SASS EL P1 Editing Guide

SASS Guide to Editing 1 Strategies for Editing 1. Scan (Read quickly) through the passage 2. Read through passage the second time looking for clues 3. Look for clues by identifying: (i) Nouns (Do they agree with the verbs?) (ii) Verbs (Are they in the correct tense?) (iii) Prepositions Some common errors: 1. Tenses 2. Verb form E.g. I saw her cried. crying 3. Confusion between words E.g. weather vs whether/ when vs went 4. Word form E.g. happy (adj) vs happiness (n) 5. Subject verb agreement E.g. Tom and Jerry is … are 6. Pronouns E.g. They have only ourselves to blame. themselves 7. Modal verbs E.g. She could not attended the concert. attend 8. Articles E.g. I went to India and visited a Taj Mahal. the 9. Singular/plural nouns E.g. tooths vs teeth/ luggages luggage 10. Agreement E.g. I saw many student jay walk. students 11. Prepositions E.g. I sat at the bench. on 12. Reflexive pronouns Who vs which E.g. The lady which was wearing a black dress… who No Type of Error Rule Notes 1 Nouns Plural Nouns – referring to more than one thing There are some things which are thought of as being plural rather than singular, so some nouns have only a plural form. For example, you can buy ‘goods’ , but not ‘a good’. These are called plural nouns. Other nouns have only a plural form when they are used with a particular meaning. For example, an official meeting between American and Russian leaders is usually referred to as ‘talks’ rather than ‘a talk’. In these meanings, these nouns are also called plural nouns. Eg. Union leaders met the country for wage talks on October 9. It is inadvisable to sell goods on a sale or return basis. All proceeds are going to charity. Employees can have meals on the premises. Note that some plural nouns do not end in ‘-s’: for example ‘clergy’, ‘police’, ‘poultry, ‘evidence’, ‘audience’. Words that end in -ch, x or s sounds, will require an -es for the plural: • Witches, boxes, gases, buses Uncountable Nouns Do not insert the plural marker –s for uncountable nouns. Here is a list of the most common uncountable nouns of this type: money progress knowledge advice research baggage luggage homework news spaghetti traffic information machinery hair furniture Quantifiers We use quantifiers to express quantity. Some common examples Compiled by YV

SASS Guide to Editing 2 are all, any, both, each, enough, every, few, little, many, much, a lot of… 1) All, a lot of or lots of, enough, more, most, other and some are used with plural nouns and uncountable nouns Eg. All students must wear a uniform. Peter considers all philosophy absurd. Sandra has to do a lot of work. 2) Another, each and every are used with singular nouns only Eg. I am going to send you another postcard. Each student is given a test paper. Every toilet is cleaned regularly. 3) Many is used with plural nouns while much is used with uncountable nouns. Steven can speak many languages. I have spent too much money this month. 4) Few, a few and fewer are used with plural nouns while little, a little and less are used with uncountable nouns. Eg. A few people attended the party Since, I have a little money, I will buy myself a can of coke. Few and little are used to say that something is not enough. Fewer and less are used to compare an amount of something with another amount. Eg. Jenny has few friends because she is inconsiderate. Jenny has fewer friends than Karen. Jenny has little money so she needs to borrow some from you. Jenny has less money than Karen. 2 Tenses The Simple Past Tense – Stating a definite time in the past 1) You use the simple past tense to talk about things that happened in the past whether a long time ago or recently: Eg. Dr Johnson’s famous dictionary was published in 1755 I bought a new camera last week. 2) The simple past is used for an activity that was ongoing but has now stopped: Eg. My sister attended this school for six years. The Simple Past Continuous You use the past continuous for the situation that was ongoing when a certain single action took place: Eg. I was doing a tricky job on my computer when a power cut destroyed all my data. The past continuous is also used for an activity that was ongoing at a certain point in the past: Eg. At half past eight, Sam was eating his breakfast. Compiled by YV

SASS Guide to Editing 3 Tenses (continued) Simple Present Tense Subject verb agreement (sv) When you use the singular form of a countable noun as the subject of a verb, you use a singular verb. When you use the plural form of a countable noun as the subject, you use a plural verb. Examples: A dog likes to eat far more meat than a human being. Bigger dogs cost more. The Present Perfect – The past in relation to the Present You use the present perfect for past events that affect or explain the present situation: Eg. I have lost my address book so I can’t give you Sue’s new address. You also use the present perfect for situations that began in the past and still exist: Eg. Grandma has lived in this house since she was a girl. The present perfect is used with already, yet and just Eg. The money has already been spent. Harry has just phoned to invite us to his party. The Present Perfect Continuous You use the present perfect continuous for ongoing activities that began in the past and are still continuing: Eg. David has been trying to fix my computer, but he hasn’t succeeded yet. The Past Perfect – Events before a particular time in the past You use the past perfect to mention something that happened before an action or event in the simple past: Eg. The bus had already left by the time I reached the bus stop. The villagers who had lost their homes in the earthquake were given food and blankets. You use the past perfect continuous to talk about activities that were ongoing until an action or event in the simple past: Eg. We had been walking for about an hour when the storm broke. Talking about the future When we know about the future, we normally use the present tense. 1. We use the present simple for something scheduled: We have a lesson next Monday. The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning. The holidays start next week. It's my birthday tomorrow. 2. We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements: I'm playing football tomorrow. They are coming to see us tomorrow. We're having a party at Christmas. 3. We use will: when we express beliefs about the future: It will be a nice day tomorrow. I think Brazil will win the World Cup. Compiled by YV

SASS Guide to Editing 4 I'm sure you will enjoy the film. to mean want to or be willing to: I hope you will come to my party. George says he will help us. to make offers and promises : I'll see you tomorrow. We'll send you an email. to talk about offers and promises: Tim will be at the meeting. Mary will help with the cooking. 4. We use be going to: to talk about plans or intentions: I'm going to drive to work today. They are going to move to Manchester. to make predictions based on evidence we can see: Be careful! You are going to fall. (= I can see that you might fall.) Look at those black clouds. I think it's going to rain. (= I can see that it will rain.) 5. We use will be with an -ing form for something happening before and after a specific time in the future: I'll be working at eight o'clock. Can you come later? They'll be waiting for you when you arrive. 6. We can use will be with an -ing form instead of the present continuous or be going to when we are talking about plans, arrangements and intentions: They'll be coming to see us next week. I'll be driving to work tomorrow. 7. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to talk about the future: What are you going to do next year? I'd like to go to university. We plan to go to France for our holidays. George wants to buy a new car. 8. We use modals may, might and could when we are not sure about the future