Common errors

Question

Hello teachers!I have ten questions which contain common errors in Engish writing of Korean students.But the thing is I can't find any ingrammatical sentences here at all.Please help me with this, please show me why these are not correct!Thanks in advance:DHere's an example.-There have been several studies that have investigated nanotechnology applications in the medical field.-&gt; Several studies have investigated nanotechnology applications in the medical field.I guess two sentences are both correct, aren't they?Here are the rest nine questions!1. Almost people in that class failed the exam.2. There was no sodium following the experiment. It shows that strong interactions exist between the two elements.3. The temperature in the reaction influences on the final result.4. The solution included simple compounds like H2O and NaCl.5. The machine was operated remotely by using special software.6. The water was removed from the stove after it approached to boiling.7. In case of English, the students worked to learn vocabulary.8. The first experiment was done at a highter temperature than the second one.9. The plane stopped at two cities, such as NY and Atlanta, before finally arriving at its destination.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Ellisa Here's an example.
-There have been several studies that have investigated nanotechnology applications in the medical field.-> Several studies have investigated nanotechnology applications in the medical field.

I guess two sentences are both correct, aren't they? They're okay by me!

Here are the ~~rest~~ remaining nine questions!

1. Almost people in that class failed the exam. Almost all people / Most people

2. There was no sodium following the experiment. It shows that strong interactions exist between the two elements. No sodium remained / There was no sodium left (Actually, I'd accept this as is.)

3. The temperature in the reaction influences on the final result. (Some might prefer "the temperature of the reaction.")

4. The solution included simple compounds like H2O and NaCl. To me, the error is technical. This is a salt solution. A solution is by definition something disolved in water. It's absurd to say that water is "included" in the solution.

5. The machine was operated remotely by using special software. I think this is even more technical. Software alone can't run a machine remotely. Hardware is also necessary.

6. The water was removed from the stove after it approached to boiling. "approached the boiling point" is idiomatic.

7. In ~~case of~~ studying English, the students worked to learn vocabulary. ??

8. The first experiment was done at a ~~highter~~ higher temperature than the second one.

9. The plane stopped at two cities, ~~such as~~ NY and Atlanta, before finally arriving at its destination.

CalifJim · Answer

My comments follow each example.

There have been several studies that have investigated nanotechnology applications in the medical field. / Several studies have investigated nanotechnology applications in the medical field.

A study cannot investigate anything. People investigate things.

Researchers have investigated the use of nanotechnology in medicine.

1. Almost people in that class failed the exam.

Almost all the people ... was probably intended.

2. There was no sodium following the experiment. It shows that strong interactions exist between the two elements.

The sodium does not follow (walk after; pursue) the experiment. No sodium remained at the end of the experiment.

3. The temperature in the reaction influences on the final result.

Remove on. influences the result or has an influence on the result but not influences on the result.

4. The solution included simple compounds like H2O and NaCl.

I prefer The solution contained simple compounds, for example, ....

5. The machine was operated remotely by using special software.

This can be read to mean that the machine used the software. I might improve it like this:

Special software was used to operate the machine by remote control.

6. The water was removed from the stove after it approached to boiling.

I believe the intention was to write ... from the stove when it reached the boiling point.
In any case, approach to is wrong. Remove to.

7. In case of English, the students worked to learn vocabulary.

The following are all better.

In English (class), the students studied vocabulary.
In English (class), the students worked on their vocabulary.
In English (class), the stundents worked on learning vocabulary.

8. The first experiment was done at a ~~highter~~ higher temperature than the second one.

If it was "done at a higher temperature", then it seems that those who did the research were warmer during the first experiment.

The temperature was (kept) higher in the first experiment than in the second one.

9. The plane stopped at two cities, such as NY and Atlanta, before finally arriving at its destination.

I suspect that the cities were not just cities like New York and Atlanta, but rather, the cities were New York and Atlanta.

The plane stopped at New York and Atlanta before finally ....

CJ

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