Sentence_writing_Exercises_(to_Ss)

Exercise 1

Correct the following sentences by replacing the wordy expressions with clearer, more concise words and phrases.

1.I am not in a position to pay your tuition expenses due to the fact that I am

presently financially embarrassed.

2.Did your sister’s homemade pie meet with your approval?

3.Our holidays occur during the same time that our golf club is holding its

Summerfest Golf Tournament.

4.Our math teacher, on many occasions, has given us short, unexpected quizzes.

5.I cannot go to the game tonight because of the fact that I have to work overtime.

6.We cannot stay long at the party, but we will certainly put in an appearance.

7.Please avail yourself of the opportunity to join our operational planning

committee.

8.Tricia thinks that we can still register for the college ski trip, but I am of the

opinion that the registration is now closed.

9.I know how you feel about our unfortunate loss, but I would like to say that I feel

confident about our next game.

10.Mike’s newly decorated family room is similar in character to my uncle’s family

room.

11.She is, beyond the shadow of doubt, a first-rate actress.

12.We shall, in the near future, settle the overdue account.

13.She has only a small number of hockey tickets left to distribute.

14.I could not see any apparent reason for her refusal to join our study group.

15.For the purpose of clarity, please afford us an opportunity to ask pertinent

questions.

16.The college registrar is at the present-time in receipt of your application for the

business program.

17.I suppose I can make allowances inasmuch as you offered to write the make-up

test.

18.Until such time as she agrees to return our books, we will not allow her to use our

locker.

19.My company will send you, at a later date, a catalogue of our products.

20.Cody seldom ever wears neckties.

21.I have come to the conclusion that smoking in airplanes should be forbidden.

22.My birthday is celebrated late in the month of December subsequent to Christmas.

23.We need a tool along the lines of a socket wrench.

24.As to whether we will change our present policy remains to be seen.

25.We are not accepting any more job applications at the present time.

26.I am thinking in terms of baseball when I used the term “line drive.”

27.In the event that he doesn’t agree to our plan, we will proceed without him.

28.We will in the last analysis agree to their terms.

29.Mara missed her finance class on account of her car had a flat tire.

30.I will accept the prize money on condition that I can share it with my teammates.

Exercise 2

Remove the redundancies in the following sentences, if necessary, change the articles to suit the alteration (e.g. a to an). Alternatively, rewrite the following sentences.

1.From where we were standing, the space shuttle was barely visible to the eye as it

approached the California coast.

2.I will not repeat again my instructions to the class.

3.Please place the mirror up above the mantle.

4.This is an expensive and costly medical procedure; I think we should discuss it

further.

5.Grant does not have a single solitary reason to deny our request.

6.We intend to join up with our friends for the peace march.

7.They are bound and determined to get their way.

8.I wish Harvey would return back the money that he borrowed months ago.

9.My uncle is an experienced veteran of the police department.

10.That our gym instructor was once a famous ballet dancer is the honest truth.

11.When I entered the old, isolated farm house, a cold shiver went down my back.

12.I know that my work is not yet agreeable and satisfactory, but don’t forget, I am a

new beginner.

13.Heinz tried to change my mind about our marketing strategy, but my position on

this subject is firm and fixed.

14.The department store gave out free gifts, which was an new innovation in its

promotional campaign.

15.Sergeant Cooper was engaged in secret and covert activity for the RCMP.

16.Anna-Maria’s statue of the sixteenth-century monk is an exact replica of the one I

saw in a French art museum.

17.Our company’s commitment to equal opportunity is complete and total.

18.Our antique coffee grinder may be small in size, but it is very unique.

19.After our soccer team entirely eliminated the second place team from the playoffs,

we were ready for the championship game.

20.The basic fundamentals of electricity was taught by Professor Stevens.

21.I am afraid I will have to cancel out our dinner engagement.

22.The consensus of opinion of the delegates was that the resolution should be

adopted at once.

23.Please continue on with your report.

24.Each and every rose on the bush was in bloom.

25.We rarely ever eat dinner before seven o’clock.

26.The reason why I phoned was to ask you about our homework assignment.

27.I cannot attend your party; the reason is because I have to meet my parents at the

airport.

28.Please refer back to the introduction in your textbooks.

29.I do not know where the telephone directory is at.

Exercise 4

Improve the diction in the following sentences if necessary.

1.First, we must memory so many new words if we want to learn English well.

2.As the developing of scientific, scientists can answer the most enigmatic puzzles

of human nature in some parts.

3.By now, we have harvested in some parts of Genetic Engineering.

4.On occasion, we make business with foreigners, the best choose is English.

5.Hence, all of the difficulties that we face now will be conquered in the future and

the genetic engineering is a markstone in the history of the human development.

6.With the technology better and better, I believe that it’s going to be a brave new

world.

7.Genetic engineering is to decipher the complete genome, find the real genes that

cause the hereditary diseases.

8.And now, the scientists over the world are associating to devoting to the genetic

engineers. And many governments are cost much in this.

9.In the modern day, many foreign capital enterprises rush into Chinese market, …

10.Though we have studied English for about 15 years old, but we can’t master it.

11.Some other hold that genetic engineering will not achieve in being used in any

other science.

12.If we could not find work after graduate, we can have a try with English.

13.I have joined job for eight years after graduation. I also think English is very

important. But in my day to day work, we use English very little.

14.For one thing, there doesn’t exist a true atmosphere in which we can frequently

use English.

15.People are knowing their body in minute detail with the help of genetic

engineering.

16.But different people have different purposes of their own to learn English. These

people, such as some students, want to go abroad to study.

17.There are plenty of teaching-buildings in our university.

18.Meals will be served outside on the terrace, weather allowing.

19.She was in some way ripe and some ways rather a child.

20.You have got to pay penalties for overdue books.

21.The fridge smelled strongly of addled butter.

22.A rancid egg is one that has gone bad.

Exercise 5

Underline the fragments below. Then make the changes necessary to form complete sentences.

1.I look forward to holidays. For example, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

2.The table was covered with fresh vegetables. Such as lettuce, carrots, spinach, and

squash.

3.Ron tries to call home once a week. To stay in touch with his family.

4.To have the themes graded by 8:00. The instructor worked two hours after school.

5.These are oranges. That my sister shipped us from California.

6.Speaking in a calm voice. The flight attendant reached for the fire extinguisher.

7.To arrive before class begins. I have to leave the apartment by 7 a.m.

8.They are having a party tomorrow. Because it is Jill’s birthday.

9.If you know who did it. Please don’t tell anyone but me.

10.Since Bill is broke. He plans to look for a job after school.

11.The test directions, difficult to follow and often vague.

12.I often do my homework. While talking on the phone with my boy friend.

13.Colds and sore throats a frequent problem of students during the winter months.

Exercise 6

Correct the following comma splices.

1.He looked all over the house, he couldn’t find his glasses.

2.Sometimes I ride the bus to school, sometimes I ride with my neighbour.

3.Andy was late to work, he ran all the way.

4.Gary ran well Friday, he won first in the 100-yard dash.

5.I finished washing the car, I waxed the kitchen floor.

6.Sue seldom follows a recipe, she is a great cook.

7.Christmas holidays are marvelous, I am always ready to get back to school.

8.Gone with the Wind is extremely long, it is never boring.

9.No one came to the party, it was a complete failure.

10.Human nature is seldom as simple as it appears, hasty judgment are therefore

often wrong.

Exercise 7 Correct the following run-ons.

1.Few couples realize the high cost of raising a child from birth through college one

study estimates the expense to be between $80,000 and $100,000.

2.The dog suddenly attacked we had to run to close the gate.

3.My brother runs a mile every morning he says running makes him feel better all

day.

4.Max’s favorite subject is English he doesn’t always have time to read everything

he needs to.

5.Ray is a fine plumber he charges too much for his work.

6.Jason used to live in our dorm I got to know him very well.

7.Janet wants to be in politics one day she is majoring in government.

8.San Francisco boasts two record-breaking streets one is the steepest the other is

the most crooked.

9.The highest suspension bridge in the world spans Royal Gorge over the Arkansas

River in Colorado it is 1,053 feet above the river.

https://www.wendangku.net/doc/da9718380.html,st month Ralph quit smoking he lost his smoker’s cough within a few days.

Exercise 8

Correct the run-ons in the following Arabic story. If possible, use combining words; but remember that it is not always possible: periods are not always bad.

A long time ago there lived a man named Ali Baba, he was a simple woodcutter. One day Ali Baba was in the forest cutting trees after awhile he got tired so he climbed a tree to rest. He slept in the tree, he was awakened by a noise beneath him. Below him he saw a man, he approached a huge rock on the side of a hill. The man said, “Open Sesame,” the rock rolled to one side. The man entered the cave, stayed for awhile and came out. He said “Close Sesame,” the rock rolled back into place and the man left.

Ali Baba waited for awhile. He was sure it was safe, he climbed down, went to the rock and said “Open Sesame.” The rock rolled away, he entered the cave excitedly. There he saw many boxes, the boxes were full of diamonds and money. While he was looking at the boxes in amazement he heard a group of men approaching, he hid behind a large box. The men turned out to be thieves, they began talking about robbing a house in the village that night. One of the thieves said he would sneak into the village and put a cross on the door of the house so the other robbers would know which house to go to. The robbers all agreed to this idea, then they left.

Ali Baba hurried back to his village as fast as possible wondering how he could stop the thieves. Then he had an idea: He got some paint and went around the village painting a cross on every door, the thieves would be confused when they arrived. The plan worked. When the thieves arrived they were so confused that the villagers captured them easily. They locked them all up, they ran to the cave where they found enough treasure to make them all rich for the rest of their lives!

Exercise 9 Locate the dangling modifiers in the following sentences; then write each sentence correctly.

1.Celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary, the family dinner was held at my

sister’s house.

2.Hanging on the wall, she glanced in the mirror.

3.Speeding across the country on Japan’s high-speed train, the scenery is

breathtaking.

4.Waving flags and throwing colored streamers, the returning veterans were greeted

by the townspeople.

5.Having just broken the world high jump record, the trophy was awarded.

6.Having weathered several hurricanes in the past, the decision was made to remain

at home and protect the livestock.

7.Barking furiously to frighten away the strangers, we tried to calm the dog.

8.Watching from the window, an ambulance raced toward my house.

9.Being a poor student, no one dreamed Einstein would ever amount to anything.

10.When writing a sentence, special care should be given to modifiers.

11.Having cleaned and waxed the floor, the room looked spotless again.

12.Looking off across the field, a black rain cloud was moving toward the parched

town.

Exercise 10

Improve the following sentences if necessary.

1.English is not only have effect on our lives, but also on our work.

2.Only by this, I can overcome all the difficulties that confront me and achieve

success in my English.

3.We make more mistakes, the more improvement we can get.

4.Many years ago, most people didn’t know what is genetic engineering, what is

DNA.

5.I find English give me the most difficulty and disturb.

6.Some others would not go abroad, rather want to find a good job in our country.

7.As a summary, I am confident about GE’s future. Although there may be risks.

8.There were scientists announced in Nature that they had crippled a mosquito’s

ability to transmit malaria.

9.In my opinion, there are lots of reasons lead us to learn English and don't bother it.

10.There are many papers talk about genetic engineering.

11.There are so many nations used English as their second language or even official

language.

12.As there are so many people learn English, the best choose is learning English.

13.There’re more than quarter people of the plant is native Chinese.

14.We must learn more from the developed countries. While most of these countries

speak English. Hence, we have to perfect our English so that to bring in some advanced devices…

15.It is well-know that learning English, on one hand, is essential to university

students, but on the other hand it also bother them.

16.No matter what reason lead us to study English, we must learn about the

importance of the English.

17.As we all know, to remember words is another kind of bothersome thing. To

remember them, you have to read after read, practice by practice!

18.Unfortunately, our Chinese students spend much time and money in studying

English, but we attain little. More haste, less speed. We must find the cooperative way to learn English.

19.But, just as the phrase says “every coin has two sides,” not everyone are good at

English and I am included unlucked.

20.Deng Yaping is a very excellent athlete. She won many world championships.

21.We are asked by the instructor to write a composition entitled “My Most Favorite

TV Program.”

22.I was very, very tired after a week’s work.

23.We have learned many useful vocabularies from the novel Oliver Twist.

24.He knows five Romance languages, such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

and Romanian.

25.I hold different opinions with you.

26.The school where my cousin is teaching there was established only last year.

27.Jimmy came from a place where nobody knew.

28.Except you go with me, I shall no go.

29.Who disregards these regulations will be punished.

30.Like some children are very picky about their food, some people are very picky

about the books they choose to read.

31.I am waiting that someone tells me what it’s all about.

32.According to me, we should spend more money on education.

33.I like reading about ghosts and similar mysterious phenomenons.

34.Unemployment has become a serious problem for the last few years.

35.I shall either go home to China or my family will come to England.

36.He realized that he had actually learned nothing and the semester came to an end.

(before)

37.Abraham Lincoln died, and Andrew Johnson became the President of the United

States. (succeed)