Rock Solid: English Grammar Dos and Don'ts
Bilingual Bookman Library: Is It Chinglish or Naturally Fluent English? Or Is It Traditional Chinese or Comprehensible English?
By Author: Su Jing Long
1. Stepping out the door, he briefly scanned left and right before crossing the street.
ˇ He took a quick glimpse left and right, then crossed the road.
χ He took a quick glance left and right and crossed the road.
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Note: The words and in this sentence connect three equal actions. A typical structure is x, y, and z. x and y are strengthening the sentence, while x, z is not correct.
2. They are aware of their shortcomings and strategies to keep pace with the other competitors.
ˇ They know where their weaknesses lie and have strategies to catch up with the other competitors.
χ They know where their weaknesses lie and have a strategy to catch up with the other competitors.
Note: And usually connects equivalent, structurally similar words, phrases, or clauses. The incorrect usage has and before a clause and a noun phrase without an equal structural relationship. To correct this, change the noun phrase to a clause, placing and between clauses of equal structure.
3. She boarded the bus and immediately arrived at the airport.
ˇ She took a bus, which took her straight to the airport.
ˇ She took a bus and it took her straight to the airport.
χ She took a bus, and which took her straight to the airport.
Note: She took a bus is a complete sentence, while which took her straight to the airport is a subordinate clause. Since which is already a conjunction, it cannot be connected with and again. The following sentence examples exhibit the same error:
3-1. Yesterday I went to see a friend, who lent me this record.
ˇ I went to visit a friend yesterday, who lent me this record.
▲ Yesterday I went to see a friend, who lent me this record.
4. Despite the information we received, he isn't a decent pianist.
ˇ Contrary to our knowledge, he isn't a good pianist.
χ Contrary to that which we were informed, he isn't a good pianist.
Note: what = that which, as used in the active voice's subject (were told), what refers to a subordinate clause introduced by contrary to. In this context, that introduces a noun phrase, serving as a conjunction without having any other function. In the following sentence, what should not be written as that:
I don't know what happened.
He is not what he used to be.
5. I really enjoyed the book I read yesterday.
ˇ The book I read yesterday is fantastic.
χ Yesterday I read the book is fantastic.
Note: In Chinese, "book" functions as the subject of the sentence, with "I read yesterday" modifying it. In English, place "book" before the adjective phrase for clarity.
Exercises
A. Yesterday I went to see a friend, who lent me this book.
- whom
- and who
- whose
- who
B. I enjoyed the movie I watched last night.
- The film I saw last night
- Last night I saw the film
- I saw the film last night
- Last night the film saw I
Answers:
A. 4
B. 1
Article Courtesy of:
bookman.com.tw
Su Jing Long - Taiwan Translation Studies Professor, Former Vice President of Chinese Language Publishing Association, and Editor of books like "Walk Through Nature: Flowery Phrases" and "English Grammar Dos and Don'ts"...etc. He is a member of the National Education Research Institute's Terminology Review Committee and a researcher in the fields of translation, terminology, and dictionary compilation. He has been leading plant and cultural tours for several decades and has been invited to teach at universities abroad.
- 她坐上計程車， immediatley 到達了機场。 (She took a bus, which took her straight to the airport.)
- 他知道自己的弱點，並且有策略來追上同一場比
