LGERM1327 – Writing / focus on forms / accuracy (1 Feb.

2022)

I. Accuracy: nouns, determiners/articles and pronouns

1. Fill in the blanks with a/an, the or – (zero article)

1) …………only music I like is …………..classical music.
2) The police arrested two suspects, a man and a woman. ……woman is a 23-year-old student from
San Francisco. (= the woman who was mentioned in the first sentence)
3) My sister is …… architect.
4) Did you lock …. front door? (there is only one front door in the house)
5) Have you seen their car? It’s ....... Tesla.
6) I’ll meet you outside …… library. (the speaker and hearer both know which library is being
referred to)
7) Can I make …… suggestion?
8) …………..French (= French people in general) are fond of ……….red wine. They say ………
red wine is good for your heart.
9) ……. President will make a speech on TV this evening. (there is only one President)

10) This is ……… book that I was telling you about.

11) ………... girls we met at the party last night came from Cambridge.
12) ……… laptops are getting cheaper and cheaper.
13) She kissed me on …… cheek, got into …… Mandy's car and waved goodbye.
14) He’s got a pain in …….. chest.
15) The study shows that ……….girls do better than ……….boys in tests of this type.
16) What ……lovely weather we’ve had!
17) ………most boys are interested in ………..cars.
18) -Did you see ………….Queen on television …………last Saturday? –Are you talking about
…….Queen Elizabeth?
19) ……most of …………..boys in our class want to be football players.

20) We stopped at a roadside café and had …….. bite to eat.

21) I had ……… go on …… Lucy’s new motorbike.
22) Everyone should have ……. say in the peace process. (the right to take part in deciding sth)
23) It’s a nice day – let’s go and have …… swim.
24) You look exhausted! Why don't you take ……….rest?
25) They get paid less than ten dollars ……… hour.
26) I go to the gym once ………. week.
27) Does she work for ……… BBC or …….. NATO?
28) ……… rich (= rich people in general) have benefited most from these tax cuts.
29) What …….. great gig this is!

2 . /!\ Complete the sentences using the or -

a) Please turn to …….page 28 (NB: when the page or section number is specified). vs On
……..next page there is a map of the conference centre.
b) In ……Part C you will find details of the sales figures (NB: when the section or part is labelled).
vs I thought ……part about recent changes in Europe’s competitive landscape was very helpful.
c) …..paragraph 2 discusses our staff problems. vs …….second paragraph needs to be amended.
d) For a full explanation see ………..paragraph 8 below.
e) A copy of the plans for the new building can be found in ………..Appendix 2.
f) That issue is covered in ……..section D of this report.
g) There was something about the takeover in …….business section of The New York Times.
h) How many students are there in ……………. group B?
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3. Proper nouns: Have you seen Jim?
Note that proper nouns can sometimes be used as common nouns:
1) Bill was the Einstein of our family. (=a person like Einstein).
2) She’s a modern Cleopatra. (=a person like Cleopatra)
3) Have you met our neighbours the Carters? (=the family called Carter)
4) There are three Emmas in my class (=people called Emma)

4. Examine the words in bold (and their context):

1) He bought no biscuits. 2) He bought none.
3) He didn’t buy any biscuits. 4) He didn’t buy any.
5) She has no time for this. She doesn’t have any time for this.

5. Fill in the blanks with any, no, none, either or neither.

1) There are eight books on the reading list. I haven't read...........of them yet.
2) They have two daughters. I don't know ..............of them.
3) They are both very young. ...............of them is old enough to have known him.
4) They are all very clever, but ...................of them is clever enough to find the solution.
5) They are both very good. ................of them can win the race.
6) You can park your car on ...................side of the road.
7) Several of Bach's sons were composers, but ..................of them was as great a musician as their
father.
8) I'm afraid that ................. doctor could save him now.
9) I asked two policemen where the museum was, but ....................of them knew there was one in
town.

6. Examine the words in bold (and their context).

a) She bought something for the children. b) She bought nothing for the children.
c) She never buys anything for the children. d) She didn't buy anything for the children.
e) You can buy anything you want.
/!\ Does ‘anything’ mean the same thing in c, d and e?

II. Writing: cohesion

A. What do the words/strings in bold refer to?
a) We have received a large number of reports about the economic outlook in Japan. We are
studying them carefully. They contain useful marketing information.
b) Last week, we experienced production problems at our plants in Reading and Leicester. At the
former, there was a two day strike by the workers. At the latter, there was a machine breakdown.
Output, as a percentage of normal capacity at these factories, was 60% and 75% respectively.
c) Ms Smith and Mr Jones will be meeting our students later this afternoon. The former is the
Managing Director of a multinational company.

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B. Fill in the blanks with the following reference words: this, these, former, they
La Ferrera (1997) has researched the life cycle of new businesses. She found that (1) ..………have
an average life of only 4.7 years. (2) …..….…..is due to two main reasons: one economic and one
social. The (3) ...……………. appears to be a lack of capital, the latter a failure to carry out
sufficient market research. La Ferrera considers that together (4)………..… account for
approximately 70 per cent of business failures.

C. Proofreading exercise (the focus is on cohesion, pronouns and determiners)

1. Leaners can rarely use a word appropriately if they are not familiar with his meaning.
2. I believe that the object that is the most representative of our day and age is the computer. Our
society encourages us to use them almost all the time.
3. In conclusion, although computers are representative of our age, it is important to stress that it
does not lead to positive changes only.
4. [beginning of the final paragraph of an essay] As a conclusion, we can say that it is
representative of today’s society.

D. Complete the sentences with demonstratives

a) The European Union has expanded in recent years to include over two dozen countries. This has
contributed to increased immigration all over Europe.
b) In 2004, ten countries joined the European Union. ……….countries included Hungary, Poland,
Lithuania, and Slovakia.
c) For the most part, citizens of European Union member nations have permission to work in other
member nations. ………. makes it fairly easy for people to move from one EU country to another.
d) In recent years, immigration to Norway has increased significantly. ……..increase is responsible
for more than half of Norway’s population growth.
Explain what each demonstrative refers to in the sentences

E. Fill in the blanks using this, these, that or those (/!\ text written by an American author)
Throughout the seventeenth century, immigration from countries in Europe to North America grew.
Life in (1) ….…… countries (physical distance from the writer) was often difficult and emigration
represented a chance for a new life. At (2) …………..time (a distant time), most immigrants
worked on farms when they reached their new country. (3)…….…….immigrants (recent topic)
are referred to today as settlers, because they established new settlements in our country for
European immigrants.
Farming was a difficult, labor-intensive life in the early days of (4)…..…….country (closeness in
space to the writer), but many immigrants survived and in fact prospered. Many later immigrants
settled in major cities. In (5) …..……..cities (a recent topic), they often settled near relatives or
others from their countries, and many cities had a ‘Little Italy’ or a ‘Chinatown’, where the bulk of
the residents were from one country. Many of (6) …..………..old neighborhoods are gone now
(distance in time), although some have survived or become centers of newer immigrant groups.
Some early immigrants were routinely discriminated against in housing and employment. (7) …..
………behaviors are illegal today (distance in time). However, adjusting to life in a new country is
rarely easy. (8) ….………… unfortunate fact (a recent topic) is as true for today’s immigrants as it
was two centuries ago for those who left their countries looking for a new life.

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F. Complete the reference words in the following text (academic/formal writing).
Millions of people move to new countries every year. (1) This phen…….………… can cause
challenges for both the residents of the host country and for the immigrants. Often, the people from
the host country and the immigrants have difficulty relating to each other and understanding each
other’s customs. Also, the language of the host country and the immigrants’ language are
sometimes very different. If people cannot speak to each other, they cannot begin to understand
each other. (2) This fa…………… may be the underlying cause (= the cause that is the most
important, although it is not easily noticed) of most misunderstandings between residents and
immigrant groups. People often fear what they do not understand.
However, people disagree about which language immigrants should speak. (3) This contr……….
…. iss…….……. can produce very different responses. Some people believe that immigrants
should stop speaking their native language and speak the host country’s language, even in their
homes. They feel that immigrants will be able to assimilate better if they adopt the host country’s
language. (4) This quest…….……. cl……………. is directly opposed to the opinion of those who
believe that it is important for immigrants to continue to speak their own language while they learn
the host country’s language. Many believe that (5) this second appr…….… is the best for young
children. These people argue that individuals who have a strong command of their own language
are better able to learn a new language. (6) This arg…………….. seems to have some validity
since research shows that immigrant children who cannot read and write in their parents’ language
have trouble learning to read and write their adopted country’s language.

III. Accuracy and vocabulary. Prepositions (1)

1. Fill in each blank with an appropriate preposition

1) Are you planning to return ……….. Spain?
2) He wants to go ................ Australia during the summer holidays.
3) I had to return ……… the store to look for my purse.
4) We came back ……….. England in 1983.
5) He went ................ London ............. 3 days last year.

2. Hundred or hundreds of?

1) Two ………………….. people applied for the job.
2) There were ………………….. people at the party last night.
3) He saw …….…………….. shooting stars when he was there.
4) This vase was worth several …..………….. pounds.

3. Dozen or dozens of?

1) The film has been translated into ……………….. languages.
2) A few ……………….. people turned up for the event.
3) They bought three ………………. red roses.

4. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the following verbs: assist, attend/go to, attend to
1) I've lost my passport. Can you ……….………. me?
2) I may be late. I've got one or two things to ………..……………..
3) I ………………….… (simple past) the lecture because I knew it would help me write my paper.
4) Are you being ………………………….., Sir? (in a shop)

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5. Compete each space in the conversation between two business colleagues with the missing
verb or preposition.
-Come in, Harold!
-I must (1) a………………….. for arriving so late. The traffic, you know.
-Oh don’t (2) w………………… about that. The meeting’s been put off anyway. Come in and
help yourself (3) ………………….coffee. Let me be the first to congratulate you (4)
…………….. your new promotion.
-Oh thanks, Paul. Yes, I’m delighted. But it hasn’t been announced officially yet. Could you
possibly k………………. it to yourself for a bit?
-Well, of course, Harold. When do you think you’ll be taking up the new post, then?
-Not sure, Paul. It all d……………………… on the contract, which I haven’t seen yet. They’re
sending it to me this week.

6. Match the two halves of the sentences

1. You should insure property a) to a customer at the moment.
2. The coach was blamed b) with resentment.
3. The sales assistant is attending c) for compliments.
4. The charity is devoted d) for a doctor.
5. Local restaurants are well supplied e) to the charge of arson.
6. After the row, Jane was seething f) against fire and theft.
7. The accused pleaded guilty g) with organically grown vegetables.
8. The intruder was mistaken h) to raising money for the disabled.
9. She’s always fishing i) for the team’s poor performance.

7. Complete the sentences with the correct prepositions. !!In some cases no preposition is
needed.
a) We apologize ………….the delay ………..dispatching your order.
b) Georgina lacks …………… confidence.
c) I was surprised by his total lack ………. interest in classical music.
d) She was very conscious ………. her lack of experience on her first day at work.
e) There’s no doubt ……………his feelings for you.
f) She’s always been lacking ………………. tact.
g) I have complete confidence …………his ability to handle the situation.
h) Be very patient …………..Ryan. He’s suffered a lot, you know.
i) Would you kindly inform me who is responsible ………….. the travel arrangements?
j) It’s obvious he’s incapable …………… holding down a job.

k) It’s a strange smell, isn’t it? It’s peculiar …………….this type of plant.
l) How very typical ……… her! Nothing is ever her fault!
m) The study focuses ……….. people who live in the Lake District.
n) The report emphasises …………. the importance of improving safety standards.
o) She was asked to take part / participate ………… a TV debate about drugs.
p) Someone entered …….. the room behind me and managed to gain access ……. the computer
system.
q) How can you access ……….. this information?
r) We never discuss ….. our financial difficulties in front of our children. // They had a discussion
……. her financial situation.