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

21SEPTEMBER,2015BYPAULFANNING

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(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/dynamite.png)Manypairsofexpressionsthatlooktomeanthesameactuallycarrysubtlebutimportantdierences

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MostusersofEnglisharefamiliarwithwordpairsthatareconfusingbecauseofsimilarmeaningsand/orspellings.SomeoftheseforexampleprincipleversusprincipalareparticularlywellknownbecausetheyareoftenexplainedinEnglishlanguagecoursebooks.However,manyothersarenotfoundthereandcanremainunexplainedandsometimesnotevenrecognised.Itisthesepairsofwords,especiallytheonesthatarelikelytooccurinprofessionalwriting,thatarethefocusofGuinlistpostswiththeabovetitle.Othersuchpostsbesidesthepresentoneare48.TrickyWordContrasts1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/48trickywordcontrasts/)and81.TrickyWordContrasts2(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/81trickywordcontrasts2/).Therearealsosomesimilarpostswithdierenttitles,suchas20.ProblemConnectors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/20problemconnectors/),44.TroublesomePrepositionalVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/44troublesomeprepositionalverbs/)and94.EssayInstructionWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/94essayinstructionwords/)..

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Posts | guinlist | Grammar and Vocabulary in Academic & Professional E... https://guinlist.wordpress.com/posts/page/17/

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1. Graphic versus Graph

Thewordforalinelinkingpointsbetweentwoaxesisagraph.Thewordagraphichasamoregeneralmeaning:anyvisuallypresentedinformationsuchasagraph,chart,diagram,table,pictureormap(see104.ReferringtoDatawithAs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/104referringtodatawithas/)).Graphicscanalso,ofcourse,meanvisualfeaturesofacomputerprogram,aswhenwesaythatacomputergamehasrealisticgraphics.Inaddition,graphicisanadjective.Itcanmeaninvolvingagraphbutisoftenusedwiththemeaningofexplicitorshocking,asinexpressionslikegraphicviolenceandgraphicdetail..

2. Produce (noun) versus Products

Produceiswellknownasaverbbutlessfamiliarasanuncountablenoun(pronouncedwiththestressonpro).Likeproducts,thisnounnamesanoutcomeofproduction.Thedierenceisinthekindofoutcome:productsareindustrialwhileproduceisagricultural.Thus,productswouldnormallybeusedforitemslikecomputers,soapandbooks,whileproducemightrefertobananas,breadandbeer..

3. Function versus Functioning

Againitisnounusesthatareofinteresthereratherthanverbones.Thefunctionofsomethingisitsuseorpurpose;thefunctionofarefrigerator,forexample,istocool.Functioning,ontheotherhand,meanswayofworking.Thus,thefunctioningofrefrigeratorsinvolvesthecirculationofavolatileliquidthroughtubespassinginsideandoutsideofacoolingcompartment..

4. Efficient(ly) versus Effective(ly)

Thesetwoadjectives/adverbsbothsaysomethinggoodaboutaprocessorsituation.Eectivemeansthattheprocessorsituationachievesitspurpose,regardlessofhow.Ecient,ontheotherhand,focusesmoreonhowthepurposeisachieved,indicatingwithminimalcost.Thecostmaybeofmoney,timeoreort.Theusualerroristouseecientwheneectivewouldbemoreappropriate.Itispossibletobeeectivewithoutbeingecientandviceversa.Forexample,ifwehearthatstudentstakenoteseectively,wewillknowthattheyachievegoodlearningthroughtheirnotetaking,evenifthenotesthemselvesarenotverygood.Andifwehearthatnotesareecient(concise,wellabbreviated),weshouldnotconcludethattheyarehelpingthenotetakertolearnsuccessfully..

5. Aim to versus Intend to

Bothoftheseareusefulforindicatingapurpose,buttheyarenotinterchangeable.ThecommonerroristouseINTEND(orthederivednounintention)whenAIMisrequired.Dierentconfusionsareinvolved.Onerelatestotheholderoftheaim/intention:ifitisliving,thereisaneedtochoosebetweenthetwowords,butifitisnonliving,onlyaimcanbeused,likethis:(a) Theexperimentaimstoprovetheeectivenessofthedrug.Anotherconfusionrelatestothekindofpurposeheldbyalivingthing.Aimstendtobemoredistant.Compare:(b)Thepoliceaimtoreduceburglariesby10%.


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(c)Thepoliceintendtoprotestagainstreducedfunding.Sentence(b)suggeststhatthepurposeisquitedistantinthefuture,andmightbeachievedthroughintermediateactions.Ontheotherhand,(c)equatesthepurposewiththenextactiontobetaken.Athirdconfusioninvolvesthestateofmindoftheholderofthepurpose.AIMsuggeststhepurposeholderdoesnotdefinitelyconsiderthepurposetobeachievable,whereasINTENDsuggeststhepurposeholdershavemadeuptheirmindstomakeithappenitsachievementisverylikely..

6. To Date versus Up To Date

Todateisanadverbmeaninguptothepresenttimeandpossiblybeyond.Itisasynonymofsofar(butnotofuptonowsee48.TrickyWordContrasts1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/48trickywordcontrasts/),point#1);whileuptodateisanadjectivemeaningofthelatestpossiblekind.Compare:(d) Todate,onlyafewcountrieshavewonfootballsWorldCup.(e) Uptodateinformationisavailableonline.Theunderlinedwordsin(d)areanadverbbecausetheyshowwhentheactionoftheverb(havewon)occurs,whereasthosein(e)areanadjectivebecausetheygiveinformationabouttheimmediatelyfollowingnouninformation(see6.AdjectiveswithNoNoun1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/6adjectiveswithnonounpeoplenaming/))..

7. Unbelievable versus Not Believable

Itisnotnormallyappropriate,whenyouwishtosayyoudonotbelievesomething,tocallitunbelievable.Insteadyoucouldsaynotbelievable.Theformersimplymeansextremeandisusuallyfoundinstatementsofsurprisedjoyoranger,forexamplewiththewordsoutcome,hospitality,successandcruelty.Asaresult,anunbelievablestoryisnotanuntrueonebutaverygoodone.Notethatnotbelievablemustgoafterthenounitdescribeswewouldhavetosayastorythatisnotbelievable..

8. Is All That versus Is What

Thesebothsuggestthesuciencyofwhatisexpressedbeforethem.Considerthis:(f)Registeringanameiswhat(isallthat)isneededforparticipating.Thesuciencyhereisofregisteringanamenothingelseisneeded.Thetwoexpressionsoftendierintheattitudethattheyshowtothesucientidea:allthatcansuggestitissmallandeasytodomeaningthesameastheonlythingthatwhilewhathasnosuchsuggestion.Animportantgrammaticalpointtonotehereistheneedtoavoid*allwhatinStandardEnglish:allneedsthat,andwhatcannotfollowall..

9. Behave versus Behave Oneself

Behaveissimilarinmeaningtoact,whereasbehaveoneselfmeansactacceptably.Behaveanditsderivativebehaviourareoftenfoundinsociologicalandpsychologicalwriting,forexampletodescribethewayindividualsandgroupsrespondtostimuli.Behaveoneselfisratherinformalandpatronising;amoreformalequivalentinsentenceslike(g)belowisshowgoodbehaviourorbe


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wellbehaved:(g)Thechildrenwhobehavedthemselves(werewellbehaved)wererewarded..

10. Critics versus Criticisms

Criticsarepeoplewhocriticise;criticismsarewhattheysay.Acommonerroristousecriticsinsteadofcriticisms.AmajorreasonisprobablythefactthatFrenchandSpanish(andpossiblyrelatedlanguageslikeItalian)usewordsspeltlikecriticforbothmeanings.However,EnglishtoomightaddtotheconfusionbecauseitalsopossessestheFrenchderivedwordcritique,whichsoundssimilartocriticbutiscloseinmeaningtocriticism(itisaparticulartypeofcriticism,lengthyandliterary).Theverbrelatedtoallofthesewordsis,ofcourse,CRITICISE(see79.GrammarProblemsinQuotationWriting(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/79grammarproblemsinquotationwriting/)).PostedinEnglishVocabulary |Taggedclosewords,confusingwordpairs,lexis,meaningcontrasts,similarwords,subtlemeanings,vocabularyconfusions |Leaveacomment7SEPTEMBER,2015BYPAULFANNING

(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/debarred.png)Someverbshavenopassiveform,butcanbeparaphrasedbythepassiveformofadierentverb

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ManyEnglishverbscanbechangedintowhatiscalledthepassiveform.Examplesareisunderstood,washelped,werebeingcopied,cbetakenand shouldhavebeenknown.ThepassiveformcomprisessomeformofBE(underlinedintheexamples)plusapastparticipleaverbwitheithered,likehelpedorcopied,oranirregularequivalent,asinunderstood,taken orknown(see52.ParticiplesPlacedJustAftertheirNoun(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/52participlesplacedjustaftertheirnoun/)and97.VerbFormConfusions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/97verbformconfusions/)).SometimesyoucanreplaceBEwithBECOMEorGET,e.g.gothit.Verbsthatarenotpassiveareusuallycalledactive.Inthepost8.ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/),thereisaclassificationofverbsaccordingtotheirabilitytobemadepassive.Onetype(e.g.HELP)sometimesneedstobeactive,sometimespassive,dependingontheorderofsurroundingwords;another(e.g.INCREASE)canbeactivewithanywordorder,butinsomecasescanbepassive


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instead(forafullexplanation,see4.VerbsthatDontHavetobePassive (https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/4verbsthatdonthavetobepassive/));andthethirdkind(e.g.FALL)cannoteverbepassiveandsomustalwaysbeintheactiveform.Averbsabilitytobemadepassiveisusuallylinkedtoitsabilitytohaveanobjectwhenintheactiveform.VerbslikeHELPneedanobjectwhentheyareactive(unlesstheyareoftheobjectdroppingkindlikeEATsee8.ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/)).VerbslikeINCREASEhaveanobjectwhenthepassiveispossibleandotherwisedonot.NeverpassiveverbslikeFALLcannotusuallyhaveanobject,thoughverbsofmeasurementareanexception.Inthefollowingsentence,forexample,theverbWEIGHhasanobjectandcannotberewritteninthepassive:(a)Thesubstanceweighedlessafterheating.SimilarverbsincludeCOST,LAST,MEASUREandRESEMBLE.Thispostisaboutthethirdofthethreemainverbcategories,excludingmeasurementverbs.Theverbsaretechnicallycalledintransitiveandareidentifiedindictionariesbytheabbreviationvi(verbintransitive).Alistwillbeprovidedofsomeofthemorecommonintransitiveverbsfoundinprofessionalwriting,alongwithpossiblewaysofparaphrasingthemwhenapassiveformisstronglypreferred.Thekindsofmeaningsthattheycanexpresscanbereadaboutinthepost21.ActiveVerbswithNonActiveMeanings1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/21activeverbswithnonactivemeanings1/)..

Intransitiveverbsasawholeareoftworatherdierentkinds.Onekindusuallyneedsanoun,pronounoradjectivedirectlyafteritandtheotherdoesnot.Compare:(b)Unemploymentwasaproblem.(c)Unemploymentrose.Here,(b)cannotendwithitsverb(was)inthewaythat(c)can:itmustbedirectlyfollowedbyanounlikeexpressionsuchasproblem,orbyanadjective.Verbslikerose,ontheotherhand,cannothaveanoundirectlyafterthem.Theycanhaveanounwithaprepositionbeforeit(e.g.inJune),oranyothertypeofadverbphrase,ortheycanendthesentenceasin(c).Thenounafterwasin(b)looksverylikeanobject.However,itisnotonebecauseitisadescriptionofthesubjectofthesentenceunemployment.Thismakesitacomplement(see8.ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/)).Ingeneral,verbsrequiringacomplementareintransitivejustasverbswithoutanynounatallare.Forthisreason,theyareincludedinthediscussionbelow.Someintransitiveverbsarerareinprofessionalwriting.Onelargegroupexpressesbodilyactions.ExamplesareBREATHE,DANCE,DIE,JUMP,LAUGH,LIVE,SMILEandSNEEZE.Anothergroupisfoundamongsocalledphrasalverbs,mostofwhicharetooconversationaltoappearinformalwriting(see108.Formal&InformalWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/108formalandinformalwords/)).ExamplesareGETBY(=cope),GIVEUP(=despair),GOAHEAD(=proceed)andTURNUP(=attend).Thereissomeuncertaintyaboutthecompletelistofintransitiveverbscommonlyfoundinformalwriting.However,togiveaflavourofthem,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.Thisisacontradictionoftheadvicethatisnormallygiveninmanualsontheartofwritingbutisneverthelessshowntobetruebyscientificlinguisticstudy(see27.HowtoAvoidPassiveVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/21howtoavoidpassiveverbs/)and69.HowComputersGetGrammarWrong2


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(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/69howcomputersgetgrammarwrong2/)).Thevalueofapassiveverbwithoutby,forexample,isnotsomuchthatithidesthesubjectoftheverbsactiveformasthatitensuresthereaderknows,despiteitsabsence,thatitexists.Comparethese:(d)Competitionbetweenfirmsgraduallyweakens.(e)Competitionbetweenfirmsisgraduallyweakened.Theuseoftheactiveweakensin(d)hidestheexistenceofacauseoftheweakeningaseectivelyasthepassiveisweakened.Theproblemisthatitcouldsuggesttheweakeninghappensbyitselfwithoutanyexternalcause.Theexistenceofanexternalcause(e.g.monopolisation)isnotguaranteedtoberecognisedexceptbyreaderswhoknoweconomics.Ontheotherhand,thepassiveisweakened(regardlessofwhetheritexpressesanactionorastatesee66.VariableMeaningsofPassiveVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/66variablemeaningsofpassiveverbs/))doesguaranteethatanexternalcausewillbeacknowledgedbythereader.Ifsuchaguaranteeisdeemednecessary,thepassivehastobeused.FurtherdiscussionofthenecessityofthepassivecanbereadinthetechnicalGuinlistarticleActivePassiveParaphrasesinEnglishandWhattheyMeanforTeaching(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/articles/772/).WhathappensifawriterwantstouseapassiveformbutthinksfirstofanintransitiveverbthatcannotbemadepassiveaseasilyasWEAKEN?Inmanycases,theverbcanbereplacedbythepassiveofadierentverb,justasunwantedpassivescanoftenbereplacedbydierentverbsintheactiveform(see27.HowtoAvoidPassiveVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/21howtoavoidpassiveverbs/)).Considerthis:(f)Afteragreatdealofthought,asolutionemerged.Ifwefeltthatemergedheregaveinsucientrecognitionofthehardworkofthepeoplewhofoundthesolution,wemightwanttoseekapassiveverbthatwouldchangethis.Onepossibilityiswasfound.Indeed,thisverbmightbequiteacommonpassivealternativetoemerged.

Herearelikelypassiveverbalternativestosomeoftheotherintransitiveverbslistedabove.Insomecasesthepassivesequatetooneparticularmeaningoftheintransitiveratherthanothers.APPEAR:BEFORMEDARRIVE/COME:BEBROUGHTBECOME/TURN:BEMADEDETERIORATE:BEMADEWORSEDISAPPEAR/VANISH:BEREMOVED/BECOMEHIDDENEXIST:CANBESEEN/NAMED/LISTEDFAIL:NOTBEACHIEVEDFALL:BEREDUCEDFLOW:BECHANNELLEDFUNCTION:BEOPERATEDGO:BETAKEN/BESENTHAPPEN:BEBROUGHTABOUTLAST:BEMAINTAINEDLIE:BELAID(seeLINK:97.VerbFormConfusions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/97verbformconfusions/))OCCUR:BEBOUGHTABOUTPROCEED:BELEDFORWARDPROTRUDE:BEEXTENDEDRISE:BERAISED(seeLINK:97.VerbFormConfusions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/97verbformconfusions/))RUN:BEDIRECTED


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SEEM/APPEAR:BEPERCEIVEDRECUR:BEREPEATEDREMAIN/STAY:BEKEPTRESULT:BECAUSED/BECREATEDTRAVEL:BETRANSPORTEDWORK:BEEMPLOYEDFinally,iffindingadierentverblikeoneoftheaboveprovesdicult,thereisanalternativestrategyoflookingforanounrelatedtotheintransitiveverbthatneedsreplacing.Considerthisexamplefromthepost46.HowtoAvoidI,WeandYou(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/46howtoavoidiweandyou/):(g)Iproceededlater.Therelevantnounhereisprocedure.AsuitableverbtousewithitisCOMMENCE.Theactiveform(Theprocedurecommenced)wouldhidethewordI,whilethepassive(wascommenced)wouldadditionallyarmthewritersinvolvement.Onepointtorememberaboutanywayofachievingapassiveisthatitisnotalwaysbetterthananintransitiveverb:theremustbeaspecialreasonforusingit.Criticsofthepassivearenotwronginsayingthattheactiveismorecommon.PostedinAcademicandProfessionalReading,AcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishVocabulary,Verbs |Taggedactiveverbs,impossiblepassiveverbs,intransitiveverbs,paraphrase,passiveverbs,SVsentences,verbobjects |2Comments24AUGUST,2015BYPAULFANNING

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(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/link.png)

MostEnglishconnectorscanbeparaphrasedwithwordsthatarenotconnectors.

Connectorsaredefinedandexaminedwithinthisblogintheposts18.RelationsbetweenSentences(https://guinlist.wordpress.com


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/2012/01/23/18readingobstacles9relationsbetweensentences/) and40.ConjunctionsversusConnectors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/40conjunctionsversusconnectors/).Theircentralfeatureisthehelptheygiveinshowingthemeaningcreatedbytheplacingtogetheroftwosentences.Thesemeaningsresembleconjunctionmeanings,buttheyneedtwosentencesfortheircreationratherthanone.Thisgrammaticalneedfortwosentencesmeansthatconnectorsynonymsarenothereconsideredtoincludeconjunctions.Iamalsorulingoutconnectorsthatmeanroughlythesameasotherconnectorsforexamplethereforemirroringconsequently.Althoughsuchpossibilitiesarewhatarenormallycalledsynonyms,theyarenotthefocusherebecausemanyarealreadylistedelsewhereinthisblog(see40.ConjunctionsversusConnectors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/40conjunctionsversusconnectors/)).Mostoftheconnectorsynonymsconsideredherearenouns,verbsandadjectives.Itmayseemsurprisingtogivewordsofdierentclasses(dierentpartsofspeech)thenameofsynonyms,butthatseemsausefulthingtodobecauseitarguablygivesabetterunderstandingofhowpeoplewrite.Thisisapointthathasbeenmademorethanoncebeforeinthisblogforexampleintheposts27.HowtoAvoidPassiveVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/21howtoavoidpassiveverbs/)and80.HowtoParaphrase(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/80howtoparaphrase/)andisalsointhetechnicalarticleHowSyntaxcanHighlightUsefulEAPVocabulary(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/articles/howsyntaxcanhighlightusefuleapvocabulary/).Itismyhopethatthehighlightingofconnectorsynonymsdefinedinthiswaywillhelptoclarifytherangeandmeaningsofbothconnectorsandthesesynonyms,thusenablingreaderstowidentheirvocabularyknowledge..

Belowisanexampleofhowaconnectorcanbeparaphrasedwithagrammaticallydierentkindofword,inthiscaseaverb.Theconnectormeaningisthatofcontrast.Theconnectoranditssynonymareunderlinedintheexample:(a)CarbohydratesintheItaliandietfrequentlytaketheformofpasta.InmanyAsiancountries,ontheotherhand,theyaremostlikelytobeeatenasrice.(b)CarbohydratesintheItaliandietfrequentlytaketheformofpasta.ManyAsiancountriesdierinpreferringrice.Theverbdierin(b)isbynomeanstheonlyalternativetotheconnectorontheotherhand.Thefollowingaredierenceshowingwordslistedinthepost56.ComparingwithLikeandUnlike(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/56comparingwithlikeandunlike/):unlike,contrast(s),dier(s),varies,dierent(ly),contrasting,dissimilar,moreandless.Hereisalistofothercommonconnectors,alongwithwordsandphrasesofdierentgrammaticalcategoriesthatmeanroughlythesame:

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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(anditssynonyms),consider,take(see1.SimpleExampleGiving(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/1simpleexamplegiving/)and33.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/whilethisishappening,duringthisprocess.


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INOTHERWORDS/THATISTOSAY:mean(s),translated,equate(s)tosaying,istantamounttosaying,isanotherwayofsaying,moresimply,more/lesstechnically,paraphrase(d),rephrase(d),reworded..

Thissectionisessentiallyanexerciseintheuseofconnectorsandtheirsynonyms.Belowaresomepairsofsentences.Thesecondsentenceineachcontainsaconnectorsynonym.Readersareinvitedtorephrasethewholesentencesothatitcontainsaconnectorinstead.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 |TaggedDiscourse,logicalconnectors,paraphrase,sentencefunctions,SentenceLinks,Synonyms,textcoherence |2Comments13AUGUST,2015BYPAULFANNING


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(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/prepfix.png)Manyprepositionchoicesaredictatedbyawordnexttothem

Somewordsinasentencebelongtoanotherwordnearthemandsomedonot.Comparethemissingwordsinthesetwosentences:(a)IndiaisseparatedfromChinabyHimalayas.(b)TheSeatouchestwodierentcontinents.In(a),themissingwordisthe.WeknowthisbecausethenextwordHimalayasisthenameofamountainrange,anamethatgrammaticallyrequiresthe(see47.ArticleErrorswithProperNouns(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/47articleerrorswithpropernouns/)).In(b),however,therearevariouspossibilities:anadjectivelikeRedorMediterranean,anounlikeBeringorTimor,orsimplynothingatall.Althoughtheotherwordsinthesentencegivesomecluesaboutthekindofwordneeded,theycannotbythemselvesidentifyit.Theneedforthecreatedbythesurroundingwordsin(a)isagrammaticalone.Thisisbecausethebyitselfisusuallythoughtofasagrammaticalword.Moreexamplesofhowgrammarcandictatethechoiceofneighbouringwordsareinthepost100.WhatisaGrammarError?(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/100whatisagrammarerror/)However,grammarisnotalwaysthedrivingforce;analternativeisthataspectofvocabularyknownascollocation:thetendencyofparticularnongrammaticalwordstogowithparticularothersuchwords.Forexample,withimportancetheconventionaladjectivetoexpressthemeaningofbigisnotbigorlargebutgreat(see16.WaysofDistinguishingSimilarWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/waysofdistinguishingsimilarwords/)).Notethatacollocationrarelypreventsthetwowordsfrombeingabletocombinewithotherwords.Forexample,importancecangowithotheradjectivesthangreat,suchasregularorunexpected.Asaresult,thedefinitionofacollocationhastoinvolvemeaning:weneedtosaythatgreatisthenormaladjectivewithimportancewhenwemeanalargequantityofimportance..

Englishprepositionsaresometimeschosenaccordingtotheirownmeaning,likethemissingwordin(b),andsometimesdeterminedbyeithergrammarorcollocation(see84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/84seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/)).Hereisanexampleofmeaningbeingkey:(c)NomadicpeoplescanbefoundEurope.Variousprepositionsarepossiblehere,dependingonwhatwewanttosay.Theoptionsincludein,across,outside,near,nexttoorbeyond.


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Theabilityofgrammartodeterminethechoiceofaparticularprepositionmaybeillustratedasfollows:(d)TheMediterraneanSeaisboundedEuropeinthenorthandAfricainthesouth.Itiseasytodecidethattheprepositionneededhereisby.Thereasonisthatitlinksaverbinthepassivevoice(underlined)withnounsthatwouldbetheverbssubjectifitwereactive.Otherexamplesofgrammaticallydeterminedprepositionsareforinpurposesentences(see60.PurposeSentenceswithfor(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/60purposesentenceswithfor/)),withbeforeaninstrument(see73.SayingHowwithByandWith(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/73sayinghowwithbyandwith/))andduetobeforeacause(see72.CausalPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/72causalprepositions/)).

Prepositionsdeterminedbycollocationaremuchmorenumerous,andhencehardertoremember,thanthosedeterminedbygrammar.Thepartnerwordsthatdeterminethemfallintoavarietyofcategories.TherestofthispostidentifiesandillustratesthesedierentcategoriesofprepositiondeterminingwordsandindicatessomeoftheassociatedprepositionsthatoftengiveproblemstoEnglishuserswhospeakadierentmothertongue..

Wordsthattypicallymakeacollocationwithaprepositionmaybeverbs,adjectivesornouns.

1. Verbs

Verbswithatypicalfollowingprepositionarecommonlycalledprepositional.ExamplesareLEADTO,DEPENDON,COPEWITHandBELONGTO.Theseparticularprepositionsarenotalwaysrequiredwiththeseparticularverbs,buttheyarewhentheverbsmeancause,bebasedon,manageandbeownedby.Furtherexamplesofprepositionalverbs,alongwithproblemsinusingthem,arepresentedelsewhereinthisblogintheposts42.UnnecessaryPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/12/24/42unnecessaryprepositions/),44.TroublesomePrepositionalVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/44troublesomeprepositionalverbs/)and108.FormalandInformalWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/108formalandinformalwords/).

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2. Adjectives

Manyadjectiveshaveatypicalfollowingpreposition.Inafewcases,thesameprepositionmustalwaysbeeitherpresentorunderstood.Thisapplies,forexample,tointent:(e)Medicalresearchersareintentonfindingacancercure.Otheradjectiveslikethisincludeaverseto,benton,conduciveto,conversantwith,devoidof,incumbentupon,proneto,reliantonandsubjectto.Ontheotherhand,numerousadjectiveshavemorethanonetypicalfollowingpreposition.Anexampleissorry,whichiscommonlyfoundwitheitherfororaboutdependingonmeaning(see48.TrickyWordContrasts1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/48trickywordcontrasts/)).Moreaboutadjectivesofthiskindwillappearinalaterpost.Anothergroupofadjectiveshaveasingletypicalprepositionbuttheycanalsobeusedwithoutit,oftentoexpressadierentmeaning.Takeconscious:byitselfitmeansawakebutwithofitmeansnoticing.Adjectivesofsimilarity/dierencemayalsobelonghere(see82.PitfallsinMakingComparisons(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/82pitfallsinmakingcomparisons/)).Otheradjectivesincludeabsent(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).Apossiblesourceofconfusionwithadjectivesofthiskindisthattheirusewithouttheirtypicalprepositioncanstillinvolveapreposition.Considerthis:


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(f)Thesuppliesbecamereadyaftertwodays.Superficially,thissuggeststhatreadycancombinewithafter.Inreality,however,afteriscombiningwithtwodaysinstead.Thisisclearfromthefactthataftertwodaysmakesanobviousseparatetimephrasesayingwhentheverbactionhappened.Moreover,for,thepartnerprepositionofready,caneasilybeaddedbeforethisotherpreposition,forexampleintheexpressionforuse..

3. Nouns

Prepositionsalwayshaveapartnernoun,usuallyplacedafterthem(see84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist/2014/07/28/84seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/)).Sometimestheyalsohaveanounjustinfrontofthem.Bothofthesenountypesarecapableofdeterminingwhattheprepositionis.Considerthese:(g)Airpollutionlevelscanbeplottedonagraph.(h)Itwasquicklynotedthattherewereproblemswiththegraph.In(g)theprepositiononisnecessitatedbythenoungraphafterit,whilein(h)withmustbeusedbecauseofthenounproblemsbeforeiteventhoughthenoungraphisstillusedafterit.Thereseemstobeaninterestingrulehere:thatnounsbeforeaprepositionhavepriorityovernounsafteroneindeterminingwhattheprepositionis.Thismeansthataprepositiondeterminedbyanounafterwillnotusuallyhaveanounjustbeforeit.Comprehensivelistsofnounprepositionandprepositionnouncollocationsareunfortunatelytoolongtoprovideinashortpiecelikethis.However,afewindicativeexamplesmaybeofuse..

OneimportantgroupinthiscategoryinvolveswhatIcallactionnouns:derivedfromverbsandsimilartotheminmeaning(see14.CountableNounMeanings1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/423/)).Inparticular,nounsderivedfromprepositionalverbsoftenhavethatverbspreposition.Examplesare(an)agreementwith,(an)applicationfor,attentionto,(a)beliefin,(a)benefitfrom,acomplaintabout,compliancewith,(a)contributionto,correspondenceto,dependenceon,disposalof,afocuson,indulgencein,anobjectionto,(a)paymentfor,(a)reactionto,relianceon,aresponseto,asearchfor,astrugglewith.Combinationsnotlinkedtoprepositionalverbsincludeasolutionto,confidencein,adierencebetween,adiscussionabout,feedbackon,aneecton,areasonfor,anincreasein,instructionsfor,alimiton,anobstacletoandaproblemwith.Formore,see31.ObjectShowingPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/31objectshowingprepositions/).Someothernounprepositioncombinationsarementionedinthepost78.NounsthatDontGowithatoVerb(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/78nounsthatdontgowithatoverb/)..

Onewholegroupofcollocationsinthiscategorycorrespondstocommonadverbs.Forexample,withaccuracymeansaccuratelyandindepthmeansdeeply.Afullexaminationofthisareaisinthepost85.PrepositionPhrases&CorrespondingAdverbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/85prepositionphrasescorrespondingadverbs/).Outsideofthisgroup,thefollowingmaybeusefultoknow.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


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distance,themiddle.Within(ii):afashion,amanner,amode,arespect,astyle,away.Withat:thebeginning,theoutset,thestart,theclose,theconclusion,theend,thefinish,alevel,amoment,atime,apoint,astage,aheight,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 |Taggedprepositionchoice,prepositioncollocation,prepositionerrors,prepositionphrases,prepositionuses |7Comments27JULY,2015BYPAULFANNING

(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/unencumbered.png)Theuseofthezeroarticledependsonbothgrammarandmeaning

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OccasionallyEnglishspeakersuseanounwithouteitherofthearticlesthe/a(n).Somegrammarbookscallthistheuseofthezeroarticle.Acommonerrorbyspeakersofotherlanguages,evenwhentheyhaveaveryadvancedcommandofEnglish,ismakingawrongchoiceconcerningthezeroarticleomittingtheora(n)whenoneofthemisnecessary,oraddingoneofthemwhentheyarebothincorrect.Thisisparticularlylikelytohappentospeakersofamothertonguethatdoesnotusearticlesatall,butitaectsmostlearnersofEnglishonsomeoccasions.PartofthereasonfortheerrorisundoubtedlydierencesbetweenEnglishandotherlanguagesregardingtheuseofarticleswithnouns.However,IamsurethatamoreimportantreasonisthecomplicatednatureoftheEnglishrules,whichinvolvenotjustmeaningsbutalsogrammar(asdefinedinthepost100.WhatisaGrammarError?(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/100whatisagrammarerror/)).InthispostIwishtoclarifytheseparateinfluencesofgrammarandmeaningontheuseornonuseofazeroarticle..


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Grammarinfluencesthechoiceofanarticlebeforeaparticularnounthroughthegrammaticalcategorythatthenounbelongsto.Oneofthesecategoriesispropernounsnounswhichusuallybeginwithacapitalletterregardlessoftheirpositioninasentence(see62.ChoiceswithCapitalLetters(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/62choiceswithcapitalletters/)).Manypropernounsnormallyhavetobeusedwithoutanarticle,thoughmanyothersrequireone(see47.ArticleErrorswithProperNouns(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/47articleerrorswithpropernouns/)).Othernounsareusuallycategorisedaseithercountableoruncountable.Theseareslightlymisleadingnames,sincesomenounsthatdictionariessayarecountablearenotobviouslyabletobecounted,andviceversa(seethepostsonCountableNounMeanings(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/423/)).Theessentialdierenceisthatcountablenounscanbemadepluralanduncountableonescannot.Althoughmeaningslikeabilitytobecountedarenotcompletelyuselessforindicatingwhetherornotanouncanbemadeplural,inmanycaseswejusthavetofindoutanounspropertiesfromobservationoradictionary.Knowingwhetheranouniscountableoruncountableiscrucialforcorrectuseofthezeroarticle.Thebasicruleisthatthezeroarticleispossiblewithuncountableandpluralcountablenounsbutimpossiblewithsingularcountablenouns.Putanotherway,singularcountablenounsmusthavetheora(n).HereisalistofuncountablenounsthathaveinmyexperiencebeenusedasiftheywerecountablebysomespeakersofotherlanguagesthanEnglish.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)wealthThetwocountablenounsarethefifthandtwentythird.Examplesoftheconverse,countablenounseasilytakentobeuncountable,areinthepost10.WordswithUnexpectedGrammar(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/10wordswithunexpectedgrammar/).Yetmorenounsgiveproblemsbecausetheyvaryintheircountability,dependingontheirmeaning.Fornumerousexamples,seethepostsonCountableNounMeanings(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/423/).Complicatingallofthisisthefactthatevencountablenouns,whichmusthavetheora(n),sometimesdonot.Tounderstandthis,itisnecessarytoknowaboutdeterminers.Theseareageneralgrammaticalcategorycomprisingbotharticlesandwordsthatcanreplacethembeforeaparticularnoun.Considerthefollowing:(a)dictionaryisausefultoolforlanguagelearning.Thenoundictionaryhereissingularandcountable,whichmeansthatnothavinganotherwordinfrontisagrammarerror.Theerrorcanbecorrectedbywritingeithertheoraintheindicatedspace.Thesearenottheonlypossibilities,though.Youcould,forexample,usethisinstead.Determinersarethefulllistofpossibilitiesthatcanreplaceanarticle.However,notalldeterminerscouldgointhespacein(a),sincesome,likeenough,goonlybeforeuncountablenouns(wecansayenoughmoneybutnot*enoughdictionary)andsome,likethese,needapluralnoun.Determinersthatcangobeforeasingularcountablenounincludea(n),each,either,every,neither,no,the,this,that,what(ever),which(ever)andwhose,aswellaspossessiveadjectives(her,his,my,our,youretc).Asaresultofthis,theruleforsingularcountablenounsismoreaccuratelythattheymusthaveanappropriatedeterminer..

Withsingularcountablenouns,meaningdoesnotmakeadierencebetweenhavingandnothavingthezeroarticle:itonlydeterminesthechoicebetweentheanda(oranotherdeterminer).Withuncountableandpluralnouns,however,meaningdoeshavetobetakenintoaccountinordertodecidewhetherornottohavethezeroarticle.Twomeaningsrequirethezeroarticle,whileonerequiresthe(orequivalentdeterminer).Thetwomeaningsofthezeroarticlearethesameasthetwothatcountablenounscanhavewitha(n).Thefirstisgeneric,asdefinedinthepost89.UsingthewithGeneralMeaning(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/89usingthewithgeneralmeaning/).Itcanbeillustratedasfollows:(b) Adictionaryisausefultoolforlanguagelearning.Thisisnotaboutanyparticulardictionarybutreferstothegeneralclassofdictionaries.Theothermeaningofa(n)mightbecallednongeneric(unidentified).Itmaybeillustratedlikethis:


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(c) AdictionarywaslocatedintheReferenceSection.Thisisaboutaparticulardictionary,butitdoesnotsuggestthereadercanidentifywhichone,inthewaythatthedictionarywould.Nowcomparethewaypluralanduncountablenounsrespectivelyexpressthesesametwomeaningswiththezeroarticle:GENERIC

(d) Dictionariesareausefultoolforlanguagelearning.(d) Technologyisausefultoolforlanguagelearning.NONGENERIC(UNIDENTIFIED)(f) DictionarieswerelocatedintheReferenceSection.(g) Technologyisavailableforlanguagelearningthisweek.Thus,tosumup,thezeroarticle(or,moreprecisely,theabsenceofadeterminer)isalwayswrongbeforecountablenounsbutsometimesrightbeforepluralanduncountablenouns,dependingonthemeaningthattheyhave.Thiscanbeexpressedindiagramformasfollows:

(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/artdiag.png)Themeaningthatmakesthezeroarticlewrongwithpluralanduncountablenounsisonethatisusuallyexpressedbythe:nongenericbutidentifiedratherthanunidentified,asinthisexample:(h)Partsofthebrainhavebeenmappedbuttheknowledgeleavesmanyquestionsunanswered.Here,theknowledgeisnongenericbecauseitisnotallknowledge,anditisalsoidentified(asknowledgeofpartsofthebrain)thankstotheearliermentionofpartsofthebrain.Azeroarticlebeforeknowledgewouldbewrongbecauseitwouldmeanallknowledge(generic).Anevenmorecommonerrorthanomittinganecessarythebeforeapluraloruncountablenounisaddingthewhenthemeaningisgeneric.English(unlikemanyotherlanguages)nearlyalwayshasazeroarticleforgenericpluralanduncountablenouns,reservingtheforitsnongenericuse.Evensingularcountablenounsrarelyusethetoexpressgenericmeaning,preferringa(n)thoughexceptionsaremorecommon(see89.UsingthewithGeneralMeaning(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/89usingthewithgeneralmeaning/)).

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Saywhichoftheunderlinednounsinthefollowingtexthavenodeterminer.Thenidentifythedeterminerthateachoftheothernounshas.Answersaregivenbelow.SomepeoplethinkthatitisbetterifEnglishteachersspeakEnglishastheirfirstornativelanguage.However,thisbeliefveryquicklyraisesallsortsofproblems.NotspeakingEnglishasafirstlanguagebringsnumerousbenefitsforanybodywhoeventuallysucceedsinbecominganEnglishteacher.TwoofthemajorstrengthsthatnonnativeEnglishspeakersusuallyhave,whichcompensateforanyforeignwaysofpronouncingorwritingEnglish,areamuchbetterabilitytoexplainEnglishgrammar,andamuchbetterunderstandingofjustwhatitisliketobealearnerofEnglishasa


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ForeignLanguage..

Answers

NounswithNoDeterminer(allplural/uncountablewithgenericmeaning):teachers,English,problems,speakers,grammar.Determiners:theirlanguage;thisbelief;alanguage;anteacher;thestrengths;anyways;aability;aunderstanding;alearner.PostedinAcademicandProfessionalReading,AcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishGrammarErrors,Nouns |Taggedthe,a,ArticleUsage,countablenouns,nounswithnoarticle,uncountablenouns,zeroarticle |2Comments13JULY,2015BYPAULFANNING

(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/adjpos.png)

Englishhasvariousfeaturesthatmightleadspeakersofotherlanguagestoincorrectlyplaceanadjectiveafteritsnoun.

ThemainadjectivepositionsinEnglishareeitherjustbeforethenountheydescribeorafteritwithalinkingverblikeBEinbetween(see6.AdjectiveswithNoNoun1(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/6adjectiveswithnonounpeoplenaming/)).InafewcaseswealsofindanEnglishadjectiveplaceddirectlyafteritsnounwithoutalinkingverb.Mostadvancedgrammarbookslistthesituationswherethisexceptionalusageisnecessary.Inthispost,followingtheusualGuinlistpolicyofnotsimplyrepeatingwhatcanbefoundingrammarbooks,IwishtoanalyseaninstanceofanadjectivewronglyplaceddirectlyafteritsnounthatIrecentlyencounteredinatouristguidebookfromthePortuguesespeakingworld.IwishtoshowhowtheerrorisprobablycausedbythewayEnglishworks,ratherthan(orasmuchas)bytransferorinterferencefromPortuguese,which,likeotherRomancelanguages,usuallyplacesadjectivesafterratherthanbeforenouns..


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ThefollowingsentenceillustratestheguidebookerrorthatIencountered(theadjectiveunderlined):(a)*TheregionhasculturalbehaviourstypicallyPortuguese.ThecorrectEnglishwaytosaythisiseithertoplacetypicallyPortuguesebeforeculturalbehavioursortoleaveitwhereitiswithwhichareinfront.ThemainreasonforsuspectingthatEnglishmaybepartlytoblamefortheerroristhatmostotheradjectivesusedbythewriterof(a)wereactuallyinthecorrectpositions.SowhatisitaboutEnglishthatmighthavecausedthisparticularerror?Threepossibilitiessuggestthemselves:otherwaysofdescribinganoun,situationsthatchangeanadjectivesposition,andtheexistenceofsomeEnglishadjectivesthatalwaysfollowtheirnoun..

Verbscansometimesdescribeanouninanadjectivelikeway.Dierentaspectsofthispointareconsideredelsewhereinthisblogintheposts52.ParticiplesPlacedJustAftertheirNoun(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/52participlesplacedjustaftertheirnoun/),66.VariableMeaningsofPassiveVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/66variablemeaningsofpassiveverbs/)and98.Very,MuchandVeryMuch(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/98verymuchverymuch/).Thefirstoftheseillustrateshowverbsintheingoredformcandescribeanadjacentnounjustlikeadjectives,butemphasisesthatasubstantialnumberofthemcanormustgoafterthenounratherthanbefore,likethis:(b)OnemustrememberthetendencypreviouslyNOTED.Structurally,thissentenceisidenticalto(a):bothcompriseasubject,verbandobject,andtheobject(underlined)comprisesanounfollowedbyanadverbandthehighlighteddescribingword.Thereasonwhy(b)ispossibleand(a)isnotisthatnotedisaparticipleofthekindthatcangobeforeorafteritsnoun,whilePortugueseisanordinaryadjective.Itcouldbethatthepossibilityofparticipleusageasin(b)iswhatinduced(a)tobewritten.Onefurtherwayofdescribinganounwithoutusinganadjectiveiswithaprepositionphrase(See84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/84seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/)).Withoneofthese,thenounmustalwayscomefirst:(c)TheregionhasartefactsOFASOPHISTICATEDKIND.Perhapsthiskindofdescriptionalsohassomeinfluence..

TherearethreedierentkindsofsituationthatnormallyrequireanEnglishadjectivetogodirectlyafteritsnounratherthaninfront..

1. Describing a Pronoun Ending in -body/-one/-thing/-where

Itisnotnormalforanadjectivetoprecedeanyofthesepronouns.Thus,sentence(a)wouldbecomecorrectifhasculturalbehaviourswasreplacedbyissomewhere.ThisfeatureofEnglish,however,doesnotseemalikelyexplanationoftheerrorin(a),sincethepresenceorabsenceofoneofthefourpronounsseemseasytorememberandappreciate.


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.2. Acting as an Object Complement

Complementsarenounphrasesoradjectivephrasesthatmeanthesameas,ordescribe,anearliermentionednounphrase.TheyareofthesubjectkindwhenthisearliernounphraseisthesubjectofanequalityshowingverblikeBE,whichisusuallyplacedjustinfrontofthem(see8.ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/)).Objectcomplements,ontheotherhand,existwhentheearliernounphraseistheobjectofaverb,withnootherverbafterit(see92.ComplementShowingAs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/92complementshowingas/)).Objectcomplementsmustbenecessitatedbytheverbbeforethem;otherwisethegrammaticalstructurewillbeoneofapposition(see77.Apposition(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/77appositionpairingofsamemeaningnouns/)).Thisneedmaybeillustratedasfollows:(d)ColumbuscalledtheislandhefirstreachedSanSalvador.Theverbhereiscalled,itsobjectistheislandhefirstreachedandtheobjectcomplementisSanSalvador.Thecomplementisnecessitatedbycalledinthesensethatomittingitwouldleaveagrammaticallyincompletesentence.ThisisbecausetheverbCALLinitsnamingsensealwaysneedsasubject,objectandobjectcomplement,inthesamewaythatsomeverbsalwaysneedanobject(see8.ObjectDroppingErrors(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/8objectdroppingerrors/))andsome,likePUT,alwaysneedanadverbialaftertheirobject.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.Coulditbethattheerrorin(a)hasbeencausedbythewriterincorrectlybelievingthatHAVErequiresanobjectcomplementinthewaythatCONSIDERdoes?.

3. Beginning an Adjective Phrase

Anadjectivephraseisagroupofwordsthatcanreplaceanadjectiveinasentence.Onekind,lessrelevanthere,isacombinationofaprepositionanditsfollowingnoun(see84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/84seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/))normallyplacedafterthedescribednoun(e.g.teafromIndia).Otheradjectivephrasesaremadebyaddingwordstoanadjective,sometimesafterit,sometimesbefore.Examplesareeasytounderstand,contentwiththeoutcomeandalittlecontroversial.Theruleisthatwhentheextrawordsareaftertheadjective,thewholephrasemustusuallyfollowitsnoun;otherwiseitstaysbefore.Considertheloneadjectiveinthefollowingsentence:(f) Importantinformationwasstoredseparately.Hereimportantisinthenormalpositionbeforeitsnouninformation.However,ifitbecomesaphrasewithwordsaddedafterit,suchasimportanttokeep,itmustberepositionedafterthenoun(or,lessformally,besplittomakeimportantinformationtokeepsee2.InterruptedStructures(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/2readingobstacles1interruptedstructures/)).Ontheotherhand,ifsomethingisaddedbefore,e.g.vitallyimportant,norepositioningispossible.ThisfeatureofEnglishcouldeasilyexplaintheerrorin(a),wheretheadjectivePortuguesefollowstypicallyinaphrase.Coulditbethatthewriterisconfusingthetwotypesofadjectivephrase,incorrectlythinkingthatthewordbeforePortugueserequiresittofollowitsnounwheninfactonlywordsafterdo?.


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Finally,itispossiblethatthewriterof(a)simplythoughtthatPortuguesebelongedtothesmallgroupofEnglishadjectivesthatnormallyfollowthenountheydescribe.Theseincludebelow(e.g.thediagrambelowsee 74.Listing3:BulletPoints(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/74listing3bulletpoints/)),presentmeaningnotabsent(thememberspresent),propermeaningreal(thebuildingproper),generalmeaningwithgeneralresponsibility(theSuperiorGeneral),andresponsiblemeaningincharge(thepersonresponsible).However,confusingPortuguesewiththeseseemsquiteunlikely,sinceonewouldsurelynothavegreatdicultyinrememberingthatthelargegroupofnationalityadjectivescombineswithnounsinthenormalway.PostedinAcademicandProfessionalWriting,Adjectives,EnglishGrammarErrors |Taggedadjectivepositions,nounphrase,nounsbeforeadjectives,objectcomplements,participles,Romancelanguages,wordorder |Leaveacomment29JUNE,2015BYPAULFANNING

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(https://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/remove.png)REMOVE=TAKEAWAY

ManyinformalEnglishwordshaveaLatinderivedformalsynonym.

Sometimesthedierencebetweentwowordsofsimilarmeaningisnotsomuchwhattheymeanaswheretheyareused(see16.WaysofDistinguishingSimilarWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/waysofdistinguishingsimilarwords/)).Thisisthecase,forexample,withscapulasandshoulderblades,theformerbeingcommoninmedicalEnglish,thelatterineverydayspeech(see77.Apposition(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/77appositionpairingofsamemeaningnouns/)).AnimportantareaofEnglishthatoftenexpressesmeaningswithdierentwordsfromthoseofordinaryspeech(andoccasionallywithdierentgrammartoo)isacademicandprofessionalwriting.Thedierencesinthissortofwritingaresaidtogiveitaformalstyle(see46.HowtoAvoidI,WeandYou(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/46howtoavoidiweandyou/)).AninterestingfeatureofformalsoundingwordsisthattheyareusuallyderivedfromLatin,thelanguageoftheancientRomanrulersof


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Europe2000yearsago,ratherthanOldEnglish.MostwereimportedintoEnglishviaFrenchafterEnglandcameunderFrenchspeakingmonarchs1000yearsago.ThisassociationofformallanguagewithhistoricalrulersofEnglandmakessensebecausebothareindicativeofpower.AnearlierGuinlistpost(45.LatinCluestoEnglishSpelling(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/45latincluestoenglishspelling/))looksatthespellingofLatinderivedwordsinformalEnglish.InthispostIwishtolookinmoredetailathowLatinatewordstypicallyreplacenonLatinatewordsinEnglishsoastoachieveformality..

AverylargecategoryofformalEnglishwordsisLatinateverbswiththesamemeaningaseverydaytwowordverbs.TwowordverbstendtobecombinationsofsimpleEnglishverbswitheitherapreposition(makingprepositionalverbslikeLEADTOandCOPEWITH)oranadverb(makingphrasalverbslikeMAKEOUTorGIVEUP).Prepositionalverbsalwayshaveafollowingnoun(object),whichmustbeplacedafterthepreposition,whereasphrasalverbsmayhavenoobject,andifthereisone,itmaycomebeforetheadverbaswellasafter.Numerousexamplesofbothverbtypesarelistedinthepost44.TroublesomePrepositionalVerbs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/44troublesomeprepositionalverbs/).HerearesomecommontwowordverbsandtheirLatinateequivalents:.

1. Prepositional Verbs

ASKFOR=REQUESTCOMEAFTER=FOLLOWCOMEUPTO=REACH/ATTAINDEALWITH=MANAGEGOBEFORE=PRECEDEGOOUTOF=EXITLEADTO=CAUSELOOKAT=REGARDLOOKFOR=SEEKLOOKINTO=INVESTIGATELOOKLIKE=RESEMBLEPUTUPWITH=TOLERATEREFERTO=CONSULTSETTLEFOR=CHOOSESPEAKTO=ADDRESSTALKABOUT=DISCUSS/CONSIDERTHINKABOUT=CONSIDER/PONDERTHINKOF=CONCEIVEWAITFOR=AWAIT


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.2. Phrasal Verbs

BREAKDOWN=FAIL/COLLAPSEBREAKOFF=SUSPEND/ADJOURNBREAKUP=DISINTEGRATEBRINGIN=INTRODUCECOMEBACK=RETURNCOME/GOIN=ENTERGETAWAY=ESCAPEGOAHEAD=PROCEEDGOAWAY=LEAVE/DEPARTGIVE/BRINGBACK=RETURNGIVEIN=YIELDGIVEOUT=DISTRIBUTEGIVEUP=QUITLINKUP=CONNECTMAKEOUT=DISCERNMAKEUP=INVENTPUT/SETDOWN=DEPOSITSETOUT(1)=DISPLAYSETOUT(2)=DEPARTTAKEAWAY=REMOVETHROWAWAY=DISCARDTHROWOUT=EJECT.

Englishhasmanyotherexampleslikethis.Ifinformalwritingyoucanthinkonlyofatwowordverbforthemeaningyouwant,youcantryconsultingathesaurusforaonewordequivalent.Note,though,thatsometwowordverbscontainaLatinateverbandarelikelyasaresultnottobeinformal.ExamplesareALLUDETO,APPROVEOF,DEPENDON,INSISTONandRESULTIN..

AnotherareaofEnglishthatoftenhasformalandinformalequivalentsisadverbsshowingdierentstrengthsofafollowingadjectiveoradverbsocalledadverbsofdegree.Considerthisexample:


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(a)Thetaskwasabiteasierthanbefore.Theunderlinedwordsareveryinformal.Itismoreformaltosayalittle,andmoreformalagaintosayslightly(awordofEnglishratherthanLatinorigin).Themainadverbsofdegreethatpossessamoreformalequivalentareasfollows.Theunderlinedonesareespeciallyconversational.abit/alittle=slightlypretty/quite/fairly/rather=moderatelyreally/very=extremelyalot/far/much(+comparative)=considerably/appreciably.Moreaboutthedierencebetweenveryandmuchisinthepost98.Very,MuchandVeryMuch(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/98verymuchverymuch/).Sometimesabitandalotareusableasordinaryadverbswithaverb,e.g.worksabit/alot.Theformalequivalentofabitusedlikethisisalittleorasmallamount.Insteadofalotonecannearlyalwayssayverymuchoragreatdeal,buttherearenumerousotherpossibilitiesdependingonthechoiceofverb.Forexample,withworksonemightsayhard,withhopes fervently,withdependsgreatly(orheavily),withdenystrenuously,andwithneeds desperately.Mostadvancedgrammardescriptionsprovidefurtherexamples.Thereisalsoapronounuseofabitandalot,e.g.earnsabit/alot.Here,abitisreplaceableagainbyalittle/asmallamount,butalotsometimesneedsverymuch/agreatdealandsometimesverymanyoragreatmany,dependingonwhetheritrepresentsanuncountablenounoracountableonelikethis:(b)Poisonoussnakesareabundant,butagreatmanyareveryshy.Alotcanalsobeusedinformallywithofbeforeanouninsteadofamoreprecisenumber(seeHedging1:Numbers&Generalizations(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/95hedging1numbersgeneralizations/)).Informalwriting,itcanbereplacedbymanyorvarious,butamoreimpressiveLatinateequivalentisnumerous..

TheverbGETisanotherinformalwordthatisespeciallyproductiveofLatinatealternatives.Thisisbecauseithassomanydierentmeanings.Inthefollowingsentences,adierentformalequivalentofGETisneededeachtime:(c)Theatmosphereseemstobegettinghotterallthetime.(d)Visitorscangetapassfromthemainoce.(e)BritishcitizensgetaletterfromtheMonarchwhentheyreach100.(f)ItiseasytogetaflightfromJakartatoAustralia.(g)Thetreatmentofcancerisgettingbetterallthetime.In(c),onecanusebecomingorgrowing,neitherofwhichisLatinate.In(d),thewordisobtain,in(e)receive,in(f)catchorarrangeandin(g)improving.Careshouldalsobetakentochoosetherightalternativetotheinformalwordbig.SpeakersofLatinderivedlanguagesCatalan,French,Italian,Portuguese,Rumanian,Spanishtendtoreplaceitincorrectlywithimportantorsignificantbecausesimilarlookingwordsinthoselanguagesdohavethemeaningofbig.InEnglish,thesewordssaynothingaboutsizebutaremoretodowithrole.Themainformalsynonymsofbigarelarge,greatandmajor(nothuge,whichmeansverybigsee16.WaysofDistinguishingSimilarWords(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/waysofdistinguishingsimilarwords/)).Largeseemstobepreferredwithconcretenounslikeroom,vehicleoranimal,andgreatmustbeusedwhenthereisasuggestionofimposing,special,famousorwonderful(e.g.AlexanderTheGreat,greatamenities).Otherwise,withnonconcrete(abstract)nouns,achoicebetweenlargeandgreatoftenseemstodependonthenounbeingdescribed,inotherwordstobeamatterofcollocation.Herearesometypicalabstractpartnersoflargeandgreat(theunderlinedonesalsoallowmajor):


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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).Replacementsoftendependoncontext,butcommonthingwordsincludeobject,itemandidea,andstuwordsincludematerial,substanceandmatter.Lastly,thewordsgoodandbad,whicheachpossessnumerousmeanings,areoftenreplacedwithmorepreciseLatinateequivalents.Wordsmeaninggoodincludeappropriate,attractive,beneficial,desirable,eective,enjoyable,pleasant,suitableandvirtuous,whileequivalentsofbadincludedamaging,harmful,problematic,troublesome,undesirable,unhealthy,unpleasantandunwanted.Morecanbefoundwithathesaurus.PostedinAcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishVocabulary,Verbs |Taggedacademicwords,EAP,formalstyle,informalwords,Latinatewords,phrasalverbs,prepositionalverbs,Romancelanguages,Synonyms |2Comments11JULY,2011BYPAULFANNING

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(http://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/mp900439313.jpg)Whencloselyconnectedwordsarewrittenwithotherwordsinbetweenthem,theconnectioncanbeobscured

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Interrupted(discontinuous)structuresarewordswithaclosegrammaticallinkthatareseparatedbyotherwords.Forexample,thewordslargerthanhaveaclosegrammaticallink(theerendingneedsorimpliesthanandviceversa),andawordinterruptingthistwowordgroupmightbeusuallyinthephraselargerusuallythan.Sometimestheinterruptingwordsaresurroundedbyapairofbracketlikecommas(see50.RightandWrongCommaPlaces(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/50rightandwrongcommaplaces/)),likethis:(a)Fitathletesshouldcompleteamarathonin,attheverymost,threehours.Theproblemforreadingisthattheseparationofthecloselylinkedwords,especiallywithoutcommas,canstopthereaderseeingthelink.

Therearevarioustypesofstructurethatcanbeinterrupted.Herearesomeimportantones:

1. Preposition Phrases

Allprepositionshaveapartnernoun,usuallyplacedjustafterthem(see84.SevenThingstoKnowAboutPrepositions(https://guinlist/2014/07/28/84seventhingstoknowaboutprepositions/)).Thecombinationisoftencalledaprepositionphrase.Suchphrasesaremosteasilyinterruptedjustafterthepreposition.Thisisthecaseinsentence(a)above..

2. Verb Phrases

Verbphrasesarecombinationsoftwoormoreverbs.Theymightbeamainverbwithoneormoreprecedingauxiliaries(BE,HAVE,DO,modalslikeWILL),asinshouldbeworking,oronewithfollowingordinaryverbsintheparticipleorinfinitiveform,asinwantstobeseen.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.HowComputersGetGrammarWrong1(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.


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TroublesomePrepositionalVerbs(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/44troublesomeprepositionalverbs/))includeLEADTO,COPEWITHandLOOKFORWARDTO.Illustrativeadjectivesarecontentwith,aversetoandconsciousof.Interruptingwordscangobeforethepreposition:(d)Thegovernmenthaveproposedsomepainfulmeasuresforfamilies.Moreonthisuseofadjectivesisinthepost109.AdjectivePositioning(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/109adjectivepositioning/).

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Notallinterruptedstructuresareaprobleminreading;butsomearebecauseIhaveobservedtheirpresenceinextractsthatlearnersofEnglishhavereportedasdicult(seethetechnicalarticleentitledWhatcanlearnerstellusabouttheirreadingproblems?(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/articles/whatcanlearnerstellusabouttheirreadingproblems/)).Thelengthoftheinterruptionmaywellbesignificant.Considerthefollowing:(b)Thisissue(ofajournal)examinesthecoursesandcausesoffertilitydeclinethroughhistoryandtheindustrialization/foodsecurityconundruminChina,theworldsmostpopulouscountry.Theinterruptionhereisbetweentheunderlinedarticletheandthenounitmodifies.Whatexactlyisthisnoun:industrialization,food,securityorconundrum?Infact,thereisafairlyeasyrulethatcanhelptoshowwhich:anyarticleplacedbeforecloselycombinednounslikethesegoeswiththelastofthem(see38.NounsUsedLikeAdjectives(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/38nounsusedlikeadjectives/)).Sotheheregoeswithconundrum(whichmeanspuzzleordicultchoice).Thewordsindustrializationandsecurityarebeingusedbeforeitlikeadjectivestoshowwhatthedicultchoiceisbetween,andfoodisalsobeingusedlikeanadjective,sayingwhatkindofsecurityismeant.Thus,thephrasetheindustrialization/foodsecurityconundruminChinameansthedicultchoiceinChinabetweenindustrialisationandfoodsecurity.Inotherwords,accordingtothiswritermoreindustrialisationinChinameanslessfoodsecurity,andmorefoodsecuritymeanslessindustrialisation,sothatChinahasadicultchoicetomake..

Herearesomemoreinterruptedstructuresthatstudentshavereportedasdicult.Howeasilycanyouunderstandthem?Whatistheinterruptionineach(answersbelow)?.

PROBLEM TEXTS

1. Onenewproductinthegrocerytradeoutofsevensurvivestothethirdyear.2.Marketingisaphilosophyofrunningabusinessthatshoulddominateeverymajordecision.3. Ofequalimportanceisthebroaderissueoftheeectsofwhattheinformationmediacommunicateonindividualsandonsociety.4. Howwerelatetothemdependstoagreatextentontheirmomentaryrequirements.5. PartIIIaddressessomeofthesortsofreasonsadvancedforviolatingthelaw.


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..

ANSWERS

1.TheinterruptedphraseisOneoutofseven,whichexpressestheideaof / .2. aphilosophythat.Therelativepronounthatgoeswithfarawayphilosophy,nottheimmediatelyprecedingbusiness(see28.PronounErrors(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/28pronounerrors/)formoreaboutthisdicultywithrelativepronouns).3. eectsofon .Itiseasytodecidethatongoeswithcommunicate,whereasinfactitgoeswitheects,therebeingmanyotherwordsinbetween.Youhavetoknowthateectscanaccompanyacauseafterofandthethingchangedbythatcauseafteron (see10.WordswithUnexpectedGrammar(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/wordswithunexpectedgrammar/)and49.SubjectShowingPrepositions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/49subjectshowingprepositions/)).Thecauseiswhattheinformationmediacommunicate,whichmeansthethingscommunicatedbytheinformationmedia.4. dependson.Thewordstoagreatextent(whichthemselvesgocloselytogether)haveseparatedthisprepositionalverbfromitsusualpreposition.5. reasonsfor .Advanced isaverbintheparticipleform,meaningwhichhavebeenadvanced.Likemanyloneparticiples,itcancomeafteranounaswellasbeforeit(see52.ParticiplesPlacedJustAftertheirNoun(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/52participlesplacedjustaftertheirnoun/)).Itspresenceafterthenounhereseparatesthenounfromitsnormaldirectlyfollowingpreposition.

PostedinAcademicandProfessionalReading,EnglishGrammarErrors |TaggedDiscontinuity,English,grammar,interruptedstructures,readingproblems,WordGroups |4Comments4JULY,2011BYPAULFANNING

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(http://guinlist.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/example1.jpg)Simpleexamplegivingisnamingageneralclassandoneorsomeofitsmembers,withoutfurtherdetails

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Whenwegiveanexample,wenameoneormore(butnotall)ofthemembersofapreviouslymentionedclass.Forexample,aftertheclassofanimals,examplescouldbecats,or catsanddogs.Itisimportantnottomentionalloftheclassmembersbecausethatisordinarylistingratherthanexamplegiving(see54.Listing1:Incidental(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/54listing

17


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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)ThemainlanguagesofSouthAmericaareSpanishandPortuguese.Unmentionedmembersoftheunderlinedclassin(a)includeFrenchandRomanian.Therearenounmentionedclassmembersin(b).Inthisnamingofclassmembers,wemayormaynotsaysomethingaboutthem.NotsayinganythingaboutthemiswhatImeanbysimpleexamplegiving.Hereisanotherillustration:(c) Airpollutants,suchassulphurdioxide,causemanyproblems.Inthissentence,sulphurdioxideisnamedasonememberoftheclassofairpollutantsandnothingelseissaidaboutit(causemanyproblemsisinformationaboutairpollutantsingeneral,notjustsulphurdioxide).Thispostisaboutthedierentwaysinwhichsimpleexampleslikethiscanbegiven.Relatedpostsare33.ComplexExampleGiving(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/33complexexamplegiving/),which examineshowtogiveanexamplewhenyouwishtosaysomethingextraaboutit,53.As,LikeandSuchAs(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/53aslikeandsuchas/),whichlooksmorecloselyatthreeoftheexamplegivingexpressionspresentedhere,and96.Hedging2:Lists&Predictions(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/96hedging2listspredictions/),whichsuggestssomereasonsforgivingasimpleexample..

Simpleexamplescanbegivenineitherthesamesentenceastheclassnameoranewone,likethis:(d)(SAMESENTENCE)Pollutioncausesmanyproblems,forexampleillness.(e)(NEWSENTENCE)Pollutioncausesmanyproblems.Oneisillness.Decidingwhetherornottoplacetheexampleinthesamesentenceastheclassnameisthemainlinguisticjudgementtomakeinsimpleexamplegiving.Thereisalsoachoicetobemadeofsuitableexampleshowinglanguage.Ifthislanguageischosenfirst,therewillbenochoiceaboutwhichsentencetheexampleisgivenin,butleavingthelanguagechoiceuntillaterallowsmorefreedominthismatter..

Insimpleexamplegiving,thefollowingexpressionsarepossible:.

1.Words Enabling Examples to be in the Same Sentence as their Class

FOREXAMPLEFORINSTANCEE.G.SUCHASLIKEINCLUDINGINCLUDEASILLUSTRATEDBYSAY(AS)(ETC)Notethatmostoftheseexpressionscanhaveacommabeforethem,butneveracommaafter.Veryoftentheirusecreatesaconstructionknownasapposition(see77.PairingofSameMeaningNouns(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/77appositionpairingofsamemeaningnouns/)).Asandetcarebracketedbecausetheyareusedinspecialways.Examplegivingwithasisdescribedinthepost53.As,LikeandSuchas(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/53aslikeandsuchas/).Therearevariouspointstonoteaboutetc(anditssynonymsamongothers,andothers,andsoon,andsuchlike,and tonamebutafew


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butnotthreedots[],which,likedirectquestionsandnewlines,aremoreContinentalthanEnglishsee57.IndirectQuestionsinFormalWriting(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/57indirectquestionsinformalwriting/)and59.ParagraphLength(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/%ef%bb%bf%ef%bb%bf59paragraphlength/)).Normallyetcexpressionsareusedwithmultipleexamples,andareplacedafterthem.Veryimportantly,theycannotbecombinedwithotherexampleshowingexpressions.Thetwocommonestwaysofexamplegivingwiththemlooklikethis:(f)TherearevariousRomancelanguages:French,Spanish,Portuguese,etc.(g)(The)RomancelanguagesareFrench,Spanish,Portuguese,etc.Inthesesentences,thenameofthegeneralclasstowhichtheexamplesbelongisRomancelanguages.Theexamplesarelinkedtoitinthestandardwayforsentencecentrallists:witheitheracolonasin(f)oralinkingverb(mostlyare)asinin(g)(see55.Listing2:FullSentences(https://guinlist.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/55listing2fullsentences/)and17.ColonsversusSemiColons(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/17colonsversussemicolons/)).Whenacolonisused,thegeneralclassnameneedsavaguenumberwordbeforeitlikevarious,severalornumerous.Whenalinkingverbisused,itmustnotitselfbeexampleshowinglikeinclude.

2.Words Enabling Simple Examples to be in a New Sentence

ONEISANEXAMPLEIS(EXAMPLESARE)ISACASEINPOINTTHEY/THESEINCLUDETHEY/THESEAREILLUSTRATEDBY.AMONGTHESEARETHESEARE,ETC..

Notehowthesenewsentenceexpressionsallcontainaverb(underlined).Thisisnecessarybecauseanynewsentencemusthaveitsownverb(see30.WhentoWriteaFullStop(http://guinlist.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/30whatisasentence/)).Notealsothatetcanditssynonymsagaincannotbecombinedwithanyoftheotherexpressions.Somewriters,whendecidingtogiveasimpleexample,maythinkofboththeexampleandtheexampleshowinglanguageatthesametime.Ifso,theyhavetousethepunctuationthatgoeswiththelanguagetheyhavethoughtof.Forexample,thinkingofofsuchasatthemomentofchoosingtheexamplemeansthattheexamplemustgointothesamesentenceastheclassnameitcannotgoanywhereelseandconverselyanexampleafteroneismustbeinanewsentence.Ontheotherhand,itispossibletothinkofanexamplewithoutatthesametimethinkingofaccompanyingexampleshowinglanguage.Thenthereismorechoiceaboutthepunctuation.Youcaneitherdecidetoputtheexampleintoanewsentence,andonlyafterwardschooseanappropriateexampleshowingexpression(fromthesecondlistabove),oryoucandecidenottohaveanewsentence,choosingyourexpressionfromthefirstlistasaresult.Thedecisiontostartornotstartanewsentencewouldherebedeterminednotbyapriorlanguagechoice,butforanotherreason,forexamplesentencelengthorpersonalpreference.Thisapproachmustsurelybethebetterone,andtheonethatthemostsuccessfulwriterswilluse.Themainpointtorememberregardingsimpleexamplegivingisthepunctuationthateachexampleshowingexpressionrequires.ThemostcommonmistakemadebylearnersofEnglishseemstobeusingafullstopwhenacommaisrequired.Tocorrectit,youmusteitherchangethefullstopintoacommaorchangeyourexampleshowingexpressionintoonethatrequiresafullstop.Tomakethesepointsclearer,hereisapracticeexercise..

EXERCISE:Completethefollowingasinstructedeachtime.Trytovaryyourexampleshowingexpressions.Possibleanswersaregivenaftertheexercise..


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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_______________________theirhelpfulnesswithwordpronunciation.

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.ANSWERS(lookparticularlyatthegrammarofthesesentences,ratherthantheactualexampleschosen).

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1.PortugueseisspokeninmanycountriesoutsidePortugal,forexampleBrazil.2.FrenchisspokeninmanycountriesoutsideFrance.Oneis(or Anexampleis)Algeria.3.Somenumberscannotbedividedbyanyothernumbersexceptthemselvesandone.Examples(or Amongthem)are7and13.4.Aconjunctionisawordthatenablestwoverbstoexisttogetherinonesentence,suchas(or likeorforexampleor e.g.)butand/orwhen.

5.Exercisehasnumerousbenefits,likepreventingheartdisease.6.Vocabularylearningrequiresnumerousstrategies,e.g.usingadictionary.(Althoughthisexamplecontainsaverbusing,theingmakesasamesentenceexamplenecessary)7.AncientGreekthinkersstillinfluenceacademicsubjectstoday.Aristotleisacaseinpoint.8.Dictionariesareanimportantaidtolanguagelearning.Theirusesareillustratedbytheirhelpfulnesswithwordpronunciation.PostedinAcademicandProfessionalWriting,EnglishGrammarErrors,Punctuation |TaggedApposition,classmembers,EAP,examplesentences,examples,exemplification,forexample,Illustration,suchas |3Comments

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