Download key exercise p. 7

ERROR ANALYSIS EXERCISES GRAMMAR 3 – KEY P. 7, PART B
(1)
It turned out that only ten per cent of the people in the Netherlands does not want to be a organ donor.
a.
does not want
a organ donor
b.
526.2/389.3: plural verbs are used after (singular) quantifying expressions followed by a plural noun, when we talk about numbers of
people or things
65.7: the indefinite article an is used before words starting with a vowel sound. Even better, though, is:
530.1: the plural noun is used for the repeated idea, to talk about several people each doing the same thing (so no indefinite article)
c.
do not want
an organ donor /
organ donors
(2)
Why are so little people registered as donors? Well, the most people just forget filling out or mailing the necessary forms.
a.
so little people
the most people
filling out or mailing
b.
329.1: the determiner few is used with plural nouns; little is used before singular/uncountable nouns
68.1/356.1: we do not use the definite article before most when it means ‘the majority of’
299.1: the to-infinitive should be used after the verb forget when it refers to the present or future (rather than the past), to look
forward in time (281.4: when two infinitive structures are joined by and/or/but etc., the second is often without to)
c.
so few people
most people
to fill out or (to) mail
(3)
When all people would use this form, it would become accepted and become the new rule.
a.
when
would use
b.
618: if is used to refer to the future when you are unsure whether something will happen (when expresses certainty)
256.3/258.2: expressing situations that are unreal, the second conditional consists of if + past simple in the subclause, and would +
infinitive in the main clause (261.2: another possibility to talk about unreal or imaginary future events is if...was/were to)
c.
if
used /
were to use
(4)
In this essay the definite article is being used totaly random, and because of that it is annoying to read it.
a.
is being used
totaly
totally random
b.
461.2 / 463.1/2: the present simple tense is used for permanent situations; there is no need for a continuous tense, because the verb
phrase does not describe a (temporary) action
445.5/557.1: the adverb is formed by adding –ly to the adjective total
26.1/557.1: the adverb should be used to modify the verb use; it is formed by adding –ly to the adjective random
c.
is used
totally
totally randomly
(5)
One language may have a more higher prestige than others, like Modern English, who is largely descended from a dialect in the East Midlands.
a.
more higher
b.
137.1: one-syllable adjectives get –er to form the comparative, so we don’t need more
c.
higher
, who
494.2: the relative pronoun which is used for things (who is used for persons)
, which
(6)
Of this with extinction threatened species there can be seen only 200 specimens in the European zoo’s.
a.
with extinction
threatened species
there can be seen
zoo’s
b.
411.2: 408.2.b/410.1: participles can be used as adjectives before nouns, but only when combined with one other word; the
participle clause should be used after the noun (i.e. as a reduced relative clause; if you include the words which is, thus making
it a finite clause, it becomes a non-restrictive relative clause and should therefore be preceded and followed by a comma)
587.1/6: there as a preparatory subject is mainly used with the verb to be, to say that something exists somewhere; the
exceptions refer to verbs which refer to states or arrivals only (so not the verb to see)
523/524.5: the regular plural of nouns is formed by adding –s to the singular noun; the apostrophe is used only in the plurals of
letters, dates and abbreviations
c.
species threatened with extinction /
species, which is threatened with
extinction, …
only 200 specimens can be seen
zoos
(7)
With this letter I want to inform you that since her foundation Greenpeace is strongly against the large-scale hunting of seals.
a.
her
is
b.
222/428.7: the pronoun it should be used to refer to things (or institutions) – and so should the possessive form its
455.7 / 460.1: the present perfect should be used to refer to situations which started in the past and continue now
c.
its
has been
(8)
In those days it was normal in schools that teachers were strict and pupils punished.
a.
teachers were strict
and pupils punished
b.
178.1: incorrect ellipsis because the word left out here (were) does not have the same syntactic function in the second verb phrase; it
is a copula in the first and should function as an auxiliary in the second (passive structure)
c.
teachers were strict and
pupils were punished
(9)
Not until 1947 the zoo of Cologne has been reopened to the public.
a.
has been reopened
the zoo of Cologne
was reopened
b.
421.4/456.2: the past simple is used with references to finished time, and the present perfect is not
302.7/602.5: inversion of subject and (the auxiliary) verb takes place after negative adverbials like not until
c.
was reopened
was the zoo of Cologne
reopened
(10)
Spelling mistakes are easily made when not properly practised.
a.
when not properly
practised
b.
411.4: the subclause is a misrelated participle because its subject is different from that of the main clause; it requires its own
subject (and finite verb), leading to several alternatives
c.
when you don’t properly practise
spelling / when spelling is not…