Common writing mistakes

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• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 2

Common writing mistakes

On the following slides, pay attention to

(more) common mistakes that Dutch students (you also included)

make and answer the questions

Numbers... how do you write them in English?

Look at this sentence:

I live with my parents, 2 sisters, 1 brother,

2 stepsisters and 13 pets.

Lots of numbers...

How should this sentence be written correctly?

The sentence should be

written like this:

I have my parents, two sisters, one brother,

two stepsisters and 13 pets.

General rule for writing

numbers in English

Small numbers (1-9) = one, two, three,...

Large numbers (10+) = 10, 11, 12, 13,...

How do you write school subjects?

The important thing to remember is that

languages ALWAYS have a capital letter!

art, French, economy, physics

English, math, drama, music, Spanish

Always use capital letters:

• at the beginning of a sentence (that's easy)
  

• with names & last names (easy)
  
• for the days, months, holidays (not seasons)
• for titles of books and movies
• for cities, countries, nationalities, languages
• for specific periods and historical events

Examples where capital letters

(always!) need to be used

• you You are never going to write a sentence like this.
  

•  paul Paul, Peter, and pip Pip all need to be in capital letters!
  
• Easter is on Sunday, April 17th in the middle of spring.
• No Time to Die is the new James Bond movie.
  
• She lives in Paris, France but doesn't speak French.
  
• Most World War I veterans are now dead.
  

Take a look at these two sentences....

I always do my homework last-minute.  And I sometimes get into trouble.

AND, BUT, SO...

never at the beginning

of a sentence!

I always do my homework last-minute.  And I sometimes

get into trouble.

I always do my homework last-minute and I sometimes
get into trouble.

He and his brother has have the same shirt.

Ex 53e

Ex 54

Ex 55b 

Past simple - past continuous

Past continuous form

Affirmative

was/were + verb + ing

I was watching tv

Negative

wasn't/ weren't + verb + ing

I wasn't watching tv

Subject questions

Who + was + verb + ing

Who was watching tv?

Yes or no questions

was/were + subject + verb + ing

Was she watching tv?

Short answers

yes/no + subject + was (not) /were (not)

No, she wasn't 

Wh- questions

Wh- word + was/were + subject + verb + ing

What were you watching?

We use the past continuous...

1. to describe a background scene in a story or in a description of a main event.

2. to talk about an action that was in progress when another action took place

(for the shorter action, which happened while the longer one was in progress, we use the past simple)

Examples:

1. At 7 a.m. Doug was having breakfast. He was sitting  at the table and he was drinking coffee.

2. When he was finishing his breakfast, Meg came into the kitchen

Past simple

Past continuous

Past simple

Past continuous

Fred _______ down the hall,
when he dropped his phone.

1. walks
2. was walking
3. walked
4. were walking

She ______ her teeth at 7 a.m. this morning, when her phone rang.

1. brushes
2. brushed
3. was brushing
4. brush

They _________ their trip,
when they saw a giant spider.

1. was enjoying
2. were enjoying
3. enjoyed
4. did enjoy

Which one is the past simple and which one is the past continuous?

past simple

past continuous

Now let's practice them together:

past simple & past continuous

Past simple

Past continuous

was watching

thought

were sleeping

was running

were 

was thinking

cancelled

George  ........ (fall) off the ladder while he ..... (paint) the ceiling.

Past continuous vs past simple

Fill in the correct form.

fell

was falling

was painting

painted

.... you ..... (you watch) TV when I ..... (call) you?

Past continuous vs past simple

Did ... watch)

Were .... watching

called

was calling

He _______ TV,
when he _____ something.

1. was watching, was hearing
2. was watching, heard
3. was watching, heared
4. watched, was hearing

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