Question

There are two verb tense errors in this paragraph. Correct them: Indeed,whilsttheChineseallegedlystrappedprisonersontokitesinthesixthcentury,andElmerofMalmesburywasrecordedashavingglidedformorethananeighthofamilebeforecrashingandbreakingbothhislegs,itwasnotuntilthestartofthe1900sthatscientificattemptsaremadetogetamanoffthegroundunderhisownsteam.Thesebicycles-on-wheelsmightseemcomicaltotoday’saeronauts,butin1912theyaregoodenoughtohelpGabrielPoulainscoopaprizeof10,000francs,havingallegedlyflownhiscontraptionmorethanametreoffthegroundfordistanceof10metres.

Answer 1

Indeed, whilst the Chinese allegedly strapped prisoners onto kites in the sixth century, and Elmer of Malmesbury was recorded as having glided for more than an eighth of a mile before crashing and breaking both his legs, it was not until the start of the 1900s that scientific attempts WERE made to get a man off the ground under his own steam. These bicycles-on-wheels might seem comical to today’s aeronauts, but in 1912 they WERE good enough to help Gabriel Poulain scoop a prize of 10,000 francs, having allegedly flown his contraption more than a meter off the ground for distance of 10 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

In these examples, we should use Past Simple tense instead of Present Simple tense, as the paragraph describes an event from the past. There also are some adverbs of time (e.g. until the start of the 1900s and in 1912) which suggest to us that we should use Past Simple tense and not Present Simple tense.