translation exercise

[berndderkleine]

Good evening

I am studying for an English (advanced course) A-Level exam. Hence, I thought that it might be helpful to translate a German text into English.

I would be grateful if someone could correct this small passage. (Please take into account that I will have to take my final exams in march, please do not be to leniant). Here it is... a masterpiece of literature

"A green city"
If you ask an average inhabitant of London, whether he likes the city he lives in, he will probably criticize the traffic jams, the exhaust fume (I had to look up this word), overfilled trains and finally, that it is impossible to find a parking space. However, he does not take into account that London is one of the greenest cities in the world. It is possible to spend some time in several parks, if one has the time to. London could therefore be considered a city consisting of gardens.
It takes an hour to travel from ParkX to ParkY by bus during rush-hour (i had to look up this word). You could walk through ParkX, ParkY in the same time and on that occasion see several sights. Whitehall can be seen from Trafalgar Square, moreover, the Buckingham Palace can be observed.
Green Park, lying parallel to Piccadilly, is quite different. The large meadow in the middle of the park is perfect to play football and to enjoy the shining sun.
The loveliest street, however, is the "Queens Walk". Queen Caroline had it laid out (I had to look up this word) for her family.

Is it fine to say Londoner? Is it always possible to add a "er" after a city in order to say "the inhabitant of City X"?

Thanks in advance,
Bernd

[neuropandemonium]

Hi Bernd!

"A green city"
If you ask an average inhabitant of London, <-- lose the comma whether <-- we would typically say "IF" here, instead of "whether." he likes the city he lives in, he will probably criticize the traffic jams, the exhaust fume (I had to look up this word), overfilled trains and finally, that it is impossible to find a parking space.

However, he does not take into account that London is one of the greenest cities in the world. It is possible to spend some time in several parks, if one has the time to. Grammatically OK, but sounds more natural to say "he does not consider" rather than "take into account"

London could therefore be considered a city consisting of gardens. Grammatically correct, however it would sound better to just say "a city of gardens"

It takes an hour to travel from ParkX to ParkY by bus during rush-hour (i had to look up this word). You could walk through ParkX, ParkY in the same time and on that occasion see several sights. Whitehall can be seen from Trafalgar Square, <-- This should be a semi-colon Moreover, the Buckingham Palace can be observed.

There are a few things throughout that could be edited to sound more natural, but if you are just concerned with grammar, you did quite well!

Is it fine to say Londoner? Is it always possible to add a "er" after a city in order to say "the inhabitant of City X"?
Well I'm american, not british, so perhaps it is done differently in London...but I don't think so. We don't, typically, add an 'er' after a city. Just say "a person from London" etc...

Good luck on your exams!
--Amanda

[berndderkleine]

Hi Amanda

Thank you very much for correcting the exercise.....
At least I did not make too many grammar mistakes...

However, I still have another question:
When do I use... "consider" and when do i have to use "consider to be"

e.g.: He is considered the greatest musician in the world.... He is considered to be the (...)
Which version is better?

And last but not least... Green Park, lying parallel to Piccadilly, is quite different.
Is that grammatically correct? I tried to use a participle....

Thanks once again,
bernd