Exercise 2

Look at these sentences. If the sentence is right, type the number and then the word "correct" after it. If the sentence is wrong, type the correct sentence on your computer.

1. It was so beautiful to watch a baby that you have created being born.

2. My daughter has gone to live with a family in Surrey and my little poodle dog is living with a friend.

3. Today, only about 750 people made this town their home.

4. At Gerties, the gambler needs to buy tickets for the game tables, the can-can show and anything else he wanted.

5. A slender woman sits by the window looked over her shoulder and watching the rain beat against the pane.

6. Frank knew how to take care of his simple needs and didn't care whose toes he trod on.

The Subject of a Sentence should Act on the Verb

A mistake that writers make all the time is called a shift in voice. Sentences can have:

• an active voice - the subject acts on the verb.
  The man smokes a cigarette.
  Subject -> man; Verb -> smokes
• a passive voice - the subject is acted upon by something
  The cigarette was smoked by the man.
  Verb -> was smoked; Subject -> man

To avoid this problem, keep the subject as close to the beginning of the sentence as possible. In most cases, this will keep your sentence in the active voice. An active sentence is always more interesting to read.

A sentence like this is clear:
Our lawyer told us not to move if we didn't have the money.

This sentence is confusing:
We were told by our lawyer not to move if we didn't have the money.