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Would you proofread my sentences ?

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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Dear native English speakers,

I'm making a mid-term English exam for my 11th grade students.

Would you please proofread my sentences?

1) Our English teacher Mr.Brown was writing a letter to his parents in America.
2) Were you taking a bath when I called you ?
3) Mike was practicing soccer over there.
4) I was running around here at six this morning.
5) We must feed cats twice a day.
6) We went to Malaysia on our school trip.
7a) We mustn't let go of our dogs even in the park.
7b) We shouldn't let go of our dogs even in the park.
7c) We can't let go of our dogs even in the park.
8a) You should take your dog to a trainer to teach it good manners.
8b) You should bring your dog to a trainer to teach it good manners.
9) "Let's go see the fireworks tomorrow." "Sorry, I can't. I 'm going to work tomorrow."
10a) When I saw him, he was reading the newspaper.
10b) When I looked at him, he was reading the newspaper.
--- I think that 10a and 10b are different in meaning, but both are grammatically OK.
Am I right?
11) They will probably play baseball here tomorrow.
12) "There's someone at the door." "OK. I'll go and see who it is"
13a) I've just rented a DVD of the movie.
13b) I've just rented the DVD of the movie.
--- I think 13a and 13b are different in meaning. How they differ?
14) "Will you give me some water?" "All right."
15) Do I have to take my kitten to the vet?
16) This time next year, my sister will be a college student.
17) When I visited the temple two years ago, many people were taking pictures
of the rock garden.
18a) I'm going to study more about Australia this year.
19) It's already 6 o'clock. I'm going to be late.
20) I'm going to the library tomorrow to find some books about Australia.
21a) I've already read the book.
21b) I've read the book already.
--- I think 21a is correct, but how about 21b?
22a) He is (/He's) going to Tom's party tomorrow.
22b) He is (/He's) going to go to Tom's party tomorrow.
22c) He will (/He'll) go to Tom's party tomorrow.
---Do the above three have the same meaning?
23a) I'll visit you some day.
23b) I'll visit you one day.
--- Are 23a and 23b the same in meaning?
24a) What were they doing then?
24b) What were they doing at that time?
--- Do the above two sentences have the same meaning?

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin
 
Last edited:
1) Our English teacher Mr.Brown was writing a letter to his parents in America.

You need a space between "Mr." and "Brown". Increasingly, the dot in "Mr" is seen as fussy and is dropped, so it would be written "Mr Brown".

Often there would be commas around "Mr Brown", but these are not mandatory.


2) Were you taking a bath when I called you ?

OK except there should be no space before the question mark


3) Mike was practicing soccer over there.

OK in AmE (BrE spelling is "practising").


4) I was running around here at six this morning.

OK, but it would be useful to confirm the context in which you are using "running around".


5) We must feed cats twice a day.

This read a bit oddly to me at first. Is it a general instruction about caring for cats? Otherwise it should be "feed the cats", "feed these cats", "feed our cats", etc.


6) We went to Malaysia on our school trip.

OK.


7a) We mustn't let go of our dogs even in the park.
7b) We shouldn't let go of our dogs even in the park.
7c) We can't let go of our dogs even in the park.

OK, but "let our dogs off the leash" might be more usual.


8a) You should take your dog to a trainer to teach it good manners.
8b) You should bring your dog to a trainer to teach it good manners.

"take" would be more usual than "bring".

To me, "good manners" seems slightly unusual for a dog, but people do seem to say that, so I guess it's OK.


9) "Let's go see the fireworks tomorrow." "Sorry, I can't. I 'm going to work tomorrow."

Correct English except for the space in "I'm", but "I have to work" would be more usual here. "go see" is AmE, but I guess you are wanting to use AmE spellings and expressions.


I'll try some more sentences a bit later if no one else gets there first.
 
10a) When I saw him, he was reading the newspaper.
10b) When I looked at him, he was reading the newspaper.
--- I think that 10a and 10b are different in meaning, but both are grammatically OK.
Am I right?

Yes.

11) They will probably play baseball here tomorrow.

OK.


12) "There's someone at the door." "OK. I'll go and see who it is"

OK (apart from the missing full stop, if we're being really fussy!)


13a) I've just rented a DVD of the movie.
13b) I've just rented the DVD of the movie.
--- I think 13a and 13b are different in meaning. How they differ?

They are virtually interchangeable, but vary slightly in emphasis. (13b) has the perspective that there is one edition of the DVD of that movie, and we're not interested in the fact that there may be numerous physical copies of it.


14) "Will you give me some water?" "All right."

OK.

15) Do I have to take my kitten to the vet?

OK.

16) This time next year, my sister will be a college student.

OK.


17) When I visited the temple two years ago, many people were taking pictures
of the rock garden.

OK.

18a) I'm going to study more about Australia this year.

"study about" is not a very good combination. You could say "I'm going to continue my studies of Australia this year" or "I'm going to learn more about Australia this year", for example.

19) It's already 6 o'clock. I'm going to be late.

OK.

20) I'm going to the library tomorrow to find some books about Australia.

OK.

21a) I've already read the book.
21b) I've read the book already.
--- I think 21a is correct, but how about 21b?

Both OK.

22a) He is (/He's) going to Tom's party tomorrow.
22b) He is (/He's) going to go to Tom's party tomorrow.
22c) He will (/He'll) go to Tom's party tomorrow.
---Do the above three have the same meaning?

All other things being equal, (22b) has a slightly stronger sense of intention or determination than (22a). (22c) is least usual, and has any of various different nuances, ranging from matter-of-fact, to predictive, to strongly insisting (with "will" emphasised), depending on context.


23a) I'll visit you some day.
23b) I'll visit you one day.
--- Are 23a and 23b the same in meaning?

Yes.


24a) What were they doing then?
24b) What were they doing at that time?
--- Do the above two sentences have the same meaning?

In the contexts I can think of, yes.
 
Thank you so much for your help, eeky san! I really appreciate it.

Hirashin
 
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