Successful writing. lecture 4(2)

Successful Writing

Lecture Four

Review

Preciseness Requirement for good writing Use concrete details (form the habit

of thinking concretely even at the initial stage of writing)

Look for specific words (and learn how to use them alongside the expansion of your vocabulary)

Effectiveness

Adds power to the meaning Selecting effective words is not easy

and it needs study and practice

-ing and –ed forms of verbs

The –ing form of a verb is used when the action described by the verb continues to happen or when the relationship between the modified and the verb is active

Example: She is cooking so much food for all of us

Example: When I saw her, she was cooking so much food for all of us

-ing and –ed forms of verbs

The –ed form of a verb is used when the action is completed at the time another action occurs

Or when the relationship between the modified and the verb is passive

Example: She stopped with us quickly before she ran out the door

Example: She grabbed the taxi that drove past the subway station

Nouns as Modifiers

Nouns can be put ahead of another noun as its modifiers in English

Too many nouns clustered can cause ambiguity (uncertainty) and misunderstanding

Mostly, the maximum of the number of nouns as modifiers is two (sometimes this number can be exceeded)

Nouns as Modifiers

Guiding Principle: nouns as modifiers should not pose too much difficulty to the reader’s comprehension

Adverbs

Can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb or even a whole sentence

Usually appears after the verb it modifies but before the adjective or the adverb

If it modifies the whole sentence, it can appear either at the beginning or the end

Adverbs

indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as "how," "when," "where," "how much".

While some adverbs can be identified by their characteristic "ly" suffix, most of them must be identified by untangling the grammatical relationships within the sentence or clause as a whole.

Adverbs

In the following examples, each of the highlighted words is an adverb: The seamstress quickly made the mourning

clothes. In this sentence, the adverb "quickly"

modifies the verb "made" and indicates in what manner (or how fast) the clothing was constructed.

Adverbs

The boldly spoken words would return to haunt the rebel.

In this sentence the adverb "boldly" modifies the adjective "spoken." We urged him to dial the number more

expeditiously. Here the adverb "more" modifies the adverb

"expeditiously." Unfortunately, the bank closed at three

today. In this example, the adverb "unfortunately"

modifies the entire sentence.

Adverbs

Conjunctive Adverbs You can use a conjunctive adverb to

join two clauses together. Some of the most common conjunctive adverbs are "also," "consequently," "finally," "furthermore," "hence," "however," "incidentally," "indeed," "instead," "likewise," "meanwhile," "nevertheless," "next," "nonetheless," "otherwise," "still," "then," "therefore," and "thus."

Adverbs

A conjunctive adverb is not strong enough to join two independent clauses without the aid of a semicolon.

Adverbs

The highlighted words in the following sentences are conjunctive adverbs: The government has cut university budgets;

consequently, class sizes have been increased.

He did not have all the ingredients the recipe called for; therefore, he decided to make something else.

The report recommended several changes to the ways the corporation accounted for donations; furthermore, it suggested that a new auditor be appointed immediately.

Adverbs

The crowd waited patiently for three hours; finally, the doors to the stadium were opened.

Batman and Robin fruitlessly searched the building; indeed, the Joker had escaped through a secret door in the basement.

Problems with Modifiers (1)

The problem with these phrases is the redundancy of modifiers

The modifiers are useless because they do nothing but repeat what the following nouns say

Useless modifiers can make your writing repetitious and wordy

Problems with Modifiers (2)

A) the notice said nothing else B) people other than visitors were

not invited to see exhibits C) the visitors were invited to do

nothing but see the exhibits on the third floor

D) there might be exhibits on other floors but the visitors were invited to see those on the third floor

Problems with Modifiers

Summary: One problem is about useless modifiers. A

useless modifier adds nothing to the meaning of the modified but redundancy

2) Another problem is concerned with misplaced modifiers. Clear writing demands that modifiers be put as close as possible to the word or phrase being modified

Inversion

In English, the usual order of words in a sentence is subject + verb + object. Sometimes certain adverbs come at the beginning of the sentence. This order is then inverted and the verb comes before the subject.

Inversion

Study the following sentences: Scarcely had I stepped out when

the telephone rang. Hardly had I reached the station

when the train departed. No sooner had she read the

telegram than she started crying. Never have I seen such a mess.

Inversion

Note that the sentences given can also be written with normal word order:

I had scarcely stepped out when the telephone rang.

I had hardly reached the station when the train departed.

Tense: Simple Present

Summary: In general, the present tense expresses the present time, but there are exceptions

Can be used to indicate future events or actions

Tense: Simple Present

In statements about the content of literature and other works of art we generally use the present tense (the historical present) however; statements about the facts of a dead author’s life are normally in the past tense

Tense: Simple Present

In statements of natural truth or of lasting significance, we use the present tense. However, if the statement does not contain the truth, we do not use the present tense

Example: Ancient Greeks believed that the earth was motionless

Sequence of Tenses

When the main verb is in the present tense, the subordinate (secondary/inferior) verb can only be in the simple past tense, the past perfect tense, or the past future tense

Sequence of Tenses

When the main verb indicates the future, the subordinate verb can be in the simple past tense, the present perfect tense, but never in the future tense

Mood

The subjunctive mood 1. The first pattern of the

subjunctive mood is the Be-pattern (as in sentences a, b, and c)

It is used to express indirect commands, motions, and resolutions

The Subjunctive Mood (cont’d)

Verbs frequently used in this patter, to name just a few are; insist, order, decide, instruct, and propose

This pattern is also used in the that-clause following adjectives or nouns to express opinions or intentions

This pattern can be replaced by the should + infinitive form

The Subjunctive Mood (3)

The second pattern of the subjunctive mood is the Were-pattern (as in sentences d, e, and f)

It is used to express a condition contrary to a fact. This pattern is mainly used in the wish clause or in the clauses introduces by if, as if, and as though

Attributes

A word or phrase that is syntactically/grammatically subordinate (secondary) to another and serves to limit, identify, particularize, describe, or supplement the meaning of the form with which it is in construction. In the red house, red is an attribute of house.

Attributes: Classroom Activity

Big, fat Tiny, shallow Every In it Easily Biggest Politely

Attributes: Classroom Activity

Behind him Very There Very fine Bigger A lot of Some fine

Attributes: Classroom Activity

Some dangerous Lovely In a large pond Foolish

Narrowing-down Attributes:

Every; in it; a lot of (frogs); (life) in a large pond

Descriptive Attributes

Big; fat; tiny; shallow; biggest; fine; bigger; fine; dangerous; lovely; foolish

Descriptive Attributes (3)

Single adjectives or parallel adjectives are placed before nouns, while prepositional phrases are placed after nouns

Classroom Activity

Slowing down (N) Of a few hundred, even a few

thousand, kilometers per hour (D) Of almost 297, 600 kilometers per

second (D) A kind of (N) Of its beating (N)

Classroom Activity (cont’d)

Of breathing (N) Of the body (N) In a high speed (D) spaceship (N) These (N)

Classroom Activity (3)

the prepositional phrase ‘in a high speed spaceship’ modifies the noun ‘human being’ but within this propositional attribute, there is another attribute, ‘high speed’, which modifies ‘spaceship’

Relative Clauses

When using a sentence as a part of another larger sentence, we turn it into a subordinate clause in a complex sentence

In sentences 2 & 3 in each group, we can find some clauses functioning as a modifier, or attribute of the nouns before them

Relative Clauses

In English, we usually use words like that, who, which, when, where, whose, why etc. to connect these nouns and clauses

The words are called relatives which is why we call these relative clauses

Relative Clauses

Sentence 2 expresses more than sentence 1 and sentence 3 expresses more than sentence 2

Relative clauses we use make nouns either more exact or more vivid

More relative clauses in a sentence=more information (expanding the sentence) very useful

Classroom Activity

Who teaches you geography That every kid looks forward to No relative clause Who know the law thoroughly Where all the animals can be your

friend

Why Use Relative Clauses?

Version 1: I bought a toy car for my son on his birthday, and he liked it very much

Version 2: I bought a toy car for my son on his birthday, which he liked very much

My son liked, very much, the toy car which I bought for him on his birthday

Classroom Activity

1. Mr. Johnson, whom I hate the most, asks us to write an article every week.

2. Do you dare board a plane where there is no pilot

3. Tony swears to kill the guy who damaged his new dictionary that he bought in the States.

Classroom Activity

4. The girl whom Jim fell in love with is the daughter of a local businessman.

Mr. Wang, who heads the bankers’ association in this city, is to speak first at the meeting.