Syntax handout and exercises

Most primitive societies have traditional stories. These stories tell of heroes on journeys. Some of them are called myths.

Ice cream is a very old desert. Romans brought ice from the mountains of northern Italy. They mixed the ice with cream and honey.

5 Correct the sentence structure; omit the redundant words; make the sentences more formal.

Student essays:

Jo Nesbo, one of Norwegian writers, created a character, Harry Hole. Surprisingly, there is nothing good about that hero but his heart. He is an alcoholic, takes drugs, has one-night-stands on a daily basis although he is not even a handsome man.

I have seen people completely obsessed with gaming and this kind of life. They no longer care about their friends or family. They neglect their health and studies. They lose sense over what is real and what is not.

At last I should not forget about a component in detective fiction which for me is crucial point of all the reasons above. Humour. Witty questions and answers, naive reactions must cheer up the reader. Humour creates an atmosphere that makes the characters charming and lovable.

`Inception' is a hard movie to judge. Basically, it is a mind-bender, and as such should be judged by two criteria: How good of a mind-bender is it? And, How much does it create a realm of its own with phenomena and rules of causality that work consistently?

Amazon reviewers:

I bought this movie [Dark City, 1999] because I LOVE unique,weird sci-fi flicks. The cast was awesome and the effects were cool. The movie was an original work of art. Jennifer Connelly was (still is) hot! The idea of nobody having there own thoughts or memories is very scary to me. The idea of everyone sharing the same Dreams and thoughts without knowing it blows my mind! If you do not own this I urge you to pick it up!!! This is a classic sci-fi flick!

I just finished watching Inception for the second time. The Blu-ray is amazing. The PQ and AQ are perfect in every way. It was very, very good. The audio is very bass heavy, but is up there with some of the best Blu-ray AQ I have heard. The movie was stunning all the way through and after another watch it is just as good if not better than the first time I watched it.

This film is somewhere between a crime thriller, a character study, and a romance. The story revolves around Doug McRay. He robs banks with his friends from Charlestown. On one heist (the movie opener), they deviate from the plan and take a hostage. After letting her go (she never saw them), Doug decides to follow her and talk with her. They end up starting a relationship. The questions: how can Doug keep this secret, and how can he get out of his life of crime?

5 Divide the overly long sentences into shorter ones, and change the sentence structure to create more formal and clear-cut sentences. Omit the redundant words and informality.

Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's masterpiece of a dystopian future, is available again on DVD - Hoorah! Well, not quite: the new release has a few improvements – after all, the original Warner Brothers release went straight into the film, you didn't even get a menu – but there are drawbacks, too.