Sentence Correction?

Question

Hi all,I have got some sentences which were extracted some fact-related web sites. I'm not sure sf these sentences are grammatically correct or not. Punctuation is also important for me. Here are the sentences:The Japanese developed an electric car in 1949 that could travel 200km on a single charge.There is a fish that causes hallucinations when eaten and were used as a recreational drug by the Roman Empire.Due to the gender imbalance, by the year 2020, 24 million Chinese men will be unable to find a spouse.The only Japanese survivor of the Titanic was branded a coward in Japan for having dishonored himself by not going down with the ship.Nokia was once famous as a manufacturer of toilet paper.The average dog can learn 165 words, count up to 4 or 5 and even have a basic understanding of arithmetic.Bangladesh has more people than Russia, despite Russia being almost 119 times as large.60% of all humans live in Asia.When driving in Europe, a reflective jacket is needed, by law, for every seat the car has, whether or not people are using them.3.2 billion people, or 46.4 per cent of the global population watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup.I'm looking for the teacher's and contributor's evaluation. Thanks.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

learnsomethingI have got some sentences which were extracted some fact-related web sites. I'm not sure sf these sentences are grammatically correct or not. Punctuation is also important for me.

In which case: what mistakes do you think you see in those sentences, learn something? Post your efforts and we will confirm or deny them.

Learnsomething · Answer

Hi Mister Micawber.

I think all of the sentences are OK. But there are some subject verb agreement questions in my mind.

For example

The average dog can learn 165 words, count up to 4 or 5 and even have a basic understanding of arithmetic.

I think the average dog has a plural meaning here, but I'm not sure.

There is a fish that causes hallucinations when eaten and were used as a recreational drug by the Roman Empire.

A fish is singular but were is plural?

Due to the gender imbalance, by the year 2020, 24 million Chinese men will be unable to find a spouse.

There is a gender imbalance. But where is it? In China? Of course it's China. Can we add China to the first sentence?

Due to the gender imbalance in China, by the year 2020, 24 million Chinese men will be unable to find a spouse.

Other sentences seem OK. Since I'm not a native speaker of English, I don't have a deeper understanding of the English grammar and punctuation. I want to learn how to write in a proper way in English. This is just an exercise.

Mister Micawber · Answer

The average dog can learn 165 words, count up to 4 or 5 and even have a basic understanding of arithmetic.-- 'Can learn...and [can] have. This is OK.

I think the average dog has a plural meaning here, but I'm not sure. -- No, 'dog' is always singular

There is a fish that causes hallucinations when eaten and were used as a recreational drug by the Roman Empire. A fish is singular but were is plural? - You are right: the grammar is wrong; it should be 'was'.

Due to the gender imbalance, by the year 2020, 24 million Chinese men will be unable to find a spouse. There is a gender imbalance. But where is it? In China? Of course it's China. Can we add China to the first sentence?-- You may, but 'the' makes it clear enough. Adding 'China' to the sentence when it already includes 'Chinese' is not particularly good style.

Other sentences seem OK.-- If I were the editor, I would make minor changes to the last two:

When driving in Europe, a reflective jacket is needed by law for every seat the car has, whether or not anyone is using it.
3.2 billion people, or 46.4 per cent of the global population, watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

This is just an exercise.-- Well, it was not an exercise until you put your own effort into it!

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for the answer and the opportunity of this exercise. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

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