造句练习

Writing Practice

I. Correct the mistakes in the following sentences if there are any. 1. He will visit the biggest city in the world is certain. 2. The joy of joys is the joy to join in the joy of others.

3. My wife keeps all her old things. For example, the faded handkerchief I bought her

five years ago.

4. Mary got the job because she is a quick typist.

5. The boss first introduced the chief engineer to the workers and then went on

explaining the company regulations.

6. I waited in the outer office till three, I left without telling the nurse. 7. There is still a room for improvement in your work.

8. I believe it is important to invest in new machinery rather than to increase wages. 9. We leave at seven, arrived in Shanghai at midnight and take a plane to Tokyo. 10. I'd rather you do it right now.

11. My hair needs to cut but I hate waiting hours for my turn.

12. When got out of bed, he hit his toe on the chair standing by the bedside. 13. To learn Chinese cooking, a lot of practice is needed. 14. She looks calmly in face of the serious situation.

15. Mary is more capable of the three girls who have tried out for the part in this play. 16. It was between 1830 and 1835 that the modem newspaper was born.

17. In writing the most important is to make yourself understanding and reasonable

with good logic.

18. The boy demonstrated an interest and talent for writing. 19. John wanted a job rather than to apply for welfare.

20. Abraham Lincoln was self-educated, hard-working, and honest.

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Continuation and Adding

II. Now study the examples carefully and pay attention to the sentence structure,

punctuation, and the words used for combination. Then try to combine the following pairs of sentences, using the linking words listed above. In some cases, however, there are different ways of combination when different words are used. As a result the sentence structure may vary.

Examples:

Mr Smith is both an amateur athlete and a fast-rate teacher.

Mr Smith is not only an amateur athlete, but also a first-rate teacher. Mr Smith is a first-rate teacher as well as an amateur athlete. Mr Smith is an amateur athlete; moreover he's a first-rate teacher.

1. The clouds had disappeared. The day was ideal.

2. I have no suitable dress to wear. I don't like to go.

3. America realises the need for an arms agreement. Russia realises the need for an arms agreement. 4. She is a good housewife She is a first-class artist. 5. Your book is not in your desk. It is not on the shelf. 6. I have no money to give you. You don't need any help.

7. Dry weather can destroy cattle food.

The cattle themselves may become sick and die. 8. Cars are dangerous machines. They are expensive.

Mr Smith is an amateur athlete. He is a first-rate teacher.

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Taking Care of Tense Sequence

III. Make necessary corrections of tenses in the following sentences.

1. Last Wednesday Mary told her teacher that she has completed her library work. 2. He wondered if the mail has been collected.

3. We already knew that Shanghai has one of the most pleasant climates on earth. 4. Bill sleeps while others worked.

5. This is the first time I have been completely on my own. If I don't succeed, at least I

had my chance.

6. The president died before his wife had reached the hospital. 7. We had to walk in darkness because the electricity is out. 8. The professor said that he will visit London the next month. 9. They decided to have a break when they worked for two hours.

10. Some specialists have convinced us that most animals were harmless, that

thousands of travelers flew safely every, day, and millions of people rode safely in elevators several times each day.

Contrast

in spite of nevertheless whereas still

on the contrary however but yet

IV. Now combine the following pairs of sentences using the linking words above.

Pay attention to sentence structure, punctuation, etc. and make proper changes where necessary.

Example: The workers worked as hard as they could. The boss was not satisfied.

-- The workers worked as hard as they could, but/yet the boss was not

satisfied.

-- The workers worked as hard as they could; however the boss was

not satisfied.

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1. He is not poor.

He is one of the richest men of the world.

2. Fire is dangerous.

We can find ways to protect us from fire.

3. I tried many times. Luck was against me.

4. It was windy and rainy.

The children enjoyed themselves.

5. Learning English can be very interesting.

It takes a lot of time to remember the new words.

6. Steel is in short supply. (a shortage of steel)

The industrial output has increased by five per cent.

7. Failure after failure could not make them feel despaired. They tried to draw experience from failures.

8. The soldier was badly wounded. He kept on fighting.

9. Your composition is good. There is room for improvement.

10. They want to travel by plane. We would rather take a train.

11. My watch has kept good time for quite a few years now., It used to go wrong from time to time.

12. The boy is shy and quiet. His sister is lively and talkative.

Subject-Verb Agreement

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V. The following exercises are grouped under A, B, C, and D, each standing for a type of

agreement between subject and verb. Finish the exercises by yourself and then discuss the relationship between subject and verb with the help of your classmates or your teachers.

Models: There is a wooden table, four old-fashioned chairs and a small bed in the

Chairman's living room.

There are three cows and a horse in the field.

Relationship: When a sentence begins with there be, the verb usually agrees with the nearest subject.

A. 1. My mother, as well as my father, ___________(have) a key to the office: 2. The tree with all its leaves _____________(give) a beautiful shade. 3. The boy like his father ____________ (enjoy) swimming in the small river 4. The man together with his wife and children _________(sit) there watching TV. 5. The teacher rather than the students __________(be) responsible for that. 6. No one except/but those present at the party __________ (know) anything about the matter.

7. All the teachers including the head of the department __________(be) happy to

attend the discussion held by the students.

8. The president, accompanied by his ministers, ____________(be) present at the

opening ceremony of the conference.

9. The reading course book, plus its reference books, ____________(be) helpful to college students.

10. The students don't have a lot of time for pleasure, as English, besides other

subjects, _____________ (take up ) a lot of their time.

Relationship: When a subject is followed by a phrase beginning with as well as,

with, like, together with, rather than, except, but, including, accompanied,

by,

plus,

besides,

etc.,

the

verb

______________________________________________________________________________________________________.

B.1. It's surprising that neither the father nor the children ____________ (has

prepared/have prepared ) something for the Christmas party.

2. Either you or he _______________(is not telling/are not telling) the truth.

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He lost his chance to have a try.

10. She was too sick to go on with her work. We sent her home for a rest.

Avoiding Pronoun shifts

Unsuitable pronoun shifts either in person or in number often make your reader feel confused. Look at the following examples to find how these pronoun shifts break sentence consistency.

NOT CLEAR: If one works reasonably hard, you can learn to speak a foreign (WRONG) language in a few months.

RIGHT: If one works reasonably hard, he/one can learn to speak a foreign

language in a few months.

NOTES: The unnecessary shift from \

NOT CLEAR: I think a man should choose their own friends. ( W R()NG )

CLEAR: I think a man should choose his own friends. NOTES: That's careless shift from singular person to plural \

Rewrite the following sentences that contain unsuitable pronoun shifts.

1. When a student reads a poem, they often give their own interpretations. 2. Many people take a holiday to rest yourself.

3. Workers have to get to work early if you want a parking place. 4. The town library needs supplies and they are asking for your support.

5. October 1 is the National Day of China. They always celebrate it very

enthusiastically.

6. The classes were so large that the professor could hardly remember their names. 7. Everyone should do as well as you can on the road test. 8. A college student should be able to do their own washing. 9. People on airplanes can have the kind of food he likes best.

10. Most of us know that if we want to cook nourishing meals you need fresh food.

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Subordination

In English there is a long list of subordinators; each subordinator establishes a different relationship or connection between ideas. Some of the most common subordinators are:

alter before when until while unless as as if so that in case once where because although as soon as by the time if

We have the freedom, of course to certain extent only, to decide on the

most appropriate subordinator to serve our purpose. Keep in mind that different subordinators produce different effects. Compare the following two sentences:

If I was happy, I went to the movies.

Because I was happy, I went to the movies.

By changing if to because, we can move from uncertainty to certainty.

Combine each of the following pairs of sentences into one sentence, emphasizing what you' think is important. Choose the most appropriate subordinators to establish logic and reasonable relationships between the two ideas.

Example: I slept ten hours last night. I 'm still tired.

-- Although I slept ten hours last night, I 'm still tired.

1. I was taking a bath. The phone rang.

2. Henry's shoelace broke.

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He was late for work.

3. I had to walk to the train station. The car wouldn't start.

4. I stayed up until three o 'clock in the morning. I reviewed physics for the coming examination.

5. Jack fell down. He broke his leg. 6. I dislike her. She is too talkative.

7. They wrote the advertisement in several different languages. Foreign businessmen of different countries could understand it.

8. I '11 make another cake.

Someone drops in at the weekend.

9. I have finished writing. I '11 give you a call.

10. He arrives here.

He '11 tell us all about the match.

11. You don't like him. You should be polite.

12. You can't answer the question. You'd better ask your teacher.

13. Mary was behaving childishly. She hadn't grown up.

14. He was in a hurry. He left his bag at home.

15. They hurried to the airport.

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The plane had taken off.

16. I can't tell you anything about it. You promise not to let it out.

17. The ancients knew nothing about these things. We know a little.

18. You heat ice. It turns to water.

Combine the following pairs of sentences establishing the relationship of modification between the two ideas.

Model: The policeman reported the accident. The policeman thinks it was Tom's fault.

-- The policeman who reported the accident thinks it was Tom's fault.

1. This is the house. Jack built the house.

2. The farmer has gone mad. His horse was stolen.

3. It is dangerous to drink 'the water. The water has not been boiled.

4. I have seen the house. Lenin was born in the house.

5. Our high school building is a fireproof structure. The building was put up in 1928.

6. Millie visited Pauline.

Pauline's house is not far away.

7. My uncle gave me a big birthday cake. The cake is as big as a small table.

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8. Tom read his English book loudly. This annoyed his sister.

9. This is a very good apartment.

I want to rent it for the summer vacation.

10. The book has already gone through several editions. The book only appeared a year ago.

Avoiding Subject Shifts

To make every sentence unmistakably clear~ we should try to keep subjects consistent and avoid any awkward, aimless, and illogical shifts. The following is an example of subject shift, which sounds awkward and causes misunderstanding.

NOT CLEAR: They first discussed their plan and then the English evening began. CLEAR: They first discussed their plan and then began the English evening. NOTES: The unnecessary shift of the subjects from \to \English

evening\breaks sentence consistency and creates difficulty in understanding.

Rewrite the following sentences that contain unnecessary subject shifts.

1. John worked hard for three years, and then a job was given to him that let him use his

special talent.

2. My brother wants to be a musician, but teaching is my future profession. 3. He repaired the radio and then his homework received his attention.

4. Before inventors made the first steamboats, many technical problems had to be

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solved by them.

5. In the fall he returned to college and all his energies were now devoted to his studies. 6. We traveled through this province and many strange old customs were observed. 7. He studied his lesson diligently, and it was soon learnt.

8. The child soon learns to put the alphabet together to form words, and these words

may later be recognized in the book.

9. You taught me how to play baseball, but there are no chances to play it.

10. As soon as you know the topic, you should go to the library and at least two books

should be found on the subject. Avoiding Awkward Separations

Avoid awkward separation of closely related sentence elements, such as

subject and verb, verb and object, or parts of a prepositional phrase.

Awkward: She, since the manager seemed to dislike her, simply went to the other

company. (awkward separation of subject and verb )

Revised: Since the manager seemed to dislike her, she simply went to the other

company.

Awkward: The corruption of the English language, Orwell says, is caused by in large

part politicians. (awkward separation of a prepositional phrase )

Revised: The corruption of the English language, Orwell says, is caused in large

part by politicians.

Revise the following sentences to remove any awkward separation of sentence elements.

l. I was taught that I was to never place my finger on that book.

2. He, because he had got in the way of the soldier, had been wounded badly. 3. Joe Louis collected through his fights millions of dollars. 4. George felt, after the game was over, depressed. 5. We're staying at, for the time being, the local hotel.

6. We knew that Alice was, when she accepted the invitation, getting herself into troubles.

7. I am one of those unfortunate people who seem to at all times forget names. 8. The curtains hide the garages that can through the big double window be seen.

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Combination or Subordination

Combination and subordination are means of thought relationship within a

sentence. Whether a specific part or a thought should be coordinated or subordinated is largely dependent upon the context or sometimes upon your purpose. Compare the following sentences to find out how the same two ideas present different effects when they are connected in different ways;

He is ill; therefore he stays at home. (relationship of consequence )

He stays at home because he is ill. (relationship of cause-and-effect )

Read the following sentences and determine the relationship between the two parts. Fill each gap in the sentences with one of the words listed. Remember that each word can be used only once.

because although whenever before since after when unless as where but and

or for ' nor

1. _____________I love my brother, I argue with him,

2. I think I '11 visit the White House ___________I am in Washington, D. C. 3. ______________you give me back my passport, I '11 call the police. 4. Make up your mind, _____________you '11 miss the chance. 5. They took our seats _____________we left. 6. We left ______________they took our seats.

7. We must start early, _____________we have a long way to go. 8. ______________there's smoke, there's fire.

9. _____________we eat in the restaurant, we run into Professor O'Connor. 10. Mr. Bloggs doesn't smoke, ______________does his brother.

11. ________it's raining heavily outside, why don't you stay with us overnight? 12. He couldn't promise to change his behavior, __________he promised to try. 13. We camped there ________________it was too dark to go on.

14. His wife was distressed, _______________his children were frightened.

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15. ______________ we hadn't any money left we couldn't buy anything more.

Watching out for Fragments

Generally speaking every sentence should have a subject(S) and a verb (V). Some sentence patterns have other necessary parts such as adverbial (A), object(O), and complement(C). A word group that lacks a subject or a verb or some necessary parts and that does not express a complete thought is a fragment.

FRAGMENT: The man was racing down the street. Because he was late. REVISED: The man was racing down the street because he was late.

A. Eliminate fragments in the following sentences.

1. He dislikes the man. Who wanted to borrow his money.

2.Although she never went to Britain. She spoke English like an Englishwoman.

3. My daughter enjoys ice cream. Especially when she is relaxing on a hot summer day.

4. I met her about several years ago. Before she graduated from college.

5. I admire Henry. Because he is clever.

6. I began sleeping better now. After I stopped drinking coffee.

7. Fred went to the ice-box to get milk. And discovered none left in it.

8. There were ten machines stood in the workshop.

9. Although Tom is an electronics technician. He hopes to become an electrical engineer.

I0. Europe's rail system is quick, cheap and efficient. While European roads are primitive.

B. Identify the sentence fragments in the following passage and rewrite them.

In the spring of 1982. I had a severe case of the flu. And had spent the first three

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days of my illness in bed. I ran a high temperature. Only getting up to take care of the necessities of life. On Friday, the sixth day of my illness, rained heavily from early morning on. The wind blew hard outside. In addition, the room damp and chilly. My fever seemed higher than ever. In late afternoon, I took my pillow and blanket into the living room. Because I was sick of bed and had decided to lie on the sofa and watched television. I watched a few programs and including a football match. Then I must have fallen asleep. When I suddenly woke up there was total silence surrounded me. I was absolutely terrified. Because I was sure that I had died. Then somewhere in the blackness ahead of me. I saw and recognized a small spot of light. I slowly realized it was coming from the television set. And that there had been a power failure. Eliminating Run-on Sentences

In a run-on sentence, two complete ideas, which should be either separated by

a period or a semicolon connected by a linking word, are incorrectly joined with or without a comma.

RUN-ON: The workers voted to strike, the engineers decided to stay on the job. REVISED: The workers voted to strike; the engineers decided to stay on the job.

OR: The workers voted to strike, but engineers decided to stay on the job.

OR: The workers voted to strike while the engineers decided to stay on the job.

Eliminate run-ons in the following sentences.

1. Beijing is nice I am surprised to see snow in October. 2. I go dancing every weekend I am a good dancer.

3. You say you are English I feel you understand what I am talking about in Chinese.

4. Before the car had stopped rolling over the officers were out with their hands on their guns.

5. He was an honest man, he was unhappy most 0fhis life.

6. Everything seemed to be going wrong, I knew that my luck had to change eventually. 7. We were glad to leave the place it was too' hot.

8. The shower went off, luckily I had taken my bath already. 9. Mary doesn't mind cooking, in fact she enjoys it.

10.I have ten more years before retirement by then I should have reached my goal.

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Coordination and Subordination Working Together

Coordination and subordination work together as processes for relating ideas. When we write, we have the choices of coordinating ideas when we want to show equal emphasis or of subordinating one idea to another for varied emphasis.

e.g. She likes her uncle, or to be exact she likes to listen to his amusing stories, which have become

part of her life.

Read the following passage and fill each blank with one of these words:

that who but which and

My father's business seems to have been one of slow but steady growth. He and his local partner, Llewelen Tozer, were good friends. They were devoted to their families ___1___ to the business, ___2___ grew with the town, ___3___, in turn, grew and changed with the State (California) from a gambling, mining, and ranching community to one of farming, fruit-raising, ___4___ building. Immigration came in large numbers, not gold-seekers now, ___5___ farmers, businessmen and home-builders, ___6___ settled, planted, reaped, ___7___ traded in the natural riches of the State, ___8___ grew up quickly. People ___9___ were proud of this would tell you ___10___ they made the State.

Rewrite the following monotonous text by coordinating and/or subordinating those ideas you want to connect.

The words listed before each passage are reference for your use. Some words may be used

more than once. The symbol *stands for the place where a linking word may be used.

A. when and that which and then moreover

At my desk in the office, I opened the morning mail. * I was surprised to find a

bill from the electricity company. * I had already paid it. * I shouted at the company manager on the phone. He apologized. * He offered to send me $ I00 for the mistake.

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At 10:00 I drank a cup of coffee. *l had three cakes. * My head called at 10: 30. We met leisurely for two hours. * I finally told him that I disagreed with his office working methods. He was not a good administrator. * He let the department fall into disorders. *He didn't know how to handle his hands. He thanked me for my honesty. *He gave me $ 50-a-week raise.

B. and as so and then

At 12:30 my day was over. *I gathered my swimming clothes: *I headed for the beach. I lay on the sand the whole afternoon. The day was perfect. * The sky was clear. * The ocean breeze was cool. Suddenly, I felt a strong pull at my foot. * I opened my eyes. It was my wife, pulling my leg in my own bed. \get going.\

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