English Grammar

Question

The answer key only showed the underlined words having the errors, but it didn't have an explanation. I'm not sure if my answers are correct. I asked the opinions of other people and they gave me different answers. Some says that there's no error on the underlined words and my answer key is incorrect. Please explain what's wrong. Thank you

1. The latest technology has to do with two rice croppings during the rainy season, when before only one crop is grown.

-"when" to "whereas"? and "is" to "was"?

2. The reason he was dismissed is because he was habitually late in reporting for work.

-"is" to "was"? (was because?) or "because" to "that"? (is that?)

3. With more and more people born each year, the need for food, fuel, and other natural resources have likewise grown.

-"have" to "has"? Is this correct? Why should it be singular? Where are we basing the "has"? Is it on the need? Or should it be "grown" to "grew"

4. He had neither the personality nor has he the background for the job which offers a good pay.

-Should it be "nor the background" only? Is it redundant?

Answer 1

Antoinette, I'm not sure what the parameters of your assignment are. Do these all have to be one sentence answers? Does the order of phrases matter?

Since I'm not sure, here's how to write the sentences correctly using the structures you're already employing:

1. Your suggestions work. The following sentence is correct:

The latest technology has to do with two rice croppings during the rainy season, whereas before, only one crop was grown.

2. ..."was because"... seems best here. He "was dismissed", so you need to continue writing in past tense. If he was dismissed before, he is not habitually late now.

3. Since more people are born each year, the need ...has grown. Food, fuel, and other resources have not grown, but the (singular) need for them has.

4. First of all, pick "has" or "had", and stick with it. Don't combine the two tenses in one sentence.

Secondly, it is grammatically correct to say, "He had neither the personality nor the background for a job which offers good pay."

Unless you're speaking about a specific job, replace "the" with "a" in front of "job". Also, remove the article "a" that precedes "good pay".

Answer 2

Sentence One: The word "when" should be substituted with "whereas" and "is" should be substituted with "was." "Whereas" is a conjunction that denotes contrast or comparison, and this sentence is differentiating between an old and new cropping technology. "Was" should replace "is" because the process being described is old.

Sentence Two: This one is a little less cut-and-dry. Some people would say that the use of the word "reason" obviates the need to use "because" because a reason is something that is used to indicate causality. The sentence could read: "The reason he was dismissed is that he was habitually late in reporting for work." The present tense of "to be," "is," is appropriate because the reason is still true. If you want to take a deep dive into this fascinating topic, give this article a skim: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/usage-of-reason-is-because-redundant.

Sentence Three: You need to use the singular form of the verb, which is "has." The verb must agree with subject to which it corresponds, and the subject in this sentence is a singular "need."

Sentence Four: The correct phrase is "nor the background." Nouns are used with "neither-nor."