O-Level Editing 2: The Community Library
Twelve numbered lines, laid out as the paper does it. Lines 1 and 12 are correct. Of the ten between them, eight carry one grammatical error and two are correct: write the corrected word for the eight, and a tick for the two.
This passage tests articles, verb forms, singular and plural nouns, and the conjunctions that join clauses.
Spelling and punctuation are not tested. Change a word only when the grammar is wrong.
The passage
(1) The community library sits above the wet market, at the top of a flight of concrete stairs.
(2) My mother filled in form at the counter before we could borrow anything.
(3) She had lost her old card somewhere between the bus stop and the stairs.
(4) The lift had broke down again that morning, so everyone climbed.
(5) It is one of the few library in the east to open on a Sunday.
(6) The librarian shushed the boys near the window so they were talking too loudly.
(7) Nobody minded, and the boys moved to the long table at the back.
(8) We were not allow to bring drinks past the entrance.
(9) The librarian gave me some useful advices about choosing a first novel.
(10) My mother asked the librarian for an university prospectus before we left.
(11) The library lends not only novels and also board games to members.
(12) We left at six, when the shutters came rattling down over the wet market below.
Check your answers
Line 2: reveal answer
form → a form (article)
"Form" is a countable noun used here for the first time, so it needs an article. "The form" is credited too. A missing article is easy to read past, because a wrong one at least looks wrong.
Line 3: reveal answer
Tick. This line is correct.
"Had lost" puts the loss before the trip to the counter, which is the order the passage describes.
Line 4: reveal answer
broke → broken (verb form)
After "had" you need the past participle. "Broke" is the past simple, and the two are not interchangeable.
Line 5: reveal answer
library → libraries (singular and plural nouns)
"One of the few" is always followed by a plural: it picks one item out of a group.
Line 6: reveal answer
so → because (conjunction)
The talking caused the shushing, so the clause that gives the reason needs "because". "Since" and "as" work too. "So" would mean the shushing came first and caused the talking.
Line 7: reveal answer
Tick. This line is correct.
Two past verbs joined by "and", both agreeing with their own subject. Nothing is wrong.
Line 8: reveal answer
allow → allowed (verb form)
A passive needs the past participle after "were".
Line 9: reveal answer
advices → advice (singular and plural nouns)
"Advice" is uncountable in English. You can have a piece of advice, but never two advices.
Line 10: reveal answer
an → a (article)
The article follows the sound, not the letter. "University" begins with a "yoo" sound, so it takes "a", the same way "an hour" takes "an" despite starting with an h.
Line 11: reveal answer
and → but (conjunction)
The pair is "not only … but also". "And also" breaks it.
Check the harder lines
Line 5 reads: 'It is one of the few library in the east to open on a Sunday.' Why is 'libraries' correct?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) Because 'one of the' picks a single item out of a group, and the group must be plural
The correct answer is (B). 'One of the few libraries' means one library out of several, so the group named after 'of' has to be plural. (A) is false: 'library' is countable, which is exactly why it has a plural at all. What forces the plural here is 'one of'. (C) confuses tense with number. (D) is not true of 'east'. Test it by dropping the opening: 'of the few libraries' is what has to sound right.
Line 10 reads: 'My mother asked the librarian for an university prospectus before we left.' Which rule decides between 'a' and 'an'?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) The first sound of the next word
The correct answer is (B). 'University' starts with a consonant sound, 'yoo', so it takes 'a'. (A) is the rule most people half remember, and it is what produces this error: the word starts with a vowel letter but not a vowel sound. (C) and (D) decide whether you need an article at all, not which one. The mirror case is 'an hour', where a consonant letter carries a vowel sound.
Line 6 reads: 'The librarian shushed the boys near the window so they were talking too loudly.' What is wrong with 'so'?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) 'so' introduces a result, but this clause gives the reason
The correct answer is (B). Being loud is the cause and being shushed is the result, so the second clause needs 'because'. As written, the line says the shushing made them talk loudly. (A) is false: 'so' joins clauses perfectly well, as in 'They were loud, so she shushed them'. (C) is false. (D) is the trap for anyone who reads the line quickly and hears nothing odd. Ask which half happened first.
What to take away
Lines 4 and 8 both went wrong straight after an auxiliary: "had broke" and "were not allow". Once a line gives you has, had, was or were followed by another verb, that verb is almost always a participle: had broken, were not allowed. That one habit catches a large share of the verb errors this section sets.
Lines 3 and 7 were correct. Both are busy lines with several things going on, which is often exactly what a clean one looks like.
Back to O-Level editing · Next: Practice 3: The Park Connector