Correction Symbols
The following correction symbols are used in this text to indicate specific types of grammatical errors:
a - articles (use of “a” and “the”)
sg/pl - singular/plural (use of singular and plural noun or pronoun forms) v - verb form (use of s-form, tense, active/passive forms, infinitives &
gerunds, present & past participles)
p - punctuation (use of periods, commas, semi-colons and colons)
ss - sentence structure (e.g., use of “connecting words” such as “who, which, that” in adjective clauses, or omitting parts of a sentence, such as a subject or verb)
wf - word form (use of noun/verb/adjective/adverb forms of words)
Unit One: Articles & Nouns
Rule Number One
1) Use the word a (the “indefinite” article) with singular countable nouns.
Rule Number Two
2) Use no article with plural or uncountable nouns with “general meaning.”
Rule number three
3) Use the word the (the “definite” article) when something is definite in the mind of the listener/hearer: in other words, when the listener/hearer knows “which one” you are talking about. This can include the following situations:
a) second mention
The first time we mention something, we use the word a; after that, we can use the word
the, as in the following example:
1st mention: I saw a good movie last night. 2nd mention: The movie took place in China.
(We could also say “It took place in China.”)
b) with a “restrictive” adjective phrase or clause, that is, a phrase or clause that answers the question “which one” you are talking about, as in the following examples (Note: a “clause” is like a sentence in that it contains a subject and a verb; a “phrase” does not contain a subject and a verb):
The pen on the table is mine. The light in the corner is broken.
I liked the book that you lent me.
I like the sweater that you are wearing.
The teacher who I spoke to yesterday was helpful.
c) with something that is “unique” (there is only one) or something that is made definite by “the context” (the surrounding situation), such as in the following examples:
The sun is hot today.
(There is only one sun that we normally talk about.)
The teacher is absent today.
(said in a classroom, meaning the teacher of this class)
Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of articles and nouns in the following sentences:
1. The Bible says the person comes from the earth and has to go back to the earth.
2. In 2002, I met the person that cared about me. In 2005 he died in car accident.
3. Whenever the death comes to person, it is always a shock.
4. The poet explores in this poem a shock and deep sorrow of losing somebody you love.
5. Do the people live after death?
6. At that time, my father was normal workers.
7. We are small but important part of large mosaic called life.
8. A model of family depicted in the play “The Glass Menagerie” isn’t normal.
9. Even though mother believes she is doing good things, it produces the bad results.
10. The daughter grew up with the psychological problems.
11. Good friends often have same opinions about solving problem.
12. She loved to collect the little glass animals.
13. Laura had the reason to be shy.
14. My sister is married and has the little baby.
15. A brother can tell you about a boy-girl relationships.
16. She knows the value of the freedom.
17. There is supposed to be one mutual goal in life of two people.
18. It takes time to find a strength to move on.
19. I do not have a right to judge you.
20. The mother says that one day, she received seventeen gentleman caller.
21. I owe them better future.
22. The brotherhood is a love for a brother.
23. People get married with intention of being together for life.
24. Even though the marriage is challenging, when people love each other, they will find the ways to be together for lifetime.
25. The daughter was angry at her mother for forcing her to become the piano player.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors (indicated in the margin) in the use of articles and nouns in the following paragraphs:
a 1) There are a big responsibilities that fall on a father’s shoulders with his
a-2 first baby. He is a head of a family, and he is responsible for safety and
a prosperity of its members. So as father, I would go to work, bring money back a home, and support my family. I would do almost anything to be happy family. I a-2 would walk a dog on a rainy day, if my child was interested in having pet
at home. On the weekends we as a whole family would travel upstate and go
a camping for a couple nights. We would do the rock climbing, hiking, fishing and
rafting there. I would introduce my child to wildlife and teach him how to treat it
a-2 with care. I would move away from industrial, polluted and very noisy city to the better, calm, fresh, nice and historical neighborhood, preferably near the water.
a We would also go to city’s museums, galleries and performances because I
a would want my child to be well educated and interesting person.
a-2 2) I have heard people say that mother is a very important person in family a because she always does all the housework and takes care of children, such as a-2 washing clothes, cooking food, teaching children to do the homework, and
a-2 controlling behavior of children. About this point, I strongly agree with that, but
a-2 how about father? I think father was always ignored in families because he likes to keep quiet and rarely shares his feelings with the children, so most children are closer with their mothers than with their fathers. However, it doesn’t mean
a father is not very important.
a 3) I have younger sister. She is thirteen now, eleven years younger than me. I was eleven when my sister was born, and to tell you the truth, I hated her at the
a-3 beginning. I was only child in family for eleven years. Also I was first
a granddaughter for my grandparents, and first niece for all my uncles and aunts. a I was very spoiled child. My mom and dad did everything for me. I had all that a child could possibly wish for. But not only my parents, my grandparents spoiled
me too. Also, my uncle, who didn’t have kids of his own at the time, spoiled me
a-2 a lot. He bought me the presents almost every week: the expensive toys and
a clothes. Also, he took me to the parks, cafes, movie theaters. Of course, by the
a time I turned eleven, I got used to idea that I would get whatever I would ask for.
Unit Two: Verb Tenses
The following are some rules about the most common English verb tenses:
1) Use the present continuous tense for action in progress right now. It can also be used for a “temporary” situation (for example, doing something just for “this month”):
I am studying English right now.
I am living with my uncle for this month.
2) Use the simple present tense (also called the present habitual tense) for action that is repeated, a habit, or with verbs that do not represent action (for example, the verbs like, hate, hope, think believe, etc.). Note that we use “s” on the verb if the subject is “third person singular” (he, she, or it):
I study English every day.
Yelena studies English every day. I like coffee.
Maria likes tea.
3) Use the future tense to describe future action (Either will or going to can be used for future action):
I will study English tomorrow.
(or “I am going to study English tomorrow.”)
4) Use the simple past tense most of the time in speaking or writing about past action, unless there is a special reason to use one of the other past tenses, which can be considered “special” past tenses. Note that we use sometimes use “-ed” (study/studied) to make a verb past tense (for “regular” verbs) but that many verbs have “irregular” past forms (such as do/did, write/wrote, think/thought, read/read, etc.):
I studied English yesterday. I wrote an essay last night.
5) Use the past continuous tense for action in progress at a specific time in the past. This tense can also be used for a long continuous action which was interrupted by a short action, or for action which lasts through a long period of time, such as “all day”:
I was studying English at 9 o’clock last night.
I was walking in the street yesterday afternoon when I saw a car accident. I was working all day yesterday.
6) We use the present perfect tense in several specific situations. Note that in many situations when we use the present perfect tense, we can also use the present perfect continuous tense. Since advanced students often have trouble using this tense, we will look more carefully at this tense in the next section. One situation when we use this tense is for action started in the past which continues up to now:
I have studied English for three years.
I have been studying English for three years. (from three years ago up to now)
The Present Perfect Tense
Use the present perfect tense in the following situations:
1) In response to the questions How long and Since when?
How long have you been in the U.S.?
- I have been in the U.S. for 2 years.
Since when has Juan been studying at Brooklyn College?
- Juan has been studying at Brooklyn College since September, 2005.
2) In response to the question Have you ever? Note that if you ask a question beginning with the word When, you must use the simple past tense.
Have you ever been to the top of the Empire State Building?
- Yes, I have been there.
When did you go there? (or “When were you there?”)
- I went there two months ago. (or “I was there two months ago.)
Has your brother ever studied Spanish?
- Yes he has.
When did he study Spanish?
- He studied it two years ago.
3) With a time which is not yet finished, which “includes now,” such as this morning (if it is still morning), today, this week, this month, this semester, this year, etc.:
Have you had anything to eat yet today?
- No, I haven’t yet had anything to eat.
Has Maria had any tests yet this semester?
- Yes, she has had some tests.
When did she have a test?
- She had a chemistry test last week.
Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of verbs in the following sentences:
1. Everyone is looking for someone who always listens to his or her feelings, and who sometimes suggest a right way to move forward.
2. Laura made a high, invisible wall, which protect her from anyone who tried to approach her.
3. This is something that a person who do not have a brother cannot describe.
4. When a sister likes a dress and her brother says that she look bad, sometimes it is good to listen to him.
5. Tom doesn’t like the way that his mother treat him.
6. Tom doesn’t like to hear about things that happen when his mother was young.
7. Tom has this plan for a long time.
8. My sister is controlled by her husband. Sometimes, she doesn’t has the right to choose.
9. Women had to stay married even if they don’t love their husbands.
10. Just because she is younger than me, that do not mean that she knows less.
11. Since the time we immigrated, we had some misunderstandings and fights.
12. There is no two identical people on this planet.
13. She lose me when she thought I belong to her.
14. As a result of love, people got married.
15. If two people living together cannot trust each other, it is, certainly, will end in divorce.
16. Women work more and taking financial responsibility to support their families.
17. In history, we had many wars, and it seems like we going to have more, though nobody wish that.
18. Everyone in this world had problems: Some has physical problems and some has emotional problems.
19. Love is something that change the world.
20. Steven had encouragement from his family and his condition had improved.
21. The writer doesn’t tell the reader about what kind of decision he need to make.
22. I was pleased that I make the right decision.
23. She is pushing her daughter to get married and don’t understand her.
24. The mother did not had her own private life.
25. In 2002, I have met a very good person.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors (indicated in the margin) in the use of articles, nouns and verbs in the following paragraphs:
v,a 1) The human life begin when one is conceived, and it culminates with the
v death. This reality make us try to live and enjoy every single day of our life the
v best that we can. In the poem “The Wake,” the poet show us a view of how death v-2, a affect us humans when it take away an important member of our family. The
v death is not expected ever, but when it comes and take someone close to you, it v can’t be accepted right away. When this happen, you feel that inside you,
v-2 something missing; it is a feeling of emptiness. But after a while, this feeling go a, v away. The people accepts the fact that this person is no longer there and is not
coming back ever again.
a 2) There could be many reasons why person is shy. Maybe she or he was raised v in a certain environment that cause the development of shyness. This concept is
a-2 connected with one of characters in play “The Glass Menagerie”– Laura
v Wingfield. Laura chose to avoid social situations because they give no reward to v-2 her, and she find the sensory input overwhelming. Laura fear such situations and v-2 feel that she has to avoid them And in order to avoid this, she create her own
imaginary reality, Laura’s private world.
a 3) In ancient China, there was law that men were allowed to get married with more than one woman. So nobody would think about those women’s happiness,
v because they had to share their husband with other women when they had
v married. Moreover, most of these women had married someone who was older v-2 than them, by more than ten years, so when they live together, there were no
v communication, and the feelings of these women was controlled by men. At that v time, there are two kinds of people who let their daughter get married with
v-3 someone they does not love and who is older than them. One is to make more
a, v money and get higher status, such as letting their daughter marry king. Another is to avoid threats because in ancient China some governors would punish people
v who do not let their daughters marry them.
Unit Three: Active/Passive Verb Forms
To review the previous chapter, the following are the most frequently used English verb tenses.
1) A mechanic is repairing my car right now. (present continuous)
2) A mechanic repairs my car every month. (present habitual)
3) A mechanic will repair my car tomorrow. (future tense), or
A mechanic is going to repair my car tomorrow. (future with “going to”)
4) A mechanic repaired my car yesterday. (simple past)
5) A mechanic was repairing my car at 9 o’clock this morning. (past continuous)
6) A mechanic has repaired my car two times this month. (present perfect)
There are times (as in the above sentences) when we are probably more interested in the object of the verb (the word that appears after the verb, in this case my car) than in the subject (the mechanic). If this is so, we can move the original object to the beginning of the sentence and use a passive verb form, as in the following sentences:
1) My car is being repaired right now. (by a mechanic)
2) My car is repaired every month.
3) My car will be repaired tomorrow.
My car is going to be repaired tomorrow.
4) My car was repaired yesterday.
5) My car was being repaired at 9 o’clock this morning.
6) My car has been repaired two times this month.
Note that to make a passive verb form, we move the object of the verb to the front of the sentence, use the verb to be in the same tense as the verb in the original sentence, and then use the past participle of the original verb (something has been completed, has been done, has been written, has been read, etc.). We can mention the original subject of the verb (in this case the mechanic) after the word by, but there is no need to mention the original subject.
Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of verb forms in the following sentences:
1. Laura has a handicap and she is always struggled with an inferiority complex.
2. Since she met him, she was realized that she was not the only person who suffers distress.
3. Boys like when a girl is dresses nicely.
4. The relationship between a man and woman based on mutual love.
5. People less concern about their health than about how they would pay their bills.
6. The ancient Egyptians are mummified their bodies to continue the soul after death.
7. We are part of a large mosaic that calls life.
8. Life is eventually ending by death.
9. Laura’s world symbolized a glass menagerie in Tennessee Williams’ play.
10. The mother in the story never asks her daughter what she interested in.
11. I was surprise to see my father waiting for me.
12. The mother is concern about her daughter’s reputation.
13. Men should judge women the same way they are judge.
14. When the first child was born, probably both parents experience happiness.
15. Mother-daughter relationships based on many things, like love, understanding, and sometimes – jealousy and competition.
16. In the future, everything will be change.
17. Children will rebel if they force to do something they don’t want to do.
18. In my family, all the housework done by my mother.
19. A good living environment must be provide by the father.
20. Too much attention was giving to my little sister.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors (indicated in the margin) in the use of articles, nouns and verbs in the following paragraphs:
v 1) My parents decide to have another baby when I was four years old. He got a-2, v all attention. Life suddenly has changed. All troubles started there. I felt that I
had to get rid of that annoying creature, my brother. When my mom got home a-2 and everyone just sat and stared at him, I got plan. It was beautiful plan. It was
a-2 cold, rainy day, and everyone was busy, so I took a stroller with my brother in it
and brought it outside. I felt good, but the moment was ruined very soon later, a when everyone started to look for a baby. I could not believe that they still
v-3, a needed him. I don’t want him back. He is the thief. He steals love from me.
2) The idea of women’s and men’s liberation is something that is progressing. a,v It is concept that is unstable. It always changing throughout the centuries.
v Nevertheless, we constantly find people who still wants to keep things and ideas a-2 in old-fashioned way. My understanding of words “women’s liberation” is that it a means to be free from oppression of males and society. It also means respect,
a, v personal integrity and reputation. I realize that the women are not judge anymore pl. v by if they lose their virginity before or after marriage, but by what she has inside. a I am not saying that this a good thing but it is part of new liberation that women
have. I think we should stop, and take some time to think about it. Even for men.
Men’s liberation is not to be about killing, and being always that person who v never be defeat. In my opinion, men’s liberation is about expressing their
v feelings, honesty, and to judge women the same way they are judge.
a-2, v 3) In text “Girl,” we see controlling mom, who simply want her daughter to do a-3, v best she can to become decent woman. Mother teach her a lot of different things,
specifically concerning proper behavior: “This is how to smile to someone you don’t like too much; this is how you smile to someone you like completely.” As
a, v well, mother is concern about her daughter looking like “a slut”: “This is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they
v won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warn you against becoming.” It must a be tough culture and society to live in, because these are very rough words to say a-2,v-2 to your daughter. Girl is overwhelm and she tried to justify herself when mom
v- 2, a say this. I guess they didn’t understand each other, since girl trying to say,
a, v “Mom, I am not that bad,” but mother does not seems to care. She does what she has to do – teach her daughter “how to live right.”
Unit Four: Modal Verbs
Certain words in English (called “modal verbs”) are used in front of verbs in English to indicate the following meanings:
1) will (future): I will call you tonight.
2) can (ability or permission):Can I borrow your pen?
John can play the guitar.*
* Note that we usually would say “John plays the guitar (with the “third person s,” but we don’t use an “s” with the modal verbs. Note also that the expression be able to is sometimes used to indicate ability, as in “John is able to play the guitar.”
3) may (permission or possibility): May I speak to you about this problem?
I may go out tonight.
4) might (weak possibility): I might go to John’s party.*
* Note that may indicates about a 50% possibility (50% yes/ 50% no), whereas might
indicates about a 30% possibility (30% yes/ 50 % no – I probably won’t do this).
5) must (necessity): You must go to the doctor if you are very sick.
* Note that the expression have to has the same meaning as must, so we can also say “You have to go to the doctor if you are very sick.” Note also that although must and have to have the same meaning, must not and don’t have to have different meanings, as in the following sentences:
You must not cross the street when the light is red. (indicates that it is necessary not to cross the street)
I don’t have to do any homework tonight.
(indicates that there is no necessity – I can do homework tonight but it is not necessary.)
6) should (advisability): I should write to my parents more often.* (indicates that this would be a good thing to do, but is not really necessary)
* Note that the expression ought to is sometimes used to indicate advisability, so we can also say “I ought to write to my parents more often.”
Using modals about past action
1) Would is sometimes used as the past of will (as a sort of “past-future” tense): Alberto said that he would call me yesterday.
2) Could is sometimes used as the past of can: Viktor asked if he could borrow my book.
3) Might is sometimes used as the past of may:
Rosa told me that she might be able to help me yesterday.
4) We do not use must in the past: instead, we use had to: My boss told me that I had to work last week.
5) We can use should in the past:
I thought that I should read that book for my research paper.
Using “should have done” and “shouldn’t have done”
1) We use the expression should have done to indicate that I am sorry that I didn’t do something (to indicate a “past mistake”), as in the following sentences:
I should have studied harder for my English test. Jean should have done his homework last night.
2) We use the expression shouldn’t have done to indicate that I am sorry that I did something:
I shouldn’t have stayed up so late last night. Jorge shouldn’t have eaten so much.
Using “could have done”
We use the expression could have done to indicate that I had the opportunity to do something, but didn’t do it. Unlike with should have done, this expression does not indicate that I am sorry or feel any regret:
I could have gone to the movies last night, but I decided to stay home and go to sleep early.
(I do not feel any regret about this decision).
Igor could have taken classes last summer, but he decided to take a break from his studies.
Using “may/might/could” and “must be”
We sometimes use may/might/could be to indicate that we are not sure about something in the present (“present possibility”). For example, if I can’t find my car keys, I could say
They may be in my car.
They might be in my coat pocket. They could be in my bookbag.
We use the work must to indicate that we are almost completely sure of something (about a 90% probability). If I am almost sure that I left the keys on my office desk, I could say
They must be on my office desk.
Using “may/might/could” and “must have been”
We use may/might/could have been to indicate that we are not sure about something in the past (“past possibility”). For example, if Maria was absent from class yesterday, we could say
She may have been sick.
She might have been visiting a friend in the hospital. She could have been at the movies.
Again, we use the word must to indicate that we are almost completely sure of something. For example, we could say about Maria
She must have had a good reason for being absent from class.
Grammar Observation Exercise
Notice the use of modal verbs in the following sentences (These are not errors, but examples of correct use of grammar by students):
1. In the past, even if women didn’t love their husbands, they couldn’t get a divorce.
2. After half an hour of fighting, we were crying that we would never ever quarrel again.
3. In ancient China, some governors would punish people who did not let their daughters marry them.
4. I will be a mother in the future.
5. Not for any money can we buy somebody’s life.
6. We can feel empty when we know that somebody we used to love has died.
7. A good father must provide a good living environment for his family.
8. The time that my father could stay at home became less and less.
9. When I was with my father, we couldn’t find any topic to talk about.
10. Despite this problem, she must continue with her normal life.
11. We should learn how to overcome a problem with courage.
12. Normally, Chinese girls have to do all the housework.
13. When we have trouble with electronic equipment, my father is able to fix it.
14. When we look at the story “Girl,” we can see how the mother is trying to be overprotective.
15. In the East, children must obey their parents.
16. There may be danger in the forest.
17. People cannot come back if they take a wrong path.
18. In my country, we would keep babies wrapped tight so they would have a healthy spine.
19. My cousin has to do everything that her mother says.
20. Immigrant parents will have problems if they try to force their children to follow the old ways.
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns and verbs (indicated in the margin) in the following essay:
a-2 Mother-daughter relationship is the problem at all times. Since appearance of mankind, problems in relations between parents and kids, fathers and sons,
v mothers and daughters, are exist. Some parents are trying to force their will on a their kids, to suppress their kids’ will, like mother in Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds.”
a Others are just trying to teach their kids different things, which will make them a v, a good people, but not breaking their personality, like mother in Jamaica Kincaid’s
“Girl.” But in both cases, relations are not easy.
“Only two kinds of daughters: those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter.” This phrase in Amy Tan’s story “Two Kinds” accurately describes
a mother-daughter relationship. Jing Mei’s mother wants her daughter to do
v, a everything her way. She never asks Jing Mei what she interested in. Mother of Jing Mei doesn’t care about her daughter’s opinion. She makes her daughter do
v things she doesn’t wants to do, makes her play piano, tries to make her a prodigy for others: “Of course you can be prodigy, too … .“ Jing Mei’s mother wants
her daughter to become famous, so she can brag to her friends and relatives. She v doesn’t hear her daughter. She doesn’t see her. Instead, she sees herself and want pl-2 to realize all her dream and hope in Jing Mei. Jing Mei tries to fight back. She
tries to make her mom like her the way she is: “Why don’t you like me the way I am? I’m not a genius. I can’t play the piano. And even if I could I wouldn’t go on
a TV if you paid me a million dollars.” Then Jing Mei realizes she has the power: “ ‘I won’t let her change me,’ I promised myself. ‘I won’t be what I’m not.’ ”
a-2, v In Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” author is also discusses mother-daughter relationship. The girl’s mother wants her to follow her rules. She gives her commands. Like Jing Mei’s mother, she is also tough. She even humiliates her, saying, “Not like the slut you are so bent on becoming.” But despite all that,
a, v girl’s mother, unlike Jing Mei’s mother, not trying to force her daughter to do something against her will. She is just trying to teach the girl how to be a real lady and a good wife from her point of view. The girl’s mom is afraid that after all, her daughter is not going to become a good wife and a real lady. You can see in end of the text that she is afraid. Her last words are “You mean to say that after all you are going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the
v bread?” The girl is trying to defend herself, but she doing this mostly because she wants her mom to stop talking at least for a minute. Unlike Jing Mei, she doesn’t
v have anger against her mother. She never felt hate against her
a After I read these two stories, I felt more sympathy for girl’s mother. Maybe she is too tough, from the first impression, but analyzing the story and thinking about this, you can feel that she cares about her daughter. Another reason why I
a feel sympathy for girl’s mom is because she is, unlike Jing Mei’s mom, not
a trying to transform girl’s personality. Not trying to break daughter’s individuality by totally fastening her will to her daughter. I think that putting too much pressure on your kid is going to make things worse. The only thing you have to
v teach your kid is that he or she have to try the best he or she can, and your child v have to know that you are going to love and accept him or her no matter what.
v Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” and Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” touches the deep theme of mother-daughter relationship, which is not easy, and it gives a lot of material to write about.
Unit Five: Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences indicate that a certain action can/could be performed only if a certain condition is/was true. The following are different types of English conditional sentences.
1) Present Habitual Conditional Sentences
This type of sentence is about something that I generally do if a certain condition is true: If I feel tired in the afternoon, I usually take a nap.
Note that in this type of sentence, we use the simple present tense in both “clauses” (A “clause” is a group of words that is like a sentence in that it includes a subject and a verb).
2) Future Conditional Sentences
This type of sentence is about something that I will do in the future if a certain condition is true. I can use the word will or other modal verbs, like can/may/might/must/should:
If I save enough money, I will take a trip to my native country this summer. If I get a job, I might move to a new apartment.
Note that in this type of sentence, we use the simple present tense in the “if-clause” and a modal verb in the other clause.
3) Present/Future “Unreal” Conditional Sentences
This type of sentence is about something that I can’t do because the condition is not true. I can use the word would or other modal verbs, like could or might:
If I had a lot of money, I would buy a car.
If I didn’t have so much work to do, I could go out with my friends more often. If I had more free time, I might take guitar lessons.
If Jean were a rich man, he would buy a house for his family. I would study harder for this test if I were you.
If Yelena were in her native country, she would visit her family.
Note that in this type of sentence, we use the simple past tense in the “if-clause” and a modal verb in the other clause, although we are not talking about the past, so this is a special use of the past tense. Note also that we do not use the “third person singular” form was in this type of sentence, but we always use the word were.
4) Past “Unreal” Conditional Sentences
This type of sentence is about something that I couldn’t do in the past because the condition was not true. I can use the word would or other modal verbs, like could or might, then the word have, then the past participle of a verb:
If I had had a lot of money last year, I would have bought a car.
If I hadn’t had so much work to do last night, I could have gone out with my friends.
If I had had more free time last summer, I might have taken guitar lessons.
money.
Jean would have bought a house for his family last year if he had had enough
I would have gotten a better mark on that test if I had studied harder.
I would have spent a lot of time with my family last summer if I had been able
to go to my native country.
Note that that in this type of sentence, we use the “past perfect tense” in the “if-clause,” although this is not the normal meaning of the past perfect tense, because we are not talking about a “past action that occurs before another past action or time.” In the other clause, we use a “past modal verb form” (past modal, plus have, plus a past participle of a verb). Note also that in saying this type of sentence, we often use “contractions” or shortened forms of verbs, as in the following example:
If I’d had a lot of money last year, I’d’ve bought a new car.
(If I had had a lot of money last year, I would have bought a new car.)
The verb “wish”
After the verb wish, we use the past or past perfect tense in the same way as in the “if- clause” pf the above conditional sentences, as in the following examples:
I wish I had a lot of money.
I wish I could play the piano.
I wish I had studied harder for this test.
I wish I hadn’t stayed up so late last night.
Grammar Observation Exercise
Notice the use of verbs in the following conditional sentences (These are not errors, but examples of correct use of grammar by students):
1. Even if women didn’t love their husbands, they couldn’t get away from them.
2. I said it would be so hard for me if I lost the dog again.
3. I wonder what kind of father I would be if I were born as a boy.
4. If I were a father, I would buy my son or daughter a bike and teach him or her how to ride it.
5. The girl said, “Even if I could play the piano, I would never go on TV!”
6. If we look at “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, we can see how the mother is being overprotective.
7. If the daughter were in China, she would have to listen to her mother.
8. People cannot come back if they take a wrong path.
9. If I had a sister, I would not feel lonely at home.
10. If parents want to have a good relationship with their children, they must communicate with and listen to them.
11. If my mother didn’t work, our family wouldn’t have enough money.
12. If I were ever to lose my sister, I would go crazy.
13. Parents will have trouble with their children if they try to force them to do what they don’t want to do.
14. If Jing Mei’s mother had not tried to force her to be a prodigy, she would have had a better relationship with her daughter.
15. If fathers do not spend enough time at home, they will not have a good relationship with their children.
16. If my father had not worked so hard, my family would not have been able to immigrate to the U.S. to try to find a better life.
17. If women want to have children, they should stay home and take care of the children, at least when they are very young.
18. Women would not have the rights that they have today if women long ago had not fought for women’s liberation.
19. If my parents had not had a second child, I would have gotten more attention from them while I was growing up.
20. If a man and woman love each other, they can solve any problems in their relationship.
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns and verbs (indicated in the margin) in the following essay:
a I know I am a girl and I am 23 years old, which means I cannot be father but a, v can be mother. But I wonder what kind of father I would be if I was born as a v boy. I wonder how it feel to be a father.
v When the first child was born, probably both parents experience the same feeling – happiness. This exciting moment probably is unforgettable for the rest
a of their lives: “Alleluya, and now we are three in family!” A mother would think a about necessary stuff that they did not buy yet: carriage, diapers, swaddling
cloths, and so on, while a father probably would dream how he and his son would v-2 go fishing and talk about men’s stuff. If I was a father, I will fantasize how we
v-3 will buy the first bike and I teach him how to ride it; I will buy lots of toys, tons v-3 of toys; I will see his first grades and we do homework together; we will have a v-2, a serious adult talk when he grew up and meet his new girlfriend; I will give him a v keys to our family mini-van for a night so he could go to a disco. And as I will
v try to be a good father, I will let my child have all this enjoyment.
v,a-2, Then there is also a big responsibilities that fall on father’s shoulders with
sg, a their first baby. He is a head of a family, and he is responsible for the safety and prosperity of its members. So I would go to work, bring money back home and
a support my family. I would do almost anything to be happy family (except
a cleaning the house and doing the laundry). I would walk a dog on a rainy day, if my child was interested in having a pet at home. On the weekends we as a whole
v, a family will travel upstate and go camping for a couple nights. We would do the v rock climbing, hiking, fishing, and rafting there. I will introduce my child to
v wildlife and teach him how to treat it with care. I did not mention, if I was a v, a-2 father, I will move away from industrial, polluted and very noisy city to the
better, calm, fresh, nice and historical neighborhood, preferably near the water. v Yes, that is my dream if I would be a father … We also will go to the city’s
v, a museums, galleries, and performances because I want my child to be well
a, v educated and interesting person. At the early age, I will introduce him to different v hobbies: swimming, painting, basketball, singing, and sculpture. It is very
v important to show him how many fascinating things are out there. And it’s
a, v essential to do this at early age because he cannot refuse it yet. Then my child
v-3, a will grow up to be wise and clever person who will succeed in his future. And I’ll be proud of him.
Maybe it is interesting to be a father and experience different feelings than a a-2 mother. Who knows? But I will be mother. My brother will be father. And we
a both will try to do our best in education of our children. It will happen sometime in the future. But now, I think I will go and call my family and tell them how much I love them.
Unit Six: Punctuation and Sentence Structure
The following are some of the most important rules about using punctuation in English sentences. In studying the rules about punctuation, we will also be looking at different ways of forming sentences in English.
Three rules about using commas (,)
1) Use commas with a series (of three or more words or phrases):
At the store (,) I bought milk, eggs (,) and bread.
Note that the commas in parentheses above are “optional.” We can use a comma almost anywhere if we want to tell the reader to pause while reading a sentence. The only comma that is necessary in the above sentence is the one before the word “milk.”
After school (,) I go home, change my clothes, and have a snack.
Note that with a series of “phrases” (not single words but groups of words), as in the above sentence, we usually use a comma before the final “and.”
2) Use a comma with a “beginning adverbial clause or long phrase” (An “adverbial clause” indicates something about the verb, for example, the time of the action, or the cause, or something that is in contrast to the action):
When I was young, I used to go to the movies a lot. Because Yoon studies hard, he gets good grades. Although I felt sick yesterday, I came to class anyway.
In order to learn English, you need to speak, listen, read, and write it as often as possible.
Note that if the adverbial clause appears at the end of the sentence, we usually do not use a comma, as in “I used to go to the movies a lot when I was young.”
More about adverbial clauses
English adverbial clauses include the following types:
a) time
After I have dinner, I usually watch TV for a while.
b) place
I want to live where my parents live.
c) reason
Many people come to New York City because there are good job opportunities here.
d) purpose
Many immigrants come to the U.S. so that their children can have a better life.
e) contrast
Even though teachers often don’t make a lot of money, many people enjoy this profession.
f) result
So many Asian students are attending Brooklyn College that we have decided to develop an Asian Studies Program.
g) manner
Many people feel that the U.S. should develop a national health-care system, as European countries have done.
h) comparison
Men often make more money than women in the same job position do.
i) condition
If wives work outside the home, the family has a better financial situation.
Note that students sometimes mistakenly use a period after an adverbial clause, as in After I have dinner. This is a serious grammatical error which is called a sentence fragment. An adverbial clause is sometimes called a “dependent clause,” as it depends on the other clause to make a complete sentence. You must be sure that you use a period only when you have a complete sentence.
Grammar Exercise One
Make up ten sentences using different types of adverbial clauses. You can write about your life at school, or your life at home with your family, or about things that are happening in the city or country where you are living now or where you used to live. You can use the following words in the following types of clauses:
a) time: after, as soon as, at the same time as, before, since, until, when, while
b) place: anywhere, everywhere, every place, any place, where, wherever
c) reason: as, because, since
d) purpose: so that, in order that
e) contrast: although, even though, whereas, while, despite the fact that, in spite of the fact that
f) result: so . . . that, such a . . . that
g) manner: as, as if, just like
h) comparison: as much as, less than, more than, the same as
i) condition: if, only if, unless
3) Use a comma with a “non-restrictive” adjective clause
In order to understand this rule, you must understand that there are two types of adjective clauses in English, restrictive and non-restrictive.
Restrictive adjective clauses
Restrictive adjective clauses indicate “which one” I am talking about. The “connecting words” who, which, that, whose, when, where, and why can be used at the beginning of these clauses, as in the following examples. Note that we do not use commas with these sorts of adjective clauses:
Women who work usually have fewer children than women who do not work.
( or we can also say “Women that work usually have fewer children.”)
The women’s liberation movement in the 1960s and 70s movement was a thing which greatly affected the lives of women.
(or we can say “The women’s liberation movement in the 1960s and 70s movement was a thing that greatly affected the lives of women.
I greatly appreciated the advice that my teacher gave me.
(or we can omit the connecting word and say “I appreciated the advice my teacher gave me.”)
That is the boy whose father is a teacher at the college.
( His father is a teacher at the college.)
I enjoyed the time when I was growing up.
(or “the time during which I was growing up”)
This is the house where I was born. (or “the house in which I was born”)
Can you tell me the reason why you did that? (or “the reason for which you did that)
Note that the connecting words who or that are used with a person, which or that with something that is not a person, whose is used in place of a possessive form, when is used to refer to a time instead in which, where to refer to a place instead of in which, why to refer to a reason instead of for which. Note also that the connecting word can be omitted if it is followed by an object of the verb, as in “I appreciated the advice my teacher gave me.”
Non-restrictive adjective clauses
Non-restrictive adjective clauses are not needed to identify “which one” I am talking about. They are often used with the names of specific people, places, or things, as in the following examples. Note that we do use commas with these types of adjective clauses (two commas, before and after the clause):
Brooklyn College, which is a branch of the City University of New York, has a good theater program.
Amy Tan, who is one of my favorite authors, has written many books about the lives of Chinese-Americans in the U.S.
New York University, where I studied teaching English as a second language, is located in Greenwich Village.
Two rules about using semi-colons (;)
1) Use semi-colons between two sentences that are closely related in meaning, to indicate a short pause, as in the following example:
John is a good friend; I can always count on him.
Note that students sometimes mistakenly use a comma in this situation. This is a serious grammatical error which is called a comma splice. You must never use a comma between two complete sentences – this is confusing to the reader, who cannot tell where one sentence ends and another begins. Using a semi-colon is however a skillful use of punctuation, which indicates that you know you have two sentences, but want to connect them by indicating only a very short pause between them.
2) We may use semi-colons with “sentence connectors.”
a) addition
We can use the word and between two sentences when the second sentence is similar in meaning. We generally use a comma before and in this situation. We can also use certain sentence connectors which have the same meaning as and, such as the word moreover:
Maria is a good student; moreover, she is a good athlete.
Note that we can also use a period before the word moreover, as in “Mary is a good student. Moreover, she is a good athlete.”
b) contrast
We can use the word but between two sentences when the second sentence is in contrast with the first sentence. We generally use a comma before but in this situation. We can also use certain sentence connectors which have the same meaning as but, such as the word however:
Jane did not study for this test; however, she got a good grade anyway.
c) result
We can use the word so between two sentences when the second sentence is a result of the first sentence. We generally use a comma before so in this situation. We can also use certain sentence connectors which have the same meaning as so, such as the word therefore:
John wants to go to medical school; therefore, he has to get good grades in his science courses.
The above sentence connectors indicate a) addition, b) contrast, and c) result. The following are some other types of sentence connectors:
d) time
There are many things you have to do if you want to learn English well. First, you should read a lot.
e) comparison
Women are entering many professions that used to be considered for men only; similarly, women are being promoted to high positions that used to be reserved for men.
f) illustration
There is a lot of educational opportunity in New York City; for example, it is possible to attend a branch of City University of New York and get financial aid from the government.
g) explanation
Many working mothers do not wish to interrupt their careers; that is, they return to work after taking only a short maternity leave.
h) emphasis
A lot of people don’t like to live in cities; in fact, a lot of the population growth occurring in the U.S. is taking place in the suburbs.
Grammar Exercise
Make up ten pairs of sentences using different types of sentence connectors. You can write about your life at school, or your life at home with your family, or about things that are happening in the city or country where you are living now or where you used to live. You can use the following types of sentence connectors:
a) addition: moreover, furthermore, additionally, also, besides, besides that, in addition, in addition to that
b) contrast: however, nevertheless, despite that, in spite of that, even so, in contrast, nonetheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, regardless of that, still , yet
c) result: therefore, accordingly, as a consequence, as a result, as a result of that, because of that, consequently, due to that, for this reason, hence, thus, this being so
d) time: first, second, first of all, third, finally, after all, afterward, at last, in the end, at the same time, in the meantime, meanwhile, in conclusion, lately, recently, later, next, subsequently, then
e) comparison: similarly, apart from this, aside from this, in the same manner, in the same way, instead, instead of that, likewise
f) illustration: for example, as a case in point, as an example, as an illustration, for instance, specifically, to illustrate, to show what I mean, e.g. (short for the Latin …
g) explanation: that is, in fact, in other words, namely, what I mean is, i.e.(short for the Latin …
h) emphasis: in fact, actually, as a matter of fact, frankly, honestly, indeed, really, to be frank, to be honest, to tell the truth, truly
Two rules about using colons (:)
1) Use a colon at the end of a complete sentence followed by a list (instead of a period, to attach a list to the end of the sentence), as in the following example:
At the store, I bought many things: cheese, bread, milk, etc.
2) Use a colon at the end of a complete sentence followed by an “explanatory” word phase or sentence, as in the following examples:
There is one thing that everybody needs: love.
There is one thing that everybody needs: to be loved.
There is one thing that everybody needs: Everyone needs to be loved.
Note that when a colon is followed by a complete sentence, we start the sentence with a capital letter (unlike with semi-colons, where we do not capitalize the first word in the second sentence).
Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of punctuation and sentence structure in the following sentences:
1. Jamaica Kincaid in “Girl” and Amy Tan in “Two Kinds” discuss mother-daughter relationships. The attitude of the mothers to their daughters and the things that the mothers want their daughters to do.
2. One day, the mother and daughter got into a conflict, the daughter says, “I wish I wasn’t your daughter!”
3. In “Two Kinds,” the family is an immigrant family, maybe that’s why the mother has a lot of disagreements with her daughter.
4. It didn’t happen in one day it took some time.
5. Even if they didn’t love their husbands. Women couldn’t get away from their husbands.
6. If you aren’t ready to face some difficulties; you’d better prepare yourself.
7. All she can do is hide in herself; hide in her own world.
8. Although the mother had the best wishes for her daughter; the mother was wrong.
9. It was the same kind of day what I had in my country.
10. Jing Mei’s mother wants her daughter to do everything her way, she never asks Jing Mei what she is interested in.
11. There is a big responsibility falls on the father’s shoulders with the first baby.
12. We all carry naïve ideas throughout the years; ideas that say, for example, a man and wife must be in love.
13. I read an article in the newspaper, there talked about some people who used illegal tricks to make money.
14. Perfection does not exist in humans, and because of this; we need to accept ourselves the way we are.
15. There are some parents make their daughters marry someone the daughters do not love.
16. In ancient China, there were some governors would punish parents who did not let their daughters marry them.
17. She has to do all what her mother says.
18. A new mother would think about necessary stuff to buy. A carriage, diapers, swaddling cloths, and so on.
19. A mother would think about necessary stuff; while a father would think about how he and his son would go fishing.
20. Jing Mei wants her daughter to become famous. So that she can brag to her friends.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verbs, and punctuation and sentence structure (indicated in the margin) in the following essay:
v-2 Everybody want to have a good father. However, “good father” have different pl meaning for different people. Some people believe that a good father must be
p, v very kind, the father never punish the children; the father never orders the children to do things. The relationship between father and child is friendship.
a Some people believe that a good father must provide good living environment for p, a his children, therefore, the children can have good material life.
In my mind, father is father, I never think about if my father is good or bad. I believe that no matter if my father is good or the best, he is my father. When I
v-2, p was born, I am my father’s daughter. I have no choice, also, I believe most
v fathers, including my father, are love their children, even though they treat their pl children in many different way.
v-2 When I am a child, I have a lot of time to stay with my father. At that time, my v-2,a,sg father is normal workers. Like other workers, he always arrives home on
v-2 time. As a result, my father has a lot of time to stay at home. My father loves to v play with me, but before that, I must finish my homework correctly. When my
v-4 father arrives home, the first thing he do is check my homework, if he finds some v mistakes in my homework because I was careless, I need to redo those problems v, a ten times without excuse. But if I do well on my tests, he would get me gift to
v praise me. In his free time, my father loves to hang out with us. As I can remember, my family always hangs out with his friends’ families on the
v weekend. Therefore, I can go to many different places and make many new friends.
v-2 Time passed. I become a fourth grade student, and my father has his own
v business. At that time, the time for my father to stay at home become less and v-2 less. He doesn’t have time to play with me; he doesn’t have time to check my v homework; he doesn’t have time to hang out with me. He becomes very busy.
v-3 When I get up in the morning, my father is sleeping; when my father gets home, v-2 I am sleeping. As a result, I haven’t seen my father for a long time, therefore, in v-3 my mind, I always think that my father doesn’t love me anymore so he doesn’t
v like to play with me. Little by little, my father becomes very strange to me, I
v-2 don’t know how to communicate with him. When I stay alone with my father, I v couldn’t find any topic to talk to him about. I remember that when I am a 7th
v-2 grade student, I can’t see the blackboard clearly. My father decides to bring me a, v-2 to take the eye exam. I have a long time that I doesn’t stay alone with my father. v-4 When I see my father, I am scare. I just call him “Papa.” And then I don’t know v-3,ss what I can say. My father says, “What happen to you? Why you treat me like
v a stranger? You don’t like to talk to me now. I know I have not talk to you for a v, p long time, but it don’t mean I don’t love you. I care about you, I am your father.” v-2, p Even though my father says it to me. I still don’t know how to communicate with v my father. On that day, I just keep quiet.
p Time passed, I am college student now. The relationship between my father v and me become closer than before. At last, I understand the reason my father
v-4, p doesn’t play with me is not because he doesn’t like me, in fact, he is very busy. v, a In his mind, he just want to try his best to provide better life for our family.
v, a Moreover, I discover that my father is one of people that understand my
pl difficulty in my college studies. Most of my friends tell me that their parent
v doesn’t understand their difficulty. All they can do is try their best to solve their p problems for themselves, their parents can’t give any suggestions to them. At the v-2, a beginning, I have same idea as my friends. However, one thing happen that
v-2 changes my mind. Last semester, one day, when I am reading my accounting v-3 textbook, my father comes into my bedroom. He asks me what I am reading. I v, p tell him,” I am reading my accounting book; it is very difficult, I can’t
v understand it.” After he heard that, he points out the general ideas for me, and v, pl then he gives me some suggestion about how to learn accounting. At that time, v-4 I am very surprised, and I am very happy. I am happy that I am not alone. My v-2 father can give me some tips for my studying. My father is care about me. After
v-2 that, we have one more topic to discuss. Even though my father can’t tell me the p, v-2 details for my accounting class. I think that is good enough for me.
a Now, I still don’t have the definition of good father. But I think the ss-2 fathers never punish their children and the fathers can only provide a good
a, pl material life for their children are not the good father. However, in my mind, my father is a good father.
Unit Seven: Word Forms
In English, we can often change a word to make it a different word form (also called part of speech): a
noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. For example, the word “depend” can have the following forms.
depend (verb) dependence (noun) independence (noun) dependent (adjective) independent (adjective) dependently (adverb) independently (adverb)
The word “intelligent” can have the following forms:
intelligent unintelligent intelligence intelligently unintelligently
The word “annoy” can have the following forms:
annoy (verb) annoyance (noun) annoyed (adjective) annoying (adjective) annoyingly (adverb)
The word “excite” can have the following forms:
excite (verb) excitement (noun) excited (adjective) exciting (adjective) excitingly (adverb)
Notice the way we use these word forms in sentences.
1) A noun can be used as the subject of a verb, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition, as in the following examples:
Independence is something that many countries have fought for.
Many women in the modern world have achieved financial independence. John did not do well on the test, despite his intelligence.
2) A verb follows a noun which serves as its subject:
It is not good for children to depend too much on their parents. The loud radio music annoyed me.
I was excited by the concert.
3) An adjective can be used after the word “be” or another non-action verb, or before a noun:
Mary is independent. John seems intelligent. This was an exciting class.
4) An adverb is used after a verb, or also to modify an adjective Mary lives independently.
John spoke intelligently at the meeting.
George is independently wealthy.
(so wealthy that he is independent, e.g., doesn’t need to work)
Grammar Exercise One
On each line of the following lists, you will find a pair of related word forms. Next to it is another pair in which the second word is formed in the same way. Fill in the second word, as in the first example:
A. Nouns formed from Verbs
Verb Noun Verb Noun
1. betray betrayal dismiss dismissal
2. depart departure fail
3. deliver delivery discover
4. accept acceptance appear
5. accomplish accomplishment achieve
6. deform deformity disable
7. defend defense offend
8. decide decision divide
9. catch catcher help
10. composer composition educate
11. enjoy enjoyment accompany
12. oppose opponent depend
13. apply applicant assist
14. advise advice devise
15. deceive deceit complain
16. love love hate
B. Adjectives formed from Verbs
1. confide confident excel excellent
2. create creative act
3. allow allowable read
4. meddle meddlesome tire
5. congratulate congratulatory regulate
6. interest interesting frighten
interested
7. bore boring irritate
bored
8. excite exciting annoy
excited
9. alarm alarming surprise
alarmed
10. horrify horrifying shock
horrified
C. Verbs formed from Nouns
1. friend befriend witch bewitch
2. joy enjoy rage
3. colony colonize idol
4. beauty beautify glory
5. strife strive belief
6. length lengthen fright
D. Adjectives formed from Nouns
1. bag baggy cloud cloudy
2. friend friendly cost
3. book bookish child
4. accident accidental emotion
5. fame famous virtue
6. angel angelic history
7. molecule molecular muscle
8. moment momentary compliment
9. peace peaceful beauty
10. faith faithless care
11. life lifelike child
12. wood wooden gold
13. skill skilled rag
14. America American Mexico
15. Spain Spanish England
E. Nouns formed from Adjectives
1. big bigness good goodness
2. active activity equal
3. true truth warm
4. ideal idealism real
idealist
5. important importance violent
6. wise wisdom free
7. necessary necessity clear
8. efficient efficiency deficient
F. Verbs formed from Adjectives
1. bright brighten short shorten
2. able enable large
3. equal equalize liberal
G. Nouns formed from Nouns
1. friend friendship relation relationship
2. state statehood mother
3. psychology psychologist philanthropy
H. Adverbs formed from Adjectives
1. noisy noisily weary wearily
2. polite politely glad
3. hopeful hopefully cheerful
Grammar Exercise Two
In the following essay, the italicized words are incorrect word forms. Cross out the incorrect word and write above it the correct form of that same word.
I heard a talk recently on different between male and female ways of communicate. The speak had done a study in which she found that males attempt to domination or to be the strongest and loudest speaker in a group, whereas females tendency much more to listen, to share, and to take turns. I have myself observer that this is truth. This observe leads me to belief that the feminine way of communicate is often superior.
You often find in classes that men talk more and talk louder. This is not necessary because they have something importance to say, but because they see most situations as compete, and talking the most and the loudest seems to them to be a way to compete and win. I must admission that I, as a male, am awareness that in many situations in the past, when I found myself in groups, I always wanted to speak in order to show the group what good ideas I had. I wouldn’t be listening very careful or appreciation or understand other people’s ideas but would rather be concentrate on thinking of the next thing that I would say. Actually, by putting a lot of press on myself to performance well in such situations, I would be making myself feel tense and uncomfortably. I also think that other people would have liked it better if I had talked less and paid more attentive to what they were saying. In the past few years, I have been trying to talk less and to become a better listen.
In families, children general go to their mother to speak about their problems rather than to their father. Women go to women friends more often than to male friends. A woman is more likely to listen quiet and to let you say everything that you want to say about a situation. She is also more likely to understanding and sympathetic with your feelings about a situation. Males are more likely to interruption you before you finish speaking, because they will get tire of listening and will want to speech themselves. They are also more likely to reaction to ideas rather than to feelings.
Men may disagreement with what you say, or give you advise about what you should do, or they will explanation why you shouldn’t be feeling the way that you do, especially if you are expression a “weak” feeling, such as being afraid or sadness. None of these respond is likely to be as help as quiet, sympathize listening.
To be sure, there are except to the rule. Some men are extreme good, sympathize listen, and some women are not. I do, however thought the behave that are general consideration feminine rather than masculine are most effect in encouraging good interpersonal communicate.
Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of word forms in the following sentences:
1. When Laura asked Tom to let his mother talk, he was being patience to listen to his mother’s speech.
2. Living under the same roof means having responsibilities and tolerate.
3. Women had to stay married, even if their husbands treated them bad.
4. Steven had encourage from his family.
5. The decision has made a big different in my life.
6. In the poem, we see how the writer response to her mother’s death.
7. I have strongly feelings about the traditional Chinese father.
8. I realized that my father loved me, and I began to community with him.
9. To tell the true, I hated my sister at the beginning.
10. She is an escapism.
11. Both escapism and insanity are distance from reality.
12. These words make the reader read the poem more careful.
13. Children feel it is unfair when their parents treat them different from their siblings.
14. In respond, Laura shows Jim her glass collection.
15. A man can work in science or politic fields.
16. A good wife gives a husband a sense of stability and happy.
17. Happy is the opposite of pain and sad.
18. Love gives you the stability in life to growth stronger.
19. My father understands my difficult with my college studies.
20. His words were so touchingly.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verbs, punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms (indicated in the margin) in the following essay:
The idea of women’s and men’s liberation is something that is progressing. It is p a concept that is unstable, it is always changing throughout the centuries.
wf, v, Nevertheless, we constant find people who still wants to keep things and ideas in ss the old-fashioned way. My understanding of the words “women’s liberation” that ss, a means to be free from oppression of males and society. It also means respect,
a, v personal integrity, and reputation. I realize that the women are not judge anymore
pl, v by if they lose their virginity before or after marriage but by what she has inside, a I am not saying that this is a good thing but it is part of new liberation that
p women have, I think we should stop, and take some time to think about it, even
a the men. Men’s liberation is not to be about killing, and being always that person ss,v can never be defeat. In my opinion, men’s liberation is about expressing their
v feelings, honesty, and to judge women the same way they are judge.
Most women in this century have a voice nowadays. Now we have more jobs v that before were categorize just for males. After World War I, women were
v2,p,pl giving new opportunities, they stopped being categorize only for domestic chores p Women also started to vote and started to get jobs in the government, they also
started movements to make their voice heard. Even though we have had all these pl,wf,ss advance, there are still oppress women in the world. There are women are still wf under the control of their husbands. One reason may be for the economy
subsistence of their children. For example, I know a man by the name of Sonny who is very responsible with his wife and his son. However, he is very
v-2, p possessive. He think that he is the father of his wife, he want to control her. He v, a-2 always try to have the power over any woman that he meets. He is macho man.
One time when I was in their house, my friend was talking on the phone and he
v was listen to her conversation on the other phone. It is not right that men want to a-2 have the power over the women.
v, wf In brief, I will say that there have been an evolve in women and men’s liberation. Women nowadays can say what they think and what they feel, and
pl men can express their feeling.
Unit Eight: Prepositions
“Prepositions” are used in English before nouns to indicate the following sorts of meanings:
1) time
Luis arrived in the United States in June 2002. He started school on August 29th.
His first class began at 9 o’clock am.
2) place
Maria has lived in New York for two years. She lives on Beverly Road.
She lives at 116 Beverly Road.
We are going to the park at one o’clock.*
* Note that the preposition “to” is used with verbs indicating motion, such as go, walk, run, drive, ride,
etc.
3) reason
You must work hard for success.
4) manner
I go to school by subway.
5) comparison
Some people value money more than friendship.
6) contrast
Despite being sick, I went to work today.
7) possession (belonging to) Who is the owner of this car?
8) quantity
I need a pound of butter.
Grammar Exercise
Make up ten sentences with the following sorts of prepositions, followed by nouns:
1. time: in, on, at, about, after, around, before, by during, for, from … to, since, until
2. place: in, on, at, above, against, along, among around, behind, below, beside, between, by, close to, down, far from, from … to, in back of, in front of, inside, into, near, next to, off, out, out of, outside, over under, up upon, within
3. reason: because of, due to, for
4. manner: by, as well as, as, in (for example “in a new way”), like, such as, through, with, without
5. comparison: as many as, as much as, different from, less than, more than, similar to, the same as
6. contrast: despite, in spite of
7. possession: of
8. quantity: of
Verbs and expressions with “be” used with prepositions
Many verbs in English are used with prepositions, such as the following examples:
I am looking at the blackboard. I am listening to the teacher.
I am writing an essay about my native country.
Also, many expressions with “be” are used with prepositions, such as the following examples:
I am used to American food.*
(or we can say “I am accustomed to American food.) Children are usually afraid of the dark.
I am interested in Eastern religion.
I used to be responsible for my younger brother.* I am tired of doing the same thing every day.
We should be thankful for all the good things in our life.
* Note the difference in meaning between the expressions “I am used to something” (meaning “I am accustomed to something.”) and “I used to do something” (meaning “I did it in the past but don’t do it any more.”).
Two/three word verbs
Sometimes a verb + preposition has a meaning that is different from the normal meaning of the verb, as in the following examples:
Please turn on the TV. (meaning “make it start”) Please turn off the TV. (meaning “make it stop”) Please turn up the volume. (meaning “make it louder”) Please turn down the volume. (meaning “make it lower”)
How are you getting on in your work? (meaning “making progress”)
How are you and your girlfriend getting along? (meaning “having a good relationship”)
John is really getting on in years. (meaning “getting older”)
I’d like to get in on that business deal. (meaning “become a part of”)
Students often look up to their teachers. (meaning “admire”)
We should try not to look down on anybody. (meaning “see as inferior”)
Older brothers often try to look out for their younger siblings. (meaning “take care of” or “be responsible for”)
I plan to look into this problem. (meaning “study” or “try to understand”)
You can look up the definition of this word in the dictionary. (meaning “find”)
Grammar Exercise
Try to fill in the correct prepositions in the following paragraphs.
1) Indeed, it is very interesting to know mother-daughter relationships in other families. Being a girl myself and having a good mother, I still could not deal her sometimes. It’s OK, I guess, to have bad times as long as there is understanding and love you and your mom. If we take a look the texts “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, we see how the mothers are trying to be overprotective, tough, so that their daughters can be better them. Care or even the expression “tough love” is good; however, it is a bad thing when mothers try too hard to make daughters become someone they want us to be. These texts are full examples similar
what we all have been .
2) Most women this century have a voice nowadays. Now we have more jobs that were categorized just males before. After World War I, women were given new opportunities. They stopped being categorized only domestic chores. Women also started to vote and started to get jobs the government. They also started movements to make their voices heard. Even though we have had all these advances, there are still oppressed women the world. There are women who are still the control their husbands. One reason may be the economic subsistence of their children. For example, I know a man the name of Sonny who is very responsible his wife and son. However, he is very possessive. He thinks that he is the father
his wife. He wants to control her. He always tries to have power any woman that he meets. He is a macho man. One time when I was their house, my friend was talking the phone and he was listening her conversation the other phone. It is not right for men to have power women.
3) I am an only child my family, so I have thought if I had a brother or sister, how my life would be. Maybe I would not feel lonely when my parents go work; maybe I would not feel helpless when I suffer some problems. However, having brothers or sisters is both good and bad. I remember that my friend told me that her older brother took care her a lot. He would cook her when their parents were not home, teach her when she had some questions
her homework, and he bought a laptop her when she attended college. Having an older brother or sister is good the family because they will take care their younger brothers and sisters, and help them solve some problems. Even though parents have more ideas and experience to help their children, they have less time to stay home because their work. So the older brother or sister will be a good teacher. They can offer some ideas their younger brother or sister, and share their experience them.
Grammar Observation Exercise
Notice the use of prepositions in the following sentences (These are not errors, but examples of correct use of prepositions by students):
1. My father had to travel to Eastern Europe because of his business.
2. My father is very smart, like my mom.
3. The mother gives rules to her daughter, but despite that, she is not trying to force her daughter to do what she doesn’t want to do.
4. Unlike the daughter in “Two Kinds,” the daughter in “Girl” isn’t angry at her mother.
5. By taking care of the mother, the daughter in the poem didn’t have her own private life.
6. How about remembering a person for being a good person?
7. In 2002, I met a good person, who cared about me.
8. We fell in love with each other.
9. He was serious about our relationship.
10. We could not imagine our life without each other.
11. In 2005, he died in a car accident.
12. At that time, I felt like my life ended too.
13. I had no interest in my life.
14. Sometimes, I think that he is not dead, that he will come and pick me up.
15. But now, he can only be with me in my mind.
16. Is it fair that such a young guy passed away?
17. We have to be thankful for everything that we have.
18. The relationship between father and children should be friendship.
19. Why do you treat me like a stranger?
20. My father is different from other traditional Chinese fathers.
21. Human life ends with death.
22. The process of acceptance varies among people.
23. After a while, the bad feeling goes away.
24. Because of difficult experiences, people can become stronger.
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verbs, punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
I have a younger sister, she is thirteen now, eleven years younger than me. Yes, I was eleven when my sister was born, and to tell you the true, I hated her in the beginning. I was the only child in a family for eleven years, also I was first granddaughter for my grandparents, and first niece for all my uncles and aunt. I was very spoil child. My mom and dad were doing everything for me. I had all that child could possibly wish for. But not only my parents, my grandparents spoil me too. Also, my uncle, who didn’t have kids of his own at the time, spoiled me a lot. He was buying me presents almost every week: expensive toys and clothes; also, he was taking me to the parks, cafes, movie theaters. Of course, by the time I turned eleven, I got used to idea that I’ll get whatever I’ll ask for.
(a-6, sg/pl-1, v-6, p-3, wf-2)
So you can imagine that occurrence of another child in my family didn’t make me happy. Certainly, she was little one now, and like all infants, she need a lot of attention. But I didn’t want to understand that, all I saw was that all the attention was on my sister, everybody was talking about her, playing with her, and that made me anger. My dad would take me to the movies on weekends, like he used to before, even though my mom needed him home. He did this because if he didn’t, I had hysterics. I hated my sister for stealing my place in the family.
(a-2, v-2, p-2, wf-1)
Then a few years passed, I got older and started to like my sister. I actually found that it is fun and interesting to play with her. I felt myself like an adult, who can teach her some useful, interesting things. I was taking her to the movies, parks, almost everywhere I went with my friends. She was sharing her little secrets with me, it was so touchingly. I became for her something between older friend and a mother. She would tell me things she couldn’t tell my mom, like about the boy she liked in school, or the fight between her and her friend.
(a-3, v-4, p-1, wf-1)
My sister is thirteen now, I can’t say we are very close now. It is just that we are from two different generations, and see many things different. Especially because she is growing up in a different country (She was seven when our family immigrate to the United States). But I love her very much anyway.
In conclusion, I would like to say that we can’t choose our relatives, that why we have to learn to love and accept them.
(a-1, v-2, p-3, wf-1)
Unit Nine: Infinitives & Gerunds
Infinitives and gerunds as subjects of a verb
The infinitive form of verbs (e.g., to study) or the ing-form (e.g., studying) can sometimes be used as the subject of a verb as in the following examples (When the ing-form is used in this way, as a noun, it is called a gerund):
To study English is important.
Studying English is important.
To get a good education is a good idea.
Getting a good education is a good idea.
Note that instead of beginning a sentence with an infinitive verb form, we often begin with the word It and move the infinitive phrase to the end, as in the following examples:
It is important to study English.
It is a good idea to get a good education.
Grammar Exercise One
Make up five sentences beginning with infinitive phrases and five sentences beginning with gerund phrases as subjects of the verb. You could complete the sentences with words such as the following:
is good.
(Instead of the word good, you could use other words or phrases such as the following: bad, good for my health, bad for my health, important, fun, difficult, hard, easy, enjoyable, interesting, annoying, boring, exciting, harmful, dangerous, illegal, wrong, necessary, required, advisable, a good idea, a bad idea, optional, useful, helpful)
Infinitives and gerunds as objects of a verb
Some English verbs may be followed by infinitive verb forms, some verbs or expressions with prepositions may be followed by gerunds, and other verbs may be followed by either infinitives or gerunds, as in the following examples:
1) Verbs that may be followed by infinitives:
My teacher advised me to hand in my work on time.
I asked my friend John to help me with my essay assignment. I want to go back to my native country for a visit this summer.
Note that the verbs let, make, and have are often followed by an object and then by an infinitive without the word “to,” as in the following examples:
Mary’s parents let her stay out late.
John’s parents make him study every night. I had my mechanic fix my car yesterday.
2) Verbs that may be followed by gerunds:
I enjoy playing the guitar.
I appreciated your helping me clean my apartment. I want to delay making a decision about this matter.
3) Expressions with prepositions that may be followed by gerunds:
I am accustomed to taking the subway to school. I am interested in learning Spanish.
Parents try to prevent their children from getting into trouble.
4) Verbs that may be followed by either infinitives or gerunds:
I like to listen to music. I like listening to music.
I hate to wake up early in the morning. I hate waking up early in the morning.
I love to dance. I love dancing.
Grammar Exercise Two
Make up ten sentences with verbs followed by infinitive verb forms. You could use the following verbs which are used with infinitives:
advise s.o. (someone) expect need
agree forbid s.o. order s.o.
allow s.o. force s.o. permit s.o.
arrange get s.o. plan
ask s.o. have s.o. persuade s.o.
cause s.o. help s.o. require s.o.
come hope teach s.o. how
convince s.o. intend tell s.o.
decide invite s.o. want
deserve know how would like
encourage s.o. learn how
Grammar Exercise Three
Make up ten sentences with verbs followed by gerunds. You could use the following verbs which are used with gerunds:
appreciate someone’s enjoy prevent
avoid finish quit
can’t help keep recall
consider mind regret
delay miss remember
deny postpone risk
discuss practice stop
Grammar Exercise Four
Make up ten sentences with expressions with prepositions followed by gerunds. You could use the following expressions with prepositions which are used with gerunds:
accuse someone of be tired of help with
apologize for be used to insist on
approve of someone’s believe in keep someone from
be accustomed to concentrate on look forward to
be afraid of depend on object to
be capable of dream of prevent someone from
be excited about feel like stop someone from
be fond of forgive someone for succeed in
be interested in get around to talk about
be responsible for think about read about
Grammar Observation Exercise
Notice the use of infinitives and gerunds in the following sentences (These are not errors, but examples of correct use of infinitives and gerunds by students):
1. My mother loves to take care of us.
2. I don’t have time to make friends.
3. He didn’t have any chance to find a job.
4. She doesn’t allow her illness to stop her from attending college.
5. People used illegal tricks to make money, such as robbing, selling drugs, and kidnapping.
6. I enjoyed traveling and learning the history of many places.
7. Jing Mei’s mother wants her daughter to do everything her way.
8. The mother makes her daughter play the piano.
9. The daughter says about her mother, “I won’t let her change me!”
10. These stories give you a lot of ideas to write about.
11. How about remembering some moments of life with a person who has passed away?
12. He was just starting to live and build his life.
13. We have to learn how to overcome our problems.
14. Everybody wants to have a good father.
15. The father never ordered the children to do things.
16. My father didn’t have time to play with me.
17. My father decided to bring me to take an eye exam.
18. Why don’t you like to talk to me?
19. The reality of death should make us try to enjoy every single day of our life.
20. Friends kept coming, trying to fill up the house.
21. She must stop thinking about her mother’s death.
22. Losing a family member is painful.
23. Many Chinese girls don’t have the opportunity to study.
24. Some people want to keep doing things the old fashioned way.
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives and gerunds), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
Men get marry with women because they love each other and understand each other, so they would like to live together. However, some marriages are not good, and it will not bring happiness to women.
In ancient times, marriage always is bridge to get money and status. Ancient people believed that the men were better than women, therefore, there were not rule for women to go to school and to choose their own happiness. Women had to stay at home before they married. And had to do housework, and took
care of their children when they had married, but they did not have happy in marriage. In ancient China, there was law for men who were allow to get marry with more than one woman. So nobody would think about those women’s happiness, because they had to share their husband with other woman when they had married. So most of these women would quarrel and hurt each other to get their position every day, moreover, most women had married someone who was older than her, by more than ten years, so when they live together, there were no communicate, and the feelings of these women were controlled by men.
However, no one would care about women’s happiness in that society. There are two kinds of people let their daughters get marry with someone they does not love and older than them: One is to make more money and get higher status, such as letting their daughters get marry with king, the other is to avoid threats that the government made, because in ancient China, there were some governors will punish people who do not let their daughters get marry with them.
(a-4, pl-2, v-20, p-4, wf-2)
In modern times, marriage become more free and fair women have chance to choose their own happiness. However, there still is women use their marriages to make more money and get higher status. For example, woman wants to marry a man because he is rich, so she will not care about anything, even though marry an old man. That kind of woman is foolish, because she does not know what marriage is, she thought that money and status will be more important than her happiness. Therefore, she has no different from the women who live in ancient times, because she still cannot get happiness.
(a-2, v-5, p-2, ss-2, wf-1)
What effects will it bring if people marry someone who they do not love, and have age problem? When two people live together, communication is important, because both of them will understand each other through communication. Then they can face and solve problems together and their life will be happy. If two people get marry because of bad reasons, they do not know how to communicate with each other.
They will feel unhappy in the family and will want to get free from their own family. According to story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, there is a woman who has a bad marriage, she marries someone she does not love and they may have age problem. There is no communication between two different age people when they live together, because with a couple who has age problem, both of them will have different opinions and have argues when they have a problem. So if two people marry who do not love and have age problem, they will feel bored and will want to escape from their life.
Marriage should not be tool to making money or getting higher status, it a union of two loving
people.
(a-5, v-4, p-2, wf-1)
Unit Ten: “That Clauses”
1) “That clauses” as subjects of a verb
Clauses beginning with the word “that” can sometimes be used as subjects of verbs in English, as in the following examples:
That you work hard is a good thing.
That women often make less money than men for doing the same work is not right.
That there is a lot of opportunity in New York City is true.
Note that instead of beginning a sentence with a that clause as in the above examples, we often begin with the word It and move the that clause to the end, as in the following examples:
It is a good thing that you work hard.
It is not right that women often make less money than men for doing the same work. It is true that there is a lot of opportunity in New York City.
Grammar Exercise One
Make up five sentences beginning with that clauses as subjects of the verb. You could complete the sentences with words such as the following:
is good for me.
(Instead of the word good, you could use other words or phrases such as the following: bad for me, good for my health, bad for my health, important, interesting, annoying, boring, exciting, harmful, dangerous, illegal, wrong, necessary, required, advisable, a good idea, a bad idea, optional, useful, helpful)
2) “That clauses” as objects of a verb
Some English verbs or expressions with prepositions may be followed by that clauses, as in the following examples:
I think that I will enjoy living in New York City.
I hope that my family will be able to visit me here.
I am certain that there is more opportunity in this city than in my native country.
Note that a few verbs or expressions with prepositions are sometimes followed by a that clause with a
subjunctive verb form (the infinitive without “to”), as in the following examples:
It is important that you be on time to work.
It was important that Jean do well on that test.
My parents demanded that I study every night.
Grammar Exercise Two
Make up ten sentences with verbs or expressions with prepositions followed by that clauses. You could use the following verbs or expressions with prepositions which are used with that clauses:
ask demand imagine suggest
be certain doubt insist suppose
be convinced feel know tell s.o.
be sure find realize think
believe hope say wish
promise swear declare announce
Grammar Observation Exercise
Notice the use of that clauses in the following sentences (These are not errors, but examples of correct use of that clauses by students):
1. I promised myself that I won’t be what I’m not.
2. You can see that the mother is afraid about her daughter’s future.
3. I think that putting too much pressure on your kid is going to cause problems.
4. The man thing you have to teach your kid is that he or she has to do their best.
5. Your child has to know that you are going to love and accept him or her no matter what.
6. We have to be thankful that we are alive.
7. Some people believe that a good father must be very kind.
8. I am always working, but this doesn’t mean that I don’t love you.
9. My friends tell me that their parents don’t understand their difficulties with their college studies.
10. I was happy that I was not alone.
11. When a loved one dies, you feel that something is missing.
12. After a while, people accept that this person is dead.
13. The writer made it clear that everyone must fact the reality of death.
14. This quote reveals that she understands that she must stop thinking about her mother’s death.
15. I hear people say that the father is a very important part of a family.
16. It is true that jealousy between siblings always exists.
17. My father was worried that I would get lost.
18. I knew that I did the wrong thing.
19. I realized that my father loved me a lot.
20. The poet shows that it is sometimes difficult to make a decision.
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives and gerunds), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
The human life begins when one is conceived, and it culminates with the death. This reality makes us try to live and enjoy every single day of our life the best that we can, because death is something that is uncertain. Nobody knows when is going to be the moment to departure, to who know where. In the poem “The Wake,” Rita Dove show us a view of how death affect us humans, when it takes away an important member of our family.
Death is not expected, but when it comes and take someone close to you, it can’t be accepted right away: “When I sat down in the armchair your warm breath fell over my shoulder.” This process of acceptance varies among people. When this happen, you feel that inside you something is missing, is a feeling of emptiness: “Friends and relatives
kept coming, trying to fill up the house.” But after a while, this feeling goes away, the people accepts the fact that this person is no longer there and is not coming back ever again: “I slept because it was the only thing I could do. I even dreamed. I couldn’t stop myself.”
(a-3, v-6, p-2, ss-1, wf-1)
I know what it is like when you lose somebody that you love. In 1993, after three days of coma, my father passed away, it was devastating when I got to hospital that Monday morning, and I found out that he was dead. The personnel at the hospital told us that there were bacteria in his system which caused his death. I really don’t think that humans are ready to receive the news like this. Even if the person who is ill is at the hospital for a long time. It took me days, months, and years of crying and depressed to adapt myself to a new life without him. The process was long, but I did have to accept it, early or late, that he was not there and that he never will be there for me again.
In conclusion, Rita Dove describe how sad is the whole process of acceptance, but at the end, she made it clear that every person sooner or later, faced the reality and finish by adapting to a new life without that person: “I slept because it was the only thing I could do. I even dreamed. I couldn’t stop myself.”
(a-2, v-3, p-2, wf-1)
Unit Eleven: Present & Past Participles
1) Present participial phrases at the beginning of sentences
English sentences sometimes begin with a present participial phrase followed by a noun which is understood to be the “subject” of the preceding present participle, as in the following examples:
Walking in the park, I admired the beautiful flowers.
(meaning “While I was walking in the park, I admired the beautiful flowers)
Wanting to improve my grades, I decided to quit my part-time job and spend more time studying.
(meaning “Because I wanted to improve my grades, I decided to quit my part-time job and spend more time studying.”)
Reading the newspaper every day, ESL students can learn useful, new vocabulary. (meaning “If they read the newspaper every day” or “By reading the newspaper every day, ESL students can learn some useful, new vocabulary.”)
Grammar Exercise One
Make up three sentences beginning with present participial phrases. You could begin with such verb forms as reading, talking, listening, thinking, looking, studying, driving, going, seeing, hearing, feeling, walking, traveling, visiting, etc.
2) Past participial phrases at the beginning of sentences
Sentences can also begin with a past participial phrase followed by a noun which is understood to be the “subject” of a passive verb form, as in the following examples:
Annoyed by the loud music, I asked the teenagers to turn it down.
(meaning “Because I was annoyed by the loud music, I asked the teenagers to turn it down.)
Tired from working all day, I went to bed early that night.
(meaning “Because I was tired from working all day, I went to bed early that night.”)
Frustrated with his difficult employer, Juan decided to quit his job.
(meaning “Because he was frustrated with his difficult employer, Juan decided to quit his job.)
Grammar Exercise Two
Make up three sentences beginning with past participial phrases. You could begin with such verb forms excited, interested, encouraged, discouraged, bored, annoyed, irritated, inspired, pleased, displeased, infuriated, frustrated, disappointed, frightened, pleased, displeased, confused, etc.
3) Present participial phrases used after nouns
Present participial phrases can also be used after nouns, as in the following examples: In New York, I often see people rushing all over the place.
In my country, I would more often see people relaxing in cafes and stopping to talk to each other in the street.
I smell something burning in the kitchen.
Note that the above participial phrases can be seen as shortened forms of adjective clauses, as in
In New York, I often see people who are rushing all over the place.
In my country, I would more often see people who were relaxing in cafes and stopping to talk to each other in the street.
I smell something that is burning in the kitchen. Grammar Exercise Three
Make up three sentences using the verbs see, hear, feel, or smell, followed by a noun,
followed by a present participial phrase.
4) Past participial phrases used after nouns
Past participial phrases can also be used after nouns, as in the following examples:
I sometimes see students discouraged by their lack of progress in learning English.
I meet immigrants in New York City excited by the many opportunities offered to them by the city.
I was pleased to meet someone interested in my area of study.
Note that the above participial phrases can be seen as shortened forms of adjective clauses, as in
I sometimes see students who are discouraged by their lack of progress in learning English.
I meet immigrants in New York City who are excited by the many opportunities offered to them by the city.
I was pleased to meet someone who was interested in my area of study.
Grammar Exercise Four
Make up three sentences using the verbs see, speak to, hear, or meet followed by a noun, followed by a past participial phrase. The past participial phrase could begin with such verb forms as excited, interested, encouraged, discouraged, bored, annoyed, irritated, inspired, pleased, displeased, infuriated, disappointed, frustrated, frightened, confused, etc.
Grammar Observation Exercise
Notice the use of present and past participial phrases in the following sentences (These are not errors, but examples of correct use of present and past participial phrases by students):
1. We traveled across all of Russia, stopping in big and small cites and seeing new things.
2. Analyzing the story, you can see that the mother cares about her daughter.
3. Putting too much pressure on their kids, parents create problems in the relationship.
4. I was surprised to see my father waiting there.
5. There is only me and my father living in America.
6. Trying to force their will on their daughters, mothers push their daughters away.
7. Wanting her daughter to be a prodigy, Jing Mei’s mother forces her to take piano lessons.
8. Not caring about her daughter’s opinions, Jing Mei’s mother makes her daughter do things that she doesn’t want to do.
9. Worried aobut her daughter’s behavior, the mother in “Girl” gives her daughter some rules that she must follow.
10. Discouraged by her bad performance at the recital, Jing Mei refuses to continue playing the piano.
11. Some women try to rescue themselves by marriage, thinking that if he loves me, he’ll make me happy.
12. Then some women see their expectations broken into little pieces.
13. Speaking about women’s liberation, it would be good to mention how the woman in this story feels about her husband’s death.
14. The woman thought “There would be no powerful will bending hers.”
15. Having a good mother, I still can’t deal with her sometimes.
16. Being a daughter, I know that mother-daughter relationships can be difficult.
17. Working all day, my father doesn’t have much time to spend with the family.
18. I see him come home tired from his long work day.
19. Respected by many people in my native country, it was hard for my father to adjust to his new life in this country.
20. Discouraged by his trouble with English, my father had to accept a boring job with low pay.
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
In humans, shyness is a feeling of insecurity that certain people experience while being among others, talking with others, asking favors of others, etc. I think shyness itself originates after a person has experienced physical anxiety, there could be other ideas why a person is shy. Another example may be she or he was raised in certain environment that cause the development of shyness, this concept is directly connected with one of characters in a play “The Glass Menagerie” – Laura Wingfield. Laura, with her paralyzing shyness, chose to avoid social situations because they have no reward for her, and she find the extra sensory input overwhelming. Laura fear such situations and feel that she has to avoid them. And in
order to avoid this world of reality, she creates her own imaginary reality. The Glass Menagerie – Laura’s private world.
(a-4, v-5, p-2)
Laura Wingfield , a daughter whose childhood illness has left her crippled. Stemming from this, Laura’s separation increases until she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too fragile to move from the shelf. Laura’s mother Amanda says, “Laura! Why, Laura, you are sick, darling! Tom, help your sister into the living room dear! … Is Laura all right now?” Amanda says this to Laura when she felt sick during a visit of a gentleman caller, Laura’s shyness makes her very uncomfortable, and instead of having a good time in the new company, she feel sick. She decides to stay on a couch alone with her glass collection. The collection of glass represents her own private world. Set apart from reality, a place where she can hide and be safe. Jim, the gentleman caller says to Laura, “You know what I judge to be the trouble with you?
Inferiority complex! Know what that is? That’s what they call it when someone low-rates himself! I understand it because I had it too. Although my case was not so aggravated as yours seems to be. … Think of yourself as superior in some way!” He tries to give an advice to Laura and to help her, in respond, Laura show Jim her glass unicorn. Laura point out to Jim that the unicorn is different, just as she is different. She also point out that the unicorn does not complain about being different, as she does not complain either. And when Jim accidentally breaks the horn off the unicorn, Laura points out that now it is like the other horses. Just as Laura has shed some of her shyness and become more normal: “I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less – freakish! Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don’t have horns.” Laura comes close to Jim during their conversation. They dance, they kiss. But Jim’s revelation that he is engaged to be married is devastating, and push Laura back into her world, world of her imaginary.
(a-3, v-6, p-3, wf-2)
I spent some time thinking who could be as shy as Laura and I didn’t come up either with movie character or with live example. I guess people like Laura don’t live an ordinary live, meet people, have friends, socialize with them, they stay away from reality. However, I have found interesting fact in our local newspaper. Research in the United States indicates that shyness is highest among Asian Americans and lowest among Jewish Americans. One explanation for the cultural difference between Japanese and Israelis lies in the ways each culture deals with attributing credit for success and blame for failure. In Japan, an individual’s performance success is credited externally to parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, and others, while failure is entirely blame on the person. In Israel, the situation is entirely reverse. Failure is externally attributed to parents, teachers, coaches, friends, and other things. While performance success is credited to the individual.
In conclusion, there are people like Laura in this world. For example, the shyness clinic exists which located in Los Altos, California. This clinic offer a broad spectrum of psychotherapeutic services for shyness and social phobia. While scientists study and try to create technologies to solve this problem, I think shyness itself can be solve by challenging automatic thoughts and beliefs, and learning new behaviors.
(a-4, v-4, p-2, wf-1)
Additional Proofreading Exercises
Essay One
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
I am an only child in my family, so I have thought about if I have brother or sister, how my life would be difference. Maybe I will not feel lonely when my parents go to work; maybe I will not feel helpless when I suffer from some problems. However, having brothers or sisters are both good and bad.
I remember my friend told me that her older brother took care of her a lot, he would cook for her when their parents left home, teach her when she had some questions about her homework, and he buy laptop for her when she attended college. Having an older brother or sister is good in the family, because they will take care of their younger brothers and sisters and help them solve some problem. Even though parents have more ideas and experience to help their children. They have less time stay at home because of their work. So older brother or sister will be a good teacher. They can offer some ideas and share their experience with their brothers and sisters. According to the play “The Glass Menagerie,” Laura is Tom’s older sister, she always help Tom when Amanda blame him, and try to convince Tom to listen when Amanda tells her stories.
(a-3, v-9, p-3, wf-1)
Having brothers or sisters, you will not feel lonely, because they can always cheer family up. I have a friend who has a sister, she tell me that she had a good relationship with her sister and always felt happy. They like to shop on weekend, cook dinner and face the problems together. I remember a time when my friend told me that her sister got in trouble in her class. Her sister felt sad and did not know how to solve this problem, however, my friend comfort her sister and try to help her. Also, her family has parties for holidays each year. So they would assign each person work to prepare for party and have fun with the family.
(a-3, pl-1, v-5, p-2)
On the other hand, having brothers or sisters is not good, because they will make noise, and quarrel when they have different thinking. One of my high school friends told me that she hated her brother, because he always like to play games instead of studying and made so much noise when she was study. She argued with him many times, but he did not want listen to her. Also, her brother did not like his sister either, because he thought his sister talked too much and always used the computer and television. If there is only one child in the family, their life will be different, because they can do whatever they like and will not quarrel about each thing. I read some stories which said that having good friend is better than having brother or sister sometimes. Sisters and brothers live together all their life, they have to share everything, especially share their parents’ love. Therefore, some children’s personality will be change by parents’ different treatment. They feel it is unfair when their parents treat them different from their sisters and brothers, so they will be anger at their sisters and brothers. For example, in the ancient ages; there were children of the King who fought and kill their brothers to be the King. However, the friends are
different from brothers and sisters, they do not need to share parents’ love, and good friends usually have the same opinions about solving problem, so they will not have so many quarrels.
Having brothers or sisters are good or bad, it is depend on what the person who thinks about the brotherhood and sisterhood. If the person who do not want to learn new things or do anything by himself. He will like having brothers or sisters, because he can follow the experience that his brothers or sisters had without thinking. If the person who has ambition and want to pursuer his dream by himself, then he will not need brothers or sisters to help him.
a.4, pl-1, v-9, p-4, ss-3, wf-3)
Essay Two
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
I heard people say that mother is a very important person in family because she always does all the housework and take care of children. Such as washing clothes, cooking food, teaching children to do their homework, and controlling the behave of children. About this point, I strongly agree, but how about father, I think fathers were always ignored in families because he likes to keep quiet, and rarely share the feelings with the children at home, so most children closer to their mothers than to their fathers. However, it doesn’t means father is not very important. Now, I want to introduce my Chinese father to you.
I am Chinese, so I have the strong feeling about the tradition Chinese father. In my experience, most Chinese fathers are grave, they don’t like to do the housework because they think the women have to do housework at home. And also, they prefer the males to females. Thus, males has the special position and power at home, that is the reason why I don’t like the Chinese style. However, my father is different from other tradition Chinese fathers. In my mind, he is a good father.
(a-12, pl-2, v-6, p-4, ss-1, wf-3)
The strong reason why I appreciate and respect my father is that he treat my older brother and me the same. In China, this is a major and sensitive problem in most families, in my neighborhood, many Chinese girl don’t have any opportunities to study; also, they have lower level at home and have to do all the housework. But in my family, my father never treat me like that, I have the same position as my brother, such as the same opportunity to study, the same pocket money, and the same punish when we do wrong. My mother is different. She treat me better than my brother. I remember when I was twelve years old, my mother went shopping with me and bought me many clothes, but she didn’t give money to my brother. My father knew about this thing later. He gave some money to my brother for shopping. At that time, my father was established the great and special pictures in my mind.
In addition, my father is a good cook. At home, my mother almost does all the housework, so my father rarely to cook, but he always enjoys cooking food. Usually, my father always complains about my mother making the same food every day, and also that the food styles are not good. In his mind, he concerns about the food cutting and styles, he thinks the good appearance of food can increase the enjoy, therefore, when he wants to cook, he would like to do special food cutting, such as cutting radishes like flowers, and cutting the green onions like the small leaves. When he done, he would put the food on a
beautiful plate. He makes the food deliciously too, not only as an ornament. All the time, I am enjoying his cooking, maybe because he always to make a new style or he rarely to cook. I am not sure what a reason is, but I understand that when he cooks something, I feel warm in my heart.
(a-9, sg-1, pl-2, v-10, p-4, wf-2)
Moreover, my father has many different ability, such as healing, repairing, and accounting. When I was five years old, he work in small clinic, after that job, my family open a store, and then my father became an accountant. Furthermore, when my family has trouble with electronic equipment, he was able to fix it. Thus, I am proud of him, on the other hand, he has many defects. For example, he always keep quiet at home, so sometimes, I think he doesn’t concern about me very much. And also, he likes to use the physical punish when I do something wrong, so he is a violence man. Thus, sometimes, I have the conflict with him in my heart, although he is good.
I usually hear people talk about how good father they have, but I rarely to concern about it because I know my father is the best. This is my father.
(a-4, pl-1, v-6, p-2, wf-2)
Essay Three
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
During my short life, I can say that I have been happiness most of the time. When I was child, I was surround by people that love me a lot. My family was composed of my father Luis, my mother Maria, and my sisters Marta, Rosa, and Yvonne. Like every other family, we had our argument and different situations in the house, but nothing out of control, the relationship between all of us is amaze. Even now is stronger than ever. This family is what make me be person that I am today. Is true that jealousy between siblings does exist, but what would have been my life without my fabulous sisters?
When we were children, we used to go every summer vacation to my grandmother’s house. There we don’t even have to call anybody to entertain us. Because we were enough to do it ourselves. Many times I was in trouble in school but didn’t have to fight any of the girls, because they knew that we were four and nobody want to have that kind of problem.
(a-2, pl-1, v-5, ss-2, wf-2)
My oldest sister Marta, was the one in control of the whole situation, in school she was the mother, the person in charge and responsible for all of us. Now as an adult, she work driving trucks between New York and New Jersey. She is single mother.
Rosa, she was quiet but dynamite at the same time, she was the kind of girl you think you can mess with, and then you realize you were completely wrong judging her. Nowadays, she is nurse. Ready to help everybody that need her. She is married, mother of three.
Yvonne, she is the crazy one and baby of the house, she was terrible child. She is the one that I’m more close to. Probably because we are closer in age. She recent marry her fiancé in August.
(a-4, v-4, p-4, wf-1)
The best time that we all enjoying being together is during Christmas, we all get together in Rosa’s house in New Jersey and we all have fun. We dance with each other, eat, drink and play Bingo. Every day I thank God for the great opportunity of been part of the Hernandez family.
I had had a few different situation where I felt bad and in certain way even lost, but they give me positive thoughts and strength necessarily to keep going. I remember not that long ago, I was dating Miguel. Things between us didn’t work out, and I felt bad about it. When they find out what just had happen between him and me, they came out with fantastic idea of a women’s getaway. That weekend we departure for Cancun, and it was awesome, we had so much fun, that I complete forgot reason why we were there.
Definitely, my life wouldn’t be the same without my sisters, they are the backbone of my entire life. (a-4, pl-1, v-8, p-2, wf-2)
Essay Four
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
My father has excellent potential to become two kinds of fathers. One is the ruling father, the other one is the kind father. And although “father” and “dad” can have the same meanings. They still are difference in some ways. “Father” represents rule and respect. And “Dad” represents the kindness and niceness. So how do you introduce your father to your friends? For me, I would say, “He is my father.”
My father never force me to be “Number One,” like the father in the story we just read, because he is the “Number One” of our family. He always try his best to do everything perfect. My father is most powerful person of our family and the super idol of my life. I love him and I respect him, but I also afraid of him. He look like the god of our family, when he says, “Yes”; we are not allow to say “No.” He always love to intone from the head of the dinner table, and says, “I am going to buy a new TV… We are going to go out to dinner tomorrow … I am going … .” And this is not family meeting; this is only his personal determine. Thus, we could not say “no” to him, if we do, he would give us “the punishment eye,” which means he mad. When my father is mad, he will has “evil eyes.” And when he watches us with his “evil eyes,” we would feel nervous and anxious, and forget to be brave.
(a-4, v-6, p-5, ss-2, wf-3)
Sometimes, my father is ruling father, but sometimes he also is kind father. Every time when he read the newspaper and knows tomorrow is a bad rainy day. He would say, “It is going to rain tomorrow -- do not forget your umbrella.” Especially in winter, he would tell us all the time, “Do not come home late today, wear more clothes, call after you leave the school, and …” Compare to other fathers, my father is really difference, for example, last Friday I had to go to immigration office about American citizenship, when my father knew, he would not sleep for whole night. In addition, he was the first person to wake me up, and told me, “Do not be late, hurry up …” However, my appointment is at ten o’clock and he wake me up at six o’clock. Then, I told him, “My appointment is at ten o’clock father, let me sleep …” When he knew my appointment time, he did not say anything, he just sit on the sofa and kept bothering me every fifteen minutes, “Get up, do not be late …” These six words was annoyed me all the day.
In conclusion, different people have different personality. And different father has different policy.
My father’s policy is to protect us all the time and to prepare the best future for us. (a-4, pl-3, v-6, p-5, wf-2)
Essay Five
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs).
In people’s life, everyone is a traveler, choosing the road and follow it. Actually, there are no straight roads, people have to make a right decide and try it. A poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost tell about important choices in life.
In beginning of the poem, Frost mentions that is difficult to make a decision about two roads: “Two roads diverged in a hollow wood, and sorry I could not travel both …” However, Frost has to choose a road that he want to follow: “And looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth.” For one of the road, is difficult to see the end, and there may be danger in the undergrowth. So Frost want to take the other one. Which less people have taking before. Most people want to take a road that many people took, because they think that is easier to pass through. On the other hand, people will get more challenge from road that less people taken, because people will learn new things and get new experience from it, eventually, Frost decide to take this road, and he know there is no chance to come back, because when he take this road, everything will be change: “I took the one less travel by, and that has made all the different.”
(a-5, v-11, p-3, wf-2)
“The Road Not Taken” is talks about choosing life path. The road symbols people’s life. In the middle of two life paths, people find it difficult to make decision because they cannot see the end of each path and do not want to lose a chance to take the other one. It is important decision, people cannot come back if they take a wrong path. It is what my mother always tell me: “You have to know exactly what kind of path you want to take, because your decision will affect your whole life.” I read some articles from newspaper, which talked about some people used terrible and illegal tricks to make money, such as robbing, selling drugs, and kidnap. That was the dangerous path they chose, some of them may face death. In our life, we can see that parents try to make a good life path for their children; especially immigrant parents. Because of their older age, many immigrants have language problem when they live in foreign country, and they know that is a big problem. Therefore, they want their children go to school to get higher education. Which will overcome this problem and give them a good future. Also, parents hope their children will be better than others, so they would like buying a piano or violin, or giving class for their children to learn more things. It is the path that parents give to us; we also can choose the path for ourselves. For example, a mother hopes her son will be lawyer, so gives many law classes to him and want him to go to law school. However, it is a dream of the mother, not his. The son is interest in medicine and think to be a doctor will give more benefits to people. Finally, he achieve his dream and let his mother knows that this is path he wants.
Make a decision between two paths is difficult and important because we have to follow it without come back and it will make different in our life.
(a-14, v-14, p-4, ss-3, wf-2)
Essay Six
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs).
Someone once told me that I have so much to give, but I am too scare to. Yes, now women, and me included, are afraid to give something up for the relationship with the men. Why should we? We were press down under men’s power for so long that now we want something just for us. We want to take, not to give. Sometimes, women try to rescue themselves with the help of marriage. To rescue themselves from bad circumstances or finance pressure, thinking that if he loves me, he’ll make me happy. And sometimes it work out; unfortunately, not always. We have so many examples when women put themselves under men’s will for god knows what reasons. Then troubles start. They are not happy, and the women think it is man’s fault. And men think, “She saw me the way I was before we got married. What does she want now?”
Indeed, what does she want? What does she want when she see her expectations collapse into little pieces? She does not know herself; most of the time she wants freedom. Be able to breath with all strength she has. Man, then, seems an obstacle in her way, and she does everything to clear the way; to end the relationship and to get out. These relationships seem like a cage which grows smaller and smaller; so small as to choke at any minute. You scared. You want finish it as soon as you can. Your man does not let you go – he gave something, wasted years of his life maybe. But the two of you want the different things now. In some cases, if one of you will die, maybe the other will feel free.
(a-6, v-5, p-3, ss-1, wf-2)
In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes feelings of woman when her husband dies. This returns us to the question “If death comes to one of you, who will feel free?” Speaking of the women’s liberation, it would be good to mention how lady in this story feel: “When she abandoned herself, a little whispered word escaped her parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free.’ The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright.
Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” The woman felt joy, isn’t it fascinating? Her husband died and she felt free and happy. Something that we cannot understand, because we all carry childish ideas throughout the years; ideas that says – man and wife should be in love, and so on. Here we meet something different and disturb. Mrs. Mallard in this story say, “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years: she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.” Yes, women tend to life for someone else: kids, husband, but rarely for themselves. They are used to bend themselves under someone else’s will. In my opinion, men imposed these “rules” on women. We know until the 19th century, women have to deal with men’s will.
They didn’t have a right to anything. It doesn’t mean they were not smart; most likely, it was very convenient for a men to keep women this way. It is because of our differences in gender, especially in those
day, when men do not understand what women need. For us women, it is so simple. We need tender love, care, and a bit of security. We want to see the person we love often. But men are difference he cannot stay at home more that a few hours a day. They are rougher, stricter, and tougher. In the end, men and women simply have difference expectations from each other. For example, women are mad when they hear, “Yes you cook, you clean, you work forty hours a week, and you study full time, but I don’t understand why your nails are not done, and you should put some makeup on.” How tender and understanding is that?
We speak about beginning of 19th century and what situation we have now. I believe we have the same situation now, maybe veiled a bit, but mostly the same. Yes, women are stronger now, and we have feminist movement now. But women may want to be women again, some women live like men, but it is tough to be a man, to live men’s role every day of your life. A lot of women don’t feel like women any more. We have families where husband is currently a housewife. But it doesn’t sit right in our head. What do women want? Will they still feel free if death visit their partner?
(a-10, pl-2, v-9, p-4, ss-1, wf-4)
Answer Key
Unit One: Articles and Nouns
Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of articles and nouns in the following sentences:
1. The Bible says a person comes from the earth and has to go back to the earth.
2. In 2002, I met a person that cared about me. In 2005 he died in a car accident.
3. Whenever death comes to a person, it is always a shock.
4. The poet explores in this poem the shock and deep sorrow of losing somebody you love.
5. Do people live after death?
6. At that time, my father was a normal worker.
7. We are a small but important part of a large mosaic called life.
8. The model of family depicted in the play “The Glass Menagerie” isn’t normal.
9. Even though the mother believes she is doing good things, it produces bad results.
10. The daughter grew up with psychological problems.
11. Good friends often have the same opinions about solving problems.
12. She loved to collect little glass animals.
13. Laura had a reason to be shy.
14. My sister is married and has a little baby.
15. A brother can tell you about boy-girl relationships.
16. She knows the value of freedom.
17. There is supposed to be one mutual goal in the life of two people.
18. It takes time to find the strength to move on.
19. I do not have the right to judge you.
20. The mother says that one day, she received seventeen gentleman callers.
21. I owe them a better future.
22. brotherhood is love for a brother.
23. People get married with the intention of being together for life.
24. Even though marriage is challenging, when people love each other, they will find ways to be together for a lifetime.
25. The daughter was angry at her mother for forcing her to become a piano player.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors (indicated in the margin) in the use of articles and nouns in the following paragraphs:
1) There are big responsibilities that fall on a father’s shoulders with his first baby. He is the head of a family, and he is responsible for the safety and prosperity of its members. So as a father, I would go to work, bring money back home, and support my family. I would do almost anything to be a happy family. I would walk the dog on a rainy day, because my child was interested in having a pet at home. On the weekends we as a whole family would travel upstate and go camping for a couple nights. We would do
rock climbing, hiking, fishing and rafting there. I would introduce my child to wildlife and teach him how to treat it with care. I would move away from the industrial, polluted and very noisy city to a better, calm, fresh, nice and historical neighborhood, preferably near the water. We would also go to the city’s museums, galleries and performances because I would want my child to be a well educated and interesting person.
2) I have heard people say that the mother is a very important person in a family because she always does all the housework and takes care of the children, such as washing clothes, cooking food,
teaching the children to do homework, and controlling the behavior of the children. About this point, I strongly agree with that, but how about the father? I think the father was always ignored in families because he likes to keep quiet and rarely shares his feelings with the children, so most children are closer with their mothers than with their fathers. However, it doesn’t mean the father is not very important.
3) I have a younger sister. She is thirteen now, eleven years younger than me. I was eleven when my sister was born, and to tell you the truth, I hated her at the beginning. I was the only child in the family for eleven years. Also I was the first granddaughter for my grandparents, and the first niece for all my uncles and aunts. I was a very spoiled child. My mom and dad did everything for me. I had all that a child could possibly wish for. But not only my parents, my grandparents spoiled me too. Also, my uncle, who didn’t have kids of his own at the time, spoiled me a lot. He bought me presents almost every week:
expensive toys and clothes. Also, he took me to parks, cafes, movie theaters. Of course, by the time I turned eleven, I got used to the idea that I would get whatever I would ask for.
Unit Two: Verb Tenses Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of verbs in the following sentences:
1. Everyone is looking for someone who always listens to his or her feelings, and who sometimes suggests
a right way to move forward.
2. Laura made a high, invisible wall, which protected her from anyone who tried to approach her.
3. This is something that a person who does not have a brother cannot describe.
4. When a sister likes a dress and her brother says that she looks bad, sometimes it is good to listen to him.
5. Tom doesn’t like the way that his mother treats him.
6. Tom doesn’t like to hear about things that happened when his mother was young.
7. Tom has had this plan for a long time.
8. My sister is controlled by her husband. Sometimes, she doesn’t have the right to choose.
9. Women had to stay married even if they didn’t love their husbands.
10. Just because she is younger than me, that does not mean that she knows less.
11. Since the time we immigrated, we have had some misunderstandings and fights.
12. There are no two identical people on this planet.
13. She lost me when she thought I belonged to her.
14. As a result of love, people get married.
15. If two people living together cannot trust each other, it , certainly, will end in divorce.
16. Women work more and take financial responsibility to support their families.
17. In history, we have had many wars, and it seems like we are going to have more, though nobody
wishes that.
18. Everyone in this world has problems: Some have physical problems and some have emotional problems.
19. Love is something that changes the world.
20. Steven had encouragement from his family and his condition improved.
21. The writer doesn’t tell the reader about what kind of decision he needed to make.
22. I was pleased that I made the right decision.
23. She is pushing her daughter to get married and doesn’t understand her.
24. The mother did not have her own private life.
25. In 2002, I met a very good person.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors (indicated in the margin) in the use of articles, nouns and verbs in the following paragraphs:
1) human life begins when one is conceived, and it culminates with death. This reality makes us try to live and enjoy every single day of our life the best that we can. In the poem “The Wake,” the poet shows us a view of how death affects us humans when it takes away an important member of our family. Death is not expected ever, but when it comes and takes someone close to you, it can’t be accepted right away. When this happens, you feel that inside you, something is missing; it is a feeling of emptiness. But after a while, this feeling goes away. People accept the fact that this person is no longer there and is not coming back ever again.
2) There could be many reasons why a person is shy. Maybe she or he was raised in a certain environment that caused the development of shyness. This concept is connected with one of the characters in the play “The Glass Menagerie” – Laura Wingfield. Laura chooses to avoid social situations because they give no reward to her, and she finds the sensory input overwhelming. Laura fears such situations and feels that she has to avoid them And in order to avoid this, she creates her own imaginary reality, Laura’s private world.
3) In ancient China, there was a law that men were allowed to get married with more than one woman. So nobody would think about those women’s happiness, because they had to share their husband with other women when they married. Moreover, most of these women married someone who was older than them, by more than ten years, so when they lived together, there was no communication, and the feelings of these women were controlled by men. At that time, there were two kinds of people who let their daughter get married with someone they did not love and who was older than them. One was to make more money and get higher status, such as letting their daughter marry a king. Another was to avoid threats because in ancient China some governors would punish people who did not let their daughters marry them.
Unit Three: Active/Passive Verb Forms Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of verb forms in the following sentences:
1. Laura has a handicap and she has always struggled with an inferiority complex.
2. Since she met him, she realized that she was not the only person who suffers distress.
3. Boys like when a girl is dressed nicely.
4. The relationship between a man and woman is based on mutual love.
5. People are less concerned about their health than about how they would pay their bills.
6. The ancient Egyptians mummified their bodies to continue the soul after death.
7. We are part of a large mosaic that is called life.
8. Life is eventually ended by death.
9. Laura’s world is symbolized by a glass menagerie in Tennessee Williams’ play.
10. The mother in the story never asks her daughter what she is interested in.
11. I was surprised to see my father waiting for me.
12. The mother is concerned about her daughter’s reputation.
13. Men should judge women the same way they are judged.
14. When the first child is born, probably both parents experience happiness.
15. Mother-daughter relationships are based on many things, like love, understanding, and sometimes – jealousy and competition.
16. In the future, everything will be changed.
17. Children will rebel if they are forced to do something they don’t want to do.
18. In my family, all the housework is done by my mother.
19. A good living environment must be provided by the father.
20. Too much attention was given to my little sister.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors (indicated in the margin) in the use of articles, nouns and verbs in the following paragraphs:
1) My parents decided to have another baby when I was four years old. He got all the attention. Life suddenly changed. All the troubles started there. I felt that I had to get rid of that annoying creature, my brother. When my mom got home and everyone just sat and stared at him, I got a plan. It was a beautiful plan. It was a cold, rainy day and everyone was busy, so I took the stroller with my brother in it and brought it outside. I felt good, but the moment was ruined very soon later, when everyone started to look for the baby. I could not believe that they still needed him. I didn’t want him back. He was a thief. He stole love from me.
2) The idea of women’s and men’s liberation is something that is progressing. It is a concept that is unstable. It is always changing throughout the centuries. Nevertheless, we constantly find people who still want to keep things and ideas in the old-fashioned way. My understanding of the words “women’s liberation” is that it means to be free from the oppression of males and society. It also means respect, personal integrity and reputation. I realize that women are not judged anymore by if they lose their virginity before or after marriage, but by what they have inside. I am not saying that this is a good thing but it is part of the new liberation that women have. I think we should stop, and take some time to think about it. Even for men. Men’s liberation is to be not about killing, and being always that person who never is defeated. In my opinion, men’s liberation is about expressing their feelings, honesty, and to judge women the same way they are judged.
3) In the text “Girl,” we see a controlling mom, who simply wants her daughter to do the best she can to become a decent woman. The mother teaches her a lot of different things, specifically concerning proper behavior: “This is how to smile to someone you don’t like too much; this is how you smile to someone you like completely.” As well, the mother is concerned about her daughter looking like “a slut”: “This is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming.” It must be a tough culture and society to live in, but these are very rough words to say to your daughter. The girl is overwhelmed and she tries to justify herself when the mom says this. I guess they don’t understand each other, since the girl is trying to say, “Mom, I am not that bad,” but the mother does not seem to care. She does what she has to do – teach her daughter “how to live right.”
Unit Four: Modal Verbs
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns and verbs (indicated in the margin) in the following essay:
Mother-daughter relationship is a problem at all times. Since the appearance of mankind, problems in relations between parents and kids, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, have existed. Some parents are trying to force their will on their kids, to suppress their kids’ will, like the mother in Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds.” Others are just trying to teach their kids different things, which will make them good people, but not break their personality, like the mother in Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl.” But in both cases, relations are not easy.
“Only two kinds of daughters: those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter.” This phrase in Amy Tan’s story “Two Kinds” accurately describes the mother-daughter relationship. Jing Mei’s mother wants her daughter to do everything her way. She nevers asks Jing Mei what she is interested in. The mother of Jing Mei doesn’t care about her daughter’s opinion. She makes her daughter do things she doesn’t want to do, makes her play piano, tries to make her a prodigy for others: “Of course you can be prodigy, too … .“ Jing Mei’s mother wants her daughter to become famous, so she can brag to her friends and relatives. She doesn’t hear her daughter. She doesn’t see her. Instead, she sees herself and wants to realize all her dreams and hopes in Jing Mei. Jing Mei tries to fight back. She tries to make her mom like her the way she is: “Why don’t you like me the way I am? I’m not a genius. I can’t play the piano. And even if I could I wouldn’t go on TV if you paid me a million dollars.” Then Jing Mei realizes she has power: “ ‘I won’t let her change me,’ I promised myself. ‘I won’t be what I’m not.’”
In Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” the author also discusses the mother-daughter relationship. The girl’s mother wants her to follow her rules. She gives her commands. Like Jing mei’s mother, she is also tough. She even humiliates her, saying: “Not like the slut you are so bent on becoming.” But despite all that, the girl’s mother, unlike Jing Mei’s mother, is not trying to force her daughter to do something against her will. She is just trying to teach the girl how to be a real lady and a good wife from her point of view. The girl’s mom is afraid that after all, her daughter is not going to become a good wife and a real lady. You can see in the end of the text that she is afraid. Her last words are “You mean to say that after all you are going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?” The girl is trying to defend herself, but she is doing this mostly because she wants her mom to stop talking at least for a minute. Unlike Jing Mei, she doesn’t have anger against her mother. She never feels hate against her.
After I read these two stories, I felt more sympathy for the girl’s mother. Maybe she is too tough, from the first impression, but analyzing the story and thinking about this, you can feel that she cares about her daughter. Another reason why I feel sympathy for the girl’s mom is because she is, unlike Jing Mei’s mom, not trying to transform the girl’s personality. Not trying to break the daughter’s individuality by totally fastening her will to her daughter. I think that putting too much pressure on your kid is going to make things worse. The only thing you have to teach your kid is that he or she has to try the best he or she can, and your child has to know that you are going to love and accept him or her no matter what.
Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” and Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” touch the deep theme of mother-daughter relationship, which is not easy, and it gives a lot of material to write about.
Unit Five: Conditional Sentences Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns and verbs (indicated in the margin) in the following essay:
I know I am a girl and I am 23 years old, which means I cannot be a father but can be a mother. But I wonder what kind of father I would be if I were born as a boy. I wonder how it feels to be a father.
When the first child is born, probably both parents experience the same feeling – happiness. This exciting moment probably is unforgettable for the rest of their lives: “Alleluya, and now we are three in the family!” A mother would think about necessary stuff that they did not buy yet: a carriage, diapers, swaddling cloths, and so on, while a father probably would dream how he and his son would go fishing and talk about men’s stuff. If I were a father, I would fantasize how we would buy the first bike and I would teach him how to ride it; I would buy lots of toys, tons of toys; I would see his first grades and we would do homework together; we would have a serious adult talk when he grew up and met his new girlfriend; I would give him the keys to our family mini-van for a night so he could go to a disco. And as I would try to be a good father, I would let my child have all this enjoyment.
Then there are also the big responsibilities that fall on a father’s shoulders with their first baby.
He is the head of a family, and he is responsible for the safety and prosperity of its members. So I would go to work, bring money back home and support my family. I would do almost anything to be a happy family (except cleaning the house and doing the laundry). I would walk the dog on a rainy day, if my child were interested in having a pet at home. On the weekends we as a whole family would travel upstate and go camping for a couple nights. We would do rock climbing, hiking, fishing, and rafting there. I would introduce my child to wildlife and teach him how to treat it with care. I did not mention, if I were a father, I would move away from the industrial, polluted and very noisy city to a better, calm, fresh, nice and historical neighborhood, preferably near the water. Yes, that is my dream if I would be a father … We also would go to the city’s museums, galleries, and performances because I would want my child to be a well educated and interesting person. At an early age, I would introduce him to different hobbies: swimming, painting, basketball, singing, and sculpture. It would be very important to show him how many fascinating things are out there. And it would be essential to do this at an early age because he could not refuse it yet. Then my child would grow up to be a wise and clever person who would succeed in his future. And I would be proud of him.
Maybe it is interesting to be a father and experience different feelings than a mother. Who knows? But I will be a mother. My brother will be a father. And we both will try to do our best in the education of our children. It will happen sometime in the future. But now, I think I will go and call my family and tell them how much I love them.
Unit Six: Punctuation and Sentence Structure
Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of punctuation and sentence structure in the following sentences:
1. Jamaica Kincaid in “Girl” and Amy Tan in “Two Kinds” discuss mother-daughter relationships, the attitude of the mothers to their daughters, and the things that the mothers want their daughters to do.
2. One day, the mother and daughter got into a conflict. The daughter says, “I wish I wasn’t your daughter!”
3. In “Two Kinds,” the family is an immigrant family; maybe that’s why the mother has a lot of disagreements with her daughter.
4. It didn’t happen in one day; it took some time.
5. Even if they didn’t love their husbands, women couldn’t get away from their husbands.
6. If you aren’t ready to face some difficulties, you’d better prepare yourself.
7. All she can do is hide in herself, hide in her own world.
8. Although the mother had the best wishes for her daughter, the mother was wrong.
9. It was the same kind of day that I had in my country.
10. Jing Mei’s mother wants her daughter to do everything her way; she never asks Jing Mei what she is interested in.
11. There is a big responsibility that falls on the father’s shoulders with the first baby.
12. We all carry naïve ideas throughout the years: ideas that say, for example, a man and wife must be in love.
13. I read an article in the newspaper which talked about some people who used illegal tricks to make money.
14. Perfection does not exist in humans, and because of this, we need to accept ourselves the way we are.
15. There are some parents who make their daughters marry someone who the daughters do not love.
16. In ancient China, there were some governors who would punish parents who did not let their daughters marry them.
17. She has to do all that her mother says.
18. A new mother would think about necessary stuff to buy: a carriage, diapers, swaddling cloths, and so on.
19. A mother would think about necessary stuff, while a father would think about how he and his son would go fishing.
20. Jing Mei wants her daughter to become famous, so that she can brag to her friends.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verbs, and punctuation and sentence structure (indicated in the margin) in the following essay:
Everybody wants to have a good father. However, “good father” has different meanings for different people. Some people believe that a good father must be very kind. The father never punishes the children; the father never orders the children to do things. The relationship between father and child is friendship. Some people believe that a good father must provide a good living environment for his children; therefore, the children can have a good material life.
In my mind, father is father. I never think about if my father is good or bad. I believe that no matter if my father is good or the best, he is my father. When I was born, I was my father’s daughter. I had no choice. Also, I believe most fathers, including my father, love their children, even though they treat their children in many different ways.
When I was a child, I had a lot of time to stay with my father. At that time, my father was a
normal worker. Like other workers, he always arrived home on time. As a result, my father had a lot of
time to stay at home. My father loved to play with me, but before that, I had to finish my homework correctly. When my father arrived home, the first thing he did was check my homework. If he found some mistakes in my homework because I was careless, I needed to redo those problems ten times without excuse. But if I did well in my tests, he would get me a gift to praise me. In his free time, my father loved to hang out with us. As I can remember, my family always hung out with his friends’ families on the weekend. Therefore, I could go to many different places and make many new friends.
Time passed. I became a fourth grade student, and my father had his own business. At that time, the time for my father to stay at home became less and less. He didn’t have time to play with me; he didn’t have time to check my homework; he didn’t have time to hang out with me. He became very busy. When I got up in the morning, my father was sleeping; when my father got home, I was sleeping. As a result, I didn’t see my father for a long time; therefore, in my mind, I always thought that my father didn’t love me anymore so he didn’t like to play with me. Little by little, my father became very strange to me. I didn’t know how to communicate with him. When I stayed alone with my father, I couldn’t find any topic to talk to him about. I remember that when I was a 7th grade student, I couldn’t see the blackboard clearly. My father decided to bring me to take an eye exam. I had a long time that I didn’t stay alone with my father. When I saw my father, I was scared. I just called him “Papa.” And then I didn’t know what I could say. My father said, “What happened to you? Why do you treat me like a stranger? You don’t like to talk to me now. I know I have not talked to you for a long time, but it doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I care about you. I am your father.” Even though my father said it to me, I still didn’t know how to communicate with my father. On that day, I just kept quiet.
Time passed. I am a college student now. The relationship between my father and me has become closer than before. At last, I understand the reason my father didn’t play with me was not because he didn’t like me. In fact, he was very busy. In his mind, he just wanted to try his best to provide a better life for our family. Moreover, I discovered that my father is one of the people that understand my difficulty in my college studies. Most of my friends tell me that their parents don’t understand their difficulty. All they can do is try their best to solve their problems for themselves; their parents can’t give any suggestions to them. At the beginning, I had the same idea as my friends. However, one thing happened that changed my mind. Last semester, one day, when I was reading my accounting textbook, my father came into my bedroom. He asked me what I was reading. I told him,” I am reading my accounting book; it is very difficult. I can’t understand it.” After he heard that, he pointed out the general ideas for me, and then he gave me some suggestions about how to learn accounting. At that time, I was very surprised, and I was very happy. I was happy that I was not alone. My father could give me some tips for my studying. My father cared about me. After that, we had one more topic to discuss. Even though my father couldn’t tell me the details for my accounting class, I thought that was good enough for me.
Now, I still don’t have the definition of a good father. But I think the fathers
who never punish their children and the fathers who can only provide a good material life for their children are not good fathers. However, in my mind, my father is a good father.
Unit Seven: Word Forms
Grammar Exercise Two
In the following essay, the italicized words are incorrect word forms. Cross out the incorrect word and write above it the correct form of that same word.
I heard a talk recently on differences between male and female ways of communication. The speaker had done a study in which she found that males attempt to dominate or to be the strongest and loudest speaker in a group, whereas females tend much more to listen, to share, and to take turns. I have myself observed that this is true. This observation leads me to believe that the feminine way of communication is often superior.
You often find in classes that men talk more and talk louder. This is not necessarily because they have something important to say, but because they see most situations as competitive, and talking the most and the loudest seems to them to be a way to compete and win. I must admit that I, as a male, am aware that in many situations in the past, when I found myself in groups, I always wanted to speak in order to show the group what good ideas I had. I wouldn’t be listening very careful or appreciating or understanding other people’s ideas but would rather be concentrating on thinking of the next thing that I would say. Actually, by putting a lot of pressure on myself to perform well in such situations, I would be making myself feel tense and uncomfortabe. I also think that other people would have liked it better if I had talked less and paid more attention to what they were saying. In the past few years, I have been trying to talk less and to become a better listener.
In families, children generally go to their mother to speak about their problems rather than to their father. Women go to women friends more often than to male friends. A woman is more likely to listen quietly and to let you say everything that you want to say about a situation. She is also more likely to understand and sympathize with your feelings about a situation. Males are more likely to interrupt you before you finish speaking, because they will get tired of listening and will want to speak themselves. They are also more likely to react to ideas rather than to feelings.
Men may disagree with what you say, or give you advice about what you should do, or they will explain why you shouldn’t be feeling the way that you do, especially if you are expressing a “weak” feeling, such as being afraid or sad. None of these responses is likely to be as helpful as quiet, sympathetic listening.
To be sure, there are exceptions to the rule. Some men are extremely good, sympathetic listeners, and some women are not. I do, however think the behaviors that are generally considered feminine rather than masculine are most effective in encouraging good interpersonal communication.
Proofreading Exercise One
Correct the errors in the use of word forms in the following sentences:
1. When Laura asked Tom to let his mother talk, he was being patient to listen to his mother’s speech.
2. Living under the same roof means having responsibilities and toleration.
3. Women had to stay married, even if their husbands treated them badly.
4. Steven had encouragement from his family.
5. The decision has made a big difference in my life.
6. In the poem, we see how the writer responds to her mother’s death.
7. I have strong feelings about the traditional Chinese father.
8. I realized that my father loved me, and I began to communicate with him.
9. To tell the truth, I hated my sister at the beginning.
10. She is an escapist.
11. Both escapism and insanity are distant from reality.
12. These words make the reader read the poem more carefully.
13. Children feel it is unfair when their parents treat them differently from their siblings.
14. In response, Laura shows Jim her glass collection.
15. A man can work in scientific or political fields.
16. A good wife gives a husband a sense of stability and happiness.
17. Happiness is the opposite of pain and sadness.
18. Love gives you the stability in life to grow stronger.
19. My father understands my difficulty with my college studies.
20. His words were so touching.
Proofreading Exercise Two
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verbs, punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms (indicated in the margin) in the following essay:
The idea of women’s and men’s liberation is something that is progressing. It is a concept that is unstable. It is always changing throughout the centuries. Nevertheless, we constantly find people who still want to keep things and ideas in the old-fashioned way. My understanding of the words “women’s liberation” is that it means to be free from the oppression of males and society. It also means a high regard, with respect, personal integrity, and reputation. I realize that women are not judged anymore by if they lose their virginity before or after marriage but by what they have inside. I am not saying that this is a good thing but it is part of the new liberation that women have. I think we should stop, and take some time to think about it. Even men. Men’s liberation is not about killing, and being always that person who can never be defeated. In my opinion, men’s liberation is expressing their feelings, honesty, and to judge women the same way they are judged.
Most women in this century have a voice nowadays. Now we have more jobs that were categorized just for males. After World War I, women were given new opportunities; they stopped being categorized only for domestic chores. Women also started to vote and started to get jobs in the government. They also started movements to make their voice heard. Even though we have had all these advances, there are still oppressed women in the world. There are women who are still under the control
of their husbands. One reason may be for the economic subsistence of their children. For example, I know a man by the name of Sonny who is very responsible with his wife and his son. However, he is very possessive. He thinks that he is the father of his wife. He wants to control her. He always tries to have power over any woman that he meets. He is a macho man. One time when I was in their house, my friend was talking on the phone and he was listening to her conversation on the other phone. It is not right that men want to have power over women.
In brief, I will say that there has been an evolution in women and men’s liberation. Women nowadays can say what they think and what they feel, and men can express their feelings.
Unit Eight: Prepositions Grammar Exercise One
Try to fill in the correct prepositions in the following paragraphs.
1) Indeed, it is very interesting to know about mother-daughter relationships in other families. Being a girl myself and having a good mother, I still could not deal with her sometimes. It’s OK, I guess, to have bad times as long as there is understanding and love between you and your mom. It we take a look at the texts “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, we see how the mothers are trying to be overprotective, tough, so that their daughters can be better than them. Care or even the expression of “tough love” is good; however, it is a bad thing when mothers try too hard to make daughters become someone they want us to be. These texts are full of examples similar to what we all have been through.
2) Most women in this century have a voice nowadays. Now we have more jobs that were categorized just for males before. After World War I, women were given new opportunities. They stopped being categorized only for domestic chores. Women also started to vote and started to get jobs in the government. They also started movements to make their voices heard. Even though we have had all these advances, there are still oppressed women in the world. There are women who are still under the control of their husbands. One reason may be for the economic subsistence of their children. For example, I know a man by the name of Sonny who is very responsible with his wife and son. However, he is very possessive. He thinks that he is the father of his wife. He wants to control her. He always tries to have power over any woman that he meets. He is a macho man. One time when I was in their house, my friend was talking on the phone and he was listening to her conversation on the other phone. It is not right for men to have power over women.
3) I am an only child in my family, so I have thought about if I had a brother or sister, how my life would be. Maybe I would not feel lonely when my parents go to work; maybe I would not feel helpless when I suffer from some problems. However, having brothers or sisters is both good and bad. I remember that my friend told me that her older brother took care of her a lot. He would cook for her when their parents were not at home, teach her when she had some questions about her homework, and he bought a laptop for her when she attended college. Having an older brother or sister is good for the family because they will take care of their younger brothers and sisters, and help them solve some problems. Even though
parents have more ideas and experience to help their children, they have less time to stay at home because of their work. So the older brother or sister will be a good teacher. They can offer some ideas to their younger brother or sister, and share their experience with them.
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verbs, punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay):
I have a younger sister. She is thirteen now, eleven years younger than me. Yes, I was eleven when my sister was born, and to tell you the truth, I hated her in the beginning. I was the only child in the family for eleven years. Also I was the first granddaughter for my grandparents, and the first niece for all my uncles and aunts. I was a very spoiled child. My mom and dad were doing everything for me. I had all that a child could possibly wish for. But not only my parents, my grandparents spoiled me too. Also, my uncle, who didn’t have kids of his own at the time, spoiled me a lot. He would buy me presents almost every week: expensive toys and clothes; also, he would take me to parks, cafes, movie theaters. Of course, by the time I turned eleven, I got used to the idea that I would get whatever I would ask for.
So you can imagine that the occurrence of another child in my family didn’t make me happy.
Certainly, she was a little one now, and like all infants, she needed a lot of attention. But I didn’t want to understand that. All I saw was that all the attention was on my sister. Everybody was talking about her, playing with her, and that made me angry. My dad would take me to the movies on weekends, like he used to before, even though my mom needed him home. He did this because if he didn’t, I had hysterics. I hated my sister for stealing my place in the family.
Then a few years passed. I got older and started to like my sister. I actually found that it was fun and interesting to play with her. I felt myself like an adult, who could teach her some useful, interesting things. I would take her to the movies, parks, almost everywhere I went with my friends. She would share her little secrets with me. It was so touching. I became for her something between an older friend and a mother. She would tell me things she couldn’t tell my mom, like about a boy she liked in school, or a fight between her and her friend.
My sister is thirteen now. I can’t say we are very close now. It is just that we are from two different generations, and see many things differently, especially because she is growing up in a different country (She was seven when our family immigrated to the United States). But I love her very much anyway.
In conclusion, I would like to say that we can’t choose our relatives; that is why we have to learn to love and accept them.
Unit Nine: Infinitives & Gerunds Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives and gerunds), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay):
Men get married with women because they love each other and understand each other, so they would like to live together. However, some marriages are not good, and it will not bring happiness to women.
In ancient times, marriage always was a bridge to connect money and status. Ancient people believed that men were better than women. Therefore, there were not rules for women to go to school and choose their own happiness. Women had to stay at home before they married, and had to do housework, and take care of their children when they married, but they did not have happiness in marriage. In ancient China, there was a law for men who were allowed to get married with more than one woman. So nobody would think about those women’s happiness, because they had to share their husband with other woman when they married. So most of these women would quarrel and hurt each other to get their position every day. Moreover, most women married someone who was older than them, by more than ten years, so when they lived together, there was no communication, and the feelings of these women were controlled by men. However, no one would care about women’s happiness in that society. There were two kinds of people who let their daughters get married with someone they did not love and who was older than them: One was to make more money and to get higher status, such as letting their daughters get married with a king, and the other was to avoid threats that the government made, because in ancient China, there were some governors who would punish people who did not let their daughters get married to them.
(a-4, pl-2, v-20, p-4, wf-1)
In modern times, marriage has become more free and fair. Women have a chance to choose their own happiness. However, there still are women who use their marriages to make more money and get higher status. For example, a woman wants to marry a man because he is rich, so she will not care about anything, even though she marries an old man. That kind of woman is foolish, because she does not know what marriage is; she thinks that money and status will be more important than her happiness. Therefore, she has no difference from the women who lived in ancient times, because she still cannot get happiness. (a-2, v-5, p-2, ss-2, wf-1)
What effects will it bring if people marry someone who they do not love, and have an age problem? When two people live together, communication is important, because both of them will understand each other through communication. Then they can face and solve problems together and their life will be happy. If two people get married because of bad reasons, they will not know how to communicate with each other. They will feel unhappy in the family and want to get free from their own family. According to the story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, there is a woman who has a bad marriage. She marries someone she does not love and both of them may have an age problem. There is no communication between two different age people when they live together, because with a couple who has an age problem, both of them will have different opinions and have arguments when they have a problem. So if two people marry who do not love and have an age problem, they will feel bored and will want to escape from their life.
Marriage should not be a tool to make money or get higher status. It should be a union of two loving people.
(a-5, v-4, p-2, wf-1)
Unit Ten: “That Clauses” Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives and gerunds), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay):
Human life begins when one is conceived, and it culminates with death. This reality makes us try to live and enjoy every single day of our life the best that we can, because death is something that is uncertain. Nobody knows when is going to be the moment to depart, to who knows where. In the poem “The Wake,” Rita Dove shows us a view of how death affects us humans, when it takes away an important member of our family.
Death is not expected, but when it comes and takes someone close to you, it can’t be accepted right away: “When I sat down in the armchair your warm breath fell over my shoulder.” This process of acceptance varies among people. When this happens, you feel that inside you something is missing. It is a feeling of emptiness: “Friends and relatives kept coming, trying to fill up the house.” But after a while, this feeling goes away. People accept the fact that this person is no longer there and is not coming back ever again: “I slept because it was the only thing I could do. I even dreamed. I couldn’t stop myself.”
(a-3, v-6, p-2, ss-1, wf-1)
I know what it is like when you lose somebody that you love. In 1993, after three days of coma, my father passed away. It was devastating when I got to the hospital that Monday morning, and I found out that he was dead. The personnel at the hospital told us that there were bacteria in his system which caused his death. I really don’t think that humans are ready to receive news like this, even if the person who is ill is at the hospital for a long time. It took me days, months, and years of crying and depression to adapt myself to a new life without him. The process was long, but I did have to accept it, early or late, that he was not there and that he never will be there for me again.
In conclusion, Rita Dove describes how sad is the whole process of acceptance, but at the end, she made it clear that every person sooner or later, faces the reality and finishes by adapting to a new life without that person: “I slept because it was the only thing I could do. I even dreamed. I couldn’t stop myself.”
(a-2, v-3, p-2, wf-1)
Unit Eleven: Present and Past Participles Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay):
In humans, shyness is a feeling of insecurity that certain people experience while being among others, talking with others, asking favors of others, etc. I think shyness itself originates after a person has experienced physical anxiety. There could be other ideas why a person is shy. Another example may be she
or he was raised in a certain environment that caused the development of shyness. This concept is directly connected with one of the characters in the play “The Glass Menagerie” – Laura Wingfield. Laura, with her paralyzing shyness, chooses to avoid social situations because they have no reward for her, and she finds the extra sensory input overwhelming. Laura fears such situations and feels that she has to avoid them. And in order to avoid this world of reality, she creates her own imaginary reality. The Glass Menagerie – Laura’s private world.
Laura Wingfield is a daughter whose childhood illness has left her crippled. Stemming from this, Laura’s separation increases until she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too fragile to move from the shelf. Laura’s mother Amanda says, “Laura! Why, Laura, you are sick, darling! Tom, help your sister into the living room, dear! … Is Laura all right now?” Amanda says this to Laura when she felt sick during the visit of a gentleman caller. Laura’s shyness makes her very uncomfortable, and instead of having a good time in the new company, she feels sick. She decides to stay on a couch alone with her glass collection. The collection of glass represents her own private world. Set apart from reality, a place where she can hide and be safe. Jim, the gentleman caller says to Laura, “You know what I judge to be the trouble with you? Inferiority complex! Know what that is? That’s what they call it when someone low-rates himself! I understand it because I had it too. Although my case was not so aggravated as yours seems to be.
… Think of yourself as superior in some way!” He tries to give advice to Laura and to help her. In response, Laura shows Jim her glass unicorn. Laura points out to Jim that the unicorn is different, just as she is different. She also points out that the unicorn does not complain about being different, as she does not complain either. And when Jim accidentally breaks the horn off the unicorn, Laura points out that now it is like the other horses, just as Laura has shed some of her shyness and become more normal: “I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less – freakish! Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don’t have horns.” Laura comes close to Jim during their conversation. They dance, they kiss. But Jim’s revelation that he is engaged to be married is devastating, and pushes Laura back into her world, the world of her imagination.
I spent some time thinking who could be as shy as Laura and I didn’t come up either with a movie character or with a live example. I guess people like Laura don’t live an ordinary life, meet people, have friends, socialize with them. They stay away from reality. However, I have found an interesting fact in our local newspaper. Research in the United States indicates that shyness is highest among Asian Americans and lowest among Jewish Americans. One explanation for the cultural difference between Japanese and Israelis lies in the ways each culture deals with attributing credit for success and blame for failure. In Japan, an individual’s performance success is credited externally to parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, and others, while failure is entirely blamed on the person. In Israel, the situation is entirely reversed. Failure is externally attributed to parents, teachers, coaches, friends, anti-Semitism, and other things, while performance success is credited to the individual.
In conclusion, there are people like Laura in this world. For example, a shyness clinic exists which is located in Los Altos, California. This clinic offers a broad spectrum of psychotherapeutic services for shyness and social phobia. While scientists study and try to create technologies to solve this problem, I
think shyness itself can be solved by challenging automatic thoughts and beliefs, and learning new behaviors.
Additional Proofreading Exercises
Essay One
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay):
I am an only child in my family, so I have thought about if I had a brother or sister, how my life would be different. Maybe I would not feel lonely when my parents went to work; maybe I would not feel helpless when I suffered from some problems. However, having brothers or sisters is both good and bad.
I remember my friend told me that her older brother took care of her a lot. He would cook for her when their parents left home, teach her when she had some questions about her homework, and he bought a laptop for her when she attended college. Having an older brother or sister is good in the family, because they will take care of their younger brothers and sisters and help them solve some problems. Even though parents have more ideas and experience to help their children, they have less time to stay at home because of their work. So the older brother or sister will be a good teacher. They can offer some ideas and share their experience with their brothers and sisters. According to the play “The Glass Menagerie,” Laura is Tom’s older sister. She always helps Tom when Amanda blames him, and tries to convince Tom to listen when Amanda tells her stories.
Having brothers or sisters, you will not feel lonely, because they can always cheer the family up. I have a friend who has a sister. She tells me that she has a good relationship with her sister and always feels happy. They like to shop on weekends, cook dinner and face problems together. I remember a time when my friend told me that her sister got in trouble in her class. Her sister felt sad and did not know how to solve this problem; however, my friend comforted her sister and tried to help her. Also, her family has parties for holidays each year. So they would assign each person work to prepare for the party and have fun with the family.
On the other hand, having brothers or sisters is not good, because they will make noise and quarrel when they have different thinking. One of my high school friends told me that she hated her brother, because he always liked to play games instead of studying and made so much noise when she was studying. She argued with him many times, but he did not want to listen to her. Also, her brother did not like his sister either, because he thought his sister talked too much and always used the computer and television. If there is only one child in the family, their life will be different, because they can do whatever they like and will not quarrel about each thing. I read some stories which said that having a good friend is better than having a brother or sister sometimes. Sisters and brothers live together all their life. They have to share everything, especially share their parents’ love. Therefore, some children’s personality will be changed by parents’ different treatment. They feel it is unfair when their parents treat them differently from their sisters and brothers, so they will be angry at their sisters and brothers. For example, in the ancient ages, there were children of the King who fought and killed their brothers to be the King. However,
friends are different from brothers and sisters; they do not need to share parents’ love, and good friends usually have the same opinions about solving problems, so they will not have so many quarrels.
Having brothers or sisters is good or bad; it depends on what a person thinks about
brotherhood and sisterhood. If the person does not want to learn new things or do anything by himself,
he will like having brothers or sisters, because he can follow the experience that his brothers or sisters had without thinking. If the person has ambition and wants to pursue his dream by himself, then he will not need brothers or sisters to help him.
Essay Two
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay):
I have heard people say that the mother is a very important part in the family because she always does all the housework and takes care of the children, such as washing clothes, cooking food, teaching children to do their homework, and controlling the behavior of the children. About this point, I strongly agree, but how about the father? I think fathers are always ignored in families because they like to keep quiet, and rarely share feelings with the children at home, so most children are closer to their mothers than to their fathers. However, it doesn’t mean the father is not very important. Now, I want to introduce my Chinese father to you.
I am Chinese, so I have strong feelings about the traditional Chinese father. In my experience, most Chinese fathers are grave. They don’t like to do housework because they think women have to do housework at home. And also, they prefer males to females. Thus, males have a special position and power at home. That is the reason why I don’t like the Chinese style. However, my father is different from other traditional Chinese fathers. In my mind, he is a good father.
A strong reason why I appreciate and respect my father is that he treats my older brother and me the same. In China, this is a major and sensitive problem in most families. In my neighborhood, many Chinese girls don’t have any opportunities to study; also, they have a lower level at home and have to do all the housework. But in my family, my father never treats me like that. I have the same position as my brother, such as the same opportunity to study, the same pocket money, and the same punishment when we do wrong. My mother is different. She treats me better than my brother. I remember when I was twelve years old, my mother went shopping with me and bought me many clothes, but she didn’t give money to my brother. My father knew about this thing later. He gave some money to my brother for shopping. At that time, my father established a great and special picture in my mind.
In addition, my father is a good cook. At home, my mother almost does all the housework, so my father rarely cooks, but he always enjoys cooking food. Usually, my father always complains about my mother making the same food every day, and also that the food styles are not good. In his mind, he is concerned about food cutting and styles. He thinks the good appearance of food can increase enjoyment. Therefore, when he wants to cook, he would like to do special food cutting, such as cutting radishes like flowers, and cutting green onions like small leaves. When he is done, he would put
the food on a beautiful plate. He makes food deliciously too, not only as an ornament. All the time, I enjoy his cooking, maybe because he always makes a new style or he rarely cooks. I am not sure what the reason is, but I understand that when he cooks something, I feel warm in my heart.
Moreover, my father has many different abilities, such as healing, repairing, and accounting.
When I was five years old, he worked in a small clinic. After that job, my family opened a store, and then my father became an accountant. Furthermore, when my family has trouble with electronic equipment, he is able to fix it. Thus, I am proud of him. On the other hand, he has many defects. For example, he always keeps quiet at home, so sometimes, I think he isn’t concerned about me very much. And also, he likes to use physical punishment when I do something wrong, so he is a violent man. Thus, sometimes, I have a conflict with him in my heart, although he is good.
I usually hear people talk about how good a father they have, but I rarely am concerned about it because I know my father is the best. This is my father.
Essay Three
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay):
During my short life, I can say that I have been happy most of the time. When I was a child, I was surrounded by people that loved me a lot. My family was composed of my father Luis, my mother Maria, and my sisters Marta, Rosa and Yvonne. Like every other family, we had our arguments and different situations in the house, but nothing out of control. The relationship between all of us is amazing. Even now it is stronger than ever. This family is what makes me be the person that I am today. It is true that jealousy between siblings does exist, but what would have been my life without my fabulous sisters?
When we were children, we used to go every summer vacation to my grandmother’s house. There we didn’t even have to call anybody to entertain us, because we were enough to do it ourselves. Many times I was in trouble in school but didn’t have to fight any of the girls, because they knew that we were four and nobody wanted to have that kind of problem.
My oldest sister Marta, was the one in control of the whole situation. In school she was the mother, the person in charge and responsible for all of us. Now as an adult, she works driving trucks between New York and New Jersey. She is a single mother. Rosa, she was quiet but dynamite at the same time. She was the kind of girl you think you can mess with, and then you realize you were completely wrong judging her. Nowadays, she is a nurse, ready to help everybody that needs her. She is married, the mother of three.
Yvonne, she is the crazy one and baby of the house. She was a terrible child. She is the one that I’m more close to, probably because we are closer in age. She recently married her fiancé in August.
The best time that we all enjoy being together is during Christmas. We all get together in Rosa’s house in New Jersey and we all have fun. We dance with each other, eat, drink and play Bingo. Every day I thank God for the great opportunity of being part of the Hernandez family.
I have had a few different situations where I felt bad and in a certain way even lost, but they gave me the positive thoughts and strength necessary to keep going. I remember not that long ago, I was dating Miguel. Things between us didn’t work out, and I felt bad about it. When they found out what just had happened between him and me, they came out with the fantastic idea of a women’s getaway. That weekend we departed for Cancun, and it was awesome. We had so much fun, that I completely forgot the reason why we were there.
Definitely, my life wouldn’t be the same without my sisters. They are the backbone of my entire
life.
Essay Four
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay):
My father has the excellent potential to become two kinds of fathers. One is the ruling father; the other one is the kind father. And although “father” and “dad” can have the same meanings, they still are different in some ways. “Father” represents rule and respect. And “Dad” represents kindness and niceness. So how do you introduce your father to your friends? For me, I would say, “He is my father.”
My father never forces me to be “Number One,” like the father in the story we just read, because he is the “Number One” of our family. He always tries his best to do everything perfectly. My father is the most powerful person of our family and the super idol of my life. I love him and I respect him, but I am also afraid of him. He looks like the god of our family. When he says, “Yes,” we are not allowed to say “No.” He always loves to intone from the head of the dinner table, and says, “I am going to buy a new TV… We are going to go out to dinner tomorrow … I am going … .” And this is not a family meeting; this is only his personal determination. Thus, we could not say “No” to him. If we do, he would give us “the punishment eye,” which means he is mad. When my father is mad, he will have “evil eyes.” And when he watches us with his “evil eyes,” we would feel nervous and anxious, and forget to be brave.
Sometimes, my father is a ruling father, but sometimes he also is a kind father. Every time when he reads the newspaper and knows tomorrow will be a bad rainy day, he would say, “It is going to rain tomorrow -- do not forget your umbrella.” Especially in winter, he would tell us all the time, “Do not come home late today, wear more clothes, and call after you leave the school and … .” Compared to other fathers, my father is really different. For example, last Friday I had to go to the immigration office about American citizenship. When my father knew, he would not sleep for the whole night. In addition, he was the first person to wake me up, and told me, “Do not be late, hurry up …” However, my appointment was at ten o’clock and he woke me up at six o’clock. Then, I told him, “My appointment is at ten o’clock father, let me sleep …” When he knew my appointment time, he did not say anything; he just sat on the sofa and kept bothering me every fifteen minutes, “Get up, do not be late …” These six words annoyed me all the day.
In conclusion, different people have different personalities. And different fathers have different
policies. My father’s policy is to protect us all the time and to prepare the best future for us.
Essay Five
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay).
In people’s life, everyone is a traveler, choosing a road and following it. Actually, there are no straight roads; people have to make a right decision and try it. The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost tells about important choices in life.
In the beginning of the poem, Frost mentions that it is difficult to make a decision about two roads: “Two roads diverged in a hollow wood, and sorry I could not travel both …” However, Frost has to choose the road that he wants to follow: “And looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth.” For one of the roads, it is difficult to see the end, and there may be danger in the undergrowth. So Frost wants to take the other one, which less people have taken before. Most people want to take a road that many people took, because they think that it is easier to pass through. On the other hand, people will get more challenge from a road that less people have taken, because people will learn new things and get new experience from it. Eventually, Frost decides to take this road, and he knows there is no chance to come back, because when he takes this road, everything will be changed: “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
“The Road Not Taken” talks about choosing a life path. The road symbolizes people’s life. In the middle of two life paths, people find it difficult to make a decision because they cannot see the end of each path, and do not want to lose the chance to take the other one. It is an important decision. People cannot come back if they take a wrong path. It is what my mother always tells me “You have to know exactly what kind of path you want to take, because your decision will affect your whole life.” I read some articles from a newspaper, which talked about some people who used terrible and illegal tricks to make money, such as robbing, selling drugs, and kidnapping. That was a dangerous path they chose. Some of them may face death. In our life, we can see that parents try to make a good life path for their children, especially immigrant parents. Because of their older age, many immigrants have a language problem when they live in a foreign country, and they know that it is a big problem. Therefore, they want their children to go to school to get higher education, which will overcome this problem and give them a good future. Also, parents hope their children will be better than others, so they would like to buy a piano or violin, or to give classes for their children to learn more things. It is a path that parents give to us; we also can choose a path for ourselves. For example, a mother hopes her son will be a lawyer, so she gives many law classes to him and wants him to go to law school. However, it is the dream of the mother, not his. The son is interested in medicine and thinks to be a doctor will give more benefits to people. Finally, he achieves his dream and lets his mother know that is the path he wants.
Making a decision between two paths is difficult and important because we have to follow it without coming back, and it will make a difference in our life.
Essay Six
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verb forms (including infinitives, gerunds, and present and past participles), punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of each paragraph of the essay).
Someone once told me that I have so much to give, but I am too scared to. Yes, now women, and me included, are afraid to give something up for a relationship with men. Why should we? We were pressed down under men’s power for so long that now we want something just for us. We want to take, not to give. Sometimes, women try to rescue themselves with the help of marriage. To rescue themselves from bad circumstances or financial pressure, thinking that if he loves me, he’ll make me happy. And sometimes it works out: unfortunately, not always. We have so many examples when women embrace themselves under men’s will for god knows what reasons. Then troubles start. They are not happy, and the women think it is the man’s fault. And men think, “She saw me the way I was before we got married. What does she want now?”
Indeed, what does she want? What does she want when she sees her expectations collapse into little pieces? She does not know herself; most of the time she wants freedom. To be able to breathe with all the strength she has. Man, then, seems an obstacle in her way, and she does everything to clear the way: to end the relationship and to get out. These relationships seem like a cage which grows smaller and smaller: so small as to choke at any minute. You are scared. You want to finish it as soon as you can. Your man does not let you go – he gave something, wasted years of his life maybe. But the two of you want different things now. In some cases, if one of you dies, maybe the other will feel free.
In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes the feelings of a woman when her husband dies. This returns us to the question “If death comes to one of you, who will feel free?” Speaking of women’s liberation, it would be good to mention how the lady in this story feels: “When she abandoned herself, a little whispered word escaped her parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free.’ The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” The woman felt joy. Isn’t it fascinating? Her husband died and she felt free and happy. Something that we cannot understand, because we all carry childish ideas throughout the years: ideas that say – man and wife should be in love, and so on. Here we meet something different and disturbing. Mrs. Mallard in this story says, “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years: she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.” Yes, women tend to live for someone else: kids, husband, but rarely for themselves. They are used to bending themselves under someone else’s will. In my opinion, men imposed these “rules” on women. We know until the 19th century, women had to deal with men’s will. They didn’t have the right to anything. It doesn’t mean they were not smart; most likely, it was very convenient for men to keep women this way. It was because of our differences in gender, especially in those days, when men did not understand what women needed. For us women, it is so simple. We need tender love, care, and a bit of security. We want to see the person we love often. But men are different. They can not stay at home more than a few hours a day. They are rougher, stricter, and tougher. In the end, men and women simply have different expectations from each other. For example, women are
mad when they hear, “Yes you cook, you clean, you work forty hours a week, and you study full time, but I don’t understand why your nails are not done, and you should put some makeup on.” How tender and understanding is that?
We speak about the beginning of the 19th century and what situation we have now. I believe we have the same situation now, maybe veiled a bit, but mostly the same. Yes, women are stronger now, and we have a feminist movement now. But women may want to be women again. Some women live like men, but it is tough to be a man, to live men’s role every day of your life. A lot of women don’t feel like women any more. We have families where the husband is currently a housewife. But it doesn’t sit right in our head. What do women want? Will they feel free if death visits their partner?
Source: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/aca_facultywac/Toolkit-ELL.pdf
Web site to visit: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu
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