PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION

Much stores and shopping centres prepare for chinese new year and Valentines day, there is a special display, traditionally Chinese food, and decoration, although chocolate and flowers for Valentines day,  greetings cards, and cloths with hearts and roses are common.

1.   Capitalization—proper nouns need a capital letter: Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day.

2.   Count noun—“stores” is a count noun; it needs to be qualifies by “many” not “much”.

3.   Verb tense—use the present progressive for something that is in progress: are preparing.

4.   Noun form—with the use of the plural “stores and shopping centres”, related items should also be plural: displays, foods, decorations, chocolates.

5.  Verb agreement—in the second clause, a number of different things are the subject of the expletive “there is”; for that reason, it should be “there are”.

6.  Punctuation—use a semicolon between independent clauses (…day; there…). Separate the ideas  relating to  Chinese New Year from those relating to Valentine’s Day. These could be separate sentences, or separate them with a semicolon.

7.  Word form—use an adjective before a noun, so change “traditionally” an adverb, to the adjective ‘traditional”; “greetings” is also used as an adjective; therefore, it cannot take the plural “s”. This idea of “traditional” should be repeated for Valentine’s Day.

8.  Word confusion—many of you confused the words “cloths” and “clothes”; they are related, but they mean something quite different.

Possible Answer: Many stores and shopping centres prepare for Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day; there are special displays, traditional Chinese foods, and decorations. Although chocolate and flowers for Valentine’s Day are traditional, greeting cards and clothes with hearts and roses are common.