Transcript 幻灯片 1

Part One: Diction
Objectives
• To help students understand how to choose
and use words in writing
• To help students understand several levels of
words
• To help students understand the meaning of
words
• To help students understand the general
words and specific words
• To help students understand the using of
idioms in writing
• To help students understand and identify
several figures of speech, and use them
reasonably in writing
Introduction to Writing
• Some tips for
improving your
English writing
• Read
• Write
• Revise
• Think in English
What is diction ？
• Diction is the choice and use of words.
The English language has a large
vocabulary. The social and technical
progress is contributing new words and
expressions to this large vocabulary
each year. As a learner of English, it is
impossible and unnecessary for you to
master all of them. Instead, you should
develop an awareness of the uses of
various types of English words so that
you can learn to use the words that are
most useful and most often used to
express yourself.
Levels of words
• The words that we come
across can be divided into 3
types, according to a stylistic
point of view:
formal, common, and
colloquial.
Levels of words
• Formal words may also be
called “literary words”. They
mainly appear in formal writing,
such as scholarly works,
political and legal documents,
etc.
Levels of words
• In the English vocabulary, only a
few thousand words are used by
ordinary people in daily
communication. These are the
most useful words, or common
words. They form the core of the
English vocabulary which can be
used on all occasions. As a learner
of English, you must learn and
remember these words.
Levels of words
• The third type of words which are
mainly used in informal or familiar
conversation. They seldom appear
in formal writing. This type of
words is called colloquial words.
• Formal/literary common/general
colloquial/informal/slang
• For example:
Levels of words
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E.g.
automobile car wheels
Fortitude strength guts
Visage face mug
Attire clothes threads
Spectacle glasses specs
Expropriate steal rip-off
Voluble talkative big-mouthed
The Meaning of Words
• There are two aspects about a
word：
• denotation: literary meaning in
dictionary
• connotation: implied meaning
or suggested meaning
The Meaning of Words
• Take “snake” as an example.
• According to the dictionary, the word
“snake” denotes a kind of animal,
limbless, lidless eyes, reptile.
• For some people, the word “snake” may
connote evil, cheating, for some others,
wisdom.
The Meaning of Words
• Notes:
• 1) Words with similar literal
meaning may have connotation that
vary widely. For example, “quiet,
still, tomblike” all mean silent. But
the first two words have positive
connotation suggesting
peacefulness while the last one has
the negative connotation.
The Meaning of Words
• 2) The words we choose as we
write also show our attitude
toward our subject.
• For example:
The Meaning of Words
• Eg. The skinny woman slinked
in.
瘦的皮包骨头的女人溜了进来。
• The slender woman glided in.
一位苗条的淑女飘然而至。
What are General and
specific words？
• General words are words or
phrases that refer to qualities
or ideas, things we can not
perceive through our five
senses.
• Specific words are often
concrete words.
Idioms
• An idiom is a fixed group of
words with a special meaning
which is different from the
meanings of the words that
form it. English is rich in idioms,
using idioms in writing can
make the composition vivid.
• For example:
Examples of Idioms
• A little bird told me.
= get the information from the
secret way
• Talk big
=shoot the bulk into the sky
Figures of speech
• Simile
• ~ is a figure of speech involving a
comparison between two or more things
which are essentially different but have
at least one property or characteristic
in common.
• For example:
Examples of Simile
• Many idioms are similes, the structure is like
“as+adj+as+n.”
• As blind as a bat
• 目光如豆，完全看不见东西的
• As cool as cucumber
• 泰然自若
• As busy as a bee
• 象蜜蜂一样忙
• As mute as an oyster
• 噤若寒蝉
• As strong as a horse
• 健壮如牛
• like a duck to water
• 如鱼得水
• like a hen on a hot griddle
• 象热锅上的蚂蚁
• like a cat in a hole
• 瓮中之鳖
Examples of Simile
• There are many forms to express simile
• 1)subjunctive sentence
eg. My handwriting looks as if a swarm
of ants, escaping from an ink bottle, had
walked over a sheet of paper without
wiping their legs.
• 2) What
• A is to B what C is to D ;What C is to D,
A is to B.
eg. The pen is to a writer what the gun
is to a fighter.
• 作家的笔犹如战士的枪
Examples of Simile
• 3) Than
eg. A fool can no more see his own folly
than he can see his ears.
• 愚人之不知其愚，犹如其不能自视其耳。
• 4) And
eg. Love and cough can not be hid.
恋爱如同咳嗽，难逃他人耳目。
Metaphor
• Metaphor also involves a
comparison between two or more
unlike things which share at least
one property or characteristic, but
the comparison is not explicitly
stated. Instead, it is implied or
condensed.
• E.g. The world is a stage.
• Other examples
Metaphor
• E.g. Life is an isthmus between two eternities.
• 生活是永恒的生死两端之间的峡道。
• All the world's a stage, and all the men and
woman merely players.
• 大千世界是个舞台，所有男男女女不外是个角色。
• Money is a bottomless sea, in which honour,
conscience, and truth may be drowned.
• 金钱是无底的海洋，荣誉，良心和真理都可以淹没在其中。
• Some books are to be tasted, others to be
swallowed and some few to be chewed and
digested…
• 一些书浅尝即可，另一些书却要囫囵吞下，只有少数的书才
值得咀嚼和消化。
Personification
• personification is a figure of speech
in which a thing, quality, or idea is
represented as a person. It can
make the description more vivid
and more impressive.
• Eg. Australia is so kind, just tickle
her with a hoe, and she laughs with
a harvest.
Tips for personification
• a sketch map of personification
human form of feelings inanimate
objects /life ideas /personal
attributes abstraction/events
• some customs of personification
Feminine: Nature, Earth, Morning,
Evening, The moon
Masculine: The sun, Rivers
Tips for personification
• personification often serves to
make an abstraction clearer and
more real to the reader by defining
or explaining the concept in terms
of everyday human action.
E.g. Man's rejection of reading
available wisdom is presented as a
woman crying out to be heard but
being ignored.
Exercise in class
• Make five
sentences with
simile, metaphor
and
personification.
Metonymy
• Metonymy comes from Greek,
and means “a change of name”.
In another word, it means that
the name of something is used
to represent a more general
but closely-related thing.
• For example:
Examples of Metonymy
• Eg.
• The substitute( 本体 )
the substituted
( 借体 )
The crown
the king
The bottle
alcohol
The pen
words
• He must have been spoilt from the
cradle.
• Can gray hairs make folly
venerable(respectable)?
• He is not a person who lets his heart
rule his head.
Exercises in class
• 1) He has a rough tongue. She has a sharp
tongue.(language, speech)
• 2) To read a Shakespeare or a Mark Twain is to
eat a food full of protein.
• 3) Only billionaires （亿万富翁） are able to
collect Picasso.
• 4) Without sweat(labor, work), without bread
(food or living)
• 5) He was an authority on Shakespeare. (a
person who is expert in studying the works of )
• 6) Death (the bullets) fell in showers
• 7) In the least-developed regions in our country,
there is far more ignorance (the illiterate) than
knowledge .(the educated people)
Synecdoche
• synecdoche is a substitution
of the part for the whole and
the whole for the part.
• For example:
Synecdoche
• e.g.
The farm is short of hands .
(=workers, laborers, helpers)
Give us this day our daily bread .
(=food, esp. staple food)
The poor man had six mouths to feed.
(=persons)
China beat Japan at volleyball.
( China =the Chinese volleyball team;
Japan =the Japanese volleyball team)
Types of Synecdoche
• the part for the whole
• the whole for the part
• the species for the genus
• the genus for the species
• the material for the thing made
• the individual for the genus
• For example:
Examples of Synecdoche
• 1) They were short of hands at harvest time.
(labourer, worker)
• 2) I will count three hundred---that's five
minutes---and not one of you is to move a
muscle.
• 3) China (the team of China ) beat South Korea
(the team of South Korea ) 3 to 1 at badminton,
kuala lumpure. 吉隆坡 ( the capital of Malaysia).
• 4) He manages to earn his bread. (food)
• 5) Have you any coppers ? 你有零钱吗？
• 6) Nowadays, more and more people have a
liking for cotton. (cotton products 棉织品 ).
• 7) He walked the boards for a living. 他为谋生当
演员。 (stage 木板代舞台 )
• 8) The prisoner was bound in irons for ten
years.
Tips: the difference and similarity
between metonymy, synecdoche
• Synecdoche is a special type of
metonymy. Some linguists stick
to put synecdoche （提喻） and
antonomasia into the scope of
metonymy.
• In metonymy, the two objects
still belong to two quite
different things, there is only
association between them.
• For example:
Tips: the difference and similarity
between metonymy, synecdoche
• E.g. the crown for the king; the
pen for the writer; the bottle
for the milk. But in synecdoche,
one object is contained by the
other or one contains the other.
• E.g. sail( 帆 ) for boat/ship. Here
sail is the part of a boat or ship.
Euphemism
• Euphemism is a figure of speech
which is the substitution of an
inoffensive, mild or vague
expression for a harsh or
unpleasant one.
• Eg. His wife is expecting another
child.
• (His wife is pregnant again.)
Types of Euphemism
• Traditional euphemism 传统委婉语
Traditional euphemism is
connected with taboo.
• For example:
Traditional euphemism
•
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•
•
•
•
•
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•
•
Death
There are many euphemisms about death.
Go to the other world 到另一个世界去
Pass away 离去
Be no more 不在了
Breathe one's last 做最后的呼吸
Come to an end 一生结束了
Join the majority 加入大多数的队伍
Go to one's rest 安息了
Sleep the final sleep 最后睡着了
Be gathered to one's father 被先父招去
Join one's ancestor 加入祖先的行列
Be asleep in the Arms of God 安睡在上帝的怀抱
Traditional euphemism
• Disease
• If someone is unhealthy, it is better to
say “ look off colour”( 气色不好，实指身体有
病 ); under the weather( 在恶劣天气条件下，
是之健康欠佳 ); not all there( 神志不清，实指
有精神病 ).
• The euphemism of saying “pregnant” is
“ in a family way” or “in an interesting
condition”, “to join the club” 参加俱乐部 ,
“in a delicate condition”. 处于娇气状态
“eat for two”.
Traditional euphemism
• Excretion
• The euphemism of “go to WC” is “ pass
water”, “go to stool”, “see the stars”, “ get
some fresh air”, “see one's aunt”, “wash
one's hands”, “go to the necessary
house”, “do one's business”.
Types of Euphemism
• Stylistic euphemism 文体委婉语
The stylistic euphemism is not
connected with taboo. They are to
express politeness, advantages of
the two sides in communication.
For example:
Stylistic euphemism
• vacation
• Original one
uplifting one
garbage collector/dustman sanitation engineer
垃圾工人
卫生工程师
barbologist 垃圾学专家
hairdresser 理发师
beautician 美容师
butcher 屠夫
meat technologist
肉类技术专家
Stylistic euphemism
• Poverty
• Original one
uplifting one
Slum 贫民窟 substandard housing 非标准住房
Unfit house 不宜居住房屋
Depressed areas 不景气 地带
Special areas 特殊地带
Stylistic euphemism
• The old and the disabled
• We will use “senior citizen” to stand
for the old people; “single” or
“unmarried” to stand for old maid.
Exercises and homework
• Write three sentences using metonymy,
synecdoche and euphemism
Irony
• Irony is a figure of speech in which the
intended meaning is the opposite of that
expressed by the words used; usually
taking the form of sarcasm or ridicule in
which laudatory expressions are used to
imply condemnation or contempt.
• It is divided into verbal irony 词义反语 and
situation irony 情景反语 .
Verbal irony
• This kind of irony is to express
the opposite meaning of the
words used.
• For example:
Verbal irony
E.g.(1) We are lucky . It's the other side
on the thirteenth of December. That
makes us feel real good.
(2) A bronco often becomes so
attached to his master that he will lay
down his life if necessary---his master's
life, I mean.
(3) It saves a lot of trouble if,
instead of having to earn money and
save it, you can just go and borrow it.
Situation Irony
• Most ironies should be understood in a
certain situation. So the situation irony
should be understood by the word itself
and also the context in which the word
appears.
• For instance, the nuns who never take a
bath without a bathrobe all the time,
when asked why, since no man can see
them, they reply, “Oh, but you forget the
good God.”
Overstatement
• According to “Longman Dictionary of the
English Language(1984)”, overstatement
is a figure of speech based on
extravagant exaggeration; according to
“Classical Rhetoric for the Modern
Student(1965)”, overstatement is the use
of exaggerated terms for the purpose of
emphasis or heightened effect. In short,
overstatement is a figure of speech
which involves a deliberate use of
exaggeration to achieve emphasis. It
generally exaggerates the truth.
• For example:
Overstatement
• eg:
• 1) Bob loves running risks, and he once dived
from the overhanging cliff of ten thousand feet
high into the sea. 万丈悬崖
• 2) Splendid cheeses they were, ripe and mellow,
and with a two hundred horse-power scent
about them that might have been warranted to
carry three miles , and knock a man over at two
hundred yards .
• 3) He was miles out in his calculation. 他的计算大
错特错。
• 4) a thousand thanks for… 万分感激
One in a thousand 百里挑一 Forty times 一百
遍
A hundred and one care 无微不至的关怀
Millions of reasons 数不清的理由
Overstatement
• Exercises in class:
• 1) Belinda smiled, and all the world was
gay.
• 2) His anger nearly burst his belly .
• 3) Everybody was clapping their hands
off.
• 4) To get a decent apartment these days
in New York you have to pay an arm and
a leg.
• 5) We were tired to death on reaching
the peak.
Understatement
• A statement that is not strong enough to
express facts or feelings with full force
• E.g. The face wasn't a bad one ; it had
what they called charm.
He is no fool.
他可不傻。 He is exceedingly clever.
That civil servant was not without
ambition.
(=That civil servant was quite ambitious.)
Transferred Epithet
• According to A Dictionary of
Literary Terms:
A figure of speech in which
the epithet is transferred from
the appropriate noun to modify
another to which it does not
really belong.
For example:
Transferred Epithet
• E.g. a sleepless night;
A happy day
Hans shrugged a scornful shoulde r. ( 汉
斯轻蔑地耸耸肩 )
His stories achieved nothing but cheap
laughs . 廉价的笑声
Two of the largest and most powerful
nations of the world have since 1950
lived in isolated ignorance of one
another and mutual fear and hate.
She has expensive tastes in clothes. 她
喜欢穿高档衣服。
Oxymoron
• It's a figure in which apparently
contradictory terms are
combined to produce a special
effect.
• For example:
Oxymoron
• E.g. victorious defeat;
•
Darkly wise; 愚昧的聪明
Open secret
sick health 憔悴的健康 (by Shakespeare:
Romeo and Juliet)
True lies (the best-selling film in America in
1994)
Loyal deceit 忠诚的欺骗 (by T. Thompson: The
House of Heaven)
Living death 虽生犹死
Busy idleness 无事忙
Tearful joy 高兴得流泪
A thunderous silence （此时无声胜有声）
Bitter sweetness 苦涩的甜蜜
Alliteration
• The definition of alliteration on the
Webster's New World Dictionary is like
this: Repetition of an initial sound,
usually of a consonant or cluster, in two
or more words of a phrase, line of poetry,
etc.
• For example:
Alliteration
• Eg. Clear as crystal 水晶般的清莹
Now or never 机不可失，时不再来
Safe and sound 安然无恙
To many parents, the three Gs-- gays, guns and gangs ---have
replaced the three Rs as
benchmarks of schools life.
No mill , no meal .
Feast today, fast tomorrow.
Stuff today, starve tomorrow.
Part Two: Sentence Writing
Objectives
• To help students understand complete
sentence and sentence fragments
• To help students understand the types
of sentences
• To help students understand the
standard of effective sentences
• To help students write effective
sentences
Focuses
• Complete sentences and sentence
fragment
• Sentence types
• Effective sentences
• Sentence order and sentence
emphasis
what is sentence?
• A sentence is a group of
words that expresses a
complete thought.
Sentences are one way that
we communicate with each
other.
Sentence Fragment
• In writing, a sentence
fragment is a part of a
sentence broken from the
whole sentence.
• Eg. The coach left the
football. Under the bench.
• Other examples
Sentence Fragment
• Wrong: On the train. The twins saw a
movie star.
• Right: On the train, the twins saw a
movie star.
• Wrong: The restaurant was too
crowded. And noisy as well.
• Right: The restaurant was too
crowded and noisy as well.
• Right: The restaurant was too
crowded. It was noisy as well.
Run-on Sentence
• A sentence that is not properly
separated from another sentence is
called a run-on sentence.
• Eg. I am from a large family, I was the
oldest child and helped with the younger
ones, and, well, I am patient but firm
with children.
• I am from a large family. I was the oldest
child and helped with the younger ones. I
am patient but firm with children.
• Other examples
Run-on Sentence
• Run-on: Popcorn once was free now
you pay for each serving.
• Corrected: Popcorn once was free.
Now you pay for each serving.
• Run-on: Popcorn once was free now
you pay for each serving.
• Corrected: Popcorn once was free,
but now you pay for each serving.
Types of Sentence
• According to their function, sentences
can be classified into Declarative,
Interrogative, Imperative, and
Exclamatory sentences.
• A declarative sentence makes an
assertion or a statement.
• An interrogative sentence asks or raises
a question.
• An imperative sentence makes a request,
gives an order or expresses a command.
• An exclamatory sentence expresses a
strong feeling or emotion, such as
surprise, pain or joy. For example:
Types of Sentence
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•
Eg.
Mary came home late last night.
Did Mary come home late last night?
Don't come home late tonight.
How happy your dad would have
been if he could have seen you
earlier last night!
Types of Sentence
• According to their structure,
sentences can be classified
as Simple, Compound,
Complex and CompoundComplex sentences.
Types of Sentence
• A simple sentence has only one
independent clause.
• E.g. John and his wife went to town and
bought some flowers yesterday.
• The dog and cat fought in the alley.
• The rabbit wiggled its nose and hopped
across the cage.
• The boys and girls stood in the corners and
giggled on the first day of dancing school.
Types of Sentence
• A compound sentence consists of two or
more independent clauses.
• Eg. George's father is an American and his
mother is a Canadian.
• David never complains about his life; he
simply accepts what has been arranged for
him by his God.
• The wind howled, and the rain pounded.
(Compound sentence)
• The wind and rain pounded the coast.
(Simple sentence)
Types of Sentence
• A complex sentence also has two or more
clauses, but there must be at least one
independent clause (main clause) with one
or more dependent clauses (subordinate
clauses), are only its elements.
• Eg.The teacher was angry because Tom
was late for class a third time on that same
day.
• Tom explained that he did not feel very well
that day.
• The reason was that he was ill that day.
Types of Sentence
• a compound-complex sentence contains at
least two main clauses and at least one
dependent clause. It is a combination of a
compound and a complex sentence.
• Eg. They watched television and enjoyed
themselves a lot in making comments on it,
and I don't read a page for the whole night
because their noise repeatedly interrupted
me.
Types of Sentence
• When sentences are classified
according to their length, there are
long and short sentences.
• Eg. I have never walked down the
south side of the town without being
all in a dither about what was
happening on the north. This is folly.
--- Somerset Maugham
Types of Sentence
• When classified from a rhetorical
point of view, Sentences can be
Loose, Periodic, and Balanced.
Types of Sentence
• A loose sentence says first things first,
and puts the main idea before all
supplementary information.
• Eg. A single man must be in want of a
wife if he is in possession of a good
fortune, and this is a truth universally
acknowledged.
Types of Sentence
• In a periodic sentence, the main idea is
delayed until the end.
• Eg. It is a truth universally acknowledge
that a single man in possession of a good
fortune must be in want of a wife.
---Jane Austin
• The stubborn soil around her showed
plainly enough that the kind of labour in
demand here was of the roughest kind.
---Thomas Hardy
Types of Sentence
• Compare the loose sentence and periodic
sentence:
• Loose: This house was the last of all the
beautiful century-old cottages we had tried
futilely to protect.
• Periodic: Of all the beautiful century-old
cottages we had tried futilely to protect, this
house was the last.
• Loose: Don't order spaghetti when you go to
an important business lunch, where you must
present a neat, efficient, controlled image.
• Periodic: When you go to an important
business lunch, when you must present a neat,
efficient, controlled image, don't order
spaghetti.
Types of Sentence
• A balanced sentence is a sentence of
parallel construction. The paralleled
elements are similar in structure but
contrasted in meaning.
• E.g.What is written without effort is in
general read without pleasure.
• In Plato's opinion man was made for
philosophy; in Bacon's opinion philosophy
was made for man.
---Thomas B. Macaulay
Effective sentences
• Unity is an essential requirement for
writing. This principle has five
implications.
• First, irrelevant ideas should not be
stuffed in a sentence.
• Second, if two thoughts are equally
important and each complete for its
own right, it is better to put them
into two separate sentences.
Effective sentences
• Third, if an idea is not equally important
to those in other separate sentences,
treat it as part of a sentence only.
• Fourth, ideas of equal importance should
be expressed in structures of the same
level: word to word, phrase to phrase,
clause to clause, sentence to sentence,
paragraph to paragraph, section to
section, etc.
• Finally, a sentence should be complete in
meaning as well as in structure; relevant
ideas or elements of a sentence should
be included in it, instead of being placed
in another sentence.
For example:
Effective sentences
• Eg. Lenin studied very hard. He was
the best student in his class. He was
always ready to help the other
students with their lessons.
• Lenin studied very hard and was the
best student in his class. He was
always ready to help the other
students.
Effective sentences
• John lived simply(1) and studied hard(2). He was the
best student in the class(3), and was always ready to
help his friends with their lessons(4). John worked
very hard at foreign languages, because he knew
they would be very useful in his future career. He
read a great deal, and made full notes while he read.
He planned his work carefully, and never left today's
work for tomorrow.
• John studied hard and he was the best student in the
class, always ready to help his friends with their
lessons. John worked very hard at foreign languages,
because he knew they would be very useful in his
future career. He read a great deal, and made full
notes while he read. He planned his work carefully,
and never left today's work for tomorrow.
Effective sentences
• A poor student in his primary and
secondary school years, Ted became
a famous linguist.
• Ted was a poor student in his primary
and secondary school years. However,
he worked very hard at university. He
read a lot about linguistics and
missed no chance to ask his
professors questions. So in his forties
he became a famous linguist.
Effective sentences
• Coherence, roughly speaking, refers to
the natural flow in sense from part to
part and the reasonable connection
between them.
• Eg. George met Jane in Russia and
married her, but he knew his parents
would not accept her, so he always
kept it a secret from them.
Effective sentences
• The use of personal pronouns
establishes coherence here.
• Eg. Mary loved her teacher very
much, but the professor was
ignorant of it.
• Professor and teacher are near
synonyms. The professor refers
back to her teacher .
Effective sentences
• the co-reference of the two builds up
coherence in the sentence.
• Eg.For the whole day, he climbed up
the steep mountain side, almost
without stopping. And in all this time
he met no one. Yet he was hardly
aware of being tired. So by night time
the valley was far below him. Then ,
as dusk fell, he sat down to rest.
Effective sentences
• Coherence is achieved by the use of
conjunctions.
• Eg. The Spring Festival brings children
care-free happiness and grants people
leisured refreshment.
• The Spring Festival brings children
care-free happiness and grants their
parents leisured refreshment.
• The Spring Festival brings children
care-free happiness and grants adults
leisured refreshment.
Effective sentences
• Besides, there are some other ways for
coherence to be achieved. One of
these can be the proper use of the
information structure. Another is the
thematic structure. And other ways
may include the order of elements,
tenses, parallel structures, words of
the same lexical set or chain, and
words in the same ordered series, etc.
Effective sentences
• A student was late. The teacher was
angry.
• The teacher was angry. A student had
been late for class.
• The first thing I dug up was a piece of
cloth. There were five silver dollars
wrapped in it.
• The first thing I dug up was a piece of
cloth, and wrapped in it were five silver
dollars.
Effective sentences
• Incoherence is often caused by
choppy sentences, faulty parallel
constructions, ambiguous
reference, misplaced or dangling
modifiers, or confusing shifts in
person, number, voice, tense, or
mood, etc.
• For example:
Effective sentences
• Eg. The teacher gave us an assignment. It was
a composition. The composition was about
employment opportunities for university
graduates. Such opportunities were becoming
fewer and fewer. The teacher asked us to hand
in the work the next day. Few students did so.
When the teacher came to the class the next
day, he looked very unhappy.
• The teacher gave us the assignment of writing
a composition about the decreasing
employment opportunities for university
graduates. He asked us to hand in the work the
next day, but few students did so. Therefore,
when he came to the class the next day, he
looked very unhappy.
Effective sentences
• Parallel ideas had better be
expressed in parallel structures,
which yield emphasis, clarity, and
coherence.
• Eg. A man should be judged not by his
words but by what he does.
• A man should be judged not by his
words but by his deeds
• Other examples
Effective sentences
• In this war, many parents lost their sons, many
wives lost their husbands, many children lost
their fathers and thousands of promising young
man missed their best years for schooling.
• In this war, many parents lost their sons, many
wives lost their husbands and many children lost
their fathers. Thousands of promising young
men missed their best years of schooling.
• He knew that he did not like to go there with
him.
• He knew that John did not like to go there with
Tom.
• Tom knew that John did not like to go there with
him.
• John did not like to go there with Tom and knew
this.
Effective sentences
• It is important to distinguish between dangling
modifiers and some set phrases often used as
sentence adverbials as in the following
examples.
• Eg. Generally speaking, the cross-cultural
competence has not received its rightful place
in foreign language teaching in China yet.
• To be frank , he is not the person you want.
• I read an article of my professor's in a new
book, which discusses the differences in
kinship terms between Chinese and English.
• In a new book, I read an article of my
professor's, which discusses the differences in
kinship terms between Chinese and English.
Effective sentences
• Ambiguity arises in the original sentence
from the misplaced relative clause.
• Ambiguity may also arise from the
inappropriate shift in voice, number, person,
tense, mood and above all a shift of the
theme or topic,etc.
• Those who have not finished their work, you
should report to the teacher by yourselves.
• Those who have not finished their work
should report to the teacher.
• If you haven't finished your work, you should
report to the teacher.
Effective sentences
• Anyone who wants to use a foreign language
successfully should develop not only your
linguistic competence but your communicative
competence and cross-cultural competence as
well. And in this process, students should know
that you can only depend upon yourself.
• Anyone who wants to use a foreign language
successfully should develop not only his
linguistic competence but his communicative
competence and cross-cultural competence as
well. And in this process, he should know that
he can only depend upon himself.
Effective sentences
• Conciseness is a fundamental
requirement of good writing. It is in
agreement with the principle of unity.
• Eg. I have read a story recently. This
story happened in the early 1960s.
• I have read a story recently. It
happened in the early 1960s.
Effective sentences
• One possible kind of wordiness may
arise from the unnecessary and
inappropriate use of expletives--words empty in lexical sense but
operational in function.
• Eg. It must be made clear that the
master in this house is not you, but
me.
Effective sentences
• Compare the following pair of
sentences which look quite similar in
meaning.
• Some people haven't confessed their
guilt yet.
• There are still some people who have
not confessed their guilt yet.
Effective sentences
• Study the following sentences and make them more
concise.
• *There is only one interpretation that is acceptable.
• Only one interpretation is acceptable.
• *There are some mistakes in grammar and spelling
that you have made.
• You have made some mistakes in grammar and spelling.
• *There are some people who know little but brag a lot.
• Some people know little, but they brag a lot.
• *It is your assignment to write a summary of the story
you have read this week.
• Your assignment is to write a summary of the story
you have read this week.
• *It is likely that Professor Huang will take on current
world affairs.
• Professor Huang is likely to talk on current world
affairs.
Effective sentences
• Wordiness may arise from a
tautological expression.
• Eg. This orphan lost his parents at
the age of three.
• This child became an orphan at the
age of three.
Effective sentences
• Wordiness may simply arise from redundancy.
• Eg. *In my opinion, I think English is easier to learn than
Russian.
• I think English is easier to learn than Russian.
• *There is a big pine tree that stands like a giant on the top
of the mountain. It towers over the trees around it.
• There is a giant pine tree on the top of the mountain,
towering over the trees around it.
• *I pulled myself together and managed to swim back with
my arms and legs.
• I pulled myself together and managed to swim back.
• *The old professor has a face lined deeply with wrinkles.
• The old professor has a deeply lined face.
Effective sentences
• Clarity is an essential requirement for any
writing if it is really intended to convey
something.
• Eg. *The young man had some beautiful
flowers in his hand. They were of different
colors.
• The young man had some beautiful roses in
his hand. They were red, white, pink, and
yellow.
• *There is a flower vase with some plastic
flowers on the table.
• On the table is a flower vase with some
plastic flowers in it.
Effective sentences
• Compare the sentences in each pair :
• *My neighbours' loud quarrel woke me and I
couldn't go to sleep again.
• My neighbours' quarrel woke me and I
couldn't go to sleep again that night.
• *Four bars are fixed on the bus ceiling.
• Four bars are fixed parallel with the bus
ceiling for standing passengers to hold on
to.
• *When the doctor met his patient he already
had a lot of information.
• By the time the doctor met his patient, he
already had got from the computer a lot of
helpful information about him.
Effective sentences
• *When her steps disappeared he burst out crying like a
child.
• When she disappeared he burst out crying like a child. (or
When the sound of her footsteps died away he burst out
crying like a child.)
• *Thousands of people were digging a channel in front of
my hut.
• Thousands of people were digging a channel that went
past my hut.
• *Now many things in his mind had changed. He looked out
of the window: the sun was shining more brilliantly; the
land was more fertile and the people more friendly.
• Now he saw everything differently. He looked out of the
window: the sun seemed to be shining more brilliantly;
the land appeared more fertile and the people looked
more friendly.
Effective sentences
• Variety in sentence types and patterns is essential for
good writing.
• Eg. He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million;
laughed at may losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my
nation; thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated
mine enemies, and what's the reason? I am a Jew. Hath
not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands? Organs,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the
same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the
same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and
cooled by the same summer and winter, as a Christian is?
If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we
not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you
wrong us, shall we not be revenged?
---W. Shakespeare
Word Order and
Emphasis of Sentence
•
•
•
•
•
•
postponement and emphasis
Eg.
A1. He bought me a book.
A2. He bought a book for me.
B1. He gave me a book.
B2. He gave a book to me.
postponement and emphasis
• Compare the following sentences:
• She visited an elderly and much
beloved friend yesterday.
• She visited yesterday an elderly and
much beloved friend.
• Yesterday she visited an elderly and
much beloved friend.
Fronting and emphasis
• In an English sentence, the beginning
place is often kept for the subject. If
any other sentence element takes
this position, it is bound to attract
the reader's attention and achieves
emphasis. This kind of movement is
called fronting.
• Eg. An elderly and much beloved
friend she visited yesterday.
• Keener and keener the competition
became.
Emphatic sentences
• One can use the cleft sentence to achieve
emphasis on a certain element in a sentence.
• It was yesterday that I saw him in the library.
• It was the queen who sent my uncle that
hatstand.
• It was that hatstand the queen sent to my
uncle.
• It was my uncle the queen sent that hatstand
to.
Emphatic sentences
• And one can also use structures called pseudocleft sentence such as the following for the
same purpose.
• Eg. What she could do at the moment was cry
for help.
• What they are doing is ruining the economy.
• What no one seemed to notice was the writing
on the wall.
• The thing that impresses me most is their
enthusiasm for the job.
• The ones you never see are the smugglers.
• The book is the one I like best.
• Here is where the accident took place.
• The police chief was who I meant.
• Two notebooks were what the old professor
showed me.
Emphatic sentences
• Postponement and fronting can also
help achieve emphasis.
• Emphasis can sometimes be
achieved in some special sentence
types or patterns. They are called
emphatic sentences here.
• For example:
Emphatic sentences
• Eg.
• Shannon thought it over. Twenty days
in the Mediterranean , twenty days
out to target, and twenty days back. A
hundred and twenty marks, or
$15,000. cheaper than buying one's
own ship. Tempting.
---F. Forsyth
Emphatic sentences
• Short sentences are also emphatic, especially
when they appear between series of long
sentences.
• e.g.
• He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I
think he revalued everything in his house
according to the measure of response it drew
from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he
started around at his possessions in a dazed
way, as though in here actual and astounding
presence none of it was any longer real. Once
he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs.
---F. Scott Fitzgerald
Emphatic sentences
• Balanced sentences are emphatic
because the balance in structure as
well as in sense naturally calls
attention to the contrast. Hence the
prominence.
• He raised a mortal to the skies; she
drew an angel down.
---Dryden
Emphatic sentences
• Exclamatory sentences are emphatic
because they are intended to express
strong emotions.
• Eg. What a beautiful answer the girl
gave!
• How fast the runaway is speaking!
Emphasis within sentences
• In a sentence, there may be an
element wanting special emphasis.
For this purpose, besides changing
the natural order of sentences, a
writer can use the following ways,
which are surely not an exhaustive
list.
Emphasis within sentences
• Verbs often add force to the description of
actions or movement. Compare the following
sentences:
• At the sight of the cigarette butt on the floor,
she became angry.
• When she saw the cigarette butt on the floor,
she lost her temper.
• Seeing the cigarette butt on the floor, she
flew into a temper.
• As soon as she saw the cigarette butt on the
floor, she burst out shouting.
Emphasis within sentences
• Usually the active voice is more direct,
clear, and vigorous that the passive. The
passive can often be used to describe a
state.
• Eg. Her story moved us to tears.
• We were quite moved.
• The boy broke the window yesterday.
• The window is broken.
Emphasis within sentences
• Besides, the active is also more
concise. Compare the following:
• He broke the window yesterday.
• The window was broken by him
yesterday.
• The window was broken yesterday.
Emphasis within sentences
• Therefore, the principle may be that one
should use the active voice where
possible unless he has a reason not to.
• *When she smiles two dimples are
shown on her face.
• When she smiles dimples appear in her
cheeks.
• *At dawn the crowing of a rooster could
be heard.
• The cock's crow came with dawn.
Emphasis within sentences
• Repetition of words or phrases in a sentence
may help achieve emphasis on the repeated
elements.
• To bed, to bed; there's a knocking at the gate.
Come, come come come, give me your hand.
What's done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed,
to bed.
---W. Shakespeare
• Poetry is the record of the best and happiness
moments of the happiest and best mind.
---Percy B. Shellly
THANK YOU