Need some help with typical mistakes by non-native English speakers (part 1)

Question

Hi,for my studies I have to find typical mistakes in sentences, but at some of them I don't have any clue what or why something is wrong. Hope you can help me a bit. Thanks very much in advance!Let's start:1.) How are you? Thank you, very fine.Here guess that the word "very" is not right, it sounds a bit odd. Is there a rule that "very" can't be used with "fine"?2.) Did you come with your car?Here I think that "by" should be used instead of "with". But why?3.) I had to change the train at Leixlip.???4.) They are building up a new power plant.???5.) In the last time we've had many visitors from England.???6.) I would like to present you our latest product.???7.) We want our company to grow up as quick as possible.???8.) Last year we had a two millions pounds profit.???9.) There's one in the near of the company.My guess is that "near" isn't right.10.) He told that the goods would come tomorrow.???11.) I've worked with him in my last job.I think that the wrong time is used here and it should be "I worked with...".12.) I work for the company since 3 years.???13.) I look forward to hear from you soon.I'm pretty sure that it should be either "I look forward hearing from you soon." or "I'm looking forward hearing from you soon.". But which of them is right or more commonly used?I appreciate your help very much. I have some more sentences to correct, but first let's solve these ones.Kind regards,Christian

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi, for my studies I have to find typical mistakes in sentences, but at some of them I don't have any clue what or why something is wrong. Hope you can help me a bit. Thanks very much in advance! Let's start:[/nq]
No, let's suggest you buy Michael Swan's Practical English Usage (a realtively cheap Oxford University Press paperback), which answers all your questions clearly.

Ross Howard

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]No, let's suggest you buy Michael Swan's Practical English Usage (a realtively cheap Oxford University Press paperback), which answers all your questions clearly.[/nq]
None of this artificialtively cheap stuff for Ross!

Redwine
Hamburg

Usenet · Answer

"Christian S.-W." (Email Removed) schrieb im Newsbeitrag
[nq:1]I appreciate your help very much. I have some more sentences to correct, but first let's solve these ones.[/nq]
No, let's not. I never had anyone to do my homework for me when I was studying.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]1.) How are you? Thank you, very fine. Here guess that the word "very" is not right, it sounds a bit odd. Is there a rule that "very" can't be used with "fine"?[/nq]
Pretty much. "Fine" is in the middle, so you can't really be "very fine" if you're feeling better than "fine" then you are "good" or "great" or something like that.
[nq:1]2.) Did you come with your car? Here I think that "by" should be used instead of "with". But why?[/nq]
You are correct; I cannot explain why. That's just the way English works.
[nq:1]3.) I had to change the train at Leixlip.[/nq]
"the" is wrong here it should be "I had to change trains at Leixlip".
[nq:1]4.) They are building up a new power plant.[/nq]
"up" should not be here. "building up" means accumulating. "They are building a new power plant" is correct.
[nq:1]5.) In the last time we've had many visitors from England.[/nq]
"In the last time" is not correct English. One possibility for correction is "Recently we've had many visitors from England."
[nq:1]6.) I would like to present you our latest product. ???[/nq]
I wonder if this is supposed to be "present to you"?
[nq:1]7.) We want our company to grow up as quick as possible.[/nq]
"grow up" means "age" "We want our company to grow as quickly as possible" is better. (note that "quick" should also be "quickly")
[nq:1]8.) Last year we had a two millions pounds profit.[/nq]
"million" and "pound" should both be singular "Last year we had a two million pound profit".
[nq:1]9.) There's one in the near of the company. My guess is that "near" isn't right.[/nq]
I'm not sure what this sentence is supposed to mean.
[nq:1]10.) He told that the goods would come tomorrow.[/nq]
There's a missing pronoun "He told us that the goods would come tomorrow" is one possbility.
[nq:1]11.) I've worked with him in my last job. I think that the wrong time is used here and it should be "I worked with...".[/nq]
"I've" is fine the error is the preposition. It should be "at my last job" rather than "in", although this one I'm not 100% sure about.
[nq:1]12.) I work for the company since 3 years.[/nq]
"I have worked for the company for 3 years."
[nq:1]13.) I look forward to hear from you soon. I'm pretty sure that it should be either "I look forward hearing from you soon." or "I'm looking forward hearing from you soon.". But which of them is right or more commonly used?[/nq]
Either is fine if you insert a "to" "I look forward to hearing..." and "I'm looking forward to hearing"...
-Chris

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]for my studies I have to find typical mistakes in sentences, but at someof them I don't have any clue what or why something is wrong. Hope you can help me a bit. Thanks very much in advance! . . .[/nq]
Be warned: these exercises present formal rules
of grammar (and sometimes semantic sense) as
deserving priority over preponderant current usage. This is nowadays considered old-fashioned (because unrealistic.)
[nq:1]3.) I had to change the train at Leixlip.[/nq]
This is a matter of semantics rather than grammar: because passengers do not control or manipulate
railway trains. But the fact remains that we do
talk like this not exactly like this, because the usual phrase is "I had to change trains at Leixlip."

The general question is what we should accept
as normal what people actually say in real
situations, or what conforms to some set of rules
devised for other or all situations. Your grammar exercises prefer the latter. This makes them
useful for teaching the rules but an unreliable
record of current usage or current linguistic theory.

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)

Usenet · Answer

Christian S.-W. wrote on 14 May 2004:
[nq:1]Hi, for my studies I have to find typical mistakes in sentences, but at some of them I don't have ... "very" is not right, it sounds a bit odd. Is there a rule that "very" can't be used with "fine"?[/nq]
I'd say it was the word order. It should be "Very fine, thank you".
[nq:1]2.) Did you come with your car? Here I think that "by" should be used instead of "with". But why?[/nq]
"Did you come by car?" is correct
[nq:1]3.) I had to change the train at Leixlip.[/nq]
"I had to change trains at Leixlip".
[nq:1]4.) They are building up a new power plant.[/nq]
"They are building a new power plant".
[nq:1]5.) In the last time we've had many visitors from England.[/nq]
"In the last {year/month} we've had many visitors from England".
[nq:1]6.) I would like to present you our latest product.[/nq]
"I would like to present you with our latest product".
[nq:1]7.) We want our company to grow up as quick as possible.[/nq]
"We want our company to grow as quickly as possible".
[nq:1]8.) Last year we had a two millions pounds profit.[/nq]
"Last year we had a two-million pound profit" or
"Last year we had a profit of two million pounds".
[nq:1]9.) There's one in the near of the company. My guess is that "near" isn't right.[/nq]
"There's one in the neighborhood of the company" or

"There's one near the company".
[nq:1]10.) He told that the goods would come tomorrow.[/nq]
"He said that the goods would come tomorrow" or
"He told {me/us/her/Jim/etc} that the goods would come tomorrow".
[nq:1]11.) I've worked with him in my last job. I think that the wrong time is used here and it should be "I worked with...".[/nq]
You're right, but it should be "on my last job".
[nq:1]12.) I work for the company since 3 years.[/nq]
"I've worked for the company for 3 years" or
"I've {been working / worked} for the company since 3 years ago".
[nq:1]13.) I look forward to hear from you soon. I'm pretty sure that it should be either "I look forward hearing from you soon." or "I'm looking forward hearing from you soon.". But which of them is right or more commonly used?[/nq]
"I look forward to hearing from you soon".
Don't send us any more. They're too easy for us and if you haven't learned how to figure out where to find the proper grammar or idiomatic expressions yet, you will gain nothing but an empty mark on your homework paper.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]3.) I had to change the train at Leixlip.[/nq]^^
Leipzig.

Reinhold (Rey) Aman

Usenet · Answer

"Reinhold (Rey) Aman" (Email Removed) schrieb im Newsbeitrag
[nq:2]3.) I had to change the train at Leixlip.[/nq]
^^
[nq:1]Leipzig.

[/nq]
And there was I, thinking it was supposed to be Ruislip.

Usenet · Answer

A few additional notes:
[nq:1]Christian S.-W. wrote on 14 May 2004:[/nq]
[nq:2]1.) How are you? Thank you, very fine. Here guess ... there a rule that "very" can't be used with "fine"?[/nq]
[nq:1]I'd say it was the word order. It should be "Very fine, thank you".[/nq]
In my dialect, anyway, "very" doesn't go with "fine" in that context. I'd make it either "Fine, thank you" or "Very well, thank you" the latter being more formal.
[nq:2]2.) Did you come with your car? Here I think that "by" should be used instead of "with". But why?[/nq]
[nq:1]"Did you come by car?" is correct[/nq]
Or "...in your car?" if the ownership is an important part of the question.
[nq:2]4.) They are building up a new power plant.[/nq]
[nq:1]"They are building a new power plant".[/nq]
The phrasal verb "build up" means "increase" or "accumulate":

The pressure is building up.
He built up a large library, a few books at a time.
[nq:2]5.) In the last time we've had many visitors from England.[/nq]
[nq:1]"In the last {year/month} we've had many visitors from England".[/nq]
Or "In recent years...".
Probably what you want here is just "Recently...".
[nq:2]7.) We want our company to grow up as quick as possible.[/nq]
[nq:1]"We want our company to grow as quickly as possible".[/nq]
"Grow up" means "become an adult":
I was born in New York, but grew up in Vermont.
Cf. No. 4. As you have no doubt noticed, adding a particle such as "up" can change the meaning of a verb completely. You have to learn such combinations as separate verbs.
"Quick" can be an adverb, but mainly in urgent instructions:

Come quick!
Put that down quick!
Kill it quick!
Otherwise it has to be "quickly".
[nq:2]10.) He told that the goods would come tomorrow.[/nq]
[nq:1]"He said that the goods would come tomorrow" or "He told {me/us/her/Jim/etc} that the goods would come tomorrow".[/nq]
"Tell" in that sense almost always requires that the person addressed be specified. Another word with a similar rule that often trips up learners is "allow":
That allows us to be certain.
*That allows to be certain. (wrong)

Joe Fineman (Email Removed)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, for my studies I have to find typical mistakes in sentences, but at someof them I don't have any ... can help me a bit. Thanks very much in advance! Let's start: 1.) How are you? Thank you, very fine.[/nq]
How are you? Thanks, fine.
[nq:1]2.) Did you come with your car? Here I think that "by" should be used instead of "with". But why?[/nq]
In the US: Did you drive?
[nq:1]3.) I had to change the train at Leixlip.[/nq]
I had to change trains at Leixlip.
[nq:1]4.) They are building up a new power plant.[/nq]
They are building a new power plant.
[nq:1]5.) In the last time we've had many visitors from England.[/nq]
Last time, we had many visitors from England.
[nq:1]6.) I would like to present you our latest product.[/nq]
I would like to present to you our latest product. (Very formal, very stiff).
I would like to present our latest product to you. (Still formal, but not quite as stiff.)
[nq:1]7.) We want our company to grow up as quick as possible.[/nq]
We want our company to grow as quickly as possible.
[nq:1]8.) Last year we had a two millions pounds profit.[/nq]
Last year we had a two million pound profit.
[nq:1]9.) There's one in the near of the company. My guess is that "near" isn't right.[/nq]
"Near" is being treated a noun; it's not.
There's one near the company.
[nq:1]10.) He told that the goods would come tomorrow.[/nq]
He said that the goods would come tomorrow.
[nq:1]11.) I've worked with him in my last job. I think that the wrong time is used here and it should be "I worked with...".[/nq]
It's the preposition that's wrong:
I've worked with him at my last job.
But the tense is also off:
I worked with him at my last job.
[nq:1]12.) I work for the company since 3 years.[/nq]
I have worked for the company for 3 years.
[nq:1]13.) I look forward to hear from you soon. I'm pretty sure that it should be either "I look forward hearing from you soon." or "I'm looking forward hearing from you soon.". But which of them is right or more commonly used?[/nq]
I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Need some help with typical mistakes by non-native English speakers (part 1)

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