First Certificate Composition Problems
Look at these corrected errors from compositions. You can see my comments about the words in blue by moving your mouse over the numbers in brackets [1]
First Certificate Gold:
Unit 1 (Informal letter about a holiday)
Unit 2 (Transactional letter applying
for a job)
Unit 3 (Article about keeping pets)
We enjoyed ourselves [1]a lot.
….. after getting
[2]back from my holiday
….. to tell
[3]you about my holiday
It was the best that I’ve had[4] in my life!
This summer [5]I planned to go to
My friend and I [6]had booked hotels ……
The travel agency gave
us back[7] all the money.
From the moment[8] we landed at JFK airport
You’d do better to go on
foot[9].
I went to
I’m looking
forward to hearing from you.[11]
We enjoyed our holiday a lot[12].
… on [13]the beach ….
I hope we’ll see each other[14] soon.
riences[15]
…my delay in replying [16]to you….
I had left [17]my address book in
I’ve been[18] very busy recently.
The beaches there [20]are amazing!
I hope [23]you had a good holiday.
….. to tell
[24]you about my holiday
I decide to[25] write this letter.
…a lot of lovely places like [26]
We enjoyed our holiday a lot[27].
I will not be able
to[28] start work until then.
I would like to know if the job would
involve going out[29] with the group at [30]night.
….how many hours a [32]day I would be working.
I could probably [33]resolve it.
I can only [34]come to an interview in the evenings.
I would also [35]like to know …..
At present[36] I am working in a bookshop.
Nowadays[37], people watch television more than
they read books.
Last year I worked [38]with a family for six months to
improve my English.
The worst thing[39] was the food, which always smelt and
tasted the same.
It is
a long time since ….. v. It has been[40] a long time since …..
…a long time since I last wrote [41]to you.
I haven’t written[42] to you for a long time.
.. they
don’t want their pet any longer[43].
It’s a little bit bigger and older[44].
Seeing [45]the smile on
your child’s face is very rewarding.
Having an [46]animal as a member of the family …..
Man’s [47]best friend is the dog.
Are people aware of [48]the responsibilities a pet brings?
You can never [49]leave them alone.
Dogs are especially important for the blind[50].
The seasons when [51]pets are most often abandoned are …..
They wouldn’t do this ever again[52].
For centuries[53] people and dogs have lived together
…
However[54], living [55]with an animal brings
responsibilities…
Are you ready to look after it throughout [56]its life?
At first a pet is a novelty[57], but …..
The problems begin later[58], when …..
…. look after it for such a long
time[59].
If you don’t like pets, don’t buy one[60]!
If [62]you have a small flat it might [63]be better to have a cat or a
budgerigar.
[1]‘enjoy’ must have a direct
object.
[2]You must use a gerund after a preposition
[3]‘explain’ is when someone else
cannot understand something. ‘tell’ is when they don’t
have the information
[4]present perfect when you are talking about the past up to now
[5]Time phrases can go at the beginning or the end of the
sentence
[6]‘I’ is the subject of the verb so you can’t use ‘me’
‘ [7]give back’
means the same as ‘return’ and is what English people use here
[8]‘Since’ refers to a period continuing up to now. If the
period has already finished then use ‘From the moment’
[9]‘go on foot’ or ‘walk’ but not
‘go walking’, which is a hobby rather than a way of travelling
[10]‘to
[11]This is THE phrase to use
[12]This is where ‘a lot’ goes. That is after the
complement of the verb not between the verb and its complement
[13]The preposition of place for ‘beach is ‘on’ not ‘in’
[14]not reflexive, but mutual
[15]hyphenation is not done when writing by hand
[16]use a gerund after a preposition
[17]Strictly speaking it is either ‘I left x in
[18]Present perfect with recently
[19]‘on’ is the correct
proposition of place with ‘island’
[20]‘in there’ is wrong here. When
there refers to a specific place it doesn’t have a preposition
[21]If you enjoyed it, it was ‘fun’, if you laughed as you
do with a joke it was ‘funny’
[22]Instead of using a reflexive verb, we often use a
phrasal verb in English
[23]‘hope’ means that you want it
to be true. ‘expect’ means you think it is true, but
you don’t say how you feel about it
[24]‘explain’ is when the problem
is to understand something. ‘tell’ is when they don’t
have know
[25]Decide is followed by the infinitive with ‘to’ like most verbs about plans and decisions
[26]when you give examples informally ‘like’ is the perfect way to start the list
[27]This is where ‘a lot’ goes - after the complement of
the verb not between the verb and its complement
[28]‘can’ only has two tenses, so you must use ‘able to’ if you want to use other tenses
[29]verbs will always be in the gerund when they are the direct object of another verb
[30]c.f. in the morning/afternoon/evening, during the day
[31]In British English, at least, you write ‘to’ people and institutions
[32]you can also use ‘per’ here, but it is much more formal and more suitable for a report, for example
[33]this is the position for ‘probably’- after the first part of a complex verb form
[34]this is where ‘only’ goes in the sentence - after the first part of a complex verb form
[35]this is where ‘also’ goes in the sentence - after the first part of a complex verb form
[36]‘At present’ suggests that it is true at the time of speaking but is not a permanent situation
[37]‘Nowadays’ is perfect for comparing the times we live in and other eras
[38]we use the simple past to refer to ‘habits in the past’ in English
[39]You must include a word like ‘thing’ here as ‘The worst’ needs a noun after it
[40]50% of the examples I found used one form and 50% the other
[41]the simple past refers to a single action in the past at a time mentioned
[42]This is the normal way to say this. The present perfect refers to the time up to now
[43]Remember we use ‘long’ when talking about time: “How long did it take?”
[44]don’t use ‘more’ here. Also notice “She is more intelligent and prettier then..”
[45]At the beginning of a sentence it is more likely to be the gerund, as it is the ‘noun’
[46]Only use ‘one’ when you don’t mean ‘two’ or more
[47]My brother’s girlfriend’s dog is an Alsatian.
[48]‘to be aware of’ means to know about, particularly when there are problems
[49]This is where (frequency) adverbs go – after the first part of complex verbs, but after simple tenses of the verb ‘to be’
[50]Adjectives cannot be put in the plural to refer to the group. We use ‘the’ + adj
[51]relative pronoun for time
[52]‘ever’ just adds emphasis – it can’t be ‘never’ as the verb is negative
[53]a good way to start a sentence like this
[54]This shows a contrast with the previous sentence
[55]the ‘noun’ form
[56]= ‘during all’
[57]something new and exciting is ‘ a novelty’
[58]Not ‘after’, which is a preposition as in “After supper they…..”
[59]we use ‘long’ and to talk about time, and ‘such’ is needed when there is a noun after the adjective. Otherwise it could be ‘for so long’
[60]‘one’ is the pronoun for ‘a pet’, ‘it’ can only be used for a specific pet
[61]‘agree’ is a verb not an adjective, so you use ‘do’ and ‘don’t’
[62]‘In case’ can only be used to talk about precautions.
[63]‘might’ is good for giving more general advice rather than suggesting something. “You could get a cat!”
| ©Chris Fry December, 1999 - November, 2002 Contact: Chris.Fry@worldonline.es Last updated: 23 November, 2002 17:43 CET |