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  1. #1
    learning54's Avatar
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    Default Could you correct this paragraph please?

    Hi teachers,
    Could you correct this paragraph please?
    The person is in the station bar buying some drinks.
    Robert: Oh my God!! The train is leaving the station! My bag and my jacket are on the train and my train ticket is in my jacket pocket. I have got little money in my pants pocket, and where amI?

    Thanks in advance

  2. #2
    englishhobby is offline Member
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    Sorry, I am not a native speaker, but what are you using "where am I" in this context for? I think it doesn't make sense...

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    I've got almost no money on me, and I don't even know where I am!

    (What kind of person leaves their bag and jacket unattended on a train? A very trusting one, I guess.)
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

  4. #4
    Rover_KE is offline VIP Member
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    I wondered that, too, englishhobby.

    He just needs to look at the station name-board.

    Rover

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    Quote Originally Posted by Barb_D View Post
    I've got almost no money on me, and I don't even know where I am!

    (What kind of person leaves their bag and jacket unattended on a train? A very trusting one, I guess.)
    Hi,
    Thank you for your reply. The thing is that he is traveling with two more people, in fact two girls. The girls were thirsty and there wasn't a snack car on that train. So he went off the train to buy them a couple of drinks. That's why he left his jacket and bag on the train.
    What kind of person leaves their (shouldn't it be 'his') bag and jacket unattended on a train?

  6. #6
    learning54's Avatar
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    Quote Originally Posted by englishhobby View Post
    Sorry, I am not a native speaker, but what are you using "where am I" in this context for? I think it doesn't make sense...
    Hi,
    Thank you for you reply.

    Just to be a little bit funny. The character of the story is quite calamitous. That's why.

    Best,
    L54

  7. #7
    learning54's Avatar
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rover_KE View Post
    I wondered that, too, englishhobby.

    He just needs to look at the station name-board.

    Rover
    Hi,
    Thank you for you reply.

    Just to be a little bit funny. The character of the story is quite calamitous. That's why.

    Best,
    L54

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    Quote Originally Posted by learning54 View Post
    What kind of person leaves their (shouldn't it be 'his') bag and jacket unattended on a train?
    'Their' is commonly used these days in sentences such as this.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


  9. #9
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    'Their' is commonly used these days in sentences such as this.
    Hi,
    Thank you for your reply. I really didn't know it. It doesn't make sense to me.

    Best,
    L54

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Could you correct this paragraph please?

    These days we frequently use 'they'/'them'/'their' in preference to 'he or she'/'him or her'/his or her'. This was once considered sub-standard, but is now becoming more and more accepted. Indeed, the idea of using 'they' to refer to one person is now so common, that the emphtic/reflexive pronoun 'themself' is appearing.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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