Posts - Guinlist - Grammar and Vocabulary in Academic & Professional English

Posts | guinlist | Grammar and Vocabulary in Academic & Professional E...
https://guinlist.wordpress.com/posts/page/17/
21SEPTEMBER,2015BYPAULFANNING
(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/dynamite.png)
Manypairsofexpressionsthatlooktomeanthesameactuallycarrysubtlebutimportantdierences
.
MostusersofEnglisharefamiliarwithwordpairsthatareconfusingbecauseofsimilarmeaningsand/orspellings.Someofthesefor
exampleprincipleversusprincipalareparticularlywellknownbecausetheyareoftenexplainedinEnglishlanguagecoursebooks.
However,manyothersarenotfoundthereandcanremainunexplainedandsometimesnotevenrecognised.Itisthesepairsofwords,
especiallytheonesthatarelikelytooccurinprofessionalwriting,thatarethefocusofGuinlistpostswiththeabovetitle.Othersuch
postsbesidesthepresentoneare48.TrickyWordContrasts1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/48trickywordcontrasts/)
and81.TrickyWordContrasts2(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/81trickywordcontrasts2/).Therearealsosomesimilar
postswithdierenttitles,suchas20.ProblemConnectors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/20problemconnectors/),44.
TroublesomePrepositionalVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/44troublesomeprepositionalverbs/)and94.Essay
InstructionWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/94essayinstructionwords/).
.
1 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
1. Graphic versus Graph

Thewordforalinelinkingpointsbetweentwoaxesisagraph.Thewordagraphichasamoregeneralmeaning:anyvisually
presentedinformationsuchasagraph,chart,diagram,table,pictureormap(see104.ReferringtoDatawithAs
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/104referringtodatawithas/)).Graphicscanalso,ofcourse,meanvisualfeaturesofa
computerprogram,aswhenwesaythatacomputergamehasrealisticgraphics.
Inaddition,graphicisanadjective.Itcanmeaninvolvingagraphbutisoftenusedwiththemeaningofexplicitorshocking,asin
expressionslikegraphicviolenceandgraphicdetail.
.
2. Produce (noun) versus Products

Produceiswellknownasaverbbutlessfamiliarasanuncountablenoun(pronouncedwiththestressonpro).Likeproducts,thisnoun
namesanoutcomeofproduction.Thedierenceisinthekindofoutcome:productsareindustrialwhileproduceisagricultural.Thus,
productswouldnormallybeusedforitemslikecomputers,soapandbooks,whileproducemightrefertobananas,breadandbeer.
.
3. Function versus Functioning

Againitisnounusesthatareofinteresthereratherthanverbones.Thefunctionofsomethingisitsuseorpurpose;thefunctionofa
refrigerator,forexample,istocool.Functioning,ontheotherhand,meanswayofworking.Thus,thefunctioningofrefrigerators
involvesthecirculationofavolatileliquidthroughtubespassinginsideandoutsideofacoolingcompartment.
.
4. Efficient(ly) versus Effective(ly)

Thesetwoadjectives/adverbsbothsaysomethinggoodaboutaprocessorsituation.Eectivemeansthattheprocessorsituation
achievesitspurpose,regardlessofhow.Ecient,ontheotherhand,focusesmoreonhowthepurposeisachieved,indicatingwith
minimalcost.Thecostmaybeofmoney,timeoreort.Theusualerroristouseecientwheneectivewouldbemoreappropriate.
Itispossibletobeeectivewithoutbeingecientandviceversa.Forexample,ifwehearthatstudentstakenoteseectively,wewill
knowthattheyachievegoodlearningthroughtheirnotetaking,evenifthenotesthemselvesarenotverygood.Andifwehearthat
notesareecient(concise,wellabbreviated),weshouldnotconcludethattheyarehelpingthenotetakertolearnsuccessfully.
.
5. Aim to versus Intend to

Bothoftheseareusefulforindicatingapurpose,buttheyarenotinterchangeable.ThecommonerroristouseINTEND(orthederived
nounintention)whenAIMisrequired.Dierentconfusionsareinvolved.Onerelatestotheholderoftheaim/intention:ifitisliving,
thereisaneedtochoosebetweenthetwowords,butifitisnonliving,onlyaimcanbeused,likethis:
(a) Theexperimentaimstoprovetheeectivenessofthedrug.
Anotherconfusionrelatestothekindofpurposeheldbyalivingthing.Aimstendtobemoredistant.Compare:
(b)Thepoliceaimtoreduceburglariesby10%.
2 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
(c)Thepoliceintendtoprotestagainstreducedfunding.
Sentence(b)suggeststhatthepurposeisquitedistantinthefuture,andmightbeachievedthroughintermediateactions.Ontheother
hand,(c)equatesthepurposewiththenextactiontobetaken.
Athirdconfusioninvolvesthestateofmindoftheholderofthepurpose.AIMsuggeststhepurposeholderdoesnotdefinitelyconsider
thepurposetobeachievable,whereasINTENDsuggeststhepurposeholdershavemadeuptheirmindstomakeithappenits
achievementisverylikely.
.
6. To Date versus Up To Date

Todateisanadverbmeaninguptothepresenttimeandpossiblybeyond.Itisasynonymofsofar(butnotofuptonowsee48.
TrickyWordContrasts1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/48trickywordcontrasts/),point#1);whileuptodateisan
adjectivemeaningofthelatestpossiblekind.Compare:
(d) Todate,onlyafewcountrieshavewonfootballsWorldCup.
(e) Uptodateinformationisavailableonline.
Theunderlinedwordsin(d)areanadverbbecausetheyshowwhentheactionoftheverb(havewon)occurs,whereasthosein(e)are
anadjectivebecausetheygiveinformationabouttheimmediatelyfollowingnouninformation(see6.AdjectiveswithNoNoun1
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/6adjectiveswithnonounpeoplenaming/)).
.
7. Unbelievable versus Not Believable

Itisnotnormallyappropriate,whenyouwishtosayyoudonotbelievesomething,tocallitunbelievable.Insteadyoucouldsaynot
believable.Theformersimplymeansextremeandisusuallyfoundinstatementsofsurprisedjoyoranger,forexamplewiththe
wordsoutcome,hospitality,successandcruelty.Asaresult,anunbelievablestoryisnotanuntrueonebutaverygoodone.Notethat
notbelievablemustgoafterthenounitdescribeswewouldhavetosayastorythatisnotbelievable.
.
8. Is All That versus Is What

Thesebothsuggestthesuciencyofwhatisexpressedbeforethem.Considerthis:
(f)Registeringanameiswhat(isallthat)isneededforparticipating.
Thesuciencyhereisofregisteringanamenothingelseisneeded.Thetwoexpressionsoftendierintheattitudethattheyshowto
thesucientidea:allthatcansuggestitissmallandeasytodomeaningthesameastheonlythingthatwhilewhathasnosuch
suggestion.Animportantgrammaticalpointtonotehereistheneedtoavoid*allwhatinStandardEnglish:allneedsthat,andwhat
cannotfollowall.
.
9. Behave versus Behave Oneself

Behaveissimilarinmeaningtoact,whereasbehaveoneselfmeansactacceptably.Behaveanditsderivativebehaviourareoften
foundinsociologicalandpsychologicalwriting,forexampletodescribethewayindividualsandgroupsrespondtostimuli.Behave
oneselfisratherinformalandpatronising;amoreformalequivalentinsentenceslike(g)belowisshowgoodbehaviourorbe
3 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
wellbehaved:
(g)Thechildrenwhobehavedthemselves(werewellbehaved)wererewarded.
.
10. Critics versus Criticisms

Criticsarepeoplewhocriticise;criticismsarewhattheysay.Acommonerroristousecriticsinsteadofcriticisms.Amajorreasonis
probablythefactthatFrenchandSpanish(andpossiblyrelatedlanguageslikeItalian)usewordsspeltlikecriticforbothmeanings.
However,EnglishtoomightaddtotheconfusionbecauseitalsopossessestheFrenchderivedwordcritique,whichsoundssimilarto
criticbutiscloseinmeaningtocriticism(itisaparticulartypeofcriticism,lengthyandliterary).Theverbrelatedtoallofthesewords
is,ofcourse,CRITICISE(see79.GrammarProblemsinQuotationWriting(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/79grammar
problemsinquotationwriting/)).
PostedinEnglishVocabulary |Taggedclosewords,confusingwordpairs,lexis,meaningcontrasts,similarwords,subtlemeanings,
vocabularyconfusions |Leaveacomment
7SEPTEMBER,2015BYPAULFANNING
(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/debarred.png)
Someverbshavenopassiveform,butcanbeparaphrasedbythepassiveformofadierentverb
.
ManyEnglishverbscanbechangedintowhatiscalledthepassiveform.Examplesareisunderstood,washelped,werebeingcopied,c
betakenand shouldhavebeenknown.ThepassiveformcomprisessomeformofBE(underlinedintheexamples)plusapast
participleaverbwitheithered,likehelpedorcopied,oranirregularequivalent,asinunderstood,taken orknown(see52.
ParticiplesPlacedJustAftertheirNoun(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/52participlesplacedjustaftertheir
noun/)and97.VerbFormConfusions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/97verbformconfusions/)).Sometimesyoucan
replaceBEwithBECOMEorGET,e.g.gothit.Verbsthatarenotpassiveareusuallycalledactive.
Inthepost8.ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/),thereisaclassificationof
verbsaccordingtotheirabilitytobemadepassive.Onetype(e.g.HELP)sometimesneedstobeactive,sometimespassive,depending
ontheorderofsurroundingwords;another(e.g.INCREASE)canbeactivewithanywordorder,butinsomecasescanbepassive
4 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
instead(forafullexplanation,see4.VerbsthatDontHavetobePassive (https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/4verbs
thatdonthavetobepassive/));andthethirdkind(e.g.FALL)cannoteverbepassiveandsomustalwaysbeintheactiveform.
Averbsabilitytobemadepassiveisusuallylinkedtoitsabilitytohaveanobjectwhenintheactiveform.VerbslikeHELPneedan
objectwhentheyareactive(unlesstheyareoftheobjectdroppingkindlikeEATsee8.ObjectDroppingErrors
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/)).VerbslikeINCREASEhaveanobjectwhenthepassiveis
possibleandotherwisedonot.NeverpassiveverbslikeFALLcannotusuallyhaveanobject,thoughverbsofmeasurementarean
exception.Inthefollowingsentence,forexample,theverbWEIGHhasanobjectandcannotberewritteninthepassive:
(a)Thesubstanceweighedlessafterheating.
SimilarverbsincludeCOST,LAST,MEASUREandRESEMBLE.
Thispostisaboutthethirdofthethreemainverbcategories,excludingmeasurementverbs.Theverbsaretechnicallycalled
intransitiveandareidentifiedindictionariesbytheabbreviationvi(verbintransitive).Alistwillbeprovidedofsomeofthemore
commonintransitiveverbsfoundinprofessionalwriting,alongwithpossiblewaysofparaphrasingthemwhenapassiveformis
stronglypreferred.Thekindsofmeaningsthattheycanexpresscanbereadaboutinthepost21.ActiveVerbswithNonActive
Meanings1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/21activeverbswithnonactivemeanings1/).
.
Intransitiveverbsasawholeareoftworatherdierentkinds.Onekindusuallyneedsanoun,pronounoradjectivedirectlyafteritand
theotherdoesnot.Compare:
(b)Unemploymentwasaproblem.
(c)Unemploymentrose.
Here,(b)cannotendwithitsverb(was)inthewaythat(c)can:itmustbedirectlyfollowedbyanounlikeexpressionsuchasproblem,
orbyanadjective.Verbslikerose,ontheotherhand,cannothaveanoundirectlyafterthem.Theycanhaveanounwithapreposition
beforeit(e.g.inJune),oranyothertypeofadverbphrase,ortheycanendthesentenceasin(c).
Thenounafterwasin(b)looksverylikeanobject.However,itisnotonebecauseitisadescriptionofthesubjectofthesentence
unemployment.Thismakesitacomplement(see8.ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8object
droppingerrors/)).Ingeneral,verbsrequiringacomplementareintransitivejustasverbswithoutanynounatallare.Forthisreason,
theyareincludedinthediscussionbelow.
Someintransitiveverbsarerareinprofessionalwriting.Onelargegroupexpressesbodilyactions.ExamplesareBREATHE,DANCE,
DIE,JUMP,LAUGH,LIVE,SMILEandSNEEZE.Anothergroupisfoundamongsocalledphrasalverbs,mostofwhicharetoo
conversationaltoappearinformalwriting(see108.Formal&InformalWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/108formal
andinformalwords/)).ExamplesareGETBY(=cope),GIVEUP(=despair),GOAHEAD(=proceed)andTURNUP(=attend).
Thereissomeuncertaintyaboutthecompletelistofintransitiveverbscommonlyfoundinformalwriting.However,togiveaflavourof
them,herearesomeofthemostnoticeable(afewalsohaveatransitiveusewithaverydierentmeaning):
APPEAR,ARISE,ARRIVE,BE,BECOME,COME,DECLINE(=decrease),DETERIORATE,DIP,DISAPPEAR,EMERGE,EXIST,FAIL,
FALL,FLOW,FLUCTUATE,FUNCTION,GO,HAPPEN,LAST,LIE,MANAGE,OCCUR,PROCEED,PROTRUDE,RECUR,REMAIN,
RESULT,RISE,RUN(=go),SEEM,STAY,SUCCEED,SURGE,TRAVEL,TURN(=become),VANISH,WORK
.
Sometimesinwritingitisnecessarytoensurethattheverbyouareusingispassive.Thisisacontradictionoftheadvicethatisnormally
giveninmanualsontheartofwritingbutisneverthelessshowntobetruebyscientificlinguisticstudy(see27.HowtoAvoidPassive
Verbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/21howtoavoidpassiveverbs/)and69.HowComputersGetGrammarWrong2
5 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/69howcomputersgetgrammarwrong2/)).Thevalueofapassiveverbwithoutby,for
example,isnotsomuchthatithidesthesubjectoftheverbsactiveformasthatitensuresthereaderknows,despiteitsabsence,that
itexists.Comparethese:
(d)Competitionbetweenfirmsgraduallyweakens.
(e)Competitionbetweenfirmsisgraduallyweakened.
Theuseoftheactiveweakensin(d)hidestheexistenceofacauseoftheweakeningaseectivelyasthepassiveisweakened.The
problemisthatitcouldsuggesttheweakeninghappensbyitselfwithoutanyexternalcause.Theexistenceofanexternalcause(e.g.
monopolisation)isnotguaranteedtoberecognisedexceptbyreaderswhoknoweconomics.Ontheotherhand,thepassiveis
weakened(regardlessofwhetheritexpressesanactionorastatesee66.VariableMeaningsofPassiveVerbs
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/66variablemeaningsofpassiveverbs/))doesguaranteethatanexternalcausewillbe
acknowledgedbythereader.Ifsuchaguaranteeisdeemednecessary,thepassivehastobeused.Furtherdiscussionofthenecessityof
thepassivecanbereadinthetechnicalGuinlistarticleActivePassiveParaphrasesinEnglishandWhattheyMeanforTeaching
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/articles/772/).
Whathappensifawriterwantstouseapassiveformbutthinksfirstofanintransitiveverbthatcannotbemadepassiveaseasily
asWEAKEN?Inmanycases,theverbcanbereplacedbythepassiveofadierentverb,justasunwantedpassivescanoftenbe
replacedbydierentverbsintheactiveform(see27.HowtoAvoidPassiveVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/21
howtoavoidpassiveverbs/)).Considerthis:
(f)Afteragreatdealofthought,asolutionemerged.
Ifwefeltthatemergedheregaveinsucientrecognitionofthehardworkofthepeoplewhofoundthesolution,wemightwanttoseek
apassiveverbthatwouldchangethis.Onepossibilityiswasfound.Indeed,thisverbmightbequiteacommonpassivealternativeto
emerged.
Herearelikelypassiveverbalternativestosomeoftheotherintransitiveverbslistedabove.Insomecasesthepassivesequatetoone
particularmeaningoftheintransitiveratherthanothers.
APPEAR:BEFORMED
ARRIVE/COME:BEBROUGHT
BECOME/TURN:BEMADE
DETERIORATE:BEMADEWORSE
DISAPPEAR/VANISH:BEREMOVED/BECOMEHIDDEN
EXIST:CANBESEEN/NAMED/LISTED
FAIL:NOTBEACHIEVED
FALL:BEREDUCED
FLOW:BECHANNELLED
FUNCTION:BEOPERATED
GO:BETAKEN/BESENT
HAPPEN:BEBROUGHTABOUT
LAST:BEMAINTAINED
LIE:BELAID(seeLINK:97.VerbFormConfusions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/97verbformconfusions/))
OCCUR:BEBOUGHTABOUT
PROCEED:BELEDFORWARD
PROTRUDE:BEEXTENDED
RISE:BERAISED(seeLINK:97.VerbFormConfusions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/97verbformconfusions/))
RUN:BEDIRECTED
6 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
SEEM/APPEAR:BEPERCEIVED
RECUR:BEREPEATED
REMAIN/STAY:BEKEPT
RESULT:BECAUSED/BECREATED
TRAVEL:BETRANSPORTED
WORK:BEEMPLOYED
Finally,iffindingadierentverblikeoneoftheaboveprovesdicult,thereisanalternativestrategyoflookingforanounrelatedto
theintransitiveverbthatneedsreplacing.Considerthisexamplefromthepost46.HowtoAvoidI,WeandYou
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/46howtoavoidiweandyou/):
(g)Iproceededlater.
Therelevantnounhereisprocedure.AsuitableverbtousewithitisCOMMENCE.Theactiveform(Theprocedurecommenced)would
hidethewordI,whilethepassive(wascommenced)wouldadditionallyarmthewritersinvolvement.
Onepointtorememberaboutanywayofachievingapassiveisthatitisnotalwaysbetterthananintransitiveverb:theremustbea
specialreasonforusingit.Criticsofthepassivearenotwronginsayingthattheactiveismorecommon.
PostedinAcademicandProfessionalReading,AcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishVocabulary,Verbs |Taggedactiveverbs,
impossiblepassiveverbs,intransitiveverbs,paraphrase,passiveverbs,SVsentences,verbobjects |2Comments
24AUGUST,2015BYPAULFANNING
(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com
/2015/08/link.png)
MostEnglishconnectorscanbeparaphrasedwithwordsthatarenotconnectors
.
Connectorsaredefinedandexaminedwithinthisblogintheposts18.RelationsbetweenSentences(https://guinlist.wordpress.com
7 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
/2012/01/23/18readingobstacles9relationsbetweensentences/) and40.ConjunctionsversusConnectors
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/40conjunctionsversusconnectors/).Theircentralfeatureisthehelptheygiveinshowing
themeaningcreatedbytheplacingtogetheroftwosentences.Thesemeaningsresembleconjunctionmeanings,buttheyneedtwo
sentencesfortheircreationratherthanone.
Thisgrammaticalneedfortwosentencesmeansthatconnectorsynonymsarenothereconsideredtoincludeconjunctions.Iamalso
rulingoutconnectorsthatmeanroughlythesameasotherconnectorsforexamplethereforemirroringconsequently.Althoughsuch
possibilitiesarewhatarenormallycalledsynonyms,theyarenotthefocusherebecausemanyarealreadylistedelsewhereinthisblog
(see40.ConjunctionsversusConnectors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/40conjunctionsversusconnectors/)).
Mostoftheconnectorsynonymsconsideredherearenouns,verbsandadjectives.Itmayseemsurprisingtogivewordsofdierent
classes(dierentpartsofspeech)thenameofsynonyms,butthatseemsausefulthingtodobecauseitarguablygivesabetter
understandingofhowpeoplewrite.Thisisapointthathasbeenmademorethanoncebeforeinthisblogforexampleintheposts27.
HowtoAvoidPassiveVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/21howtoavoidpassiveverbs/)and80.HowtoParaphrase
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/80howtoparaphrase/)andisalsointhetechnicalarticleHowSyntaxcanHighlightUseful
EAPVocabulary(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/articles/howsyntaxcanhighlightusefuleapvocabulary/).Itismyhopethatthehighlighting
ofconnectorsynonymsdefinedinthiswaywillhelptoclarifytherangeandmeaningsofbothconnectorsandthesesynonyms,thus
enablingreaderstowidentheirvocabularyknowledge.
.
Belowisanexampleofhowaconnectorcanbeparaphrasedwithagrammaticallydierentkindofword,inthiscaseaverb.The
connectormeaningisthatofcontrast.Theconnectoranditssynonymareunderlinedintheexample:
(a)CarbohydratesintheItaliandietfrequentlytaketheformofpasta.InmanyAsiancountries,ontheotherhand,theyaremost
likelytobeeatenasrice.
(b)CarbohydratesintheItaliandietfrequentlytaketheformofpasta.ManyAsiancountriesdierinpreferringrice.
Theverbdierin(b)isbynomeanstheonlyalternativetotheconnectorontheotherhand.Thefollowingaredierenceshowing
wordslistedinthepost56.ComparingwithLikeandUnlike(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/56comparing
withlikeandunlike/):unlike,contrast(s),dier(s),varies,dierent(ly),contrasting,dissimilar,moreandless.
Hereisalistofothercommonconnectors,alongwithwordsandphrasesofdierentgrammaticalcategoriesthatmeanroughlythe
same:
.
ASARESULT/CONSEQUENTLY/THUS:consequence,result,outcome,result(s)in,cause(s),make(s),consequent,resultant(see32.
ExpressingConsequences(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/32expressingconsequences/)).
THEREFORE:mean(s),implies,suggest(s),beconcluded,beinferred,conclusion,inference,logical(ly)(see20.ProblemConnectors(http
/2012/02/20/20problemconnectors/)).
FOREXAMPLE/FORINSTANCE/THUS:anexample,aninstance,one,acase(inpoint),exemplifies,illustrate(s),etc(andits
synonyms),consider,take(see1.SimpleExampleGiving(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/1simpleexamplegiving/)and
33.ComplexExampleGiving(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/33complexexamplegiving/)).
INADDITION/MOREOVER/FURTHERMORE/ALSO:additional,further,another,thenext,the(+ordinalnumbersuchas third).
HOWEVER/NEVERTHELESS/EVENSO:doesnotmean,contradict(s),surprising(ly),unexpected(ly),unusual.
SIMILARLY/LIKEWISE/INTHESAMEWAY:resemble(s),mirror(s),similar,comparable,(a)like,analogous(ly),corresponding(ly),
comparably,equally,similarly(adverb).
INFACT/INREALITY:real,true,actual(ly),reality,truth,thefactofthematter.
ALTERNATIVELY/OTHERWISE:the/analternative,opposite,alternative,anotherchoice/option/possibility.
MEANWHILE/INTHEMEANTIME/ATTHESAMETIME/SIMULTANEOUSLY:time,simultaneous,parallel,as/whilethisis
happening,duringthisprocess.
8 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
INOTHERWORDS/THATISTOSAY:mean(s),translated,equate(s)tosaying,istantamounttosaying,isanotherwayofsaying,
moresimply,more/lesstechnically,paraphrase(d),rephrase(d),reworded.
.
Thissectionisessentiallyanexerciseintheuseofconnectorsandtheirsynonyms.Belowaresomepairsofsentences.Thesecond
sentenceineachcontainsaconnectorsynonym.Readersareinvitedtorephrasethewholesentencesothatitcontainsaconnector
instead.Suggestedanswersaregivenattheend.
1.Spacetravelisexpensive.Thisdoesnotmeanthatpeoplewantittostop.
2.Somemalepenguinslookafterincubatingeggs.Thefemalesspendthistimefishingatsea.
3.Somefoodcropshaveanonfooduse.Takesugarcane.Thiscanbeconvertedintofuelformotorvehicles.
4.Savingscanbeinvestedinaninterestbearingbond.Anotherpossibilityistopurchaseshareswiththem.
5.Writtenreportsneedtobeformalandconcise.Theoppositeistrueoforalpresentations,whichusuallyinvolveinformalityandrepetition.
6.Highpopulationgrowthratesaresometimesblamedonculturalattitudes.Thetruthisthatpovertyisamorelikelycause.
7.Successatsportwillnotcomewithoutconstantphysicalexercise.Academicachievementresemblesitinrequiringregularassignments.
8.Excessiveintakeofalcoholicbeveragesproducesdeleteriousphysicaleects.Thismeansdrinkingtoomuchisunhealthy.
9.Ostrichesarebirds.Theyareunusualinthattheyruninsteadofflying.
10.Somebacteriaproducepoisonoussubstancesinanumberofhumanfoods.Thesemakethefoodsdangeroustoeat.
.
Suggested Answers
1.Spacetravelisexpensive.However,peopledonotwantittostop.
2.Somemalepenguinslookafterincubatingeggs.Meanwhile,thefemalesfish/arefishingatsea.
3.Somefoodcropshaveanonfooduse.Forexample,sugarcanecanbeconvertedintofuelformotorvehicles.
4.Savingscanbeinvestedinaninterestbearingbond.Alternatively,sharescanbepurchasedwiththem.
5.Writtenreportsneedtobeformalandconcise.Ontheotherhand,oralpresentationsusuallyinvolveinformalityandrepetition.
6.Highpopulationgrowthratesaresometimesblamedonculturalattitudes.Infact,povertyisamorelikelycause.
7.Successatsportwillnotcomewithoutconstantphysicalexercise.Similarly,academicachievementrequiresregularassignments.
8.Excessiveintakeofalcoholicbeveragesproducesdeleteriousphysicaleects.Inotherwords,drinkingtoomuchisunhealthy.
9.Ostrichesarebirds.Nevertheless,theyruninsteadofflying.
10.Somebacteriaproducepoisonoussubstancesinanumberofhumanfoods.Asaresult,thefoodsbecomedangeroustoeat.
PostedinAcademicandProfessionalReading,AcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishVocabulary,LanguageFunctions |Tagged
Discourse,logicalconnectors,paraphrase,sentencefunctions,SentenceLinks,Synonyms,textcoherence |2Comments
13AUGUST,2015BYPAULFANNING
9 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/prepfix.png)
Manyprepositionchoicesaredictatedbyawordnexttothem
Somewordsinasentencebelongtoanotherwordnearthemandsomedonot.Comparethemissingwordsinthesetwosentences:
(a)IndiaisseparatedfromChinabyHimalayas.
(b)TheSeatouchestwodierentcontinents.
In(a),themissingwordisthe.WeknowthisbecausethenextwordHimalayasisthenameofamountainrange,anamethat
grammaticallyrequiresthe(see47.ArticleErrorswithProperNouns(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/47articleerrors
withpropernouns/)).In(b),however,therearevariouspossibilities:anadjectivelikeRedorMediterranean,anounlikeBeringor
Timor,orsimplynothingatall.Althoughtheotherwordsinthesentencegivesomecluesaboutthekindofwordneeded,theycannot
bythemselvesidentifyit.
Theneedforthecreatedbythesurroundingwordsin(a)isagrammaticalone.Thisisbecausethebyitselfisusuallythoughtofasa
grammaticalword.Moreexamplesofhowgrammarcandictatethechoiceofneighbouringwordsareinthepost100.Whatisa
GrammarError?(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/100whatisagrammarerror/)However,grammarisnotalwaysthe
drivingforce;analternativeisthataspectofvocabularyknownascollocation:thetendencyofparticularnongrammaticalwordsto
gowithparticularothersuchwords.Forexample,withimportancetheconventionaladjectivetoexpressthemeaningofbigisnot
bigorlargebutgreat(see16.WaysofDistinguishingSimilarWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/ways
ofdistinguishingsimilarwords/)).
Notethatacollocationrarelypreventsthetwowordsfrombeingabletocombinewithotherwords.Forexample,importancecango
withotheradjectivesthangreat,suchasregularorunexpected.Asaresult,thedefinitionofacollocationhastoinvolvemeaning:we
needtosaythatgreatisthenormaladjectivewithimportancewhenwemeanalargequantityofimportance.
.
Englishprepositionsaresometimeschosenaccordingtotheirownmeaning,likethemissingwordin(b),andsometimesdeterminedby
eithergrammarorcollocation(see84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/84
seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/)).Hereisanexampleofmeaningbeingkey:
(c)NomadicpeoplescanbefoundEurope.
Variousprepositionsarepossiblehere,dependingonwhatwewanttosay.Theoptionsincludein,across,outside,near,nexttoor
beyond.
10 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
Theabilityofgrammartodeterminethechoiceofaparticularprepositionmaybeillustratedasfollows:
(d)TheMediterraneanSeaisboundedEuropeinthenorthandAfricainthesouth.
Itiseasytodecidethattheprepositionneededhereisby.Thereasonisthatitlinksaverbinthepassivevoice(underlined)withnouns
thatwouldbetheverbssubjectifitwereactive.Otherexamplesofgrammaticallydeterminedprepositionsareforinpurpose
sentences(see60.PurposeSentenceswithfor(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/60purposesentenceswithfor/)),with
beforeaninstrument(see73.SayingHowwithByandWith(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/73sayinghowwith
byandwith/))andduetobeforeacause(see72.CausalPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/72causal
prepositions/)).
Prepositionsdeterminedbycollocationaremuchmorenumerous,andhencehardertoremember,thanthosedeterminedbygrammar.
Thepartnerwordsthatdeterminethemfallintoavarietyofcategories.Therestofthispostidentifiesandillustratesthesedierent
categoriesofprepositiondeterminingwordsandindicatessomeoftheassociatedprepositionsthatoftengiveproblemstoEnglish
userswhospeakadierentmothertongue.
.
Wordsthattypicallymakeacollocationwithaprepositionmaybeverbs,adjectivesornouns.
1. Verbs
Verbswithatypicalfollowingprepositionarecommonlycalledprepositional.ExamplesareLEADTO,DEPENDON,COPEWITH
andBELONGTO.Theseparticularprepositionsarenotalwaysrequiredwiththeseparticularverbs,buttheyarewhentheverbsmean
cause,bebasedon,manageandbeownedby.Furtherexamplesofprepositionalverbs,alongwithproblemsinusingthem,
arepresentedelsewhereinthisblogintheposts42.UnnecessaryPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/12/24/42
unnecessaryprepositions/),44.TroublesomePrepositionalVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/44troublesome
prepositionalverbs/)and108.FormalandInformalWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/108formalandinformal
words/).
.
2. Adjectives
Manyadjectiveshaveatypicalfollowingpreposition.Inafewcases,thesameprepositionmustalwaysbeeitherpresentorunderstood.
Thisapplies,forexample,tointent:
(e)Medicalresearchersareintentonfindingacancercure.
Otheradjectiveslikethisincludeaverseto,benton,conduciveto,conversantwith,devoidof,incumbentupon,proneto,reliantonand
subjectto.Ontheotherhand,numerousadjectiveshavemorethanonetypicalfollowingpreposition.Anexampleissorry,whichis
commonlyfoundwitheitherfororaboutdependingonmeaning(see48.TrickyWordContrasts1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com
/2013/03/18/48trickywordcontrasts/)).Moreaboutadjectivesofthiskindwillappearinalaterpost.
Anothergroupofadjectiveshaveasingletypicalprepositionbuttheycanalsobeusedwithoutit,oftentoexpressadierentmeaning.
Takeconscious:byitselfitmeansawakebutwithofitmeansnoticing.Adjectivesofsimilarity/dierencemayalsobelonghere(see
82.PitfallsinMakingComparisons(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/82pitfallsinmakingcomparisons/)).Other
adjectivesincludeabsent(from),afraid(of),aware(of),capable(of),characteristic(of),confident(of),content(with),curious(about),
dependent(on),dierent(from/than),fond(of),harmful(to),identical(to),inherent(in),keen(on),kind(to),liable(to),ready(for),
responsible(for),short(of),similar(to),superior(to),tired(of),typical(of), worthy(of).
Apossiblesourceofconfusionwithadjectivesofthiskindisthattheirusewithouttheirtypicalprepositioncanstillinvolvea
preposition.Considerthis:
11 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
(f)Thesuppliesbecamereadyaftertwodays.
Superficially,thissuggeststhatreadycancombinewithafter.Inreality,however,afteriscombiningwithtwodaysinstead.Thisisclear
fromthefactthataftertwodaysmakesanobviousseparatetimephrasesayingwhentheverbactionhappened.Moreover,for,the
partnerprepositionofready,caneasilybeaddedbeforethisotherpreposition,forexampleintheexpressionforuse.
.
3. Nouns
Prepositionsalwayshaveapartnernoun,usuallyplacedafterthem(see84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist
/2014/07/28/84seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/)).Sometimestheyalsohaveanounjustinfrontofthem.Bothofthesenoun
typesarecapableofdeterminingwhattheprepositionis.Considerthese:
(g)Airpollutionlevelscanbeplottedonagraph.
(h)Itwasquicklynotedthattherewereproblemswiththegraph.
In(g)theprepositiononisnecessitatedbythenoungraphafterit,whilein(h)withmustbeusedbecauseofthenounproblemsbeforeit
eventhoughthenoungraphisstillusedafterit.Thereseemstobeaninterestingrulehere:thatnounsbeforeaprepositionhave
priorityovernounsafteroneindeterminingwhattheprepositionis.Thismeansthataprepositiondeterminedbyanounafterwillnot
usuallyhaveanounjustbeforeit.
Comprehensivelistsofnounprepositionandprepositionnouncollocationsareunfortunatelytoolongtoprovideinashortpiecelike
this.However,afewindicativeexamplesmaybeofuse.
.
OneimportantgroupinthiscategoryinvolveswhatIcallactionnouns:derivedfromverbsandsimilartotheminmeaning(see14.
CountableNounMeanings1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/423/)).Inparticular,nounsderivedfromprepositionalverbs
oftenhavethatverbspreposition.Examplesare(an)agreementwith,(an)applicationfor,attentionto,(a)beliefin,(a)benefitfrom,a
complaintabout,compliancewith,(a)contributionto,correspondenceto,dependenceon,disposalof,afocuson,indulgencein,an
objectionto,(a)paymentfor,(a)reactionto,relianceon,aresponseto,asearchfor,astrugglewith.
Combinationsnotlinkedtoprepositionalverbsincludeasolutionto,confidencein,adierencebetween,adiscussionabout,feedback
on,aneecton,areasonfor,anincreasein,instructionsfor,alimiton,anobstacletoandaproblemwith.Formore,see31.Object
ShowingPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/31objectshowingprepositions/).Someothernounpreposition
combinationsarementionedinthepost78.NounsthatDontGowithatoVerb(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/78
nounsthatdontgowithatoverb/).
.
Onewholegroupofcollocationsinthiscategorycorrespondstocommonadverbs.Forexample,withaccuracymeansaccuratelyand
indepthmeansdeeply.Afullexaminationofthisareaisinthepost85.PrepositionPhrases&CorrespondingAdverbs
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/85prepositionphrasescorrespondingadverbs/).Outsideofthisgroup,thefollowingmay
beusefultoknow.
Withon:acomputer,film,agraph,amap,anoverheadprojector,apage,paper,ascreen,theradio,TV,video,thetelephone(see10.
WordswithUnexpectedGrammar(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/10wordswithunexpectedgrammar/)).
Within(1):adiagram,atable,apicture,aphotograph,achapter,abook,atext,adescription,astory,aprogram,avideo,afilm,the
12 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
distance,themiddle.
Within(ii):afashion,amanner,amode,arespect,astyle,away.
Withat:thebeginning,theoutset,thestart,theclose,theconclusion,theend,thefinish,alevel,amoment,atime,apoint,astage,a
height,adepth,apace,arate,aspeed,avelocity,theside,thetop.
Withwith:hindsight,regardto,respectto,thanks.
Withunder:theauspicesof,consideration,construction,control,alaw,licence,management,ownership,aplan,pressure,review,
supervision.
PostedinAcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishGrammarErrors,EnglishVocabulary,Prepositions,Uncategorized |Tagged
prepositionchoice,prepositioncollocation,prepositionerrors,prepositionphrases,prepositionuses |7Comments
27JULY,2015BYPAULFANNING
(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/unencumbered.png)
Theuseofthezeroarticledependsonbothgrammarandmeaning
.
OccasionallyEnglishspeakersuseanounwithouteitherofthearticlesthe/a(n).Somegrammarbookscallthistheuseofthezero
article.Acommonerrorbyspeakersofotherlanguages,evenwhentheyhaveaveryadvancedcommandofEnglish,ismakinga
wrongchoiceconcerningthezeroarticleomittingtheora(n)whenoneofthemisnecessary,oraddingoneofthemwhentheyare
bothincorrect.Thisisparticularlylikelytohappentospeakersofamothertonguethatdoesnotusearticlesatall,butitaectsmost
learnersofEnglishonsomeoccasions.
PartofthereasonfortheerrorisundoubtedlydierencesbetweenEnglishandotherlanguagesregardingtheuseofarticleswith
nouns.However,IamsurethatamoreimportantreasonisthecomplicatednatureoftheEnglishrules,whichinvolvenotjust
meaningsbutalsogrammar(asdefinedinthepost100.WhatisaGrammarError?(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/100
whatisagrammarerror/)).InthispostIwishtoclarifytheseparateinfluencesofgrammarandmeaningontheuseornonuseofa
zeroarticle.
.
13 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
Grammarinfluencesthechoiceofanarticlebeforeaparticularnounthroughthegrammaticalcategorythatthenounbelongsto.Oneof
thesecategoriesispropernounsnounswhichusuallybeginwithacapitalletterregardlessoftheirpositioninasentence(see62.
ChoiceswithCapitalLetters(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/62choiceswithcapitalletters/)).Manypropernouns
normallyhavetobeusedwithoutanarticle,thoughmanyothersrequireone(see47.ArticleErrorswithProperNouns
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/47articleerrorswithpropernouns/)).
Othernounsareusuallycategorisedaseithercountableoruncountable.Theseareslightlymisleadingnames,sincesomenouns
thatdictionariessayarecountablearenotobviouslyabletobecounted,andviceversa(seethepostsonCountableNounMeanings
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/423/)).Theessentialdierenceisthatcountablenounscanbemadepluraland
uncountableonescannot.Althoughmeaningslikeabilitytobecountedarenotcompletelyuselessforindicatingwhetherornota
nouncanbemadeplural,inmanycaseswejusthavetofindoutanounspropertiesfromobservationoradictionary.
Knowingwhetheranouniscountableoruncountableiscrucialforcorrectuseofthezeroarticle.Thebasicruleisthatthezeroarticleis
possiblewithuncountableandpluralcountablenounsbutimpossiblewithsingularcountablenouns.Putanotherway,singular
countablenounsmusthavetheora(n).
Hereisalistofuncountablenounsthathaveinmyexperiencebeenusedasiftheywerecountablebysomespeakersofotherlanguages
thanEnglish.Ihaveincludedtwocountablenounsamongthem;readersareinvitedtodecidewhichtheyare.
(1)access,(2)advice,(3)applause,(4)damage,(5)drop,(6)equipment,(7)eyecontact,(8)feedback,(9)furniture,(10)guidance,(11)
(home)work,(12)information,(13)knowledge,(14)luggage,(15)mail,(16)music,(17)news,(18)progress,(19)punctuation,(20)
research,(21)revision,(22)software,(23)system,(24)transport,(25)travel,(26)vocabulary,(27)wealth
Thetwocountablenounsarethefifthandtwentythird.Examplesoftheconverse,countablenounseasilytakentobeuncountable,are
inthepost10.WordswithUnexpectedGrammar(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/10wordswithunexpectedgrammar/).
Yetmorenounsgiveproblemsbecausetheyvaryintheircountability,dependingontheirmeaning.Fornumerousexamples,seethe
postsonCountableNounMeanings(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/423/).
Complicatingallofthisisthefactthatevencountablenouns,whichmusthavetheora(n),sometimesdonot.Tounderstandthis,itis
necessarytoknowaboutdeterminers.Theseareageneralgrammaticalcategorycomprisingbotharticlesandwordsthatcanreplace
thembeforeaparticularnoun.Considerthefollowing:
(a)dictionaryisausefultoolforlanguagelearning.
Thenoundictionaryhereissingularandcountable,whichmeansthatnothavinganotherwordinfrontisagrammarerror.Theerror
canbecorrectedbywritingeithertheoraintheindicatedspace.Thesearenottheonlypossibilities,though.Youcould,forexample,
usethisinstead.Determinersarethefulllistofpossibilitiesthatcanreplaceanarticle.
However,notalldeterminerscouldgointhespacein(a),sincesome,likeenough,goonlybeforeuncountablenouns(wecansay
enoughmoneybutnot*enoughdictionary)andsome,likethese,needapluralnoun.Determinersthatcangobeforeasingular
countablenounincludea(n),each,either,every,neither,no,the,this,that,what(ever),which(ever)andwhose,aswellaspossessive
adjectives(her,his,my,our,youretc).
Asaresultofthis,theruleforsingularcountablenounsismoreaccuratelythattheymusthaveanappropriatedeterminer.
.
Withsingularcountablenouns,meaningdoesnotmakeadierencebetweenhavingandnothavingthezeroarticle:itonlydetermines
thechoicebetweentheanda(oranotherdeterminer).Withuncountableandpluralnouns,however,meaningdoeshavetobetaken
intoaccountinordertodecidewhetherornottohavethezeroarticle.Twomeaningsrequirethezeroarticle,whileonerequiresthe(or
equivalentdeterminer).
Thetwomeaningsofthezeroarticlearethesameasthetwothatcountablenounscanhavewitha(n).Thefirstisgeneric,asdefined
inthepost89.UsingthewithGeneralMeaning(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/89usingthewithgeneralmeaning/).
Itcanbeillustratedasfollows:
(b) Adictionaryisausefultoolforlanguagelearning.
Thisisnotaboutanyparticulardictionarybutreferstothegeneralclassofdictionaries.Theothermeaningofa(n)mightbecalled
nongeneric(unidentified).Itmaybeillustratedlikethis:
14 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
(c) AdictionarywaslocatedintheReferenceSection.
Thisisaboutaparticulardictionary,butitdoesnotsuggestthereadercanidentifywhichone,inthewaythatthedictionarywould.
Nowcomparethewaypluralanduncountablenounsrespectivelyexpressthesesametwomeaningswiththezeroarticle:
GENERIC
(d) Dictionariesareausefultoolforlanguagelearning.
(d) Technologyisausefultoolforlanguagelearning.
NONGENERIC(UNIDENTIFIED)
(f) DictionarieswerelocatedintheReferenceSection.
(g) Technologyisavailableforlanguagelearningthisweek.
Thus,tosumup,thezeroarticle(or,moreprecisely,theabsenceofadeterminer)isalwayswrongbeforecountablenounsbut
sometimesrightbeforepluralanduncountablenouns,dependingonthemeaningthattheyhave.Thiscanbeexpressedindiagram
formasfollows:
(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/artdiag.png)
Themeaningthatmakesthezeroarticlewrongwithpluralanduncountablenounsisonethatisusuallyexpressedbythe:nongeneric
butidentifiedratherthanunidentified,asinthisexample:
(h)Partsofthebrainhavebeenmappedbuttheknowledgeleavesmanyquestionsunanswered.
Here,theknowledgeisnongenericbecauseitisnotallknowledge,anditisalsoidentified(asknowledgeofpartsofthebrain)
thankstotheearliermentionofpartsofthebrain.Azeroarticlebeforeknowledgewouldbewrongbecauseitwouldmeanall
knowledge(generic).
Anevenmorecommonerrorthanomittinganecessarythebeforeapluraloruncountablenounisaddingthewhenthemeaningis
generic.English(unlikemanyotherlanguages)nearlyalwayshasazeroarticleforgenericpluralanduncountablenouns,reservingthe
foritsnongenericuse.Evensingularcountablenounsrarelyusethetoexpressgenericmeaning,preferringa(n)thoughexceptions
aremorecommon(see89.UsingthewithGeneralMeaning(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/89usingthewithgeneral
meaning/)).
.
Saywhichoftheunderlinednounsinthefollowingtexthavenodeterminer.Thenidentifythedeterminerthateachoftheothernouns
has.Answersaregivenbelow.
SomepeoplethinkthatitisbetterifEnglishteachersspeakEnglishastheirfirstornativelanguage.However,thisbeliefveryquicklyraisesallsorts
ofproblems.NotspeakingEnglishasafirstlanguagebringsnumerousbenefitsforanybodywhoeventuallysucceedsinbecominganEnglishteacher.
TwoofthemajorstrengthsthatnonnativeEnglishspeakersusuallyhave,whichcompensateforanyforeignwaysofpronouncingorwriting
English,areamuchbetterabilitytoexplainEnglishgrammar,andamuchbetterunderstandingofjustwhatitisliketobealearnerofEnglishasa
15 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
ForeignLanguage.
.
Answers
NounswithNoDeterminer(allplural/uncountablewithgenericmeaning):teachers,English,problems,speakers,grammar.
Determiners:theirlanguage;thisbelief;alanguage;anteacher;thestrengths;anyways;aability;a
understanding;alearner.
PostedinAcademicandProfessionalReading,AcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishGrammarErrors,Nouns |Taggedthe,a,
ArticleUsage,countablenouns,nounswithnoarticle,uncountablenouns,zeroarticle |2Comments
(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/07
/adjpos.png)
Englishhasvariousfeaturesthatmightleadspeakersofotherlanguagestoincorrectlyplaceanadjectiveafteritsnoun
.
ThemainadjectivepositionsinEnglishareeitherjustbeforethenountheydescribeorafteritwithalinkingverblikeBEinbetween
(see6.AdjectiveswithNoNoun1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/6adjectiveswithnonounpeoplenaming/)).Inafew
caseswealsofindanEnglishadjectiveplaceddirectlyafteritsnounwithoutalinkingverb.Mostadvancedgrammarbookslistthe
situationswherethisexceptionalusageisnecessary.
Inthispost,followingtheusualGuinlistpolicyofnotsimplyrepeatingwhatcanbefoundingrammarbooks,Iwishtoanalysean
instanceofanadjectivewronglyplaceddirectlyafteritsnounthatIrecentlyencounteredinatouristguidebookfromthePortuguese
speakingworld.IwishtoshowhowtheerrorisprobablycausedbythewayEnglishworks,ratherthan(orasmuchas)bytransfer
orinterferencefromPortuguese,which,likeotherRomancelanguages,usuallyplacesadjectivesafterratherthanbeforenouns.
.
16 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
ThefollowingsentenceillustratestheguidebookerrorthatIencountered(theadjectiveunderlined):
(a)*TheregionhasculturalbehaviourstypicallyPortuguese.
ThecorrectEnglishwaytosaythisiseithertoplacetypicallyPortuguesebeforeculturalbehavioursortoleaveitwhereitiswith
whichareinfront.ThemainreasonforsuspectingthatEnglishmaybepartlytoblamefortheerroristhatmostotheradjectivesused
bythewriterof(a)wereactuallyinthecorrectpositions.SowhatisitaboutEnglishthatmighthavecausedthisparticularerror?Three
possibilitiessuggestthemselves:otherwaysofdescribinganoun,situationsthatchangeanadjectivesposition,andtheexistenceof
someEnglishadjectivesthatalwaysfollowtheirnoun.
.
Verbscansometimesdescribeanouninanadjectivelikeway.Dierentaspectsofthispointareconsideredelsewhereinthisbloginthe
posts52.ParticiplesPlacedJustAftertheirNoun(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/52participlesplacedjustaftertheir
noun/),66.VariableMeaningsofPassiveVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/66variablemeaningsofpassiveverbs/)
and98.Very,MuchandVeryMuch(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/98verymuchverymuch/).Thefirstofthese
illustrateshowverbsintheingoredformcandescribeanadjacentnounjustlikeadjectives,butemphasisesthatasubstantialnumber
ofthemcanormustgoafterthenounratherthanbefore,likethis:
(b)OnemustrememberthetendencypreviouslyNOTED.
Structurally,thissentenceisidenticalto(a):bothcompriseasubject,verbandobject,andtheobject(underlined)comprisesanoun
followedbyanadverbandthehighlighteddescribingword.Thereasonwhy(b)ispossibleand(a)isnotisthatnotedisaparticiple
ofthekindthatcangobeforeorafteritsnoun,whilePortugueseisanordinaryadjective.Itcouldbethatthepossibilityofparticiple
usageasin(b)iswhatinduced(a)tobewritten.
Onefurtherwayofdescribinganounwithoutusinganadjectiveiswithaprepositionphrase(See84.SevenThingstoKnowAbout
Prepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/84seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/)).Withoneofthese,thenoun
mustalwayscomefirst:
(c)TheregionhasartefactsOFASOPHISTICATEDKIND.
Perhapsthiskindofdescriptionalsohassomeinfluence.
.
TherearethreedierentkindsofsituationthatnormallyrequireanEnglishadjectivetogodirectlyafteritsnounratherthaninfront.
.
1. Describing a Pronoun Ending in -body/-one/-thing/-where

Itisnotnormalforanadjectivetoprecedeanyofthesepronouns.Thus,sentence(a)wouldbecomecorrectifhasculturalbehaviours
wasreplacedbyissomewhere.ThisfeatureofEnglish,however,doesnotseemalikelyexplanationoftheerrorin(a),sincethe
presenceorabsenceofoneofthefourpronounsseemseasytorememberandappreciate.
17 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
2. Acting as an Object Complement

Complementsarenounphrasesoradjectivephrasesthatmeanthesameas,ordescribe,anearliermentionednounphrase.Theyareof
thesubjectkindwhenthisearliernounphraseisthesubjectofanequalityshowingverblikeBE,whichisusuallyplacedjustinfront
ofthem(see8.ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/)).Object
complements,ontheotherhand,existwhentheearliernounphraseistheobjectofaverb,withnootherverbafterit(see92.
ComplementShowingAs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/92complementshowingas/)).
Objectcomplementsmustbenecessitatedbytheverbbeforethem;otherwisethegrammaticalstructurewillbeoneofapposition(see
77.Apposition(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/77appositionpairingofsamemeaningnouns/)).Thisneedmaybe
illustratedasfollows:
(d)ColumbuscalledtheislandhefirstreachedSanSalvador.
Theverbhereiscalled,itsobjectistheislandhefirstreachedandtheobjectcomplementisSanSalvador.Thecomplementis
necessitatedbycalledinthesensethatomittingitwouldleaveagrammaticallyincompletesentence.ThisisbecausetheverbCALLin
itsnamingsensealwaysneedsasubject,objectandobjectcomplement,inthesamewaythatsomeverbsalwaysneedanobject(see8.
ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/))andsome,likePUT,alwaysneedan
adverbialaftertheirobject.Alistofotherverbsthattypicallyneedanobjectcomplementisinthepost92.ComplementShowingAs
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/92complementshowingas/).
In(d),theobjectcomplementisanounphrase.However,adjectivesarejustaspossible:
(e)ColumbusconsideredtheCaribbeanislandsextremelybeautiful.
Nowwehaveasentencethatlooksonceagainlike(a).Itiscorrect,however,becauseitsverbCONSIDERneedsanobjectcomplement.
ThisisnotapropertyofHAVEinsentence(a);itcannotmakePortugueseanobjectcomplementneedingtofollowitsnoun.Coulditbe
thattheerrorin(a)hasbeencausedbythewriterincorrectlybelievingthatHAVErequiresanobjectcomplementinthewaythat
CONSIDERdoes?
.
3. Beginning an Adjective Phrase

Anadjectivephraseisagroupofwordsthatcanreplaceanadjectiveinasentence.Onekind,lessrelevanthere,isacombinationofa
prepositionanditsfollowingnoun(see84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/84
seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/))normallyplacedafterthedescribednoun(e.g.teafromIndia).
Otheradjectivephrasesaremadebyaddingwordstoanadjective,sometimesafterit,sometimesbefore.Examplesareeasyto
understand,contentwiththeoutcomeandalittlecontroversial.Theruleisthatwhentheextrawordsareaftertheadjective,thewhole
phrasemustusuallyfollowitsnoun;otherwiseitstaysbefore.Considertheloneadjectiveinthefollowingsentence:
(f) Importantinformationwasstoredseparately.
Hereimportantisinthenormalpositionbeforeitsnouninformation.However,ifitbecomesaphrasewithwordsaddedafterit,such
asimportanttokeep,itmustberepositionedafterthenoun(or,lessformally,besplittomakeimportantinformationtokeepsee2.
InterruptedStructures(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/2readingobstacles1interruptedstructures/)).Ontheotherhand,
ifsomethingisaddedbefore,e.g.vitallyimportant,norepositioningispossible.
ThisfeatureofEnglishcouldeasilyexplaintheerrorin(a),wheretheadjectivePortuguesefollowstypicallyinaphrase.Coulditbe
thatthewriterisconfusingthetwotypesofadjectivephrase,incorrectlythinkingthatthewordbeforePortugueserequiresittofollow
itsnounwheninfactonlywordsafterdo?
.
18 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
Finally,itispossiblethatthewriterof(a)simplythoughtthatPortuguesebelongedtothesmallgroupofEnglishadjectivesthat
normallyfollowthenountheydescribe.Theseincludebelow(e.g.thediagrambelowsee 74.Listing3:BulletPoints
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/74listing3bulletpoints/)),presentmeaningnotabsent(thememberspresent),proper
meaningreal(thebuildingproper),generalmeaningwithgeneralresponsibility(theSuperiorGeneral),andresponsiblemeaning
incharge(thepersonresponsible).
However,confusingPortuguesewiththeseseemsquiteunlikely,sinceonewouldsurelynothavegreatdicultyinrememberingthat
thelargegroupofnationalityadjectivescombineswithnounsinthenormalway.
PostedinAcademicandProfessionalWriting,Adjectives,EnglishGrammarErrors |Taggedadjectivepositions,nounphrase,nouns
beforeadjectives,objectcomplements,participles,Romancelanguages,wordorder |Leaveacomment
29JUNE,2015BYPAULFANNING
(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/remove.png)
REMOVE=TAKEAWAY
ManyinformalEnglishwordshaveaLatinderivedformalsynonym
.
Sometimesthedierencebetweentwowordsofsimilarmeaningisnotsomuchwhattheymeanaswheretheyareused(see16.Ways
ofDistinguishingSimilarWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/waysofdistinguishingsimilarwords/)).Thisisthe
case,forexample,withscapulasandshoulderblades,theformerbeingcommoninmedicalEnglish,thelatterineverydayspeech(see
77.Apposition(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/77appositionpairingofsamemeaningnouns/)).
AnimportantareaofEnglishthatoftenexpressesmeaningswithdierentwordsfromthoseofordinaryspeech(andoccasionallywith
dierentgrammartoo)isacademicandprofessionalwriting.Thedierencesinthissortofwritingaresaidtogiveitaformalstyle
(see46.HowtoAvoidI,WeandYou(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/46howtoavoidiweandyou/)).An
interestingfeatureofformalsoundingwordsisthattheyareusuallyderivedfromLatin,thelanguageoftheancientRomanrulersof
19 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
Europe2000yearsago,ratherthanOldEnglish.MostwereimportedintoEnglishviaFrenchafterEnglandcameunderFrench
speakingmonarchs1000yearsago.ThisassociationofformallanguagewithhistoricalrulersofEnglandmakessensebecausebothare
indicativeofpower.
AnearlierGuinlistpost(45.LatinCluestoEnglishSpelling(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/45latincluestoenglish
spelling/))looksatthespellingofLatinderivedwordsinformalEnglish.InthispostIwishtolookinmoredetailathowLatinate
wordstypicallyreplacenonLatinatewordsinEnglishsoastoachieveformality.
.
AverylargecategoryofformalEnglishwordsisLatinateverbswiththesamemeaningaseverydaytwowordverbs.Twowordverbs
tendtobecombinationsofsimpleEnglishverbswitheitherapreposition(makingprepositionalverbslikeLEADTOandCOPE
WITH)oranadverb(makingphrasalverbslikeMAKEOUTorGIVEUP).Prepositionalverbsalwayshaveafollowingnoun
(object),whichmustbeplacedafterthepreposition,whereasphrasalverbsmayhavenoobject,andifthereisone,itmaycome
beforetheadverbaswellasafter.Numerousexamplesofbothverbtypesarelistedinthepost44.TroublesomePrepositionalVerbs
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/44troublesomeprepositionalverbs/).Herearesomecommontwowordverbsandtheir
Latinateequivalents:
.
1. Prepositional Verbs
ASKFOR=REQUEST
COMEAFTER=FOLLOW
COMEUPTO=REACH/ATTAIN
DEALWITH=MANAGE
GOBEFORE=PRECEDE
GOOUTOF=EXIT
LEADTO=CAUSE
LOOKAT=REGARD
LOOKFOR=SEEK
LOOKINTO=INVESTIGATE
LOOKLIKE=RESEMBLE
PUTUPWITH=TOLERATE
REFERTO=CONSULT
SETTLEFOR=CHOOSE
SPEAKTO=ADDRESS
TALKABOUT=DISCUSS/CONSIDER
THINKABOUT=CONSIDER/PONDER
THINKOF=CONCEIVE
WAITFOR=AWAIT
20 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
2. Phrasal Verbs
BREAKDOWN=FAIL/COLLAPSE
BREAKOFF=SUSPEND/ADJOURN
BREAKUP=DISINTEGRATE
BRINGIN=INTRODUCE
COMEBACK=RETURN
COME/GOIN=ENTER
GETAWAY=ESCAPE
GOAHEAD=PROCEED
GOAWAY=LEAVE/DEPART
GIVE/BRINGBACK=RETURN
GIVEIN=YIELD
GIVEOUT=DISTRIBUTE
GIVEUP=QUIT
LINKUP=CONNECT
MAKEOUT=DISCERN
MAKEUP=INVENT
PUT/SETDOWN=DEPOSIT
SETOUT(1)=DISPLAY
SETOUT(2)=DEPART
TAKEAWAY=REMOVE
THROWAWAY=DISCARD
THROWOUT=EJECT
.
Englishhasmanyotherexampleslikethis.Ifinformalwritingyoucanthinkonlyofatwowordverbforthemeaningyouwant,you
cantryconsultingathesaurusforaonewordequivalent.Note,though,thatsometwowordverbscontainaLatinateverbandare
likelyasaresultnottobeinformal.ExamplesareALLUDETO,APPROVEOF,DEPENDON,INSISTONandRESULTIN.
.
AnotherareaofEnglishthatoftenhasformalandinformalequivalentsisadverbsshowingdierentstrengthsofafollowingadjective
oradverbsocalledadverbsofdegree.Considerthisexample:
21 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
(a)Thetaskwasabiteasierthanbefore.
Theunderlinedwordsareveryinformal.Itismoreformaltosayalittle,andmoreformalagaintosayslightly(awordofEnglish
ratherthanLatinorigin).Themainadverbsofdegreethatpossessamoreformalequivalentareasfollows.Theunderlinedonesare
especiallyconversational.
abit/alittle=slightly
pretty/quite/fairly/rather=moderately
really/very=extremely
alot/far/much(+comparative)=considerably/appreciably.
Moreaboutthedierencebetweenveryandmuchisinthepost98.Very,MuchandVeryMuch(https://guinlist.wordpress.com
/2015/02/09/98verymuchverymuch/).
Sometimesabitandalotareusableasordinaryadverbswithaverb,e.g.worksabit/alot.Theformalequivalentofabitusedlikethis
isalittleorasmallamount.Insteadofalotonecannearlyalwayssayverymuchoragreatdeal,buttherearenumerousother
possibilitiesdependingonthechoiceofverb.Forexample,withworksonemightsayhard,withhopes fervently,withdependsgreatly
(orheavily),withdenystrenuously,andwithneeds desperately.Mostadvancedgrammardescriptionsprovidefurtherexamples.
Thereisalsoapronounuseofabitandalot,e.g.earnsabit/alot.Here,abitisreplaceableagainbyalittle/asmallamount,butalot
sometimesneedsverymuch/agreatdealandsometimesverymanyoragreatmany,dependingonwhetheritrepresentsan
uncountablenounoracountableonelikethis:
(b)Poisonoussnakesareabundant,butagreatmanyareveryshy.
Alotcanalsobeusedinformallywithofbeforeanouninsteadofamoreprecisenumber(seeHedging1:Numbers&Generalizations
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/95hedging1numbersgeneralizations/)).Informalwriting,itcanbereplacedbymanyor
various,butamoreimpressiveLatinateequivalentisnumerous.
.
TheverbGETisanotherinformalwordthatisespeciallyproductiveofLatinatealternatives.Thisisbecauseithassomanydierent
meanings.Inthefollowingsentences,adierentformalequivalentofGETisneededeachtime:
(c)Theatmosphereseemstobegettinghotterallthetime.
(d)Visitorscangetapassfromthemainoce.
(e)BritishcitizensgetaletterfromtheMonarchwhentheyreach100.
(f)ItiseasytogetaflightfromJakartatoAustralia.
(g)Thetreatmentofcancerisgettingbetterallthetime.
In(c),onecanusebecomingorgrowing,neitherofwhichisLatinate.In(d),thewordisobtain,in(e)receive,in(f)catchorarrangeand
in(g)improving.
Careshouldalsobetakentochoosetherightalternativetotheinformalwordbig.SpeakersofLatinderivedlanguagesCatalan,
French,Italian,Portuguese,Rumanian,Spanishtendtoreplaceitincorrectlywithimportantorsignificantbecausesimilarlooking
wordsinthoselanguagesdohavethemeaningofbig.InEnglish,thesewordssaynothingaboutsizebutaremoretodowithrole.The
mainformalsynonymsofbigarelarge,greatandmajor(nothuge,whichmeansverybigsee16.WaysofDistinguishingSimilar
Words(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/waysofdistinguishingsimilarwords/)).
Largeseemstobepreferredwithconcretenounslikeroom,vehicleoranimal,andgreatmustbeusedwhenthereisasuggestionof
imposing,special,famousorwonderful(e.g.AlexanderTheGreat,greatamenities).Otherwise,withnonconcrete(abstract)
nouns,achoicebetweenlargeandgreatoftenseemstodependonthenounbeingdescribed,inotherwordstobeamatterof
collocation.Herearesometypicalabstractpartnersoflargeandgreat(theunderlinedonesalsoallowmajor):
22 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
Abstract Nouns Requiring large

afactor,agroup,akind,anumber,aquantity,arole,ascale,asurplus,avalue.
.
Abstract Nouns Requiring great

accuracy,anachievement,charm,adeal,dignity,adiscovery,aneect,importance,interest,aloss,meaning,amistake,aneed,
relevance,resolve,responsibility,significance,success,asuccess,understanding,value,awelcome.
.
Abstract Nouns Allowing Either

anamount,anextent,apart,arange,arate,astep.
Twonounsthatneedtobeavoidedinformalwritingarething(countable)andstu(uncountable).Replacementsoftendependon
context,butcommonthingwordsincludeobject,itemandidea,andstuwordsincludematerial,substanceandmatter.
Lastly,thewordsgoodandbad,whicheachpossessnumerousmeanings,areoftenreplacedwithmorepreciseLatinateequivalents.
Wordsmeaninggoodincludeappropriate,attractive,beneficial,desirable,eective,enjoyable,pleasant,suitableandvirtuous,while
equivalentsofbadincludedamaging,harmful,problematic,troublesome,undesirable,unhealthy,unpleasantandunwanted.Morecan
befoundwithathesaurus.
PostedinAcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishVocabulary,Verbs |Taggedacademicwords,EAP,formalstyle,informalwords,
Latinatewords,phrasalverbs,prepositionalverbs,Romancelanguages,Synonyms |2Comments
(http://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/mp900439313.jpg)
Whencloselyconnectedwordsarewrittenwithotherwordsinbetweenthem,theconnectioncanbeobscured
.
23 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
Interrupted(discontinuous)structuresarewordswithaclosegrammaticallinkthatareseparatedbyotherwords.Forexample,the
wordslargerthanhaveaclosegrammaticallink(theerendingneedsorimpliesthanandviceversa),andawordinterruptingthis
twowordgroupmightbeusuallyinthephraselargerusuallythan.Sometimestheinterruptingwordsaresurroundedbyapairof
bracketlikecommas(see50.RightandWrongCommaPlaces(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/50rightandwrongcomma
places/)),likethis:
(a)Fitathletesshouldcompleteamarathonin,attheverymost,threehours.
Theproblemforreadingisthattheseparationofthecloselylinkedwords,especiallywithoutcommas,canstopthereaderseeingthe
link.
Therearevarioustypesofstructurethatcanbeinterrupted.Herearesomeimportantones:
1. Preposition Phrases
Allprepositionshaveapartnernoun,usuallyplacedjustafterthem(see84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist
/2014/07/28/84seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/)).Thecombinationisoftencalledaprepositionphrase.Suchphrasesare
mosteasilyinterruptedjustafterthepreposition.Thisisthecaseinsentence(a)above.
.
2. Verb Phrases
Verbphrasesarecombinationsoftwoormoreverbs.Theymightbeamainverbwithoneormoreprecedingauxiliaries(BE,HAVE,
DO,modalslikeWILL),asinshouldbeworking,oronewithfollowingordinaryverbsintheparticipleorinfinitiveform,asinwants
tobeseen.Interruptingwordsarelikelytobeadverbs:
(b)FitathletesSHOULDideallyCOMPLETEamarathoninthreehours.
.
3. Nouns with their Describing Words

Themeaningofanouncanbemademoreexact(modifiedintechnicalterminology)bywordsaddeddirectlybeforeorafterit.
Articlesandarticlelikewords,adjectivesandnounsarethemainkindthatgobefore,whileprepositionphrases,relativeclauses,
participles,samemeaningnounsandtheconjunctionthatallgoafter(see15.HalfReadSentences(https://guinlist.wordpress.com
/2011/11/08/readingobstacles8halfreadsentences/)).Hereisaninterruptionofthiskindofstructuretakenfromthepost68.How
ComputersGetGrammarWrong1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/68howcomputersgetgrammarwrong1/):
(c)Learnermotivationmayoccurbecauseofthepossibilitymentionedabovethatlearnerscanenjoyreadingaloud..
.
4. Verbs and Adjectives with a Dependent Preposition

Someverbsandadjectivesneedaparticularprepositiontoexpressaparticularmeaning(see111.WordswiththeirOwnPreposition(htt
/2015/08/13/111wordswiththeirownpreposition/)).Examplesofverbslikethis(usuallycalledprepositionalsee44.
24 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
TroublesomePrepositionalVerbs(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/44troublesomeprepositionalverbs/))includeLEADTO,
COPEWITHandLOOKFORWARDTO.Illustrativeadjectivesarecontentwith,aversetoandconsciousof.Interruptingwordscango
beforethepreposition:
(d)Thegovernmenthaveproposedsomepainfulmeasuresforfamilies.
Moreonthisuseofadjectivesisinthepost109.AdjectivePositioning(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/109adjective
positioning/).
.
Notallinterruptedstructuresareaprobleminreading;butsomearebecauseIhaveobservedtheirpresenceinextractsthatlearnersof
Englishhavereportedasdicult(seethetechnicalarticleentitledWhatcanlearnerstellusabouttheirreadingproblems?
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/articles/whatcanlearnerstellusabouttheirreadingproblems/)).Thelengthoftheinterruptionmaywellbe
significant.Considerthefollowing:
(b)Thisissue(ofajournal)examinesthecoursesandcausesoffertilitydeclinethroughhistoryandtheindustrialization/food
securityconundruminChina,theworldsmostpopulouscountry.
Theinterruptionhereisbetweentheunderlinedarticletheandthenounitmodifies.Whatexactlyisthisnoun:industrialization,food,
securityorconundrum?Infact,thereisafairlyeasyrulethatcanhelptoshowwhich:anyarticleplacedbeforecloselycombinednouns
likethesegoeswiththelastofthem(see38.NounsUsedLikeAdjectives(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/38nouns
usedlikeadjectives/)).Sotheheregoeswithconundrum(whichmeanspuzzleordicultchoice).Thewordsindustrialization
andsecurityarebeingusedbeforeitlikeadjectivestoshowwhatthedicultchoiceisbetween,andfoodisalsobeingusedlikean
adjective,sayingwhatkindofsecurityismeant.
Thus,thephrasetheindustrialization/foodsecurityconundruminChinameansthedicultchoiceinChinabetweenindustrialisation
andfoodsecurity.Inotherwords,accordingtothiswritermoreindustrialisationinChinameanslessfoodsecurity,andmorefood
securitymeanslessindustrialisation,sothatChinahasadicultchoicetomake.
.
Herearesomemoreinterruptedstructuresthatstudentshavereportedasdicult.Howeasilycanyouunderstandthem?Whatisthe
interruptionineach(answersbelow)?
.
PROBLEM TEXTS
1. Onenewproductinthegrocerytradeoutofsevensurvivestothethirdyear.
2. Marketingisaphilosophyofrunningabusinessthatshoulddominateeverymajordecision.
3. Ofequalimportanceisthebroaderissueoftheeectsofwhattheinformationmediacommunicateonindividualsandonsociety.
4. Howwerelatetothemdependstoagreatextentontheirmomentaryrequirements.
5. PartIIIaddressessomeofthesortsofreasonsadvancedforviolatingthelaw.
25 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
.
.
ANSWERS
1
1.TheinterruptedphraseisOneoutofseven,whichexpressestheideaof /7.
2. aphilosophythat.Therelativepronounthatgoeswithfarawayphilosophy,nottheimmediatelyprecedingbusiness(see28.
PronounErrors(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/28pronounerrors/)formoreaboutthisdicultywithrelativepronouns).
3. eectsofon .Itiseasytodecidethatongoeswithcommunicate,whereasinfactitgoeswitheects,therebeingmanyother
wordsinbetween.Youhavetoknowthateectscanaccompanyacauseafterofandthethingchangedbythatcauseafteron (see10.
WordswithUnexpectedGrammar(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/wordswithunexpectedgrammar/)and49.Subject
ShowingPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/49subjectshowingprepositions/)).Thecauseiswhatthe
informationmediacommunicate,whichmeansthethingscommunicatedbytheinformationmedia.
4. dependson.Thewordstoagreatextent(whichthemselvesgocloselytogether)haveseparatedthisprepositionalverbfromits
usualpreposition.
5. reasonsfor .Advanced isaverbintheparticipleform,meaningwhichhavebeenadvanced.Likemanyloneparticiples,itcan
comeafteranounaswellasbeforeit(see52.ParticiplesPlacedJustAftertheirNoun(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/52
participlesplacedjustaftertheirnoun/)).Itspresenceafterthenounhereseparatesthenounfromitsnormaldirectlyfollowing
preposition.
PostedinAcademicandProfessionalReading,EnglishGrammarErrors |TaggedDiscontinuity,English,grammar,interrupted
structures,readingproblems,WordGroups |4Comments
(http://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/example1.jpg)
Simpleexamplegivingisnamingageneralclassandoneorsomeofitsmembers,withoutfurtherdetails
.
Whenwegiveanexample,wenameoneormore(butnotall)ofthemembersofapreviouslymentionedclass.Forexample,afterthe
classofanimals,examplescouldbecats,or catsanddogs.Itisimportantnottomentionalloftheclassmembersbecausethatis
ordinarylistingratherthanexamplegiving(see54.Listing1:Incidental(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/54listing
26 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
1incidental/),55.(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/55listintroductions2sentencefocal/)Listing2:FullSentences
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/55listing2fullsentences/) and74.Listing3:BulletPoints
(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/74listing3bulletpoints/)).Compare:
(a)(EXAMPLEGIVING)RomancelanguagesincludeSpanishandPortuguese. (b)(LISTING)ThemainlanguagesofSouth
AmericaareSpanishandPortuguese.
Unmentionedmembersoftheunderlinedclassin(a)includeFrenchandRomanian.Therearenounmentionedclassmembersin(b).
Inthisnamingofclassmembers,wemayormaynotsaysomethingaboutthem.NotsayinganythingaboutthemiswhatImeanby
simpleexamplegiving.Hereisanotherillustration:
(c) Airpollutants,suchassulphurdioxide,causemanyproblems.
Inthissentence,sulphurdioxideisnamedasonememberoftheclassofairpollutantsandnothingelseissaidaboutit(causemany
problemsisinformationaboutairpollutantsingeneral,notjustsulphurdioxide).Thispostisaboutthedierentwaysinwhichsimple
exampleslikethiscanbegiven.Relatedpostsare33.ComplexExampleGiving(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/33
complexexamplegiving/),which examineshowtogiveanexamplewhenyouwishtosaysomethingextraaboutit,53.As,Like
andSuchAs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/53aslikeandsuchas/),whichlooksmorecloselyatthreeoftheexample
givingexpressionspresentedhere,and96.Hedging2:Lists&Predictions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/96hedging
2listspredictions/),whichsuggestssomereasonsforgivingasimpleexample.
.
Simpleexamplescanbegivenineitherthesamesentenceastheclassnameoranewone,likethis:
(d)(SAMESENTENCE)Pollutioncausesmanyproblems,forexampleillness.
(e)(NEWSENTENCE)Pollutioncausesmanyproblems.Oneisillness.
Decidingwhetherornottoplacetheexampleinthesamesentenceastheclassnameisthemainlinguisticjudgementtomakeinsimple
examplegiving.Thereisalsoachoicetobemadeofsuitableexampleshowinglanguage.Ifthislanguageischosenfirst,therewillbe
nochoiceaboutwhichsentencetheexampleisgivenin,butleavingthelanguagechoiceuntillaterallowsmorefreedominthismatter.
.
Insimpleexamplegiving,thefollowingexpressionsarepossible:
.
1.Words Enabling Examples to be in the Same Sentence as their Class

FOREXAMPLEFORINSTANCEE.G.SUCHASLIKEINCLUDINGINCLUDEASILLUSTRATEDBYSAY
(AS)(ETC)
Notethatmostoftheseexpressionscanhaveacommabeforethem,butneveracommaafter.Veryoftentheirusecreatesaconstruction
knownasapposition(see77.PairingofSameMeaningNouns(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/77appositionpairing
ofsamemeaningnouns/)).Asandetcarebracketedbecausetheyareusedinspecialways.Examplegivingwithasisdescribedinthe
post53.As,LikeandSuchas(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/53aslikeandsuchas/).
Therearevariouspointstonoteaboutetc(anditssynonymsamongothers,andothers,andsoon,andsuchlike,and tonamebutafew
27 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
butnotthreedots[],which,likedirectquestionsandnewlines,aremoreContinentalthanEnglishsee57.Indirect
QuestionsinFormalWriting(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/57indirectquestionsinformalwriting/)and59.Paragraph
Length(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/%ef%bb%bf%ef%bb%bf59paragraphlength/)).Normallyetcexpressionsareused
withmultipleexamples,andareplacedafterthem.Veryimportantly,theycannotbecombinedwithotherexampleshowing
expressions.Thetwocommonestwaysofexamplegivingwiththemlooklikethis:
(f)TherearevariousRomancelanguages:French,Spanish,Portuguese,etc.
(g)(The)RomancelanguagesareFrench,Spanish,Portuguese,etc.
Inthesesentences,thenameofthegeneralclasstowhichtheexamplesbelongisRomancelanguages.Theexamplesarelinkedtoitin
thestandardwayforsentencecentrallists:witheitheracolonasin(f)oralinkingverb(mostlyare)asinin(g)(see55.Listing2:Full
Sentences(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/55listing2fullsentences/)and17.ColonsversusSemiColons
(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/17colonsversussemicolons/)).Whenacolonisused,thegeneralclassnameneedsavague
numberwordbeforeitlikevarious,severalornumerous.Whenalinkingverbisused,itmustnotitselfbeexampleshowinglike
include
.
2.Words Enabling Simple Examples to be in a New Sentence

ONEIS
ANEXAMPLEIS(EXAMPLESARE)
ISACASEINPOINT
THEY/THESEINCLUDE
THEY/THESEAREILLUSTRATEDBY.
AMONGTHESEARE
THESEARE,ETC.
.
Notehowthesenewsentenceexpressionsallcontainaverb(underlined).Thisisnecessarybecauseanynewsentencemusthaveits
ownverb(see30.WhentoWriteaFullStop(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/30whatisasentence/)).Notealsothatetcand
itssynonymsagaincannotbecombinedwithanyoftheotherexpressions.
Somewriters,whendecidingtogiveasimpleexample,maythinkofboththeexampleandtheexampleshowinglanguageatthesame
time.Ifso,theyhavetousethepunctuationthatgoeswiththelanguagetheyhavethoughtof.Forexample,thinkingofofsuchasat
themomentofchoosingtheexamplemeansthattheexamplemustgointothesamesentenceastheclassnameitcannotgoanywhere
elseandconverselyanexampleafteroneismustbeinanewsentence.
Ontheotherhand,itispossibletothinkofanexamplewithoutatthesametimethinkingofaccompanyingexampleshowinglanguage.
Thenthereismorechoiceaboutthepunctuation.Youcaneitherdecidetoputtheexampleintoanewsentence,andonlyafterwards
chooseanappropriateexampleshowingexpression(fromthesecondlistabove),oryoucandecidenottohaveanewsentence,
choosingyourexpressionfromthefirstlistasaresult.Thedecisiontostartornotstartanewsentencewouldherebedeterminednot
byapriorlanguagechoice,butforanotherreason,forexamplesentencelengthorpersonalpreference.Thisapproachmustsurelybe
thebetterone,andtheonethatthemostsuccessfulwriterswilluse.
Themainpointtorememberregardingsimpleexamplegivingisthepunctuationthateachexampleshowingexpressionrequires.The
mostcommonmistakemadebylearnersofEnglishseemstobeusingafullstopwhenacommaisrequired.Tocorrectit,youmust
eitherchangethefullstopintoacommaorchangeyourexampleshowingexpressionintoonethatrequiresafullstop.Tomakethese
pointsclearer,hereisapracticeexercise.
.
EXERCISE:Completethefollowingasinstructedeachtime.Trytovaryyourexampleshowingexpressions.Possibleanswersare
givenaftertheexercise.
.
28 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
1. Giveanexamplecountryinthesamesentence:
PortugueseisspokeninmanycountriesoutsidePortugal,_____________.
2. Giveanexamplecountryinanewsentence:
FrenchisspokeninmanycountriesoutsideFrance.________________.
3. GiveTWOexamplenumbersinanewsentence:
Somenumberscannotbedividedbyanyothernumbersexceptthemselvesandone.__________________________________.
4. GiveTWOexampleconjunctionsinthesamesentence.
Aconjunctionisawordthatenablestwoverbstoexisttogetherinonesentence,______________________.
5. Writeapossiblebeginningofthissentence:
Exercise____________________________,likepreventingheartdisease.
6. Giveanexampleofavocabularylearningstrategyinthesamesentence.
Vocabularylearningrequiresnumerousstrategies,_________________.
7. Completethissentenceusingacaseinpoint.
AncientGreekthinkersstillinfluenceacademicsubjectstoday._________.
8. Completethissentenceinanysuitableway.
Dictionariesareanimportantaidtolanguagelearning.Theiruses_______________________theirhelpfulnesswithword
pronunciation.
.
.ANSWERS(lookparticularlyatthegrammarofthesesentences,ratherthantheactualexampleschosen).
.
1.PortugueseisspokeninmanycountriesoutsidePortugal,forexampleBrazil.
2.FrenchisspokeninmanycountriesoutsideFrance.Oneis(or Anexampleis)Algeria.
3.Somenumberscannotbedividedbyanyothernumbersexceptthemselvesandone.Examples(or Amongthem)are7and13.
4.Aconjunctionisawordthatenablestwoverbstoexisttogetherinonesentence,suchas(or likeorforexampleor e.g.)butand/or
when.
5.Exercisehasnumerousbenefits,likepreventingheartdisease.
6.Vocabularylearningrequiresnumerousstrategies,e.g.usingadictionary.(Althoughthisexamplecontainsaverbusing,theing
makesasamesentenceexamplenecessary)
7.AncientGreekthinkersstillinfluenceacademicsubjectstoday.Aristotleisacaseinpoint.
8.Dictionariesareanimportantaidtolanguagelearning.Theirusesareillustratedbytheirhelpfulnesswithwordpronunciation.
PostedinAcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishGrammarErrors,Punctuation |TaggedApposition,classmembers,EAP,
examplesentences,examples,exemplification,forexample,Illustration,suchas |3Comments
CreateafreewebsiteorblogatWordPress.com.|TheMistyLakeTheme.
Follow
Follow guinlist
29 of 30
29/9/2015 11:11 AM
30 of 30
BuildawebsitewithWordPress.com
29/9/2015 11:11 AM

Posts - Guinlist - Grammar and Vocabulary in Academic & Professional English

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Posts - Guinlist - Grammar and Vocabulary in Academic & Professional English

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Posts | guinlist | Grammar and Vocabulary in Academic & Professional E...