Common Mistakes/Common Mistakes 6

The following are examples from students’ essays. Re-write them correctly. The number in brackets indicates how many mistakes or problem areas there are.





1) At first the teacher had difficulties with discipline things, but finally he solved his problems in this area. (two)

Please put your answer here:





2) 69% the sample spent their money to buy souvenirs of their visit to the museum. (two)





3) The results of the questionnaire are as following; (two)





4) The informations form the research are shown: (four)





5) There's a notice tells where to leave the building. (one - needs two changes)

Do you need some hints and clues (pieces of helpful information)? Then scroll down...................

Hints and clues:

.
1) At first the teacher had difficulties with discipline things, but finally he solved his problems in this area. (two)

1) “things" is not a very good word to use here. Can you think of an alternative?


Also



"finally" should be used to mean "the last item in a sequence", as in "first, second", etc. Which word could be used to contrast with "at first" to mean "after a period of time"?












2) 69% the sample spent their money to buy souvenirs of their visit to the museum. (two)

2) There's a word missing after the percentage.



Also



Note the following structure:



spend (or waste) + expression of (time or) money + gerund ("-ing" form of the verb)











3) The results of the questionnaire are as following; (two)

3) There is a mistake with the expression "as following".



Also



There is a mistake in the punctuation.












4) The informations form the research are shown: (four)

4) There is a problem with "informations", which is an uncountable noun,

So

..... there is also problem with the verb.

Also

There is a common spelling mistake.

Also

"are shown" where?

.
5) There's a notice tells where to leave the building. (one - needs two changes)


5) The problem is with "tells". It must be replaced by a relative clause, using a "w.." word.

Or

Instead of a relative clause a gerund can be used.

Also

The word "say" or "show" could be used on their own, but you must "tell" someone.








When you've rewritten the sentences, check further down the page to see if they're the same as the suggested answers..............

Answers:

1) At first the teacher had difficulty with discipline things, but finally he solved his problems in this area.

1) At first the teacher had difficulty with matters of discipline, but in the end he solved his problems in this area.

Or

At first the teacher had difficulty with discipline (-), but eventually he solved his problems in this area.

2) 69% the sample spent their money to buy souvenirs of their visit to the museum.

2) 69% of the sample spent their money buying souvenirs of their visit to the museum.

3) The results of the questionnaire are as following;

3) The results of the questionnaire are as follows:

4) The informations form the research are shown:

4) The information from the research is shown below:

5) There's a notice tells where to leave the building.

5) There's a notice which tells people where to leave the building.

Or

There's a notice which shows where to leave the building.

Or

There's a notice showing where to leave the building.

Photo album:




Bicycles leaning against the wooden wall of a hire shop, Haapsalu, Estonia, Northern Europe.

Language notes:

"leaning" replaces "which are leaning".

"wooden" is the adjective meaning "made from wood".

"hire" and "rent" can both be used for cars or bicycles. The adjectives are "hire" (hire car) and "rental" (rental agreement) or "rented" (a rented bike).










Do you get it?

Vocabulary:

householder - owner of a house

French bulldog - see picture (at least I think it is)

deckchair - chair of a type you might see on a beach, or the deck of a ship

lap - the flat surface on the top of your legs when you sit down

tapping - touching lightly (with the fingertips)

wink - make a (secret) signal by closing one eye

kept under wraps - kept secret

reconnaissance - military research

infiltrating - getting into a secret or enemy location

lair - secret hiding place

smuggling - getting (stolen) goods into or out of a country

plot - (evil) plan

sabotage - destroy or damage (a machine, etc.)

missile installation - place where flying bombs are kept

destroyer - war ship

allied generals - high level officers in an army of mixed nations

findings - discoveries

unsuspecting - not knowing about a secret

lying low - hiding

mere - only, nothing more than. Example - "He's a mere boy!"

why on earth - this makes the expression stronger (more emphatic). See also "who on earth... where on earth... what on earth... how on earth... and (maybe) when on earth."





A man was walking down the street one day when he saw a sign in window saying "TALKING DOG. £10." Hardly able to believe what he was reading, he decided to investigate further, and knocked on the door. Invited in, he said to the householder, "What's this about a talking dog? Is it a joke?"

"Oh the dog," said the old fellow. "Yeah, he's out the back. Go ahead and have a word with him, if you want." So he pushed open the door to the garden and there was a French Bulldog sitting in a deckchair with a glass of brandy and a copy of a magazine on his lap.

"Er, excuse me," said the man, feeling rather embarrassed, "but are you the talking dog?"

"Sure I can talk, and do a lot more besides," said the little animal.

"But that's incredible," remarked the man. "How come I've never heard of you?"

"Ah, well," says the dog tapping his nose and giving him a wink, "That's because I'm top secret, see. Been kept under wraps, haven't I?"

"Really - but why?"

"Well, you see, to begin with I worked for James Bond. Used to do all his reconnaissance for him, infiltrating the secret lairs of of crazy multi-millionaires who wanted to take over the world, stealing their secret plans and smuggling them back to James so that he would be able to put an end to their evil plots. Then I was starting to get recognised by the big bosses of the criminal underworld, so they sent me off to work in the war. I was parachuted behind enemy lines and carried out missions to sabotage their missile installations, before using my mini-submarine to return to an offshore destroyer to deliver my findings to the allied generals. Unfortunately the government decided I knew too much so would have to be 'silenced'. But I got word of their plans, killed the two secret agents sent to find me and then escaped out here to the country where I'm lying low with the unsuspecting house owner who opened the door to you."

"I see," said the man. "Er, would you excuse me for a minute...."

He rushed back into the house enthusiastically and took out a ten pound note. "Do you mean for a mere ten pounds, I can buy that dog?"

"Sure," said the house owner, taking the ten pounds, "he's all yours."

"But I just have to ask... I mean a dog like that. It's just that, surely.... it seems too good to be true that you're letting me buy him for ten pounds! Why on earth do you want to sell him?" The other man turned to him with a sad shake of the head and said:

"Because I'm just so sick of his damned lies!"