ESL Blogs

My friends, here is one more intermediate test for you and this time, it will be the last. I have already explained almost all such mistakes. This test is the same as previous: the tenses, the voices, the articles, the prepositions, GO/COME, TAKE/BRING. Sure, there may be some other mistakes, so, just be attentive. You know what to do!

Here is your task:

1. I have asked where did she put my briefcase as I could not find it for long (5 mistakes).
2. Cigarette smoked in ashtray because it not put out (4).
3. I knew she couldn’t accept my proposal until I am changed (3).
4. The letter couldn’t deliver as the address written illegible (3).
5. When puppy was taken home, it hardly was turned 3 month old (6).
6. When we got to the car, she recalled, she forgot her purse home and asked me come back and take it (7).
7. While she was out, her pets took care by their neighbor (4).
8. Despite she lived in NYC for many years, she was sorry yet to go away of her hometown (6).
9. I hoped all snacks were not eat our guests and something must leave (5).
10. All mistakes already are explained, many tests are done. What else explain you? (5)

The deadline is March 13.

And I do want to ask you, what parts of the intermediate grammar are not clear, yet. Please, tell me and I will post my explanations.

Good luck and have a great weekend!

March 13

Hi, everyone! I am posting the answers and my explanations. You know, you may ask me your questions.

1. I ___ asked where she had put my briefcase as I had not been able to find it for long (5 mistakes).
2. A cigarette smoked in the ashtray because it had not been put out (4).
3. I knew she wouldn’t be able to accept my proposal until after I changed (4).
4. The letter couldn’t be delivered as the address had been written illegibly (3).
5. When the puppy was brought home, it had hardly turned 3 months old (6).
6. When we got into the car, she recalled, she had forgotten her purse at home and asked me to go back and to bring it (7).
7. While she was away, her pets were being taken care of by her neighbor (4).
8. Despite living in NYC for many years, she was still sorry __ to have come (or for coming) away from her hometown (6).
9. I hoped all the snacks hadn’t been eaten by our guests and something must have been left (5).
10. All the mistakes have already been explained, many tests have been done. What else to explain you? (5)

Well, here are my explanations.

1. We always use a reporting verb in the simple tense. Both actions had been before I asked my question. Sure, COULD has no tenses. But we can replace it with TO BE ABLE and to use it in the past perfect tense.
2. A cigarette hadn’t been put out. It was lying in the ashtray smoking. However, it is a complex sentence where one of the verbs must be in the simple tense. TO PUT OUT means TO EXTINGUISH.
3. I think it is one of the hardest. The idea of this sentence is following: I asked her to marry me but she said she would agree only after I changed. So, the reported speech is in the future past. As I have already told you, we don’t usually use the perfect tenses in the time clauses speaking about the future.
4. It is easy. Somebody had written the address so illegibly that a mailman couldn’t read it and couldn’t deliver a letter. The sentence is in the passive voice.
5. The puppy was BROUGHT home as it became its home since then. That time it was 3 months old. So, it had hardly turned 3 months old BEFORE it was brought home. Besides, we use an adverb inside a compound predicate.
6. She had forgotten to take her purse and recalled that fact when we got into the car. So, she asked me to GO BACK home (I was moving from her and from our car) and to BRING it (on my way back I was moving toward her and our car).
7. TO BE OUT means to leave not for long. In this case, there is no need to take care of the pets. So, if she asked her neighbor to look after her pets, she was going TO BE AWAY (in some other town) for some time. It is clear she was planning to be back. So, the neighbor was asked to take care of the pets for some short period. It is the past progressive tense, the passive voice.
8. New York was not her hometown. She had been born somewhere else. So, living in NY she was sorry for coming away (or to have come away) from her hometown to NY. Now, DESPITE (IN SPITE OF) is followed by a noun/gerund phrase while ALTHOUGH is followed by a clause.
9. Yesterday/the day before we had a party with a lot of snacks. Our guests ate much. So, in the morning I could only hope they left us something to eat. The sentence is in the passive voice.
10. Well, you know I mean myself. So, I have explained everything by NOW. And it is the passive voice.

Thanks everone! I hope, it was useful!