Help With these Grammar Questiona

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1

<p>Can someone explain what is wrong with each? The parantheses surrounds the incorrect parts.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Underneath the basement floor (lies) the drainpipes that were installed years aago by the original owner of the house.</p></li>
<li><p>Plato and Aristotle taught that the ideal human being is the philosopher - the person of reason who (looked upon) existence with detachment.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Is the idiom incorrect? Here ([look</a> upon, looks upon, looking upon, looked upon- WordWeb dictionary definition](<a href=“WordWeb Online Dictionary and Thesaurus”>look upon, looked upon, looks upon, looking upon- WordWeb dictionary definition)), it seems fine?</p>

<ol>
<li>People are no more likely to become athletic by watching sporting events (as) they are to become healthy by reading medical books.</li>
</ol>

<p>I think it should be “than” because it is a comparison. Can someone confirm?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<ol>
<li>drainpipes(plural subject) , so “lie” instead of “lies”</li>
<li>i think it should be “looks upon”, since the sentence states XXX is the philosopher, one who looks upon YYY.</li>
<li>yep “than” is required here because of the idioms “more…than”</li>
</ol>

3

<p>oh hey mabsjenbu!

  1. "drainpipes’ is a plural subject so it requires a plural verb in “lie”</p>

<ol>
<li><p>the philosopher isnt doing an action in the past, looks upon is part of an adjective phrase started by the relative pronoun who</p></li>
<li><p>yea it is than; more, less, greater–they all require a than when used in comparisons.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>drats</p>

4

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

5

<p>EDIT: Never mind, my bad.</p>

6

<p>Is it supposed to be look at? I think look upon is unidiomatic.</p>

7

<ol>
<li>Underneath the basement floor (lies) the drainpipes that were installed years aago by the original owner of the house.</li>
</ol>

<p>Try changing the sentence structure into…
The drainpipes [that were installed years ago by the original owner of the house] lies underneath the basement floor. If I am correct, the phrase enclosed in brackets is called a restrictive phrase, so you can take that out without mangling the central idea of the sentence.</p>

<p>2.</p>

8

<p>^oops… I don’t know what happened for 2. I sound asisine right there. :D</p>