[Grammar] Some questions about some "mistakes"

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Akubus

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Hi there, I want to ask you something about the mistakes I made in my last exam.
First of all you need to know that my English teacher is very... one sided. She only accepts the solutions she gave us, alternative solutions are not accepted mostly.

Task 1 - Put the sentences into passive.
(1) They awarded Tony the first prize in the essay competition.
(5) They told me to sit down and wait.

My approach:
(1) Tony has been awarded with the first price in the essay competition.
(5) I have been told to sit down and wait.

She said, it has to be "was" instead of "has been" in both sentences. I earned no points for both sentences, but is it just a serious mistake or is it possibly right?

And there is another thing I'm frustrated about.

Task 3 - Translate into English.

It's difficult to describe it unless you can't speak German, but I'll try it anyway.

Here is my approach:
They requested him not coming to late.

The only thing I want to know here is if this sentence is right or wrong.

Thanks in advance!
 

Barb_D

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Task 1 - Put the sentences into passive.
(1) They awarded Tony the first prize in the essay competition.
(5) They told me to sit down and wait.

My approach:
(1) Tony has been awarded with the first prize in the essay competition. Your teacher is right.
"They awarded Tony..." becomes "Tony was awarded."
"They have awarded Tony.." would be "Tony has been awarded."


(5) I have been told to sit down and wait.
Same. They told me = I was told.
They have told me = I have been told.

She said, it has to be "was" instead of "has been" in both sentences. I earned no points for both sentences, but is it just a serious mistake or is it possibly right?
Your choice of tense is incorrect - this is not a matter of a teacher being overly picky.

And there is another thing I'm frustrated about.

Task 3 - Translate into English.

It's difficult to describe it unless you can't speak German, but I'll try it anyway.

Here is my approach:
They requested him not coming to late.

The only thing I want to know here is if this sentence is right or wrong. It's not right, but I'm not sure what it should be.
They requested that he not come in too late?


Thanks in advance!
Please see above.

And welcome to the forums!
 

Tarheel

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They asked him not to come in late.

or

They asked him to come in on time.
 

Akubus

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I think it is: They wanted him not to come to late (Could you correct the sentence if there is a mistake in it?)

But I want to know if "They requested him..." is also ok, because my English teacher says it is wrong. She only accepted "They wanted him to". In the German sentence there is the verb "baten", which is the past form of "(jemanden) bitten". Translated into English "bitten" is "(to) request" (according to dict.cc)

It should be right but my stubborn teacher does not even allow me to explain it to her :/

Oh and @Barb_D
It is "price" in British English (That's the English we learn) and "prize" in American English, but thanks :)
 

bhaisahab

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It is "prize" in both British and American English. (And in all other varieties of English.)
 

bhaisahab

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"They wanted him not to come to late." This is meaningless.
"They requested him..." is incorrect.
 

SoothingDave

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I don't like "they requested him."

Requested of him...
Requested that he...
Asked him...
 

Akubus

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"They wanted him not to come to late." This is meaningless.

Meaningless in the sense of what? Is it "bullsh*t" (so to speak)?

...too late ...
I'm sorry. Sitting in the bus I wrote it with my smartphone a few hours ago.
'They requested him' is OK, but 'They asked him' is more natural, in my opinion.
Okay, that's fine. I was so focused on "request" that I forget about phrases like "Want sb. to do sth."
No. It's 'prize in both varieties. The price of something is how much you pay for it.
Well, my teacher wrote it that way on my testpaper: "price". So, a price is the value I need to pay, right? And a prize is an award that somebody could win, right?

I don't like "they requested him."
Neither do I ^^
Requested of him...
Requested that he...
Asked him...



I have another question.

Task 5 - Correct the mistakes.


(4) 330 million tonnes of toxic waste are produced from industry every year.

I wrote the following:

(4) 330 million tons[SUP]1[/SUP] of toxic waste are produced by the[SUP]2[/SUP] industry every year.

[SUP]1 [/SUP]I did not find the phrase "tonnes" in the dictionary but instead I found "tons". My teacher has crossed out "tons" and (again) wrote "tonnes" instead. Isn't "tons" a valid phrase?
[SUP]2 [/SUP]I was not sure here, but I think my teacher is right (She has crossed it out and marked it.).
 
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Rover_KE

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Please start a new thread for the unrelated Task 5, with the title tons/tonnes.
 

Tarheel

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A price is what you pay for something. If the price of a burrito is $1.29 that is what you have to pay to get one.
 
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