1981-01-23 — Page 24

育教 真三第張六第日八十月二十年申庚歷夏

1981

中學會考試題預習專欄

英文 (十六) 立基出版社劉浩濓提供資料

ENGLISH (16)

Stephen Lau (Foundation Press)

Dear Students,

At long last we come to the error analysis * which I have mentioned several times before.

- Do you remember we have had a brief. error analysis in ENGLISH [5]? Today we go on with our discussion of that. I won't repeat what has been discussed previously and you are asked to return to ENGLISH [5] if you want to revise that.

I've divided the analysis into two parts, ong for today, the other for next week. We 1 have five categories in today's discussion, and the rest will be dealt with next week.

*I haven't included errors in the use of particular words in our present discussion because I'd like to leave these to later days when I go through Paper II.

Now let's turn to our formal discussion. As usual, those constructions or sentences marked with an asterisk are grammatically dunsound:

Incorrect parts of speech

(a) wAi friend of Peter left this book.

behind.

It should be A friend of Peter's (Similarly A friend of mine.) This construction is called the "double genitive" or "post-genitive". Note that the noun with the apostrophe must be both personal and definite, ie, it refers: to a definite person. Thus we cannot say:

* a seat of the cor's (because car

is impersonal)

a book of a student's (because a student is not definite) Another rule is that the noun pre-

•ceding. the of-phrase cannot be a pro- per noun (e.g. Peter, Mr Chan) and it cannot have a definite reference. - Hence while we can say:

A/Any son of Mr. Wong's is wel- came

we cannot have: :

*The son of Mr Wong's is here (because The son has a definite reference) (Write instead Mr Wong's son is here.)

* Peter of Mr. Chan (because Peter.

is a proper noun)

Peter of Mr Chan's (Write in-

stead Mr Chan's Peter.) Note also that the construction 4 friend of John's carries the sense “one of John's friends” inplying that John has more than one friend. So you should use this and not John's friend if you want to refer to one of John's friends because the use of the latter assumes an identification of the person so described, ie, the person you are talking to knows exactly who you are referring to.

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(b) Remember to put safter the noun in the construction for., sake, eg. for convenience's sake. By the same token yau should write: for yourfhis, etc.. suke and not *for you/him, etc, sake.

(c) Write:

I am feeling pain in my leg or My leg pains me

not *My leg is paining::

He is sufficientlyjadequately quali fied

not *He is enough qualified;

It doesn't pay to tell lies.

not *It doesn't pay to speak lies;

Owing to bad weather the football match was cancelled

nat *Due to bad weather the football

match was cancelled; The reason why Is that Hot *The reason why

I Hsten to the radio.

not. *f hear radio;

is because

to learn or to obtain knowledge

not *ro learn knowledge;

to study or to read my books or to study Maths

not *ro study (the) books.

(d) Distinguish carefully between adjec

tives and adverbs. Handle superlatives and comparatives with care. When only two things are compared the comparative (not the superlative!) degree is used

* This is the best of the two me-

thods.

This is the better of the two methods.).

And the reverse is true when the num= ber of thing's compared is more than two:

*This is the better of the three

books.

(This is the best of the three books.)

Don't write such nonsense as "more wider, "far much better (write for better or much better), "more unique or "more blind (because adjectives like these, ie, unique and blind, express an absolute ides and there cannot be. different degrees' of uniqueness or blindness, for example). Below are a few examples of adjectives and adverbs being mixed up::

* It is necessary true that

( necessarity)

* Mrs Pong stared at the robber,

then crumpled to the floor, unconsciously. (unconscious)

Upon treatment, the child grows fatter and more strongly. (stronger)

He is difficult to breathe.” (He finds it difficult to breathe.) He is impossible to finish the work, w

(It is impossible for him to finish the work.)

Incorrect agreement or number

That the subject and verb of a sen. tence must always agree in person and number is a basic rule in grammar; many errors, however, occur when words inter- vene between the subject and the verb, or when collective. nouns are used, The following examples and discussions should

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help you keep agreement.

(a) Neither Pauline nor Connie is invited. BUT Neither Mr Tong nor the girls in F.3A are invited.

It is so because when alternative sub- jects differ in number, the verb takes: its number from the part of the subw ject nearest the verb; thus are is used in the second sentence because the. girls in F.3A is the nearer part of the subject,

The same rule applies to sentences. involving either....or.

(b) Mr Wong, (together) with his wife and.

children, ts staying at home.

Note that the verb must agree with the subject, in the above sentence Mr Wong, regardless of the noun(s) in between..

(c) Night classes are the answer for the

adult learner::

Here a plural verb are is used because the subject of the sentence (classes) is plural (even though the predicate nominative, the answer for the adult, issingular).

(d) Be very careful when inversion of subject and verb is used. Know what the subject is, e.g. Under the table are the electronic radios.

(e) The choice between singular and plural verbs. when collective nouns (eg.pub- lic, audience, committee) are used is based, if on anything, on whether the -group is being regarded as a collection of individuals (hence a plural verb), or as a single undivided unit (hence a singular verb) ajajaja

The minority are arguing about their share of speaking time. The minority is pushing for its

share of speaking tine..

The audience were enjoying every.

minute of the show..

The audience was considerable. IntrusionsNG ME

Errors of this type usually stem from sheer carelessness. A closer look at the structure of your sentences would very much increase your chance of picking up. these errors.

Open the door and you sit where I told you to.

The first you should be deleted.

Mr Tam hoped for an increase in salary: amd to get a longer vacation. Write instead Mr Tam hoped for an increase in salary and a longer vaca-

We shall maintain law and order and to combat the social vices.

Here to should be deleted because combat is governed by shall

I would show him the hustle and bustle life in town and compare it with that of the peaceful life in the village and the New Territories "Despite the overall awkwardness of this sentence, that of introduced here is a redundancy (that refers to life). It can be paraphrased thus:

I would show him the hustle and Cbustlet town and compare it with

the peaceful life in the New Terri- tories S

(If in the village has a general re

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ference, it is used wrongly, write instead in the countryside.)

(b) Many errors are made because of an undue fondness of structures such as in which, of which, etc.

In his book on humanity Mr.

Fong describes an experience in which many of us students enjoy.

Surely you won't say enjoy in an experience, so in is unneces- saryes However, please add in the preposition if it is needed,e.g..

Thomas has a strong attachment to the place in which he lives.. Mathematics and physics are the

subjects in which Steve excels.

Undue omissions

Students often forget. or think it incorrect to place a preposition at. the end of a sentence when a phrasal verb is used and the preposition is indeed needed,

e.g. There is nothing for us to dis

pose

(Here of is needed at the end of the sentence to complete, in a sense, the phrasal verb dispose of) Me

Shatin Is: the place where we are. going.

(to' is needed after going.)

(b) Another area where mistakes are. fre- quently made is the comparison or contrast between different things, or simply mismatch.

e.g.* There are also places of his- torical interest, like Aberdeen, the fishing-folk

This sentence is illogical in that it equilibrates two dissimilar things: Aberdeen the place with the fishing-folk the people there: A more logical version can be: There are also places of his torical interest, like Aberdeen Cuwith its fishing-folk.

Many old people distrust mo- dern scientific theories, especial- ly in the field of medicine. This would mean, paradoxically, that old. people in the field of medicine distrust modern scien- tific theories. This is not, I'm afraid, what the writer intends to mean; so those is necessary after especially:

Many old people distrust mo dem scientific theories, es pecially those in the field of medicine,

So please remember to make your sen- tences logical and don't unwisely but unintentionally. compare -your, exam. iner to, say, a box.

The foregoing discussion does not, of course, forbid the use of figurative. language; thus usage allows the follow- ing sentence:

Peter is as mad as a March hure.

Misspellings

Below is a list of commonly misspelt

words, Make sure you know how each of them is spet and you'll save many marks: ̇in spélling wrongly. (Those words which

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were included in the list in ENGLISH [5]-

are not repeated here.)

academic

accessory

accompany

: agreeable amateir anniversary- anonymous anxiety/anxious

athletic avalariche

bankruptcy:

bazaar blennial

blockade brigade

brillant

broadcast

̇budget buffet

believable

buoy calendar

calender

camouflage casualty

"category:

celebrate

challenge

champagne champion chirinney

cleanse clearance sale coagulate. coalescence.

coax

coincide colleague cologne

committee complexion conciliate

condemn

consolidate

constraint.

contiguous

pconvenient

controversial/controversy

...counterfeit

courtesy

Pcredible

credulous

culminate

臺curiosity/curlowa

fcurriculum (pl: curricula)

dairy

diary

describe/description

Adesert

dessert

dialling

engineer

explain/explanation

favourite

fierce

genius.

genuine

haphazard

lawyer Aliquor T

*millionaire

foccurred

passers-by personnel precede

proceed: recommend reconcile (thorough(ty) :tuition/tutor

twentieth

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