Which words should I use?

[Tan Elaine]

I was supposed to be unable to conceive, so I was elated and strongly believe/believed that this baby was bestowed on us by God. I had actually recommended two friends to the same Chinese physician with the same problem/problems. One of them had to abort the baby after four months of pregnancy as the baby had Down syndrome. The other couple had a miscarriage. Some people might think that I was just lucky or it was just mere coincidence that I was able to conceive. But I strongly believe/believed it was all due to my faith in God.

1. Should it be 'believe' in both cases? I doubt because I think it should be 'believe' since I still believe.

2. Is 'actually' needed?

3. Should it be 'problem' or 'problems'? It refers to the inability to conceive.

4. Are there any other errors in the text?

Thanks in advance.

 

[sarat_106]

I was supposed to be unable to conceive, so I was elated and strongly believe(/believed) that this baby was bestowed on us by God. I had actually recommended the same Chinese physician to two of my friends with the same problem(/problems). One of them had to abort the baby after four months of pregnancy as the baby had Down syndrome. The other couple had a miscarriage. Some people might think that I was just lucky or it was just mere coincidence that I was able to conceive. But I strongly believe/believed it was all due to my faith in God.

1. Should it be 'believe' in both cases? I doubt because I think it should be 'believe' since I still believe.In the first case it is necessary: I was strongly believed (not belive). You can use either in the second case but believe is appropriate since your action is relevant to present.

2. Is 'actually' needed?Actually modifies the verb recommended, thereby adds to meaning.



3. Should it be 'problem' or 'problems'? It refers to the inability to conceive.The problem is one, so it should be singular.



4. Are there any other errors in the text? Some re-arrangement for better clarity made as above. You can use ‘of my’ before friends, but this is only a suggestion and not a correction

Thanks in advance.

Skp