grammar check.... plz help?

Question

im doing a formal memo and i need comments on two sentences.


my friend help me out with these two sentences:
"First, the condo office told me that there was no water damages and then changed their mind and charge me for the water damage?" and "If there was damage to unit #202 why was I not inform before they ask Terry to repair it?".

the first sentence sounds bad and but i dont know how to fix it.
the second sentence, i was thinking to change it to: " If there were damages to unit #202, why wasn't I informed before they asked Terry to repair them.". what do u guys think?

gimme some feedback plz

Answer 1

"First, the condo office told me that there was no water damages and then changed their mind and charge me for the water damage?"

First, the condo office told me that there was no water DAMAGE, BUT then changed their* mind and charge* me for the water damage.

*Their is a bit tricky: the condo office should be an "it" not a "their"; however it should be an "it" with more than one mind. Probably the best is "changed their minds" or you could rephrase to something like "backtracked".

*Charge isn't right; you might want "charged" (especially if you've paid) or "are now charging" (especially if you're arguing against the charges, as I gather you are).


and "If there was damage to unit #202 why was I not inform before they ask Terry to repair it?".

If there was damage to Unit #202, why was I not INFORMED before they ASKED Terry to repair it?

"Damage" isn't countable here, so you want it in the singular form and with the singular verb.
"I was informed" is the passive voice, you always need a form of "to be" (here it's was) and the past participle of the verb (inform/informed).
Asked is the simple past; I assume Terry has already been asked.

I think "it" is Unit #202, not the damages--we don't repair damages, we repair rooms. So even if you had "damages", "it" would still be correct.

Answer 2

This is how the whole thing should sound:


The condo office employees informed me that there were no water damages in Unit # 202. They then decided to charge me for water damages. If there was indeed damage to Unit # 202 before Terry was asked to repair them, why wasn't I informed?

Answer 3

Well, I think "damage" can be used as singular and plural. So, I think you could say "First, the condo office told me that there was no water damage. Then they changed their story and are now charging me for the water damage. Which is it? Secondly, if there was water damage to unit #202, why was I not informed before they asked Terry to repair it?"

Sometimes, we just try to put too much in one sentence and it sounds awkward. Breaking it into two is all that you need to do. I like "story" in the second sentence because it implies they are deliberately trying to screw you without actually accsuing them. Same with the question, though it's not necessary.

I hope this helped.

Answer 4

Here's my suggestion:

"The employees at the condo office told me there was no water damage. Then they said there was, and charged me for the damage. If there was, in fact, damage to Unit #202, why wasn’t I informed before it was repaired?"

The condo office cannot tell you that there was no water damage; the office is an inanimate object. It had to have been the EMPLOYEES at the office who told you there was no damage. If it was correct to say damages, then you would have said “there WERE no water damages. Since the correct term is WATER DAMAGE (singular), I changed it in your sentence. If you had to pay for the damage, then you were CHARGED.

I left out Terry’s name – unless it is relevant that it was Terry who was asked to repair it, there’s no need to say it. Your original statement didn’t seem to make it important WHO fixed it, just that you should have been notified before fixing it.

Answer 5

From:
"First, the condo office told me that there was no water damages and then changed their mind and charge me for the water damage?" and "If there was damage to unit #202 why was I not inform before they ask Terry to repair it?".

To:
First, the condo office told me that there were no water damages and then changed their mind and charged me for the water damage?" and "If there was damage to unit #202, why was I not informed before they asked Terry to repair it?"

Answer 6

i have done a little editing.hope you do not mind I expect to learn some guidelines for delivering a client-focused presentation and elements that I can use in my presentation to effectively support the messages and ideas. I expect to learn how to keep a good eye contact with the audience; how to use body language and other delivery techniques to deliver an effective presentation; how to reduce nervousness and how to avoid pitfalls during presentations. Pronunciation is another thing that I need to improve upon because I often tend to swallow syllables when I am nervous, for example, the word “application, becomes “app-tion.” I want to be able to manage my nervousness during the presentation, so I can deliver an effective presentation.

Answer 7

Firstly the
there was not any water damage
then they changed
and charged me
was I not informed before Terry was asked to repair it?

Answer 8

Just get spellchecker to do so for you if it is important enough. But most landlords are cretins and would not know good grammar anyway.

Answer 9

ummm..wut is this exactly about...id love to help and all but im a little confused and stuff