My grammar exercises

[Bassim]

Would you please correct my grammar and punctuation in the following sentences?

1. After a fiasco with the economic reforms, the President has laid himself open to criticism from all sides.
2. The air traffic was closed because of the bad weather, but the buses had been laid on to take the passengers to their destinations.
3. The police had laid a trap to catch drug dealers.
4. I left the pub when I saw people laying into each other. I did not want to end up with bruises and a black eye.
5. After the latest defeat, the manager of Arsenal laid blame on the lack of the defenders.
6. The boss stood in front of his workers, bawling at them, and telling them they should work more or leave the company.
7. The young girl sat on the bench crying; her thin shoulders shook under her light summer dress.
8. John talked to his wife as if he were giving orders to soldiers.
9. Gina stood waiting for his boyfriend for a long time, shifting irritably from one leg to the other.
10. Even those who did not know David felt an aura of self-confidence radiating from him. People drew to him instantly.

 

[tedmc]

1. After a fiasco with the economic reforms, the President has [STRIKE]laid[/STRIKE] made himself open to criticism from all sides.
2. The air traffic was closed because of the bad weather, but the buses had been[STRIKE] laid on[/STRIKE] deployed to take the passengers to their destinations.
3. The police had laid a trap to catch drug dealers.
4. I left the pub when I saw people laying into each other. I did not want to end up with bruises and a black eye.
5. After the latest defeat, the manager of Arsenal [STRIKE]laid[/STRIKE] put blame on the lack of the defenders.
6. The boss stood in front of his workers, bawling at them, and telling them they should work more or leave the company.
7. The young girl sat on the bench crying; her thin shoulders shook [STRIKE]under[/STRIKE] beneath her light summer dress.
8. John talked to his wife as if he were giving orders to soldiers.
9. Gina stood waiting for his boyfriend for a long time, shifting her legs irritably [STRIKE]from one leg to the other. [/STRIKE]
10. Even those who did not know David felt an aura of self-confidence radiating from him. People drew to him instantly.

 

[Tarheel]

(Question one.) How did the President open himself up to criticism from all sides? (In any news story that would be mentioned.)

 

[Tarheel]

(Question two.) Perhaps:

The airport was closed due to the bad weather, and buses took the travelers to their destinations.

(It was not safe to fly, but it was safe to travel via the roadways.)

 

[Tarheel]

If you post something here that will make it easier for me to find this one again.

 

[tedmc]

(Question two.) Perhaps:

The airport was closed due to the bad weather, and buses took the travelers to their destinations.

(It was not safe to fly, but it was safe to travel via the roadways.)

I don't think you can say "air traffic was closed because of bad weather".
You can say "flights were cancelled because of bad weather". And passengers were taken by buses to their destinations.

 

[Bassim]

tedmc,
I think you have made some mistakes in your corrections. But I think it is best to see if some teacher can contribute with his or her suggestions..

 

[tedmc]

tedmc,
I think you have made some mistakes in your corrections. But I think it is best to see if some teacher can contribute with his or her suggestions..

Bassim,
May I know which parts you do not agree with?

 

[Bassim]

tedmc,
I have to admit that compared to you and the teachers on this forum, my knowledge of English is limited. I am writing mostly following my inner voice.
In the first sentence, "the President has laid himself open to criticism," means exactly the same as your version "has made himself open..."
In the second, " the buses had been laid on" means the same as in your version "deployed."
Likewise, "laid blame" in my version means the same as in your version "put blame
In the sentence nr 9 "shifting irritably from one leg to the other," I wanted to put the emphasis on her whole body, while in your version.the emphasis is on her legs.

But again, I can only say what I feel. Therefore, I wished that someone who is a native speaker could tell us what was wrong with my sentences.

 

[emsr2d2]

"Laid himself open to criticism" works fine for me (BrE).

 

[Tarheel]

In AmE we would say the President opened himself up to criticism.

Please note that every sentence has a point.

 

[Tarheel]

For the third ssentence I would only change one thing. As it is there is no reason to use past perfect. Just say the police laid a trap to catch drug dealers.

 

[Tarheel]

Number four is perfect.

 

[Tarheel]

For number five say:

The manager of Arsenal blamed the latest defeat on a lack of effort by the defenders.

 

[Bassim]

Tarheel,

Actually, I wanted to say that the manager blamed the defeat on the lack of the players who are defenders, not on their effort.

 

[Tarheel]

Number six. The boss berated his workers, saying they should work harder or quit.

 

[Bassim]

For number six, what about : The boss bawled out at his workers, saying they should work harder or quit.

 

[Tarheel]

Tarheel,

Actually, I wanted to say that the manager blamed the defeat on the lack of the players who are defenders, not on their effort.

You seem to be saying there aren't enough defenders. (When we say there is a lack of something that means there's not enough.)

 

[Bassim]

You are right, Tarheel.
What about this version:
The manager of Arsenal blamed the latest defeat on not having enough defenders.

 

[Tarheel]

For number six, what about : The boss bawled out at his workers, saying they should work harder or quit.

Yes, but delete "at" from that sentence. (The phrasal verb "bawled out" works very well for AmE.)