Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

1) Is it grammatically right to use "segregation" instead of "striked" in the following passage?
2) Is it grammatically right to use "decreased" or "decrease" instead of "dwindled" in the following passage?

"Paula Wilson, being just an ordinary white citizen of Riverside, California, gave a ride to black students to their new white schools with her car when school bus drivers went on 1) [u]strike[/u] to protest integration in the 1960s. Later on, she went out with a bucket of red paint to create some parking restrictions on dangerous curves in her neighborhood. When the city did not take care of a popular walking trail, she spent her weekends collecting trash from the sides of the road. She is now an 82-year-old woman. Recently, her many activities have 2) [u]dwindled[/u] in number, but she still found the strength and energy to care for a terminally ill boy in her home."

[CP]

1. No. First, "segregation" means "separation" and, in context, means separation by race. Second, the verb in the sentence is not "strike" but "go on strike" (in the past tense, "went on strike"), meaning quit working in protest. Hence, the meaning would be completely different if you used the verb "segregate" where "go on strike" is used in the original. Third, while "strike" can be used as a verb to mean "go on strike," the past tense would be "struck," not "striked."

2. Yes.
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