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Samuraigirl Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Correct Or Incorrect?
Hi guys,
are these sentences correct or incorrect?
1. To obtain a driver's license a person has to take a simple written test.
2. To obtain a driver's license people have to take a simple written test.
3. To obtain driver's licenses people have to take a simple written test.
To generalize the matter i am advised to use plural forms. But 3 sounds awkward. Of course we have some situation where I need to take another driver's license. Including this case, what is the difference among them?
4. This letter is on the conference scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
I was taught that 'on' is used to for things academic (e.g. the text on mathematics) while 'about' is for things less academic (e.g. books for children about animals).
Do you say 'The letter is on ...'?
5. The boy playing computer games over there is my nephew.
6. The boy playing a computer game over there is my nephew.
Almost no one want to play several games at the same time except geeks. Do you use this expression? Or should it be corrected as 'a game'?
7. Write me a letter explaining what happened.
8. Write me a letter to explain what happened.
I was taught that the present participle is for what is happening now (e.g. a man driving a car) while the infinitive is mostly for what will happen in the future (e.g. a book to read). The letter is yet to be written nor is the explanation, so 8 seems right and 7 is incorrect.
Thank you in advance.
are these sentences correct or incorrect?
1. To obtain a driver's license a person has to take a simple written test.
2. To obtain a driver's license people have to take a simple written test.
3. To obtain driver's licenses people have to take a simple written test.
To generalize the matter i am advised to use plural forms. But 3 sounds awkward. Of course we have some situation where I need to take another driver's license. Including this case, what is the difference among them?
4. This letter is on the conference scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
I was taught that 'on' is used to for things academic (e.g. the text on mathematics) while 'about' is for things less academic (e.g. books for children about animals).
Do you say 'The letter is on ...'?
5. The boy playing computer games over there is my nephew.
6. The boy playing a computer game over there is my nephew.
Almost no one want to play several games at the same time except geeks. Do you use this expression? Or should it be corrected as 'a game'?
7. Write me a letter explaining what happened.
8. Write me a letter to explain what happened.
I was taught that the present participle is for what is happening now (e.g. a man driving a car) while the infinitive is mostly for what will happen in the future (e.g. a book to read). The letter is yet to be written nor is the explanation, so 8 seems right and 7 is incorrect.
Thank you in advance.
Top answer
1, 2, and 3. No difference. English is forgiving about the singular in a general case.
- 1, 2, and 3.
- No difference.
- English is forgiving about the singular in a general case.
- You can say "When it's cold, people wear a hat," and no native speaker would think that everybody tries to wear one hat in winter.
- 4.
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1 Answers
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1, 2, and 3. No difference. English is forgiving about the singular in a general case. You can say "When it's cold, people wear a hat," and no native speaker would think that everybody tries to wear one hat in winter.
4. The letter is about.
5, 6. No difference.
7, 8. No difference. The word "explaining" isn't a verb in the present progressive; it's an adjective, in
4. The letter is about.
5, 6. No difference.
7, 8. No difference. The word "explaining" isn't a verb in the present progressive; it's an adjective, in
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