On those short winter days over the
Christmas and new year holiday, much people enjoying resting at home and eat
traditionally foods; turkeys and all trimmings, the fruit cakes, the plum
pudding, and minced meat pies. To sit by the fire is also a benefit as the
weathers usually cold than but some people are liking participating in winter
sport.
1. Determiner
error:
As we are in winter right now, the short days are close at hand, so use "these" instead of "those." Some people may not have taken this paragraph to be about this winter in particular. In that case, "those" may be correct.
2. Capitalization:
New Year is a proper noun, so it needs capital letters.
3. Quantifier
error:
"Much" is used with uncountable nouns. Since "people" can be counted, use "many."
4. Verb form:
For typical or repeated activity, use the simple present tense. People "enjoy" things. And since they enjoy things, you need a noun as the object. In this case, we need the gerund: enjoy "resting" and "eating"
5. Word form error:
Before a noun use an adjective not an adverb. Change “traditionally” to
“traditional.”
6. Punctuation:
Since "traditional foods" is followed by a list of examples, you should use a colon to introduce them. a dash would also be appropriate here.
7. Plural or
singular:
Most people need only one turkey and one fruit cake, so keep these nouns singular.
8. Article use:
"All the trimmings" is an idiom that takes the definite article ("the"). "Fruit cakes" and "plum puddings" may also use the definite article (to indicate that these are familiar kinds of foods), but the result is a little stiff.
9. Word form:
This
is tricky. The correct word is 'mincemeat.' It sounds the same as 'minced meat,' but is quite different. Mincemeat is a mixture
of fruit in a sweet sauce.
10. Gerund or
infinitive:
"To sit" is grammatically correct, but it is more usual to say "sitting" in this context.
11. Noun or
adjective:
"A benefit" is correct, but the more usual usage here would be the
adjective "beneficial."
12. Word form:
"Weathers" is not a plural; here the meaning is "weather is" which can be
contracted to "weather’s."
13. Word confusion:
When you are referring to a time, use “then.” “Than” is a word used in
comparisons.
14. Verb tense:
This is similar to (4) above. When something is generally true use the simple present tense and not the
present progressive, change "are liking" to "like."
15. Punctuation:
“But” introduces an independent clause, so use a comma before it.
Suggested
solution:
On these short winter days over the Christmas and New Year
holiday, many people enjoy resting at home and eating traditional foods: turkey and all the trimmings, fruit
cake, plum pudding, and mincemeat pies. Sitting by the fire is also beneficial
as the weather’s usually cold then, but some people like participating in winter sport.
Welcome to the English 177-189 Blog. English 177 is English for Academic Purposes; English 189 is English for Business. These courses may be taken separately or as part of the English Language Proficiency Program.The goal is to increase communication between students and instructors, and also provide you with an opportunity to communicate with each other. If you post general questions about the assignments or the course, they will be answered in the blog. If you have detailed questions you want answered, then e-mail your instructor.