ESL Blogs

Well, here is your new task. It is quite easy, mostly the tenses, voices, prepositions. You know what to do, but if you don't just check out the previous blogs with the same title.

1. When she entered to the kitchen, he already laid the table and waited to her (4 mistakes).
2. She said if she will get sleepy, she goes to bed before I will return (3).
3. I asked did she know when his plane will arrive (2).
4. Anybody didn’t know will he win or not (3).
5. I am waiting to her but she didn’t still come and called (3).
6. He saw the bed is empty and sleep not last night (3).
7. He didn’t notice her red eyes and hardly can realized she cried (4).
8. When he saw his friends coming to see him out, he came to them (3).
9. He asked when will I leave (2).
10. I never experienced teaching English grammar before I joined to EC (3).

The deadline is the next Monday, February 13.

Have a great time!

February 11.

As I was asked to post the answers, here you are!

1. When she entered __ the kitchen, he had already laid the table and was waiting for her (4 mistakes).
2. She said if she got sleepy, she would go to bed before I __ returned (3).
3. I asked if she knew when his plane arrived (2).
4. Nobody knew if he would win (or not) (3).
5. I am waiting for her but she hasn’t come or called, yet (3).
6. He saw the bed was empty and hadn’t been slept in last night (3).
7. He didn’t notice her red eyes and could hardly realize she had been crying (4).
8. When he saw his friends who had come to see him off, he came up to them (3).
9. He asked when I was leaving (2).
10. I had never experienced teaching English grammar before I joined __EC (3).

Or

I had never been experienced in teaching English grammar before I joined __EC.

Now, I will explain the mistakes.

1.We use ENTER without any preposition after it. TO WAIT FOR is a phrasal verb. He had laid the table BEFORE she came and was waiting for her WHEN she entered.

2. The reported speech is in the future past tenses. The second verb in the conditional clause must be in the simple past tense. The fourth verb is in the time clause. It must also be in the simple past (not the future past) tense.

3. It is reported general question (yes-no question). Such question must start with IF/WHETHER followed by the direct word order. She knew (or didn’t) WHEN she was asked. TO KNOW is not used in the progressive tense. So, it must be in the past simple tense. The last clause supposes the plane not to have arrived before the question was asked. It is the time clause and we use the past simple tense.

4. This sentence is similar to the general reported question (See No3). It is obvious that it is the future past simple tense. We can’t use ANYBODY as a subject in the negative sentence. So, it must be NOBODY KNEW.

5. This sentence is in the present tenses. Sure, she hasn’t come or called till the moment when I say this phrase. We can’t use STILL in the negative sentence. It must be YET at its end. In the negative sentence we use OR instead of AND.

6. It is my favorite! The passive voice again! I am explaining this sentence again although I have already done it a few times. One morning some man saw the empty and made bed. He realized that nobody had slept in it at night (the night was over!). It is the active voice, but what for to use it if there is the passive voice!?

7. An adverb must be between the modal auxiliary and the verb. Her eyes were red. It means she cried for long. The perfect progressive tense will emphasize this point. And, of course, she had been crying BEFORE he saw her.

8. Well, it’s even better than 6! First, about the phrasal verbs. When we come to the station, airport, etc. to say “Bye!” to those who are leaving, we SEE them OFF. If we receive guests and they are leaving we SEE them OFF if we go to their cars together with them. But we SEE them OUT if we walk them only to the door, close it after they have left and stay inside. We also SEE OUT the Old Year. Now, if we near someone/something, we COME UP to it. About the tense: I meant his friends came earlier than him and, as I used the verb COME, I thought it would be clear, but it was not. So, in case he came earlier than his friends, the correct sentence will be:

When he saw his friends coming to see him off, he went toward them.

9. It is a reported question with the time clause. The actions were in the past, so the verb must be in the past progressive tense. If he was sure I was about to leave, it is the past progressive tense like in my corrected sentence. If he was not sure, it would be “I was going to leave”.

10. It may be either the active or the passive voice. Both are good and correct.

Thanks everyone for taking part and trying hard. Sure, you can ask me your questions.