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Find a mistake

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whl626

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1. Mrs. Graham, napping contentedly on the sofa, woke up at the sound of the explosion and inquired what happened.
happened => had happened ?

2. She was noticeably upset by how indignant he responded to her final question.
indignant => indignantly

3. Obviously, this state of affairs is known to the ambassadors, who reacts unfavorably to it.
reacts => react

4. Although there are some similarities in the platforms of both candidates, the difference among them are considerably wide.
among => between

5. We recently read in the newspaper where a new movie about wars among the planets is breaking attendance records throughout the country.
where => that

6. Entering the crowding room, the woman could see not one person whom she knew.
crowding => crowded

7. She approached me timidly from the farther end of the room, and trembling slightly, sat down besides me.
besides => beside

8. Any woman who is certain of her judgment is sure a match for a man who doesn't know his own temper.
sure => surely

9. Ten miles beyond the islands was stranded a ship, with their sail lowered to signal distress.
their => its

10. No blame could be laid at her door by anybody --- not even her master who had sent her away.
her master => by her master

Hope all are correct :)
 

Casiopea

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All great :up:, except 9. "its" instead of 'their' is OK, but 'their' works well, too. Moreover, what about the rather strange word order: was stranded a ship? Shouldn't it be 'a ship was stranded'?

9. Ten miles beyond the islands was stranded a ship, with their sail lowered to signal distress.
 

whl626

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Don't you think ' was stranded a ship ' is just a style of writing. Like ' This is good ' said John :) instead of ' John said ' ?
 

Casiopea

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whl626 said:
Don't you think ' was stranded a ship ' is just a style of writing. Like ' This is good ' said John :) instead of ' John said ' ?

Where did you find the sentence? Is it from the 1900s? :shock:
 

Tomasz Klimkiewicz

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Greetings,

You don't mind if I pop in with some doubts, do you? :wink:

As regards 4) The sentence was inaccurately copied into this post, I'm afraid, since 'difference' should be 'differences' (the verb that follows indicates plural, too); besides 'considerably' usually takes a comparative ('wider', in this case). Those are by no means critical, though.

Now about 9) In the 100+ English books on sea voyages I've read any ship has always been referred to with the pronoun 'she', so 'with her sail lowered...' sounds correct beyond any doubts; in a very generic text only would the pronoun 'it' be used annoying and offending every seaman. The quoted sentence sounds more like one of Joseph Conrad's novels.

Do forgive me if I'm entirely wrong. After all, we're here to learn.

Regards
 

whl626

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" differences " is correct instead. But I don't agree with ' wider ' since it refers to the differences and is not making comparison.
 
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