Verb Tense-had been snoring/scolding//to go through (a) turbulence?

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z7655431

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It was a very long and uncomfortable direct flight. I had been sitting in the place for straight 18 hours. The man sitting next to me “had been snoring” all the way long while the lady in front of me “had been scolding” her naughty son. And the stewardess spilled some coffee on my shirt because the plane was going through a turbulence at that time.

(1)Is this short paragraph all correct? If not, how should I revise it?
(2)
I had been sitting in the place for (a) straight 18 hours. Should I add an "a" before "straight"?
(3)
The man sitting next to me “had been snoring”.../the lady in front of me “had been scolding” her naughty son. Can I say "was snoring/was scolding"(the past progressive tense) instead?
(4)In the final sentence, I think it should be without the "a". Am I right?
→The plane was going through [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] turbulence at that time.
 
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J

J&K Tutoring

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Congratulations! You are asking the wrong question about every sentence.

1. It's a mess.
2. No. '...18 hours straight.' word order
3. Depends on context. Perfect tenses relate past events to other events that happen later. The later event(s) are not mentioned.
4. "Place"? Perhaps you mistyped 'plane'- an easy mistake but one you should catch yourself. Would turbulence cause the flight attendant to spill coffee earlier or later (or at any different time)? No, so "at that time" is redundant.
4a. Would she have spilled more coffee if there had been no turbulence? Probably not, so 'the flight attendant spilled coffee on my shirt'...
 

bhaisahab

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It was a very long and uncomfortable flight. I was sitting in the plane for 18 hours straight. The man sitting next to me snored the whole way, while the lady in front of me was scolding her naughty son. And the stewardess spilled some coffee on my shirt because the plane was going through turbulence while she was serving me.
 

z7655431

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It was a very long and uncomfortable flight. I was sitting in the plane for 18 hours straight. The man sitting next to me snored the whole way, while the lady in front of me was scolding her naughty son. And the stewardess spilled some coffee on my shirt because the plane was going through turbulence while she was serving me.
"the plane was going through turbulence"---Is "a" necessary before "turbulence"? I think that it should be going through A turbulence.
 

GoesStation

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No. You can't write "a turbulence."
 

Tarheel

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"I'm. confused by myself" is a perfectly grammatical sentence, but I don't recommend that that you use it. Also, "turbulence" is not a count noun. So we don't say "a turbulence".
 

z7655431

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"I'm. confused by myself" is a perfectly grammatical sentence, but I don't recommend that that you use it. Also, "turbulence" is not a count noun. So we don't say "a turbulence".
If "I'm confused by myself" is not a good sentence, what should I say to express such a thing?
 
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bhaisahab

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"I confuse myself."
 

Tdol

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I get confused.
 

teechar

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I'm blinded by all the colours in the OP. :shock:
 

Tarheel

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Just say you're confused. (But not about this question anymore, I I hope.)
 
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