My grammar exercises 11

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Bassim

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Here are a few sentences in which I have tried to use different phrasal verbs. Would you please correct my grammar and punctuation?

1. John and his wife agreed that their marriage was dead, but they stuck it out because of their children.
2. Anna's boyfriend had a few love affairs, but she stuck by him, nevertheless.
3. The little girl stuck out her tongue at me and run away in his bright red shoes, which shone in the sun.
4. Before Peter went abroad to find a job and better existence, his father told him never to forget his roots. His words still stuck in his mind after more than 30 years.
5. The Prime Minister stuck to his decision to sack the health minister, even if he received support by his own party as well as the opposition.
6. A group of tourists came on an old shepherd who invited them in his home and treated them to his own cheese and honey.
7. The terrible abuse Hannah suffered as a child was like stains which did not want to come out.
8. As Ivan was cleaning in his attic, he came across the old court documents which showed that his father killed an innocent man thirty years ago.
9. The old man took his walking stick, put on his hat, and set off on his journey, not knowing where and when he was going to arrive.
10. The guards set on their dogs on the prisoners, but the animals never went to attack, as if sensing that these beaten humans were innocent.
11. It took Bob decades to settle in the new town. And when finally he felt at home, he died of heart attack.
12. It was not the long prison sentence that hurt Alex but his former friends who shunned him and ignored him after his release.
 

teechar

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1. John and his wife agreed that their marriage was dead, but they stuck it out because of their children.
I would say "... but they decided to stay together for the sake of the/their children."

2. Anna's boyfriend had a few love affairs, but she stuck by him, nevertheless.
I would say "affairs" instead of "love affairs."

3. The little girl stuck out her tongue at me and [STRIKE]run[/STRIKE] ran away in [STRIKE]his[/STRIKE] her bright red shoes which [STRIKE]shone[/STRIKE] glistened in the sun.

4. Before Peter went abroad to find a job and better existence, his father told him never to forget his roots. [STRIKE]His[/STRIKE] Those words [STRIKE]still stuck[/STRIKE] stayed in his mind even after more than 30 years.

5. The Prime Minister stuck to his decision to sack the health minister, [STRIKE]even if he received[/STRIKE] despite the support the minister received from [STRIKE]by[/STRIKE] his own party as well as the opposition.

6. A group of tourists [STRIKE]came on[/STRIKE] met an old shepherd who invited them into his home and treated them to his own cheese and honey.

7. The terrible abuse Hannah suffered as a child was like stains which did not want to come out.
OK.

8. As Ivan was [STRIKE]cleaning in[/STRIKE] tidying his attic, he came across the old court documents which showed that his father had killed an innocent man thirty years ago.

9. The old man took his walking stick, put on his hat, and set off on his journey, not knowing where [STRIKE]and when[/STRIKE] he would end up. [STRIKE]was going to arrive.[/STRIKE]

10. The guards set [STRIKE]on[/STRIKE] their dogs on the prisoners, but the animals never went to attack, as if sensing that [STRIKE]these[/STRIKE] those [STRIKE]beaten[/STRIKE] humans who'd been beaten up were innocent.

11. It took Bob decades to settle in the new town. And when finally he felt at home, he died of a heart attack.

12. It was not the long prison sentence that hurt Alex but his former friends who shunned him and ignored him after his release.
OK.
 

tedmc

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I have some questions:

2. Find a better life instead of a better existence?

7. stains which did not want to come out - indelible stains?

8. Why is the past perfect used with a time-specific event "thirty years ago"?

9. Why was "when" deleted?
 
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bubbha

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8. As Ivan was cleaning in his attic, he came across the old court documents which showed that his father killed an innocent man thirty years before.

"ago" is used in relation to the actual present time.


EDIT: I suppose this is possible:

The statement was written in 2016; the attic cleaning event took place in 2006, and the killing took place in 1986. Then you could say either "his father killed an innocent man 30 years ago" or "his father had killed an innocent man 20 years before".
 
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teechar

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I have some questions:

2. Find a better life instead of a better existence?

7. stains which did not want to come out - indelible stains?
Those suggestions are possible, but there's nothing wrong with the original versions.

8. Why is the past perfect used with a time-specific event "thirty years ago"?
"Ago" can simply mean "earlier."
The past perfect is justified because the killing took place before the discovery of the documents.
Have a look at the first example sentence in the link below:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ago

9. Why was "when" deleted?
I deleted it in order to make that sentence work.
 

tedmc

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The past perfect is justified because the killing took place before the discovery of the documents.

I do not think the original sentence implies that.
Was that what you meant, Bassim?
 

Crayon

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11. It took Bob decades to settle in the new town. And when finally he felt at home, he died of heart attack.

I would say this is fine but I would put the he before finally.
 
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