Grammatical Error

Honestly, I'm not seein' what's wrong with the original.

Seriously, the only thing I can think of is adding a 'do' at the end of it, but that doesn't necessarily make it more correct -- just more complete.

It'd be like saying "He's taller than I am" is more correct than "He's taller than I."

But maybe I'm mistaken.

Could it be:

Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than boys spend.


Otherwise the sentence reads that girls spend more time on homework - less on boys.

jen.nifer said:

The following sentence contains a grammatical error (that we are required to correct) according to my course book:

Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than boys.

This is my effort:

Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than what boys do.

I don't like that effort either. Assistance please?

Click to expand...

(A) Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than boys do.

or

(B) Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than on boys.

The problem with the original is not that it's grammatically incorrect -- it's about clarity. Without the last word "do," we're not sure if it's (A) or (B).

How about:
Research shows that girls spend more time than boys on homework.

The original sentence:
Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than boys.

sounds as though the girls are on boys more than they are on homework; which, when I come to think of it, might have contributed to my downfall in high school.


Other alternatives:
Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than boys do.

Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than on boys.

Research Shows that girls spend more time than boys on homework.

That'd be my best guess. I'd add 'their' between 'on' and 'homework,' but thats just me.

The what is just incorrect, I'd say. I don't understand it; perhaps it's a Commonwealth construct and is actually correct, but I'd never encountered it before coming to Australia, other than in Are You Being Served?

The reason the original sentence is incorrect is that it's ambiguous. Does it mean:
- girls spend more time on homework than boys do
- girls spend more time on homework than they spend on boys (!)

See it now?

Hey, I've raised daughters. I wanna see the research!

jen.nifer said:

The following sentence contains a grammatical error (that we are required to correct) according to my course book:

Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than boys.

This is my effort:

Research shows that girls spend more time on homework than what boys do.

I don't like that effort either. Assistance please?

Click to expand...

Is "that" necessary? I would probably rewrite as:

Research shows girls spend more time on homework than boys.

The problem with the sentence is that it sounds like girls spend more time on homework than they do on boys. Get it?

Incomplete

The error is that the sentence is incomplete. It should read than boys do (i.e., girls spend more time on homework than boys spend time on homework.) In the same vein - he is taller than I or than I am - the complete sentence is He is taller than I am tall. These are all examples of comparatives.

Personally, I spent more time on boys.

" . . . than do boys."

ac

I would say "Girls spend more time on boys than on homework."

I'm guessing I'd get a failing grade.