Error correction 3_answers
- 1. Error Correction 3 Idioma Modern II 2014
- 2. 1. Affirmative / Negative • When you have a baby you don’t have time for nothing. • When you have a baby you don’t have time for anything. • Note: you could also say ‘You have no time’ or ‘You have time for nothing’ (less common).
- 3. 2. Word Order • I like so much your ideas. • I like your ideas so much / I really like your ideas. • Note: this was very common in the forum and Langblog. It is not a huge mistake but the second sentences sound more natural.
- 4. 3. Vocabulary • When we were younger we didn’t appreciate our fathers. • When we were younger we didn’t appreciate our parents. • Note: in English ‘father’ only refers to the male parent
- 5. 4. Vocabulary • Communication with your couple is the most important thing. • Communication with your partner is the most important thing. • Note: ‘couple’ means two people and ‘partner’ means one i.e. ‘boy/girlfriend’ / ‘husband’ / ‘wife’
- 6. 5. Vocabulary • I decided to study the history career. • I decided to study a course / a degree in history. • Note: ‘career’ means work (from Macmillan Dictionary: ‘a job or series of related jobs that you do, especially a profession that you spend a lot of your working life in’). It sounds like ‘carrera’ but does not refer to study.
- 7. 6. Infinitive forms • It’s difficult adapt to a new situation at first. • It’s difficult to adapt to a new situation at first. • Note: ‘it’s + adjective + to infinitive’
- 8. 7. Word choice • Some people buy a puppy for caprice. • Some people buy a puppy on a whim. • Note: the expression ‘do something on a whim’ means to make a quick decision (often to buy something or do something fun). ‘Caprice’ sounds a little antiquated in English.
- 9. 8. Countable / Uncountable • I have found two information about this place. • I have found two pieces of information about this place. • Note: information is uncountable. Lots of people are still making this mistake with advice too – check your writing for this.
- 10. 9. Word form • Study was very bored when I was a student. • Study was very boring when I was a student. • Note: bored is a feeling, boring describes the thing that gives you this feeling. It is the same for other –ed / –ing adjectives e.g. excited / exciting, tired / tiring, worried / worrying
- 11. 10. Word choice • I stayed two months of unemployment. • I was unemployed for two months. • Note: stay does not always translate directly into English. In Spanish ‘me quedé (en situación X)’ would usually be ‘I was (adjective)’
- 12. 11. Prepositions / Verb Forms • The matches could be useful for light a fire. • The matches could be useful to light a fire. • The matches could be useful for lighting a fire. • be + adjective + to (verb) • be + adjective + for (verb –ing)
- 13. 12. Articles • I am very interested in the history. • I am very interested in history. • Note: history (general) takes no article • a specific period can take an article e.g. The history of ancient Egypt is fascinating.
- 14. 13. False friends / Vocabulary • The sheet of plastic would be interesting. • The sheet of plastic would be useful. • interesting refers to something you want to study / learn about / watch / listen to e.g. ‘That’s an interesting movie, I highly recommend it’. • useful refers to something practical e.g. ‘The sheet of plastic would be useful to protect us from the rain’.
- 15. 14. Collocation / false friends • Insect bites could be an important problem. • Insect bites could be a major problem. • important = something positive / necessary e.g. ‘Penicillen was an important discovery’. / ‘It’s important to eat healthily’. • problem = something negative. You can say a big problem / a major problem / a significant problem
- 16. 15. Vocabulary / False Friends • What do you think about my election? • What do you think about my choice? • election is a political event
- 17. • Thanks for the ideas here. It's great to see how other people do error correction. I don't have anything to share from Proelt (yet!) but this is one way I have done correction in my other online job. • I send students a PPT with common errors and have them suggest corrections in the forum and a few days later send the same PPT with answers and a quick explanation. They can then compare and ask more