Proofread

UE – SECTION C – Proofreading
instructor: agnes chan

Introduction
Proofreading, one of the six questions in Section C, is difficult for candidates who are weak
in grammar and usage. They find it difficult because of the following reasons:
(i)
Unable to analyze the syntax of sentences;
(ii)
Unable to locate and identify the errors;
(iii)
Unable to apply their logic to help them understand the meaning of the sentence, and
(iv)
Their inadequate knowledge of English grammar & usage.
The question items in proofreading can be categorized into the following 4 levels:
Four Levels of Questions
1.Elementary, e.g. on Saturday, in the morning; use of articles
2.Intermediate, e.g. passive voice, tenses, prepositions, phrasal verbs, part of speech,
subject verb agreement, etc.
3.Advanced, e.g. participles, verb forms, relative clauses, participle clauses, verb forms in
conditional sentences, subjunctive mood, causative, independent clause as the subject.
4. Other tricky questions
SUMMARY OF SKILLS — Proofreading
1. Read thew hole sentence.
2. Analyze the syntactic structure of each sentence, e.g. subject, verb, verb-to-be,
complement, participle clause / phrase, object, etc.
3. Locate & identify the errors.
4. Do not correct thoseps eudo-errors, e.g. styles of writing: changing ‘a’ into ‘the’, changing the
singular noun into the plural form, changing another word which carries the same meaning. These
are not dead errors that can make the sentence ungrammatical.
5. Look forbig & dead errors, e.g. verb form, tense, subject verb agreement, finite & non- finite
(gerund, infinitive & participle), complement, independent clause as the subject, etc.
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UE Proofreading - 1 -
Frequent Grammar Items in UE Proofreading
Verbs:
1.verb forms, e.g. pp form after ‘have / has / had’, ing form after verb-to-be, etc.
2.Transitive & Intransitive verbs
3.passive & active voice (main verb not in p.p. form, missing of auxiliary verb ‘be’,
missing of preposition ‘by’ – agent)
4.missing of verb-to-be before the subject complement
5.participles, participle clause
6.Subordinate clause without finite verbs (e.g. When entering the room, before entering…)
7.conditional sentence verb forms (e.g. use of modal verbs, verb forms)
8. Phrasal Verbs
9.preposition + verb (gerund), e.g. 97UE No. 79
Nouns:
1.Plural noun referring to somethinggener al
2.Number in a noun, e.g. one of the resource(s), either (singular noun) or (sing. Noun)
3.Noun functioning as an adjective (hotel safe: 1997UE No. 94)
Sentence Structures:
1.Sentence structures (subject, verb, clauses, direct object & indirect object) parallel
structure (consistency of verb forms / tense)
2.Phrases & Clauses (Prepositional Phrase, Noun Clause, Relative Clause, Subordinate
Clause, etc.)
Part of Speech:
1.Part of speech, e.g. noun adjective; wrong word, e.g. destruct (correct one: destroy),
comparative & superlative adjectives
Prepositions:
1.Preposition (either missing / wrong use)
Pronouns:
1.Pro n o u n s (relative pronoun, reflexive pronoun, possessive pronoun, etc.)
Special Expressions
e.g. used to, be used to
Quick Revision of Grammar Items
Item 1 — Sentence Structures
Basic Sentence Structures
Remarks
1. Subject + Verb (transitive) + Object [SVO]
e.g. He has drunk a bottle of wine. (Active voice)
e.g. A bottle of wine hasb een drunk by him. (Passive voice)
* SVO can be written in
passive voice
* Passive Voice verb form:
BE + verb (past participle)
2. Subject + Verb (intransitive) [SV]
e.g. He swam alone. (Subject + v.i. + adverb)
* SVcannot be written in
passive voice
* The verb in SV is not a verb-
to-be, e.g. is, am, are, etc.
3. Subject + Verb-to-be + Complement [SVC]
e.g. Agnes Chan is a tutor. (Noun)

e.g. Agnes Chan is an English tutor. (Noun group)
e.g. Agnes Chan is diligent. (Adjective)
e.g. Agnes Chan is in her room. (Prepositional Phrase)
*Complement: Noun / Noun
group, Adjective, or
Prepositional Phrase
Sentence Types
Conjunctions / Connectives?
1. Simple Sentence (Subject + 1 finite verb)
e.g. Agnes Chan (Subj.) is (finite verb)an English tutor.
e.g. Agnes Chan (Subj.) studies (v.i.) at City University
of HK.
e.g. Agnes Chan (Subj.) majors (v.t.) English (object).
NIL
2. Compound Sentence (SV + SV)
e.g. Agnes Chan is an English tutor (1st clause) and
(conjunction) she studies English at City University of
HK. (2nd clause)
And, or, nor, for, but, so, yet
joining individual words, phrases
or clauses.
3. Complex Sentence (Subordinate Clause + Main
Clause)
e.g. Agnes Chan has been teaching students English (1st
clause)s ince she was a Sixth Former. (2nd clause)
after, although, as, because, before,
how, if, once, since, than, that,
though, till, until, when, where,
whether, and while showing the
relationship between sentences.
Item 2 — Phrases & Clauses
Phrases & Functions
Examples
1. Noun Phrase
Function (1): Subject, (2) Object, (3) Direct Object, (4) Subject Complement, (5) Object
Complement,
(6) Adverbial
F(1): A university student majors the subject s/he likes. (Subj.)
F(2): He hit a university student. (Obj.)
F(3): He gave a university student a campus map. (Direct Obj.)
F(4): She is a university student. (Subj. Comp.)
F(5): I regard him a university student. (Obj. Comp.)
F(6): This semester will end next week. (Adverbial)
2. Prepositional Phrase
Function (1) adjective
after a noun, (2) adverb
after an adjective, (3)
adverb of place, (4)
adverb of time, (5)
adverb of manner.
F(1): I’ve read a book about cooking. (adj. After noun)
F(2): You will be happy with your new arrangement. (adv. After
noun)
F(3): The cockroach is hiding under the table. (adv. Of place)
F(4): I will have a meeting with Rodney in the morning. (adv. Of
time)
F(5): In my opinion, we should hold more activities for students
this year. (adv. Of manner)
Clauses & Functions
Examples
1. Non-finite Clause
F(1): subject of sentence
F(2): show another action
F(3): direct object
F(4): show time
F(5): show role of subj.
F(1): Thinking about how to teach students better is his usual
practice. (gerund as the subj. of the sentence)
F(2): He helped me send a letter to Mr. Smith. (another action)
F(3): I like dancing. (direct object)
F(4): Punished by Mr. Lee, he felt very guilty. (role of subject)
2. That-clause
F(1): Subject
F(2): Object
*The ‘that’ here can help
make the independent
clause into a dependent
clause / noun clause.
F(1): That he leaves Hong Kong is his final decision. (Subj.)
F(2): I know that George wanted to copy Henry’s assignment to
his. (Obj.)
3. Wh-Clause
Clauses start with wh-
word, e.g. what, who,
when, whom, how, where
F(1): Subject of a sentence:
Why she made this decision was understandable.
F(2): Object of a sentence:
A tourist asked me where Hong Kong Cultural Center was.
Clauses & Functions
Examples
4.Relative Clause
Modify the preceded
(who): The manwh o is sitting next to my friend is my uncle.
(whom): The manwhom you are talking to is very nice.
noun (形容名詞)
Relative pronouns:
Who (subj.), whom
(obj.), that (subj / obj.),
Which, whose
(preposition + whom): The girlwithwhom you are discussing the
issue is kind. (Original: You are discussing the issue with the girl)
(which): The notesw hich Agnes typed to me are quite useful.
(in which): The theatreinwh ich you performed in is very big.
(Original: You performed in the theatre.)
(whose): Mrs. Wuw hos e daughter has taken HKCEE is very poor.
(Original: Mrs. Wu’s daughter has taken HKCEE.)
5. Subordinate Clause
Function: provide more
information about the
time, place, condition,
purpose, manner that
things happen.
(time): When you came back home, you had to finish all the tasks.
(place): Staying in New York, she didn’t feel secured.
(condition): If you have got a cold, you can’t go to the party
tonight.
(purpose): To get good results in the test, he revised all the
chapters of the textbook last night.
(manner): Karen gave a blind eye to George, as if he had done
something wrong to her. (manner---showing attitude, how
something is like.)
Item 3 — Parts of Speech
Parts of Speech
Examples
1. Noun[名詞]
1.1 Concrete Noun
[實質名詞]
Computer, printer, bottle, water, disks, teddy bear, cassette tapes,
mouse, keyboards, etc.
1.2 Abstract Noun
[抽象名詞] --- ideas
Feminism, Racism, pollution, dignity, humiliation, immigration,
exploitation, etc.
1.3Count Noun
[可數名詞] ---singular &
plural form [ 可單可雙]
Computer, printer, bottle, disks, teddy bear, cassette tapes, mouse,
keyboards, words, books, pens, etc.
1.4 Uncountable Noun
[不可數名詞] ---
singular only!
Water, sand, salt, sugar, light, air, information, research, etc.
Parts of Speech
Examples
1. Noun [名詞] (continued)
1.5 Singular Noun
[單數名詞]
Computer, mouse, monitor, a disk, a bottle, a pen, a ruler, person,
alumnus, phenomenon, etc.
1.6 Plural Noun
Computers, mouse, monitors, disks, bottles, pen, ruler, people,
[眾數名詞]
alumni, phenomena, etc.
2. Verb[動詞]
2.1 Finite Verb
The first verb element in

a verb group, showing
the tense & no. of
agreement.
Shed oes not want to go to school.
Shewan ts to go shopping with her husband.
Shewas having her lunch at 3:30 p.m.
Sheh ad submitted the loan for her tuition fees.
2.2 Non-finite Verb
(gerund, infinitive,
participle)
(Gerund):Hik ing is my favorite hobby.
(To-infinitive): She wants to go shopping with her husband.
(bare infinitive): She suggested mew rite a letter to my teacher to
make the application of this scholarship.
(present participle): She washaving her lunch at 3:30 p.m.
(past participle): My brother hasb rok en the vase.
(perfect participle): Having been to the UK for more than 3
months, I have got used to the life there.
2.2.1 Gerund
verb + ing => Verbal
Noun [動名詞]
Being a successful English tutor is not easy. (subj.)
I don’t liketalking on the phone. (obj.)
2.2.2 Infinitive
i)
To-infinitive
ii)
Bare
infinitive
(to-infinitive) I want to be an excellent language teacher in Hong
Kong.
(bare infinitive) Please let mek n ow your difficulties.
2.2.3 Participles
i)
Present
Participle
ii)
Past
Participle
iii)
Perfect
Participle
i) I have beens w imming in this pool for 2 hours. (Present
Participle)
ii) I havesw um in this pool for 2 hours. (Past Participle)
iii) Having swum for 3 hours, I felt very exhausted. (Perfect
Participle)
2.3 Modals
Can, could, may, might, shall, should, ought to, need, care, must,
have to, will, would, may, might, etc.
2.4 Auxiliary Verbs
Do, does, did, done; be, is, am, are, was, were, being, been; have,
has, had
2.5 16 Verb Forms
1)
Present Simple — write
2)
Present Continuous — is / am / are writing
3)
Present Perfect — has / have written
4)
Present Perfect Continuous — has / have been
writing
5)
Past Simple — wrote
6)
Past Continuous — was / were writing
7)
Past Perfect — had written
8)
Past Perfect Continuous — had been writing
9)
Future Simple — will write
10)
Future Continuous — will be writing
11)
Future Perfect — will have written
12)
Future Perfect Continuous — will have been writing
13)
Past Future Simple — would write
14)
Past Future Continuous — would be writing
15)
Past Future Perfect — would have written
16)
Past Future Perfect Continuous — would have been
writing
3. Adjective[形容詞]
3.1 Positive Form
Beautiful, convenient, clear, loud, soft, strong, weak, bad, good
3.2 Comparative FormMore beautiful, more convenient, clearer, louder, softer, stronger,
weaker, worse, better
3.3 Superlative Form
The most beautiful, the most convenient, the clearest, the loudest,
the softest, the strongest, the weakest, the worst, the best
4. Adverb[副詞]
4.1 Adverb of Place
In the building, at home, at school, in the jungle, in the office
4.2 Adverb of Time
In the morning, at noon, at midnight, at 4:30
4.3 Adverb of MannerBeautifully, conveniently, clearly, loudly, fast, quickly, well
4.4 Adverb of Degree
Very much, so, quite, rather, pretty, less, more
5. Preposition[介詞]
In, on, at, from, against, about, concerning, beside, behind, under, with, beneath, between,
into, onto, to, etc.
6. Article[冠詞]
AF(1): any one of a particular thing
F(2): before singular count noun
F(3): words begin with consonant sounds
F(1): a computer, a cup, a printer, a table, a desk,
etc.
F(2): I’ll be in the UK for a year.

Please wait for a minute. I’ll come back to your
question later.
F(3): a university /        / , a one-
parent family /   /
An
F(1): words starting with avowel sound
F(2): same as the Function (1 ~ 2) of ‘a’
F(1): an orphan /    /,an
The
F(1): something unique
F(2): before a superlative adjective
F(3): there is only one of a particular thing
F(4): a thing / person that is modified by a
relative clause (i.e. a particular thing)
F(1): Beijing isthe capital city of China.
F(2): Charlene Choi istheyounges t female singer
holding her first concert in The Hong Kong
Coliseum.
F(3): the sun, the North Pole, the world, the
international market, etc.
F(5): with phrases beginning ‘of…’ / ‘The

of…’
F(6): a thing / person mentioned in the 2nd
time
F(4):The teacher who teaches us English is very
nice.
F(5): Do you knowthe meaning of these new
words?
F(6): I put a coin into a cup, and the coin sinks.
Zero
F(1): uncountable and plural nouns
F(1): I always like hearing good news. (= good
news in general)
Lazy students like finding excuses for their
laziness. (= excuses in general; lazy students in
general)
7. Conjunction
7.1 Co-ordinating
Conjunction
Joining words, phrases or independent clauses — And, or, so, but,
nor, for, yet
7.2 Subordinating
Conjunction
Indicating the nature of the relationship among the independent
clause(s) and the dependent clause(s) — after, although, as,
because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until,
when, where, whether, and while.
8. Pronoun[代名詞]
8.1 Personal Pronoun
8.1.1 As subjects
I, you, we, they, he, she, it
8.1.2 As objects
Me, you, us, them, him, her, it
8.1.2 As adjectives
My, your, our, their, his, her, its
8.2 Possessive PronounMine, yours, ours, theirs, his, hers, its
8.3 Indefinite PronounOne, other (plural), the other (1 out of 2, singular), the others (the
left people / things), others (other people / things) another
(singular), someone (singular), everybody (singular), anybody
(singular), neither (singular / plural), all, many, etc.
8.4 Reflexive PronounMyself, yourself, yourselves, ourselves, themselves, himself,
herself, itself.
e.g. Although Sandy is an 8-year-old girl, she takes care ofhers elf.
8.5 Demonstrative
This — referring to a specific thing / person (singular)
That — referring a thing / person that is away from us. (singular)

These — referring to specific things / people (plural)
Those — referring to things / people away from us. (plural)
8.6 Interrogative
Pronoun
Whom — Object of a sentence
Who — Subject
Which — a specific thing / person from a class
What — a specific thing / person
Whose — the agent who owns a thing / person
When — time
Where — place
How — manner
8.7 Relative Pronoun
That — a person / thing, a subject / object; only used in defining
clauses.
Which — a particular thing
Whose — a agent who owns a thing / person
Whom — Object of the relative clause
Who — Subject of the relative clause
Item 4 — Conditional Sentences
Types
Examples
1. Real situation
If + verb (Present
Simple), will + verb
If youlis ten (Present Simple) to this smooth jazz music, youw ill
be (will + verb) more relaxed.
If youp ress (Present Simple) this button, you will print (will +
verb) out the document.
2. Impossible thing
If + verb (Past Simple), +
would + verb
If Iw ere you, I would not react so violently.
If youlis ten ed to him, you would not do such a silly thing.
3. Hypothesis /
something in the past
If + verb (Past Perfect), +
would have + verb (p.p.)
If I had finished typing the document, I would not have been
worried about it.
If the teacher had been ill, I would not have attended his lecture.
Item 5 – Active Voice Vs. Passive Voice
Passive Voice – Verb Structure:
be + verb (past participle)
e.g. is + written (past participle of ‘write’)
Verb Forms
Active Voice
Passive Voice
Present Simple
Write
Is / are written
Present Continuous
Is writing
Is / are being written
Present Perfect
Has / have written
Has / have been written
Present Perfect Continuous
Has / have been writing
Has / have been being written
Past Simple
Wrote
Was / were written
Past Continuous
Was / were writing
Was / were being written
Past Perfect
Had written
Had been written
Past Perfect Continuous
Had been writing
Had been being written
Future Simple
Will write
Will be written
Future Continuous
Will be writing
Will be being written
Future Perfect
Will have written
Will have been written
Future Perfect Continuous
Will have been writing
Will have been being written
Past Future Simple
Would write
Would be written
Past Future Continuous
Would be writing
Would be being written
Past Future Perfect
Would have written
Would have been written

Past Future Perfect
Continuous
Would have been writing
Would have been being written
Item 6 — Participle Clause
Types
Examples
Present Participle
Clause
F(1): continuous action
F(2): immediate action
followed by the main
clause
F(3): describe a person’s
feelings / characteristics
F(1): Swimming in the pool, she discovered that she had forgotten
to bring the shampoo and conditioner. (= When she was swimming
in the pool)
F(2): Seeing some blood on her clothes, she fainted. (=Aft er
seeing some blood on her clothes)
F(3): Being interested in reading books, she is smart and
knowledgeable. (= Because she is interested in reading books)
Past Participle Clause
F(1): passive voice
F(1): Cheated by her classmates this morning, Jenny was very
unhappy. (= Because Jenny was cheated by her classmates…)
Perfect Participle
Clause
F(1): Action happened
before that in main clause
Perfect Participle
Clause in PASSIVE
F(1): Same as the active
voice one
F(1): Having had our dinner, we went to the Arts Gallery.
(= After we had had our dinner)
F(2): Having been scolded by his mum for 2 hours, Jack felt
very sorry. (= After Jack had been scolded by his mum for 2 hours)
Having been trained for 3 years, he became skilful in doing this
job. (= After he had been trained for 3 years)
Participle Clause after a
Noun —to modify the
noun
The man employed in 1993 has been fired by Francis last Friday.
(= who was employed in 1993)
My niece, drawing a colorful picture to me, is very diligent.
(= who is drawing a colorful picture to me)
*** WARNING: The subject in the Participle Clause and main clause MUST BE the same
person, and the subject in the main clause CANNOT be an inanimate subject. [死物]
[在分詞句式和主句式裡面，主語必須為同一人，而且不可以物件作主語。]
Item 7 – Question Tags
Types
Examples
‘+ve’ verb + Negative
Tag — assuming
other people agree with you. (TONE: falling tone in the question tag)
Youlik e playing ICQ,d o n’t you? (‘like’ + negative tag: don’t you)
She has applied for her first job,h a sn ’t she? (‘has applied’ +
negative tag: hasn’t she)
George is teaching well today,is n’t he? (‘is teaching’ + negative
tag: isn’t he)
‘-ve’ verb + Positive Tag
— showing
suspicion / doubt /
uncertainty (TONE:
rising tong in the
question tag)
You don’t like playing ICQ,do you? (don’t like + positive tag: do
you)
She hasn’t applied for her first job,h as she? (‘hasn’t applied’ +
positive tag: has she?)
George isn’t teaching well today, is he? (isn’t teaching + positive
tag: is he)
7 Common Grammar Errors
1. Run-on Sentence
Wrong: English grammar was the first thing that I encountered when I was in primary
school, I didn’t think that it did any harm to me, because I loved studying grammar,
living with grammar, reading English books to improve my grammar.
Right: English grammar was the first thing that I encountered when I was in primary
school. I didn’t think that it did any harm to me, because I loved studying grammar,
living with grammar, reading English books to improve my grammar.
Explanations — The first sentence is wrong because the sentences “English grammar…
primary school” and “I didn’t think…my grammar” are not linked together by any conjunctions or
connectives. The first sentence contains 1 main clause plus two other clauses: relative clause &
subordinate clause. The second sentence contains 1 main clause plus a subordinate clause telling the
reason that I loved studying grammar. If these 2 sentences do not have any relationship in meaning
(e.g. cause & effect, concession, etc.), they should not be written in ONE sentence. If they are, they
will be regarded asRun-on
sentences.
2. Fragment Sentence
Wrong: Although I am hungry.
Right: Although I am hungry, I don’t want to eat anything.
Explanations — The first ‘sentence’ is wrong because it is NOT a complete sentence. It
is called Fragment sentence. This kind of sentences are usually dependent clauses, i.e. Although +
clause; Because + clause; Since + clause, etc. Here are more examples of fragment sentences:
e.g.Becaus e he is still young.
e.g.Since he lived in this flat.
e.g.Befo re he went out to have a walk.
To identify this kind of errors, you can ask yourself after you have written these clauses, for
example, “Because he is still young” (so?); “Since he lived in this flat” (what happened then?);
“Before he went out to have a walk” (what had he done?). If there is no answer after these
sentences, you can be sure that the clauses are fragment sentences.
3. Independent Clause as the Subject of a sentence
Wrong: He puts so much effort in answering our questions impresses most of us.
Right:That he puts so much effort in answering our questions impresses most of us.
Right: The fact that he puts so much effort….impresses most of us.
Right: He puts so much effort… questions. This impresses most of us.
Explanations — The main clause of the first sentence should be [Subject + impresses
most of us]. The subject is [he puts so much effort in answering our questions]. However, this
sentence is ungrammatical because the subject here is NOT a noun / noun group. It’s a clause
instead. Therefore, to make this sentence grammatical, we have to change the clause [He puts so
much… questions] into a noun / noun group.
We can make the sentence in the above example in the following three ways:
1. Change clause [he puts…questions] into a noun group by addingThat.
i.e. Change the independent clause into a nominal clause (noun clause)
2. Add The fact that to change the clause into a noun clause.
3. Split this long sentence into two. UseThis to refer back to the WHOLE idea: [He
puts so much effort in answering our questions.]
4. Singular Countable Noun Without an Article
Wrong: Computer is widely used in the world.
Right: Computersa re widely used in the world.
Right: A computer is widely used in the world.
Explanations — The first sentence is ungrammatical because [computer] is referred to
something general. When the noun is a singular countable noun and when we want to use
that noun to say something general, we should either use the singular form with an
article or use the plural form. See ther ight examples.
5. Active & Passive Voice
Case 1:
Wrong: This picture is not liked by me.
Right: I don’t like this picture.
Right: This picture doesn’t please me.
Explanations — There is no passive voice when you use verbs: like, hate, love, dislike,
realized, admired, forget, in your sentences. You have to change the verbs if you want to
keep the subject (see right sentence 2). You can change it by changing ‘by me’ into the
Wrong: English grammar was the first thing that I encountered when I was in primary
school, I didn’t think that it did any harm to me, because I loved studying grammar,
living with grammar, reading English books to improve my grammar.
Right: English grammar was the first thing that I encountered when I was in primary
school. I didn’t think that it did any harm to me, because I loved studying grammar,
living with grammar, reading English books to improve my grammar.
Explanations — The first sentence is wrong because the sentences “English grammar…
primary school” and “I didn’t think…my grammar” are not linked together by any conjunctions or
connectives. The first sentence contains 1 main clause plus two other clauses: relative clause &
subordinate clause. The second sentence contains 1 main clause plus a subordinate clause telling the
reason that I loved studying grammar. If these 2 sentences do not have any relationship in meaning
(e.g. cause & effect, concession, etc.), they should not be written in ONE sentence. If they are, they
will be regarded asRun-on
sentences.
2. Fragment Sentence
Wrong: Although I am hungry.
Right: Although I am hungry, I don’t want to eat anything.
Explanations — The first ‘sentence’ is wrong because it is NOT a complete sentence. It
is called Fragment sentence. This kind of sentences are usually dependent clauses, i.e. Although +
clause; Because + clause; Since + clause, etc. Here are more examples of fragment sentences:
e.g.Becaus e he is still young.
e.g.Since he lived in this flat.
e.g.Befo re he went out to have a walk.
To identify this kind of errors, you can ask yourself after you have written these clauses, for
example, “Because he is still young” (so?); “Since he lived in this flat” (what happened then?);
“Before he went out to have a walk” (what had he done?). If there is no answer after these
sentences, you can be sure that the clauses are fragment sentences.
3. Independent Clause as the Subject of a sentence
Wrong: He puts so much effort in answering our questions impresses most of us.
Right:That he puts so much effort in answering our questions impresses most of us.
Right: The fact that he puts so much effort….impresses most of us.
Right: He puts so much effort… questions. This impresses most of us.
Explanations — The main clause of the first sentence should be [Subject + impresses
most of us]. The subject is [he puts so much effort in answering our questions]. However, this
sentence is ungrammatical because the subject here is NOT a noun / noun group. It’s a clause
instead. Therefore, to make this sentence grammatical, we have to change the clause [He puts so
much… questions] into a noun / noun group.
We can make the sentence in the above example in the following three ways:
1. Change clause [he puts…questions] into a noun group by addingThat.
i.e. Change the independent clause into a nominal clause (noun clause)
2. Add The fact that to change the clause into a noun clause.
3. Split this long sentence into two. UseThis to refer back to the WHOLE idea: [He
puts so much effort in answering our questions.]
4. Singular Countable Noun Without an Article
Wrong: Computer is widely used in the world.
Right: Computersa re widely used in the world.
Right: A computer is widely used in the world.
Explanations — The first sentence is ungrammatical because [computer] is referred to
something general. When the noun is a singular countable noun and when we want to use
that noun to say something general, we should either use the singular form with an
article or use the plural form. See ther ight examples.
5. Active & Passive Voice
Case 1:
Wrong: This picture is not liked by me.
Right: I don’t like this picture.
Right: This picture doesn’t please me.
Explanations — There is no passive voice when you use verbs: like, hate, love, dislike,
realized, admired, forget, in your sentences. You have to change the verbs if you want to
keep the subject (see right sentence 2). You can change it by changing ‘by me’ into the
subject ‘I’, and write the sentence in an active voice.
Case 2:
Wrong: They were go to the Gallery yesterday.
Right: Theyw ent to the Gallery yesterday.
Explanations — [go] is a finite showing tense, number of agreement as well as showing
actions, i.e. what you did yesterday. Therefore, adding ‘were’ (auxiliary verb) is
unnecessary and redundant.
6. Existential Sentences
Wrong: There have (had) many cockroaches on my bed!
Right: Therea re (were) many cockroaches on my bed!
Explanations — The word [there] is in fact a dummy subject, i.e. it doesn’t have any
actual meaning. We use [there] because we want to show the existence of the later ‘subject’, e.g.
‘many cockroaches’ in this sentence. The use of verb [are] is dependent on the ‘subject’ afterwards.
Therefore, if the subject is ‘many cockroaches’, we have to use a verb in plural form. If the subject
is ‘a girl’, we have to use the singular verb, ‘is’, instead.
7. Pseudo-tough movement
Wrong: I am difficult to learn English.
Right: It isdiffi cult for me to learn English.
Right: To learn English is difficult for me.
Explanations — The first sentence is ungrammatical because the complement [difficult]
is mistakenly used to modify the subject ‘I’. But in fact, we want to say, “learning
English is difficult for me”, but not “I am difficult…”.
To correct this sentence, you can ask yourself, “What is difficult for me?” This ‘what question’
leads us to find out ‘to learn English’ is the actual difficulty for us. Therefore, you can write
something like, “It is difficult for me to learn English.”
Or, you can relocate the [to-infinitive clause] “to learn English” to be the subject of the
sentence. We come to another correct example, “To learn English is difficult for me.”
Syntactic Analysis & Past Paper Review (199UE)
Syntactic Analysis in Proofreading + Past Paper Analysis (2 in ONE!)

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UE – SECTION C – Proofreading

instructor: agnes chan

e.g. Agnes Chan is a tutor. (Noun)

The first verb element in

F(2): I’ll be in the UK for a year.

F(5): with phrases beginning ‘of…’ / ‘The

That — referring a thing / person that is away from us. (singular)

Would have been written

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