Classroom English

Question

The last student in each row, please collect last night's homework of your row.Is the above sentence acceptable?

Jeannie1 · Accepted Answer

It is not quite right. It should end "...for your row".    The last student is doing it for their whole row.

Sitifan · Answer

Collect the homework of only one row at a time and return it corrected the
next day.

http://books.google.com/books?lr=&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES&q=%22homework+of+*%22

Yankee · Answer

Hi Sitifan

Is your last post intended as a question? A disagreement? A challenge? Something else?

I agree with Jeannie's rewording of your original sentence. It sounds much more natural to me.

Goodman · Answer

.
Hi Sitifan,

Common logic says this.
Column is vertical

Row is horizontal

Your front and back align with the seats in a column.. To your left and right is the row.

If you are facing the teacher, and you want the homework to be collected by the last person at the end of the row, you must specify to the class “pass your home work to your left, or right. When everyone has done so, the last student will be the designated collector. Any more question? By the way, I suggest that you form your commons with care on your replies. They sounded quite blunt in my opinion.

Sitifan · Answer

YankeeHi Sitifan

Is your last post intended as a question? A disagreement? A challenge? Something else?

I agree with Jeannie's rewording of your original sentence. It sounds much more natural to me.

It's intended as a question. I hope someone can clarify my doubts.

1. Collect the homework of only one row at a time and return it corrected the next day.

2. Collect the homework for only one row at a time and return it corrected the next day.

Do you mean #2 is much more natural than #1?

Goodman · Answer

Hi,
While you are waiting for Amy’s response, I am going to render my opinion on the two questions.

1. Collect the homework of only one row at a time and return it corrected the next day.

2. Collect the homework for only one row at a time and return it corrected the next day.
They make no sense to me....

No, they are about as natural as a Frenchman trying to eat rice with chopsticks from a dinner plate. Messy and absoultely confusing!

Who is doing the correcitng and returning of the homework?

Sitifan · Answer

I think it's an imperative sentence.

Cbsteh · Answer

sitifan1. Collect the homework of only one row at a time and return it corrected the next day.

2. Collect the homework for only one row at a time and return it corrected the next day.

Ok, I think what those pesky sentences mean is this:

Collect the homework from each successive row each day and return them corrected the following day.

Chris

Jeannie1 · Answer

quote:
1a. The last student in each row, please collect last night's homework of your row.

It's intended as a question. I hope someone can clarify my doubts.

1. Collect the homework of only one row at a time and return it corrected the next day.

2. Collect the homework for only one row at a time and return it corrected the next day.

Do you mean #2 is much more natural than #1?

The original question, 1a, above, is different from the next 1 & 2 sentences.
In 1a. it appears that all the students have done their homework, and the teacher wants it collected, and presumably brought up to the front to the teacher. Hence it would be correct to say, "The last student in each row, please collect last night's homework for your row". This means that from the teacher's perspective, which ever way the desks are arranged, they are usually put in rows, so if the teacher is located at the front, then the rows could be either going from front to back, or from side to side. Usually in my experience they go from front to back. So the last student in each row, the one sitting at the back, is asked to get up and collect everyone's homework for the row he/she sits in, and presumably bring it up to the teacher.

In 1 & 2, it is quite different. It does not really make sense. It does not say who is collecting the homework, nor who is to correct it. It makes more sense for a student to collect it, and the teacher to correct it. So the teacher would not say for someone to collect the homework and for that samestudent to correct it for the next day. There is one way it could make sense, but that is reliant on further information. ie they are working on correcting a passage of work. The teacher has a copy of a passage for each student, and they all know that it has to be corrected, and the homework is, to correct that passage, and bring it back the next day,

Khoff · Answer

1) Collect the homework for your row.

2) Collect the homework of only one row.

I think there's a significant semantic difference between these sentences that has not been discussed yet.

The first describes a task or job you are asked to do on behalf of your row. Mary, please pass out the books for your row. John, collect the homework for your row. Susan, please take a poll and present the results for your row.

The second sentence describes which homework, or how much homework, should be collected. Collect the homework of only one row each day, so you don't have too many papers to grade at once. Grade the tests of half the class each night.

Another option we haven't discussed is, "Please collect the homework from your row." But it's dinner time now -- I'll be back later to think about that one.

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