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Would you check my sentences?

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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Dear native English speakers,
would you correct my sentences if needed?
(a) Needless to say, he's a genius.
(b) To tell you the truth, I broke up with Kate last week.
(c) To make matters worse, it started to rain heavily.
(d) I'm not so foolish as to say such a thing to my boss.
(e) I got up early in order to get a good seat.
(f) The child is smart enough to solve all these problems.
(g) I'm too tired to run.
(h) My parents tell me never to go to the pond.
(i) My doctor told me not to drink.
(j) The president of the country is to visit Osaka this afternoon.
(k) My grandfather seems to be enjoying soccer.
(l) A lot of food seems to be thrown away.

Can (1) mean either (2) or (3)?
(1) He seems to have been angry.
(2) It seems that he was angry.
(3) It seems that he has been angry.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin
 
(j) The president of the country is to visit Osaka this afternoon.
That sounds a little weird to me. It's suggestive that you're talking from a position higher than this person, like you're directing what they're doing or something. I think you meant something like this:

"The president of the country is scheduled to visit Osaka this afternoon."

Of course, since "the country" is unspecified, I assume you've specified what country you're talking about in a prior sentence.

The rest look good.

Can (1) mean either (2) or (3)?
(1) He seems to have been angry.
(2) It seems that he was angry.
(3) It seems that he has been angry.
1 and 2 are the same meaning. 3 is slightly different: it talks about the past in general, whereas 1 and 2 are referring to some specific time (which would be established in previous sentences).
 
Thanks for the help, Julimaruchan.

How about this?
US President is to visit Japan on Nov. first

I suppose that this type of English is often seen in newspapers.

PS
Today I accidentally looked at your profile for the first time. I'm surprised to know that you are a young lady.
 
How about this?
US President is to visit Japan on Nov. first

I suppose that this type of English is often seen in newspapers.
I wouldn't be surprised to see "U.S. President to visit Japan on November 1" as a title for a newspaper article. It's omitting several words that would be necessary in a proper sentence for brevity (since the title has to be short). But if I saw "US President is to visit Japan on Nov. first" as a sentence, I would assume that the writer is very unskilled at English usage. In that case, it should be, "The U.S. President is scheduled to visit Japan on on November 1." ("The" applies to "President", since "U.S." is being used as an adjective here.)

I corrected "US" to "U.S." because while we often write "US" informally, in formal writing such as a newspaper that form is unacceptable. I also corrected "Nov" to "November" because abbreviations should usually be avoided in formal writing, though it's acceptable if you're texting or tweeting or in other informal communications.

Today I accidentally looked at your profile for the first time. I'm surprised to know that you are a young lady.
As opposed to an old lady?
 
Thank you very much for your ongoing help, Julimaruchan,
As opposed to an old lady?

No, no. I had assumed that you were a middle-aged man for some reason. It's hard to tell which sex or how old someone is through written messages. (Would you correct my sentences if needed?)
 
I agree with Juli--"is to visit" sounds a little newspaper-y, and you'd usually say is going to visit, is scheduled to visit, or something similar.
 
Thanks for the help, johnnyG.
In which case would "is to (/be to)" be used to mean "is scheduled to"? Only in newspaper?
 
No, no. I had assumed that you were a middle-aged man for some reason. It's hard to tell which sex or how old someone is through written messages.
Ah. The hint is in my username: "Julie" (I omitted the "E" because of character limitations) is a girl's name.
 
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