Correcting a student that does not omit 'it'

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Sadgasm

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I have a Spanish student that does not omit 'it' in certain sentences. He places a comma as if writing a compound sentence and writes 'it' unnecessarily. I'm having trouble figuring out what exactly how to describe this issue and how to help him practice correcting it.

Here are two of his sentences from a recent writing exercise:

"My best experience in the US, it was last Sunday when I went to a hockey game."

and

"My worst experience in the US, it happened to me when it rained."


How would I describe what the problem is to another teacher or to him / what is the issue? And what would be an example of an exercise that could help him with this?

This is my first time writing on the forum, although I have come here for help in the past. Its a great site. Thanks in advanced for any help.
 

pinguino03

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Here's how I would explain it.

It, along with other pronouns are used to take the place of the noun. It is incorrect to place the pronoun directly after the noun or noun phrase that it represents. To do so is redundant. In both examples you gave the it comes directly after the complete subject of the sentence.

:)
 

Raymott

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This isn't a problem of not omitting "it"; it's a problem of inserting "it" and a comma where it doesn't belong.
Ask him what's wrong with "Mi mejor experiencia en los EE.UU, ella era el domingo pasado cuando fui a un juego de hockey."
He'll probably tell you "ella" and the comma don't belong there, and you will have demonstrated your point.
 

TheParser

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***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Teacher Sadgasm:




As the disclaimer says, I am not a teacher. To the best of my knowledge, however, I believe that I am allowed to post in this forum.

*****

I live in the city of Los Angeles. The majority of the population is now Spanish-speaking. So I know a little Spanish. I emphasize "a (very) little."

*****

In English, we say "It was yesterday." As every student is told, English usually needs a subject. We cannot say, "Was yesterday." But in Spanish, you do not always need an overt subject. So you just say "Fue ayer." As you know, "fue" means "he, she, it was." When Spanish speakers translate "fue ayer" into English, they might say "Was yesterday," and the teacher would no doubt say, "No! No! You have to say 'It was yesterday.' " So maybe the student gets it into his/her mind that every time s/he wants to use "fue," s/he has to say "It."

Same thing with "It happened yesterday." In Spanish, "paso ayer" is sufficient. But a teacher would insist on the "it" in English. So the student might internalize the need for "it" when using "paso." (My keyboard does not have accent keys. Sorry!)

I thought that I would offer this to you for your consideration (and probable rejection).


James
 
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