I was given the following task:
Correct the mistakes in the forum message:
Can anyone helping (1)? I’ve just got my essay to write about personality but the articles I’ve found are too difficult for me to read. Then I realized the real problem is my poor vocabulary. When I reed (2) quickly I can’t understand the real meaning of the article and the only way I can understand it is by using my dictionary all the time. I’m reading so slowly it’s going to take me about three weeks to finish the writing (3). What can I do about my English vocabulary? I’m worried so (4).”
(1), (2) and (4) were a piece of cake:
- helping – help
- reed – read
- worried so – so worried
But what about (3)? My teacher told that “the” should be removed (the writing – writing), because, according to her “Gerunds don’t take articles”. With this statement I find it hard to agree – take, for example, the ninth chapter of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” – “The Writing on the Wall” or the ELL question Cases of using an article before the gerund. But what is the mistake then?
The task comes from “Speakout” student’s workbook.
P.S. The book says that the correct answer to question 3 is essay/paper/assignment (type of mistake - wrong word)