Error Correction & Paraphrase 1

Identify the grammatical error in the sentence

Britain's rail service (A) is slow, unsafe, dirty, uncomfortable and unreliable, so no wonder many people choose to drive(B) 25,000 miles a year instead of to travel(C) by train. No error (D)

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

(C)....instead of travelling...

A preposition is always followed by a noun. If a verb needs to be used to complete the meaning of the prepositional phrase, then we use the -ing form of the verb (I look forward to seeing you).

Identify the error in the sentence

Most of (A) environmental pressure-groups are convinced that the environment is so important that standards cannot be set too high (B), and must be met regardless of (C) cost. No error (D)

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

(А) Most environmental groups are convinced that....

Most is a determiner just like a or the or some. Most of is a quantity phrase: it specifies a certain quantity or number of a particular group of objects (most of the students; some of the tests; a couple of my friends.)

Identify the grammatical error

Van Morrison is belonging(A) to the generation of British musicians who were brought up(B) listening (C) to the music of black America - blues and rock and roll. No error (D)

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

(A) Van Morrison belongs to the generation of British musicians who .......

Belong, like, include, is a state verb: it expresses a state, not an action or an activity. State verbs cannot be continuous, so they cannot express an action in progress.

Identify the error in the sentence

Well before the birth of multi-channel television, American films have dominated (A) world cinema: even though in the 1950s and 1960s they competed with those (B) made in Europe, by (C) the 1970s European film-making was already dead. No error (D)

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

(A) ....American films dominated world cinema....

We use the past simple tense to refer to a definite point or period in the past. The present perfect tense relates a past event to the present.

If the question is whether the new regulations will ensure better conditions for a more dynamic economic development, it is hard to find the answer.

Transform the last part of the sentence, choosing between

• the answer is hardly to find

• the answer is hard to find

• to find the answer it is hard

• it is hardly finding the answer

Answer explanation

The pattern is

adjective + to-infinitive

My hostess assured me that she was accustomed to sleeping on the sofa in the sitting room.

Transform 'was accustomed to sleeping', choosing between

• used to sleep...

• used to be sleeping

• was used to sleep

• was used to sleeping

Answer explanation

Here used means accustomed and takes the pattern

be used to doing sth

Identify the error in the sentence

When the French educator and scholar Baron de Couberten had revived (A) the ancient Green concept of (B) the Olympic Games and organized the first event in Greece in 1896, he also set out (C) to revive the Olympic ideal of friendly and fair competition. No error (D)

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

(A)When.....Baron de Couberten revived the ancient Greek concept of the Olympic Games....

We use the simple past tense to refer to a definite point in the past. The past perfect tense refers to a situation that occurred before a particular time in the past or prior to another event in the past.

Identify the error in the sentence

It was recognized long ago (A) as the time of Chaucer that scurvy could be prevented(B) or even cured by the addition to the food diet(C) of fresh vegetables and fruit. No error (D)

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

(A) It was recognized as long ago as the time of Chaucer that....

We use as.......as to say that things are equal or unequal.

Identify the error in the sentence

Different type of oils and fats deteriorate (A) at different rates (B): vegetable oils are the more resistant (C) to spoilage, animal fats are more susceptible, while marine oils go rancid more rapidly still. No error (D)

• A

• B

• C

• D

Answer explanation

(C)....vegetable oils are the most resistant to spoilage....

We use the superlative from of an adjective to say that a thing is possesses the most of a quality.

Identify the error in the sentence

Using (A) a radio telescope the size of (B) a football field, scientists have identified a star emitting pulses of radio waves 400 light-years from Earth as (C) the closest star ever found. No error (D)

• A

• B

• C

• D