphones" is totally correct, but you can look at your smartphone even when it is turned off, so the meaning will be understood in the context of the conversation. But if you say: "When I got on the train, I found a lot of passengers were watching their smartphones" is clear that they are watching something (video, message) on the screen.

 

[hirashin]

Thank you for sharing the information, Jorge.
Would "watch the screens of their smartphones" sound right in Canada?

 

[Lothor]

I have to make a lot of exercises because the textbooks the school has adopted are so difficult that most of my students will not understand. I'm so busy!

Hirashin - I sympathise and admire your dedication to your students.
These posts that you write on this site must also take quite a lot of time.
Here's a suggestion - save yourself a bit of time by not writing the Japanese translations of the sentences each time you start a new thread - your English is always good enough for us not to need a Japanese translation to help us understand the sentences.

 

[hirashin]

Thank you for the suggestion, Lothor.
I'm really grateful to all the native speakers who help me.
I wish my English were good enough not to need help from native speakers!

 

[Jorge AVM]

Thank you for sharing the information, Jorge.
Would "watch the screens of their smartphones" sound right in Canada?

It sounds right but not natural... I think it is better "watch their smartphones" even just "phones". It's clear it's about a device with a screen.