Need your help.Thank you.

Question

Hello,

Could you help check out the following sentences. If there is something with grammar and word choice , please correct them. Thank you very much.

1, He is figuring out how to use the printer by reading the workbook.

2. The man is sitting on the chair and checking his email.

3. The thief is breaking the lock of the car by the screw.

4.He seems not to figure out the content of the book and is at his wit’s end.

5.It will be possible for robots to replace white collar labors in the future.

6.They are celebrating their graduation ceremony by throwing their graduation hats.

7.They are picking up their graduation hats on the floor.

Victor_amelkin · Accepted Answer

Hello,

Here are my ideas on your sentences. However, beware that neither
I am a native English speaker nor I am a grammar expert.

> 1. He is figuring out how to use the printer by reading the workbook.

I would call the thing being read a(n) (instruction) manual.
I assume that "workbook" may also be used with the same meaning,
but I saw it's being used only as a place where students do
written exercises (the same book usually contains the exercises
themselves which call for solution).

> 2. The man is sitting on the chair and checking his email.

I would say "on a chair". Why care about some particular chair?!

> 3. The thief is breaking the lock of the car by the *****.

I would say "with the *****". "By" usually precedes some method
of accomplishing a task, while the instrument is usually preceeded
with "with".

> He seems not to figure out the content of the book and is at his wit’s end.

He seems having not figured out ... and being at his wit's end.

> It will be possible for robots to replace white collar labors in the future.

If you want to refer to the concept of white-collar labor, you
should address it in a singular form ("labor", not "labors") and
modify it with an adjective (or how such compounds are called?!)
"white-collar" (hyphenated). If you want to refer to a certain
kind of prefessionals, you cant refer to them as "white collars".

> They are celebrating their graduation ceremony by throwing
> their graduation hats.

a) I do not think that throwing hats anywhere is a way to "celebrate".
b) Also, I would change "throwing" to a more precise verbal construction,
since "to throw" does not imply any direction, but you're probably
interested in throwing hats upwards.

> They are picking up their graduation hats on the floor.

put (down) on the floor / pick up from the floor

--

Victor

Sam1947 · Answer

Victor, to not be a native speaker, you do a great job!

As for throwing hats, it is a common custom at U.S. graduation ceremonies at every level from high school through University. There are very famous pictures of the Naval Cadets at Annapolis and the Army Cadets at West Point throwing their hats in the air when they graduate from the Academy. In the ensuing mayhem, it is impossible to retrieve one's own hat, in most situations, so they just pick up a random hat from the ground (and you are right--it is from), and keep it as a souvenir, or try to locate its owner and hope someone locates them with the right hat.

Sam1947 · Answer

I should add, that I was mildly annoyed with my daughter when she graduated from high school.  She went to a very large school, and the graduation was held at a University in a neighboring town because there was no facility large enough to accomodate it in the town where we lived.  She went early with friends, as the graduates had to arrive early, and we followed later to attend the ceremony.  Therefore, I did not get any pictures of her in her cap and gown prior to the ceremony.  They all threw their graduation caps at the end of the ceremony, and she didn't bother to pick one up, since she didn't know where hers was.  That meant I didn't get any pictures of her with her cap on!

Victor_amelkin · Answer

Hello Sam,

Thanks for the nice story. It sounds quite exotic to me, since I was

given neither a hat nor any other garment when I received my degree
certificate. Oh, these thrifty Russians...

--
Victor

Sam1947 · Answer

You are welcome, Victor. And, the Russians may be the wisest in this matter. The gowns that one has to purchase are made of very cheap fabric, but are quite expensive to purchase. They are worn that one time, then hang in the closet, taking up space, for years, then usually tossed away unceremoniously. But, it is festive and a symbol of a major step in life, so, in that context, I suppose it is worth it to mark so momentous an event.

You can probably put "Midshipman toss hats at graduaton" in your search engine and see some of the pictures I described. It is a sight to behold.

Need your help.Thank you.

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions