Two hard writing questions!

<ol>
<li>Members of the debate team, determined to hone (their) skills (in argumentation), (have been practicing) each day and (competing on) every possible occasion. (No Error)</li>
</ol>

<p>The right answer is No Error. Why isn't "competing on" incorrect?</p>

<ol>
<li>Although (there seems) to be many ways (to solve) the puzzle, only one method (will bring about) the (desired result). (No Error)</li>
</ol>

<p>Why is "there seems" incorrect? It sounds pretty good to me!</p>

<p>THANKS!!!! :)</p>

<p>I am not too sure abou the first one.
However, the second one is “there seems” becuase the subject , “members” is plural therfore you would need a plural verb, “there seem”.</p>

<p>Why would “competing on” be an error?
The preposition makes sense as it refers to the “occasion,” and the sentence is parallel, using the proper gerund construction. I don’t understand wherein a potential problem would lie.</p>

<p>I think it has to do with the fact that occasion is a description of time. Like with any description of time, the prepositional phrase would be “on” and not “in.” Now if it were “competition” instead, then “in” would be correct.</p>

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<p>Cross out all the “fluff.”</p>

<p>Members of the debate team,̶ ̶d̶e̶t̶e̶r̶m̶i̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶s̶k̶i̶l̶l̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶r̶g̶u̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶,̶
have beenp̶r̶a̶c̶t̶i̶c̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶a̶c̶h̶ ̶d̶a̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶competing ̶o̶n̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶p̶o̶s̶s̶i̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶o̶c̶c̶a̶s̶i̶o̶n̶**.**</p>

<p>If you’re worried about idioms, “competing on every occasion” is correct because “every occasion” is correctly preceded by “on”. Typically, you use “competing with”, “competing for”, “competing to win”, etc.</p>