Jack's avatar
Jack

April 9, 2021

0
Journal

My work place, my home and my mom's home are in a straight line and the whole distance is about 6.5 kilometers. My home is almost in the middle of the line. There is a steamed bun store near my home and I often buy its buns. Yesterday afternoon, after work, I rode my bike to go to my mom's home. When I arrived at that bun store, I bought ten yuan buns. Next to the store there is a pot-stewed food stand, and I bought half a salty duck there, and then I cycled to my mom's home. I ate dinner with my mom and talked with her for a little while. After that, I returned home. The whole trip is about ten kilometers. If it was in the old days, such a distance was a piece of cake, but now I feel a little tired. When I was young, I couldn't afford to buy a car, and my only transportation was a bike. Unfortunately, at that time, there were many thieves who specialized in stealing bicycles. I was no exception that several bikes of mine were stolen. Nowadays in China, there are very few people who still ride bikes because each family almost has a car. Sometimes one family can have two or three cars. People who ride bikes nowadays are not because they can't afford a car, but they just want to practice their body to get more healthy. I know this journal is written messy, but I don't want to do this. It's just because, at present, I don't have the ability to write it well.

Corrections

Journal

My work place, my home and my mom's home are in a straight line and the whole distance is about 6.5 kilometers.

My home is almost in the middle of the line.

There is a steamed bun store near my home and I often buy its buns.

Yesterday afternoon, after work, I rode my bike to go to my mom's home.

"rode" already implies that you went somewhere, so you don't need "to go" as well.

When I arrived at that bun store, I bought ten yuan buns.

This is a bit ambiguous. Ten buns that cost 1 yuan each? This is probably cultural context as much as translation, but I'd maybe say "ten one-yuan buns".

Next to the store there is a pot-stewed food stand, and I bought half a salty duck there, and then I cycled to my mom's home.

I ate dinner with my mom and talked with her for a little while.

After that, I returned home.

The whole trip is about ten kilometers.

If it was in the old days, such a distance was a piece of cake, but now I feel a little tired.

You need a conditional tense with "if" here. "If it was in the old days, such a distance [would be/would have been] a piece of cake". But "if" isn't really necessary, it's more natural to just talk about what it was like in the old days.

You'd be more likely to use "if" here to speak hypothetically about a very specific situation. "If you'd offered me that price ten years ago, I'd have bitten your arm off."

When I was young, I couldn't afford to buy a car, and my only transportation was a bike.

Unfortunately, at that time, there were many thieves who specialized in stealing bicycles.

I was no exception, in that several bikes of mine were stolen.

Or just "I was no exception, and several ..."

Technically incorrect to use "I was no exception" here, it means "I belonged to the same set as the previous thing I mentioned", but the previous thing you mentioned was "many thieves who stole bicycles". So it kind of suggests that you, also, were a thief who stole bicycles. It would be more natural if you'd said "Many people were targeted by bicycle theft, and I was no exception" - but it's the kind of error natives make all the time and only English teachers and copy editors care about, so in a sense not really an error at all. Here it's quite natural, and talking about your bikes being stolen makes it perfectly clear what you mean. But using "exception" in the same way in another context might produce worse results.

Nowadays in China, there are very few people who still ride bikes because each family almostalmost every family has a car.

"each family almost has a car" - every family has *most of* a car. Like, they might be missing one wheel, or a window, or the wing mirror. But they all have one. Or they're all very close to getting one, they "almost have a car" because they're buying one next week.

Not really a problem here because it's clear what you mean. But "each of my friends almost passed the exam" and "almost all of my friends passed the exam" - very different meanings.

Sometimes one family can have two or three cars.

People who ride bikes nowadays aredo so not because they can't afford a car, but because they just want to practice their body to get moreexercise and get healthyier.

Difficult to explain the grammar here, but what you had was wrong. "do so", "do it", "do that", not "are". It would be "are" only as "People are riding bikes nowadays not because ...".

You probably wanted "train", not "practice". "practice" doesn't really work here. I suggest "exercise" because it means you can drop the "body", and then I don't have to worry about whether it should be "bodies" to match the plural "people" :)

I know this journal is written messily, but I don't want to do thisit's not intentional.

Need the adverb here, "messy" is an adjective.

"I don't want to do this" is like someone is forcing you to write the journal.

It's just because, at present, I don't have the ability to write it well.

Feedback

Not messy at all imo. Subtle mistakes but easy to understand.

I am envious of your steamed bun store.

Jack's avatar
Jack

April 10, 2021

0

When I arrived at that bun store, I bought ten yuan buns.

Each bun cost 0.5 yuan, ten yuan can buy 20 buns. Maybe I should say “ ten yuan of buns”?

Jack's avatar
Jack

April 10, 2021

0

Nowadays in China, there are very few people who still ride bikes because each family almostalmost every family has a car.

Excellent explanations. Meticulous and very precise.

Jack's avatar
Jack

April 10, 2021

0

Thank you very much. From these corrections I learned a lot of new skills.

secretpostman's avatar
secretpostman

April 10, 2021

0

Thanks, glad you appreciated :)

"Ten yuan of buns" is probably okay. If they were dollars, I would understand exactly what "ten dollars of buns" meant. In Britain we're used to saying "I bought ten pounds' worth of buns", "I spent ten pounds on buns", "I bought some buns for ten pounds" - I feel like we tend to avoid the "ten pounds of buns" construction because pounds can mean either money or weight. So it sort of sounds awkward to me, although I don't want to say it would be wrong. But I am absolutely sure "ten yuan's worth of buns" would be a correct way to say it.

Jack's avatar
Jack

April 10, 2021

0

Ten yuan’s worth of buns. “yuan’s worth of” Thank you very much. I learned another expression again.

Journal


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

My work place, my home and my mom's home are in a straight line and the whole distance is about 6.5 kilometers.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

My home is almost in the middle of the line.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

There is a steamed bun store near my home and I often buy its buns.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

Yesterday afternoon, after work, I rode my bike to go to my mom's home.


Yesterday afternoon, after work, I rode my bike to go to my mom's home.

"rode" already implies that you went somewhere, so you don't need "to go" as well.

When I arrived at that bun store, I bought ten yuan buns.


When I arrived at that bun store, I bought ten yuan buns.

This is a bit ambiguous. Ten buns that cost 1 yuan each? This is probably cultural context as much as translation, but I'd maybe say "ten one-yuan buns".

Next to the store there is a pot-stewed food stand, and I bought half a salty duck there, and then I cycled to my mom's home.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

I ate dinner with my mom and talked with her for a little while.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

After that, I returned home.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

The whole trip is about ten kilometers.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

If it was in the old days, such a distance was a piece of cake, but now I feel a little tired.


If it was in the old days, such a distance was a piece of cake, but now I feel a little tired.

You need a conditional tense with "if" here. "If it was in the old days, such a distance [would be/would have been] a piece of cake". But "if" isn't really necessary, it's more natural to just talk about what it was like in the old days. You'd be more likely to use "if" here to speak hypothetically about a very specific situation. "If you'd offered me that price ten years ago, I'd have bitten your arm off."

When I was young, I couldn't afford to buy a car, and my only transportation was a bike.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

Unfortunately, at that time, there were many thieves who specialized in stealing bicycles.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

I was no exception that several bikes of mine were stolen.


I was no exception, in that several bikes of mine were stolen.

Or just "I was no exception, and several ..." Technically incorrect to use "I was no exception" here, it means "I belonged to the same set as the previous thing I mentioned", but the previous thing you mentioned was "many thieves who stole bicycles". So it kind of suggests that you, also, were a thief who stole bicycles. It would be more natural if you'd said "Many people were targeted by bicycle theft, and I was no exception" - but it's the kind of error natives make all the time and only English teachers and copy editors care about, so in a sense not really an error at all. Here it's quite natural, and talking about your bikes being stolen makes it perfectly clear what you mean. But using "exception" in the same way in another context might produce worse results.

Nowadays in China, there are very few people who still ride bikes because each family almost has a car.


Nowadays in China, there are very few people who still ride bikes because each family almostalmost every family has a car.

"each family almost has a car" - every family has *most of* a car. Like, they might be missing one wheel, or a window, or the wing mirror. But they all have one. Or they're all very close to getting one, they "almost have a car" because they're buying one next week. Not really a problem here because it's clear what you mean. But "each of my friends almost passed the exam" and "almost all of my friends passed the exam" - very different meanings.

Sometimes one family can have two or three cars.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

People who ride bikes nowadays are not because they can't afford a car, but they just want to practice their body to get more healthy.


People who ride bikes nowadays aredo so not because they can't afford a car, but because they just want to practice their body to get moreexercise and get healthyier.

Difficult to explain the grammar here, but what you had was wrong. "do so", "do it", "do that", not "are". It would be "are" only as "People are riding bikes nowadays not because ...". You probably wanted "train", not "practice". "practice" doesn't really work here. I suggest "exercise" because it means you can drop the "body", and then I don't have to worry about whether it should be "bodies" to match the plural "people" :)

I know this journal is written messy, but I don't want to do this.


I know this journal is written messily, but I don't want to do thisit's not intentional.

Need the adverb here, "messy" is an adjective. "I don't want to do this" is like someone is forcing you to write the journal.

It's just because, at present, I don't have the ability to write it well.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

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