Symbols: ww: wrong word. g:
grammar. p: punctuation. :
remove word. s: spelling. f-ww.:
(in)formal word. wo: word order. :
add a word. wf: word form. *: possibly ok.
Ver también: Linkers
para una lista de palabras que te pueden ayudar en tus escritos.
Hello, my name is Maite. I recently started studying English
with Steven and he asked me to write a few words about a normal
day in my life.
Well, nowadays my life is changing every day so there aren't
many "typical days" in my life, but in any case,
I'm going to try it.
I wake up at half past seven, have a very fast breakfast and
go to work. Firstly, I open my e-mails and check to see if
there are any requests or problems with my customers and suppliers.
At about eleven o'clock, Nuria gets to the office and we have
a coffee and talk about our free time.
After that, I continue measuring pieces and doing the quality
documents for them until two o'clock. Then, the accountant
arrives and I go home to have lunch. At about a quarter past
three, I go back to the office and finish up the morning's
work by five o'clock.
After that, I stay at the office twice a week because I have
an English class with Steven at six o'clock.
In any case, I usually have dinner with my boyfriend at eleven
o'clock and watch TV until we are too tired to pay attention
to it any longer, and then we go to sleep.
"I
have
recently started to study English with Steven" vs. "I
recently started studying
English with Steven." - There are a couple of points
here: 1) Although, the present perfect sentence "I have
recently . . ." is technically correct if you're announcing
this text as "the latest news," I prefer the past
simple because you're simply setting up the text. 2) Again,
"to study" is correct, but "studying"
emphasizes the activity in progress.
".
. .he asked me for to
write a few words about a normal day in my life." vs.
". . . he asked me to
write a few words about a normal day in my life." The
prepositions "for to" seldom (rarely) collocate
together in English in everyday speech and writing. I have,
however, read the combination in poetry, song lyrics and religious
texts.
".
. . everyday,
so there's not much
"typical days" in my life, but,
anycase, I'm going to try it." vs.
"Well, nowadays my life is changing every
day so there aren't
many 'typical days' in my life, but in
any case, I'm going to try it. There are a
few errors here: 1) "everyday"
vs. "every day" - everyday
vs. every day, 2) The phrase "typical days"
is plural so use the word "many," not "much"
- use "much" for uncountable nouns, 3) The correct
expression is "in any case" ("anycase"
is an error).
"I
wake up at half past seven, I have a very fast breakfast and
I go to my work." vs. "I wake up at half past seven,
have a very fast breakfast and go to work." Though technically
correct, this sentence can be rewritten as in the second example;
see: parallel development. Also, you
can leave out the possessive adjective "my" in "my
work." (optional)
"I
open my e-mails and check if. . ." vs. "I open my
e-mails and check to see if . . ." This is an optional
addition. I normally use the phrase "check to see if,"
which sounds more native-speaker-like, but you can use either.
"
about eleven o'clock, Nuria arrives
to the office and we have a coffee and talk about our spare
time ."
vs. "At
about eleven o'clock, Nuria gets
to the office and we have a coffee and talk about our free
time ."
There are a few points to mention here: 1) You can write either
"Nuria arrives to the office at about eleven o'clock"
or "At about eleven o'clock, Nuria arrives to the office."This
is partly a Spanglish error because in Spanish you say "sobre
las once . . ." 2) You can use either "arrive"
or "get" in this sentence, but "get" is
more frequently used by native speakers. 3) Though "spare
time" and "free time" both have the same dictionary
definitions, as a native speaker I never ask people about
what they do in their "spare time." I think that
maybe it's because the word "free"
is a much "happier" word, which is "free"
of darker connotations, while the word "spare"
has a couple.
"After
that, I continue measuring pieces and doing the quality documents
for our pieces until two o'clock,
t hen the accountant arrives and I go
home to have a
lunch." vs. "After that, I continue measuring pieces
and doing the quality documents for them
until two o'clock. Then,
the accountant arrives and I go home to have lunch."
There are a few minor points here: 1) My Spanish students
tend to NOT start new sentences often enough. In other words,
you should start new sentences more often. 2) Also in Spanish,
you are used to saying (accustomed to saying) "la cena,"
"el desayuno," etc. and you translate this directly
to English. In English we "have lunch," "have
breakfast," "have dinner," etc. without the
"a," "the," etc. 3) This is a very minor
point: you have the word "pieces" twice in the same
sentence. We usually use pronouns to avoid sounding repetitive.
"
about quarter past three, I
back to the office and 'till
five o'clock I dedicate to finish the work of the morning."
vs. "At
about a quarter past three, I go
back to the office and finish
up the morning's work by five o'clock."
There are a few errors here: 1) See the same previous error
explained above. 2) The word "back" is not a verb.
It's part of a "phrasal verb" or "verb plus
a preposition." You can also "come back" (return
to the place you're currently at), "walk back" (return
walking), "run back" (return running), "swim
back" (return swimming), "fly back" (return
flying), etc. etc. 3) Both "till" and "until"
are complete vocabulary words meaning the same thing. (See
"till 2:"
) 4) We don't often "dedicate" time to work. 5)
The last part of the sentence needs rewriting.
"After
that, two times a week I remain
in the office (because,
at six o'clock I have an english
class with Steven)."
vs. "After that, I stay
at the office twice a week because I have an English
class with Steven at six o'clock." There are a several
points here: 1) Although the word "remain" is correct,
it sounds more formal and "stay" is better in informal
texts. 2) You can stay either "in" or "at"
the office. It makes little difference. The word "in"
emphasizes "inside," not "outside." 3)
The parentheses (singular: parenthesis) are optional. 4) It's
not necessary to use a comma before the word "because"
and don't use one after it. 5) This is a very frequent error:
nationalities and languages are capitalized in English. 6)
"One time a week" is "once a week" and
"two times a week" is "twice a week."
7) Though not incorrect, I changed the word order of the phrase
"twice a week" to put it after the rest of the information
in the sentence "I stay at the office" because you
already have one introductory phrase "after that"
at the beginning of the sentence. (A typical Spanglish error
would be to put the phrase "twice a week" directly
after the verb.) 8) The first thing to do after the word "because"
is to directly give the reason why. Also,
whenever possible put the time phrases (at six o'clock) at
the end of the sentence unless (if not) you're giving a list
of times and what you do at each time (I.e. "At 8 o'clock,
I get up. At 9 o'clock, I have a shower." etc.)
In any
case, at eleven o'clock I used
to
dinner with my boyfriend and watch TV until we are too tired
to pay it attention
, and then we go to
sleep." vs. "In any case, I usually have dinner
with my boyfriend at eleven o'clock and watch TV until we
are too tired to pay attention to it any longer, and then
we go to sleep." There are a couple of points here: 1)
The phrase "used to" refers to something that was
true in the past ("solia" in Spanish) and "usually"
refers to present habits or routines ("suelo" or
"soler" in Spanish). 2) We "have" breakfast,
lunch and dinner. 3) The correct pattern is "pay attention
to something." (This is a Spanglish error because in
Spanish you say, "prestarle atención.") 4)
I added the words "any longer," which are optional.
5) I changed the order of the phrase "at eleven o'clock"
- see the previous example for the reason why.
My name is Nuria and I'm going to describe a normal day in
my work life. I usually get up at nine o'clock in the morning
and I don't have any problems with the traffic in the town
because my company is based near my home in an industrial
area.
The first thing I do when I arrive is open my e-mails and
look at several things like: the balance of bank accounts,
requests for quotations from any customers, replies from any
suppliers to my requests for purchase orders, delivery times
of the materials ordered, etc . . .
At ten o'olock, I go to have breakfast with my colleague
and my brother to a nearby café. My colleague and I
try to speak in English all day, but sometimes it is very
difficult due to all the telephone calls and the main administrative
problems that must be solved just in time. The morning goes
by very fast because we have to work very quickly. It seems
that the work is endless. Could it be that the papers reproduce
themselves every day?
When I finish (the time we leave depends on the amount of
work), I go home and change my clothes to go skating or play
tennis. Playing any sport helps me to relax. Next, I go back
home and take the dog for a walk. Finally, I watch TV for
an hour more or less because I can't stay awake any longer.
Nuria
Explanations:
"One
day in my live"
vs. "A
day in my life."
- There are a couple of errors here: 1) In Spanish there is
no difference between "one" and "a," but in English we use
"a" to talk about an indefinite thing or a thing
like any other. We use "one" to emphasize the number
of things, i.e. "one," not "two." 2) "live"
vs. "life".
To "live" is either a verb (when pronounced like
"sit" and "in") or an adjective (when
pronounced like "my" or "light") when
used to talk, for example, about a performer's concert, i.e.
"Bruce Springsteen Live in Barcelona." "Life"
is a noun (the opposite of "death") and is pronounced
like "my" and "light."
"My
name is Nuria and I'm going to explain
a normal day in my work life." vs. "My name is Nuria
and I'm going to describe
a normal day in my work life." To "explain"
is to give reasons why, to justify or to clarify something
that's difficult to understand. To "describe" is
to outline or give an idea or impression of.
"Usually
I get up. . . " vs "I usually get up . . ."
Either is correct, but if you use the first pattern (or structure),
use a comma after usually (i.e. "Usually, I get up .
. . ") Remember: we usually place adverbs of frequency
before the main verb or after the verb "to be."
(I.e. "I am usually late for work.")
"at
9:00 o'clock in the morning" vs. "at nine o'clock
in the morning" - Although not technically incorrect,
it's best to choose one or the other: numbers - (09:00) or
words (nine o'clock in the morning).
"I
haven't
problems with the traffic in the town" vs. "I
don't have any problems with the traffic in
the town" - Remember the auxiliary "do" in
present simple sentences. The first structure may exist somewhere,
but it is not standard English.
becouse
vs. because
- The second word has the correct spelling.
"my
company is based near
home" vs. "my company is based near my home"
- Simply clarify whose home it is by using a possessive adjective.
"my
company is based near my home,
in an industrial area." vs. "my company is based
near my home in an industrial area." The comma is unnecessary
here and only adds an unnatural pause to the text when reading/speaking.
"
The first I do
. . . " vs. "The first thing I do . . ." -
This is a Spanglish error. In Spanish you say, "lo primero
que hago . . . ", but in English "first" is
an adjective in this very common phrase, which is almost an
expression.
"The
first thing I do, when arrive, is open.
. ." vs. "The first thing I do when I arrive is
open . . ." - There are two errors. 1) In Spanish you
say, "cuando llego" and you translated this directly
to English without the "I." 2) The commas are completely
unnecessary here and only serve to add unnatural pauses when
reading/speaking.
".
. . is open the e-mail" vs. ". . . is open my e-mails"
- Although both are technically correct, I think you just
open your own e-mails and not others'.
"and
watch
several thinks"
vs. "and look at
several things"
- In the first mistake, we generally "watch" activities
in progress ("watch TV," "watch a race,"
"watch a film"). We actively "look at"
a stationary object. You can also "look for" several
things in this example, but with the meaning of "search
for several things." In the second mistake, this is probably
a memory problem. Many students often confuse similar sounding
words like: "kitchen" and "chicken." Obviously,
"think" is a verb and "thing" is a noun.
".
. . several things like;+list " vs. ". . . several things like:
+list " - Use a semicolon (;)
to connect two very closely related sentences (Re: Colon,
semicolon). Use a colon (:)
before a list of points.
"the
position
of bankscountsp ," vs. "the
balance of bank
accounts," - There are several errors
here: 1) position
vs. balance
- "A bank account balance shows the amount owed to you
by the bank." (Re: ext.
site), 2) Unlike in Spanish, in a phrase like "bank
accounts," both words are not plural, only
the second one. (In Spanish: "cuentas bancarias").
We don't say blues cars
(coches azules) either. 3) Another Spanglish error: "cuentas"
is "accounts" in English. 4) There is a space before the comma.
"petition
of quotation
from any customres"
vs. "requests for quotations
from any customers"
- There are several errors here: 1) I imagine the petition
error is another Spanglishy direct translation - "peticiones"
are "requests" in English. 2) The preposition "for"
is used with "requests." 3) You have more than one
customer, so "quotations" should be in the plural
form. 4) The word "customers" is spelled wrong.
replied
to any supplier
to my askingsof purchase
order"
vs. "replies
from any suppliers
to my requestsfor purchase
orders" - There
are several errors here: 1) "The word "replied"
is in the "past simple tense" rather than in the
"third person" form. 2) You have more than one "supplier"
as the word "any" indicates, so you should have
the word "suppliers" in the plural form. With just
one supplier you would use the indefinite article "a"
instead of "any." 3) "askings"
is a very creative use of English, but is wrong. The correct
word is "requests." 4) The correct preposition is
"for," not "of," in this pattern, i.e.
"a request for
something." 5) If there is only one "purchase order,"
you must use an article like "a," i.e. "a
purchase order." Otherwise, the reader expects a plural
form: "orders" without an article.
"At
ten o'clock, I go to have the
breakfast with my workmate and my brother to a nearcoffee bar."
vs. "At ten o'olock, I go to have breakfast with my colleage
and my brother to a nearbycafé."
- There are several errors here: 1) Unlike in Spanish, there
is no article "the" with breakfast. Also, breakfast,
lunch and dinner are not verbs. In Spanish, you say: "el
desayuno" or "desayunar." In English, we don't.
2) The word "workmate" is ok, but "colleague"
is better. 3) We say: "a nearby
hotel," "a nearby
shopping center," etc. 4) The best word is "café"
though a "coffee bar" is ok if you can't remember
the word.
"My
workmate and me
try to speak in englishdurig
all day" vs. "My colleague and I
try to speak in English
all day" - There are several errors here: 1) I
vs. me - Try
making two sentences from the original sentence, i.e."My
colleague tries to speak. . . " and "I
try to speak. . . " The result will give you the pronoun
that you need to use. (I.e. This is not correct: me
try to speak . . .") 2) Nationalities and languages like
"English" and "Spanish" are capitalized.
3) Another Spanglish error - In Spanish you say "durante
todo el día." In English, we just say "all
day." On the other hand, "todos los dias" is
translated as "every day."
"
. . . but sometimes
is very difficult due; call
telephones, differents an main administratves
problems that must be solves in this just moment."
vs. ". . . but sometimes it is very difficult due to
all the telephone calls and the main administrative problems
that must be solved just in time." - There are several
errors here: 1) You need a subject ("it") in "sometimes
it is very difficult." 2) The word "due" needs
to be followed by the preposition "to" when explaining
the reasons for something. 3) See the explanation above colon
vs. semicolon. 4) Spanglish error: "llamadas telefónicas
differentes" does not translate directly to English.
It is "all the telephone calls" in English. 5) I
imagine the word "an" must be "and." 6)
The word "administrative" is mis-spelled and in
the plural form. Remember we don't put both of these words
in the plural form as in Spanish, i.e. "problemas administrativos."
7) The word "solves" is in the third person. It
should be in the "past participle" form: "solved."
8) The expression "just in time" is generally used
in business.
"We
spent the
morning day
very fast p,
becouseour work
is very quickly," vs. "The morning goes
by very fast because
we have to work very quickly."
- There are several errors here: 1) Although "we spend
time doing things," we don't "spend
time very fast." Instead, we say
"time goes by" or time flies by" if you prefer.
2) The correct spelling is "because." 3) Again,
don't leave a space before a comma. In this sentence, however,
you should use a period or full stop. 4) The verb "work"
can be modified by the adverb "quickly" (i.e. we
have to work "quickly") but the noun "work"
cannot.
"It
seems work have not final."
vs. "It seems (that) the work is endless."
- There are a couple of errors here: 1) "work" vs.
"the work:" use the article "the" to specify
that you're talking about the work in your company, not work
in general. This is similar to the idea expressed in the sentence:
"I like carrots in general, but I don't like "the"
carrots in this soup." 2) In Spanish you say, "no
tiene fin;" In English, we say "endless" or
"the work goes on and on," etc. 3) Note that this
is a complete sentence and needs a period or full stop. Spanish
students of English tend to make their sentences too long.
"Cold be that the papers
reproduces it selfs,
every day?" vs. "Could it be that
the papers reproduce themselves
every day?" - There are several errors here: 1) The adjective
"cold" should be the modal verb "could."
2) You need a subject ("it") in this sentence. In
Spanish, you say "podría ser que" so this
is a Spanglish error. 3) One thing "reproduces itself."
Several things "reproduce themselves." 4) Don't
place a comma before "every day."
"the
leaving time
depends of the amoung
of work" vs. "the time
we leave depends on
the amount of
work" - There are several errors here: 1) Although "the
leaving time" is possibly correct, "the time we
leave" is much more frequent. 2) The word "depend"
is followed by the preposition "on." 3) "Amount"
is the correct spelling.
"for
trayning skate, or play tennis. "to
go skating or play tennis." - There are
a couple of errors here: 1) The phrase "to go skating"
is the correct one. 2) Don't use a comma when linking just
two options. i.e. "to be or not to be" NOT to
be, or not to be.
"To
practic any sports help me to
relaxing." vs. "Playing
any sport helps me to relax."
- There are a couple of errors here: 1) We don't generally
"practice" (it is spelled incorrectly in your text)
sports like in Spanish, we "play" sports. While
"to play sports" is correct, "playing sports"
sounds more like it is a continuous activity
in progress. 2) The correct phrase is "to help me to
relax."
At
lastcome
back home and take away
the dog to the street.
vs. "Next, I
go back home
and take the dog for a walk.
- There are a few errors here: 1) "At last" in this
sentence comes into conflict with "finally" in the
next sentence. The sequencing words "then," "after
that" and "next" are better. 2) In previous
sentences you used the word "go," which now comes
into conflict with the word "come," which is the
opposite. 3) The phrase "to take something away"
means something similar to "to steal something"
or "to remove something." 4) The phrase "to
the street" is Spanglish as in Spanish you say "llevar
el perro a la calle." In English, we say "to take
the dog for a walk."
"Finally
watch TV for 1 hour more or less because I can't be
awake no more time."
vs. "Finally, I
watch TV for an hour more or less because I can't stay
awake any longer."
- There are several mistakes here: 1) After the word "finally"
at the beginning of a sentence, add a comma. 2) This is a
Spanglish error, in Spanish you say "veo la tele,"
but this does not translate directly into English and you
need a subject, "I." 3) "To stay awake"
means to "continue" or "persist" in this
condition. "To be awake" is more static and doesn't
imply effort. 4) We use the word "long" to talk
about time. I.e. How long
does it take to correct a 250-word text as opposed to 150-word
one? It takes too long.
I can't work on it any longer.
I hope you spend as long
studying it and learning from it.
Hi. I'm Guillermo and I'm going to talk about what an ordinary
day in my work week is like.
I wake up every day but Mondays at half past eight because
I have an English class at eight o’clock in the morning (it
was Steven's decision!!). After having a shower, I get dressed
and go to my office. There, I start my working day by having
a coffee with my partners and talking about the schedule for
the day.
Later, I continue with the project I'm in charge of. Usually,
I have to write some reports and draw some maps. From time
to time, I meet with my partners to talk about the problems
we come across during the course of our work.
About half past two, I normally go to have lunch to my place
with my girlfriend. Sometimes, I eat with my partners, especially
when I didn't make anything for lunch the night before (laziness
is an expensive sin!!).
After lunch, I come back to my office. There, I have another
coffee with my friends (partners). As you probably have already
guessed, coffee is an essential ingredient in my diet.
I work till eight o'clock more or less. My leaving time depends
either on the amount of work we have to get done or on urgent
deliveries.
At last, I go home and meet my girlfriend (my main motivation
in life). We make dinner and watch some TV. When we start
to fall asleep, we go to bed and get up in the morning, and
think 'here we go again'.
Guillermo
Explanations:
Hi
I'm Guillermo vs. Hi. I'm Guillermo. Use some
sort of punctuation: either a period (full stop) or a comma.
to
depict a day vs. to talk about (etc.).
The first is rather formal and "disquieting" next
to an informal word like "Hi" in the first sentence.
"I'm
going to talk about how
is an ordinary day . . ." vs. "I'm
going to talk about how an ordinary day is
. . ." The first is the word order typically used in
a question. However, this sentence is not a question. Also,
I can ask a question like, "Do you know how
and ordinary day is?"
In any case, a sentence like "I'm going to talk about what
an ordinary day is like" would be a better choice. Perhaps,
it's because this prevents confusion with the common phrase
used in the exchange, "A: How are you? B: Fine, thanks."
(By the
way) "working week" vs. "work week" -
I prefer the latter, but I see plenty of mentions in Google
on the internet about "working week." Perhaps it's
British English?
(By the
way) "about what an ordinary day is like in my work week"
vs. "about what an ordinary day in my work week is like."
I think you're talking about the entire subject of
"an ordinary day in your work week," not
just "an ordinary day."
"everyday"
vs. "every day" - "Everyday" is an adjective
which you use before nouns and which describes, for example,
"everyday events," "everyday life," and
"everyday things." "Every day" is used
to talk about things which you do on a daily basis.
"I
wake up every day at half past eight but Mondays." vs.
"I wake up every day but Mondays at half past eight."
Putting adverbial expressions of time in the middle of the
sentence is a typically Spanglish word order ("Me despierto
todos los días a las ocho y media menos los lunes").
Try to become aware of this and start to place them at the
end. This is also try for other Spanglish sentences like,
"I like very much
Colombian coffee," which in English should be "I
like Colombian coffee very much."
"english"
vs "English" - nationalities and languages are capitalized
in English (not in Spanish). I think there must be a natural
or national "blind-spot" regarding this point as
all of my students insist on repeating the mistake over and
over again. So, you probably have to make an extra effort
to self-correct it.
"After
having a shower I
get dressed . . ." vs. "After having a shower,
I get dressed . . ." - Put a comma after all the linkers
showing chronological order that you use at the beginning
of a sentence: "after that," "then," "after
something," etc.
"I
get dressed and I go to my office." vs. "I get dressed
and go to my office." Technically both are correct. However,
it's good practice to reduce the amount of redundancy in sentences.
In this sentence there is "parallel development,"
which means that there is a pattern which repeats. If you
use "and" to link a lot of sentences
with similar structures using the same subject "I,"
you can eliminate the word which is repeated in all the sentences
after the first one. (i.e. "I wake up, get up, have a
shower, have breakfast, . . . and go to my office.")
You wrote something similar in a later sentence: "I go
home and I meet my girlfriend," which can be rewritten
as "I go home and meet my girlfriend."
"There
I start . . ." vs. "There,
I start . . ." - Again, in a similar way to the "shower"
explanation above, use a comma after linkers used to refer
back to a place mentioned in an earlier sentence.
"There,
I start my working day
having a coffee with my partners . . ." vs. "There,
I start my working day by
having a coffee with my partners . . ." - The latter
one is the usual pattern. You can also celebrate and help
"by doing something."
(By the
way) "the schedule of the day"
vs. "the agenda for the day" "Schedule"
means (according to the "Free Dictionary") "a
plan for performing work or achieving an objective, specifying
the order and allotted time for each part." While "agenda"
means, "A list or program of things to be done or considered"
or "a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended
to." Either one is ok and whether you use one or the
other probably depends on whether you think the plan for the
day is more fixed or more temporary.
(By the
way) "the schedule of the day" vs. "the schedule
for the day" - Because of the preposition "of,"
the first phrase sounds more like you always have the same
schedule. When you go to a restaurant, for example, you may
ask for the "soup of the day." The preposition "for"
sounds more like the schedule is just for
one day.
"Later
I continue. . . " vs. "Later,
I continue. . ." - See the "shower" explanation
above.
"I
continue with the project I'm in charge ."
vs. "I continue with the project I'm in charge of."
This is similar to: "I'm in charge of
a project." Don't forget to keep the preposition. It's
ok to end a sentence with a preposition in English (Not in
Spanish.)
"I
have to write some reports and to
draw some maps." vs. "I have to write some reports
and draw some maps." See the "parallel development"
explanation above" (i.e. I get dressed and go to my office).
The same thing can be said about this sentence. Though not
incorrect, it is redundant.
"I
arrange a meeting with my partners . . ." vs. "I
meet with my partners . . ." - Do you
just "arrange" the meetings or do you ever actually
"meet?" Either one is ok.
".
. . the problems we find during . . ." vs. ". .
. the problems we come across during . . ." - "To
come across" means "To meet or find by chance,"
which could also be said of "to find." However,
"to come across" collocated better with finding
something while carrying out a task.
".
. . during the development
of our works."
vs. ". . . during the course of our work." - The
noun "works" doesn't refer to the idea of "jobs"
or "projects" like in Spanish. It refers to other
things like "industrial buildings," etc. "Development"
is used in Spanish along with "work" to communicate
the same idea as in "during the course
of our work." In English, of course, "during the
course of" does this job.
"Sometimes,
I eat with my partners, above
allwhen I . . ." vs. "Sometimes,
I eat with my partners, especially when
I . . ." - "Especially" means: "To an
extent or degree deserving of special emphasis" while
"above all" means: "above and beyond all other
consideration or particularly."
"especially
when I haven't prepared
anything for lunch the night before" "especially
when I didn't prepare anything for lunch the night before"
- You normally don't mention "when"
(i.e. "the night before") in a present perfect sentence
like this one. If you say "when," use the
past simple.
"prepare
lunch" vs. "make lunch" - Normally, we "make"
it, not "prepare" it.
"As
you,
probably,
have already guessed . . .." vs. "As you probably
have already guessed. . ." There's no need for commas
here and they have the effect of making you pause unnaturally
as you read both before and after the word "probably."
Compare with both: "I, usually, go to work in the mornings"
and "I usually go to work in the mornings."
"o'clok"
vs. "o'clock" - No explanation necessary.
"my
leaving time" vs. "the time I leave" (or "my
departure time" in more formal contexts)
- The first is rather uncommon, though perhaps not incorrect.
".
. . the amount of work we have to fullfill.
. . " vs. ". . . the amount of work we have to do
or get done. . . " First, the correct spelling is "fulfill."
Normally, you can "fulfill work requirements," "fulfill
work orders" and "fulfill work assignments."
But, normally you don't just "fulfill work." However,
you can "get work done" or "do work."
(By the
way) "my main motivation" vs. "who is my main
motivation in life." When I read the text, I had to pause
on "my main motivation" to think about what you
had meant to say.
"diner"
vs. "dinner" - A "diner" is a type of
restaurant. "Dinner" is the meal you eat in the
evening.
"make
the dinner" vs. "make dinner"
- The first, I imagine, is Spanglish because you say, "hacer
la cena" in Spanish. In English, we don't usually use
an article before breakfast, lunch and dinner.
"When
we start falling asleep" vs. "When we start to fall
asleep" - The former sentence sounds either like a longer
slow-motion activity in-progress like with the present continuous,
or like something that repeats (I have an absurd mental image
of somebody falling asleep again and again.)
"When
we start to fall asleep
we go to bed." vs. "When we start to fall asleep,
we go to bed." - Use a comma to separate the two clauses
in an "if" or "when" sentence when the
sentence begins with either word, but NOT when these words
are in the middle. (I.e. "We go to bed when
we start to fall asleep" and/or "We go to bed if
we start to fall asleep.")
"we
go to bed and here we go again" vs. "we go to bed
and get up in the morning thinking 'here we go again'."
I was confused by "Here we go again" until I thought
about it for a while. You have to put it into context to clarify
it.
Organizational
note: As with many of the texts in these "Textos a Corregir"
pages, the text above shows advanced usage of English skills.
Many of the mistakes in your text would be made by many native
speakers as well. Many other points I made aren't mistakes
at all, but merely suggestions. Overall, it's an excellent
piece of work.
On a lighter note, for mercy's sake, can you try to keep
any future texts at around 150 words, give or take 30. Yours
was 250 words long!
On a normal day, I get up in the morning at 8:15, which is
too late since I have to take my four-year old son to school
and he has to be there al 9:00 o’clock. This means that I
start the timed run.
My son and I get dressed and have breakfast. Then we go out
to meet his two friends and their mothers and we all walk
together to school. After leaving him at school I go to buy
bread and whatever is necessary for that day and I come back
to my house. I make the beds, clean and cook for the day.
In between these tasks I have to be doing several things like
paperwork for my husband’s job, study (I am trying to pass
a state exam for a government position), make telephone calls
to solve different administrative problems, and so on. At
12:15 I have to go back to pick up my son at school. We come
back, have lunch and go back to school at 14:15.
At 16:00 I do the last back and forth trip to school. We
get home and have an afternoon snack, then we go out to the
park for my son to play with his friends and later I give
him a bath, we have dinner, and I put him to bed.
At last I have a little spare time to watch a movie with
my husband and then go to bed.
Victoria G.
Explanations:
"In
a normal day I get up ..." - "On
a normal day I get up ..." The correct preposition to
use with "day" is "on." For example, we
also say "on Friday" and "on the 3rd of March."
"four
years old son" - "four-year-old
son" - There is a difference between, "My son is
four years old" and "I have a four-year-old son."
"Four-year-old" is an adjective that describes son
and in this type of noun phrase has dashes or hyphens between
the words.
While
grammatically correct, "I start the timed run" with
"the" sounds like I should know which "timed
run" you're talking about. Perhaps if you clarified it
a bit better by saying "my daily timed run" or something
like that, it would be clearer.
While
grammatically correct, "I make the beds, clean and cook
for the day" lacks parallel development. You should use
similar (parallel) structures for each of the three points:
i.e. "I make beds, clean house and cook food for the
day." The same thing could be said for the next sentence
in this text.
"back
and forward trip" - "back and forth
trip" - The latter phrase is more correct as it's the
usual expression. However, you could also say "my last
trip back and forth...," which might even be more common
and personal sounding.
Writing: Correction of texts.
:
remove word.
:
add a word. 
Text 1: If you like, try to correct the text
first. I've given you a few hints. See the key above. 
