errors finding: Hickories are medium to large trees common in eastern and the...

[Nessie]

Hi, could you please help me check if these sentences are grammatically correct:

1/ Hickories are medium to large trees common in eastern and the central areas of north america

2/ I, who am your friend, cannot understand you

3/ The dog took satisfaction in the fire, stretching out close enough for warmth and far enough away to escaped being singed (I suspect the phrase "far enough away" => it seems not very natural)

4/ I caught sight of Peter just as he left for work

5/ I caught sight of Peter just as he had left for work

6/ I caught sight of Peter just as he was leaving for work

Thank you in advance
Nessie
_________________
... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Yankee]

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What do you think, Nessie?
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_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, and native speaker of American English

[Nessie]

Hi Amy, here is what I think (by the way, I have supplemented some other sentences to my last post )

1/For this, I feel a bit skeptical with the phrase "medium to large trees", but I'm not sure if it is right or not...
2/I think this sentence is right
3/As I have stated above, the phrase "far enough away" seems so strange to me...

4/ 5/ 6/
For these, I choose 6 but my teacher said I was wrong.
_________________
... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Yankee]

Here are my suggestions:

1/ Hickories are medium to large trees, common in eastern and central areas of North America. (Add a comma, delete 'the' OR use 'the' before 'eastern', capitalization)

2/ I cannot understand you. Omit the 'who' part, or use some sort of conjunction if there is some reason that the "friend" information is important or necessary.

3/ The dog took satisfaction in the fire, stretching out close enough for warmth and far enough away to escape being singed.
"Far enough away" is fine and also natural. You only need to change 'escaped' to 'escape'.

4/ I caught sight of Peter (just) as he left for work. --> This is OK, but it would be better with 'was leaving'.

5/ I caught sight of Peter just after he had left for work.

6/ I caught sight of Peter (just) as he was leaving for work. (See 4)

Where are you getting these sentences from, Nessie?
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, and native speaker of American English

[Nessie]

Thanks a lot, Amy. I got these sentences from many sources. You know, I am a 12 grader who is about to take the entrance exam to the university and so I do many exercises of this kind. Most of them came from exercise books (written by non-native authors) for 12 graders.

I still have to queries to ask you:

1/ Hickories are medium to large trees, common in eastern and central areas of North America. (Add a comma, delete 'the' OR use 'the' before 'eastern', capitalization)
=> why must we add a comma there?
2/ sorry but I don't understand very clearly. My matter here is if I can use "I, who am..." here.
4/ 5/ 6/ So "was leaving" is the best choice? I just want to see about your idea because that was my choice but my teacher said I was wrong

Thanks a lot
Nessie
_________________
... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Nessie]

Hi Amy, could you please explain more?
Thanks a lot
Nessie
_________________
... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...