读写 3.docx

1、读写 3Chapter 3Making Correct and Effective SentencesCorrect SentencesAll kinds of writing are made up of sentences. If we want to write well, we should leam to write correct and good sentences. Io this section, we shall discuss the requirements of a coirect sentence.There are at least these requireme

2、nts: 1) it should be structurally complete； 2) it should begin with a capital letter; 3) it should end with a full stop* or a question mark, or an exclamation mark; and 4) it should express a single complete idea.1. Completeness in StructureThe following sentences are all correct;She came, John is a

3、 good carpenter. The students use these dictionaries eveiy (Jay- He didnt know what had ha叩eiied and was going to ask Mr. Smith, who was usually well informed.They are correct because they are complete in structure: each has a subject and a predicate verb (the last sentence is a complex one with a m

4、ain clause and subordinate clauses) and also because each begins with a capital lettef afld ends with a full stop.Here are a few incorrect sentences. Let us examine them and find out where they are wrong,x How to operate this computer?x Have lost my key. y Because he hadnt finished his assignment, s

5、o he continued working in the classroom.x The old man returning home after eight years absence to find that all the neighbor he had known wre no longer there.x Mark Twain whose experience as a sailor on the Mississippi provided him with abundant material for the novels he was to write.The first exam

6、ple, a question, is not complete in structure. It has no subject or predicate verb, which are the two necessaiy elements of a normal sentence. To make it complete, we have to supply it with a subject and turn th infinitive phrase (to operate) into a predicate verb:How do you operate this computer?Ho

7、w should this computer be operated?The second sentence is wrong because it has no subject. The pronoun / has to be used as the subject:I have lost my key.The third sentence is wrong because it has no main clause: the first part is an adverbial clause introduced by because and the second part is a co

8、ordinate clause beginning with so. One of these two words has to be left out:He continued working in the classroom because he hadrVt finished his assign-ment.He hadnt finished his assignment, so he continued wooing in the classroom.The fourth and fifth sentences are both very long, but they arc not

9、grammatically complete, because there h no predicate verb in either of them. One way of improving them is:The old man returned home after eight years absence to find that a)t the neighborshe had known were no longer there,Mark Twains experience as a sailor on the Mississippi provided him with abunda

10、ntmaterial tor the novels he was to write.With returned and provided turned into predicate verbs, the two sentences arc made complete.So let us remember that a normal sentence must contain a subject and a predicate verb.Sometimes a noun with some modifying words (a one-member sentence), or a clause,

11、 or a sentence with some elements missing (an elliptical sentence) may be used like a complete sentence for special effect. This will be discussed later.Task 1 Point out the fragments in tbe followii sentences.1. Then he attended Hillside Junior High. A school that was a bad experience.2. Professor

12、Wang lectured for half an hour wilhout taking his eyes off his notes. Like Prof. Liu, he did not encourage students* questions.3. For each category, a wide range of patterns to choose from. It was hanJly possible to distinguish between them.4. Some of these fellows would go into the restaurant for a

13、 steak dinner and a few glasses of beer. After this meal，they were ready to set out,5. In the seventh grade every young boy goes out for football. To prove to himself and his parents that he is a man.6. She opened the door and let us into her home. Not realizing at the time that we would never enter

14、 that door in her home again.7. As New Year draws near, I find myself looking back into my childhood days at the happy times of snowball fights. To think about this makes me happy.8. Making up his mind quickly. Jim ordered two dozen red roses for his wife. Hoping she would accept his apology.9. They

15、 were all having a good time. Until one of Joes best friends had the bad news to tell.10, The small, one-story houses are all the same size and style. With no difference except the color.Task 2 Improve the paragraph below.This is a story of a young man by the name of Boyde Bridges. Who lived in New

16、Zealand one hundred and forty years ago. Boyde sailed to New Zealand from England in 1858. To seek his fortune, His wealthy father had given him a large sum of money. To buy a farm so that lie could live the comfortable and prosperous life of the Engli$K landed gentry in a far-off land. Life in the

17、colonies, however, was very hard and rough. And Bridges was young and inexperienced- He quickly fell in with the wrong company. And before long most of his money was gone. Bridges had made one friend* though, A man called Bill Jones, who worked as an apprentice blacksmith. Bill was an honest, hard-w

18、orking fellow. Quite different in character from Boyde. Nevertheless, the two became friends.2. The Right SubjectHere are a few more wrong sentences:x On entering the dassroom, the students stood up and said, Good momingr x After finishing her composition, the translation exercise was taken up.x Hur

19、rying to th conference room, no one was there, x Returning home after work, supper was waiting for him in the kitchen, x To look at a map, the importance of this new railway will be s的n.In (hese five sentences the subjects are not properly related to the gerunds, participles or infinitive in the fir

20、st parts of the sentences. Therefore they are wrong subjects. Judging by the meaning of the first sentence, it is not the students but the teacher who entered the classroom, so the subject should be changed. The next four sentences are wrong in a Similar way. Improved versions follow：On entering the

21、 classroom, the teacher was greeted by the students, who stood up and said, “GoodAfter finishing her composition, she took up the translation exercise.Hurrying to the conference room, she saw nobody there,Returning home from work, he saw supper waiting for him in the kitchen.You have only to look at

22、 a map to see the importance of this new railway.We have kept the nonfinite verbs and changed the subjects in the original sentences. It is also possible to improve the sentences in other ways. These sentences show that the subject of a sentence should be properly related to the nonfmitc verbs befor

23、e it.Task 3 Revise the foUoiving sentences.1. Having missed lessons for a week, a written excuse was needed.2. Not knowing his name, it was difficult to introduce him.3. Stuck in the mud, they had to push the car.4. Stepping down from the car, the youngsters ran forward to get a good look at the foo

24、tball star.5. Having finished her composition, the translation exercise was taken up.6. Standing on the top of the mountain, the lake looked very beautiful.7. Seeing from the whole, the composition is not bad.8. Walking down the street, a car suddenly stopped beside them,9. Not showing them th short

25、cut, it will be difficult for them to get there on time.iO. Having dinner with his family, a friend came for a visit.3- Agreement Between the Subject and the Predicate VerbWe all know the simple rule that the predicate verb of a sentence has to agree with the subject in person and number, such as a

26、third-person singular subject takes a predicate verb with -s if the verb is in the present tense. There may be problems when the number of the subject is not easy to determine.His whole family is/are here with him,The majority of the students taking this exam is/are girls.These cattle belong/belongs

27、 to that ranch.Ttiere is/are an enormous audience in the hall.The audience was/were shocked by the scenes of violence in the film.Collective nouns Wkcfamily and audience may be either singular or plural，depending on the meaning in which they are used. If you think of family, government, etc. as one

28、whole, a singular vrb is needed. If you think of family, government, etc. as made up of a number of people, a plural verb is needed. Plural verbs should be used in ail the above sentences except the fourth one，where audience is spoken of as a whole.There is/are a lot of important news In todays news

29、paper.Mathematics is/are extremely interesting to him.All the people in the room is/are enjoying his funny stories.The police has/have begun making inquiries about the case.The number of PhD degree holders among the teaching staff of the school is/arevery small.A number ol PhD degree tioiders are te

30、aching at this university.Some words, like news and names of branches of learning, are uncountable, and therefore are always singular; some words, like people and police，are always plural. The number is the subject of the sentence, so the verb should be singular; a number of is a modifier like many,

31、 and the real subject is PhD degree holders, so the verb should be plural.There is/are an old worker and three young men doing the job today,Either you or I are/am to take 叩 the work.When two subjects refer to different persons or are different in number, the verb should agree with the subject close

32、 to it- In the above sentences is and am are correct.John, together with two assistants，is/are repairing the machine.Besides Smith, William is/are going to speak at the meeting.Words after together with in addition to, besides, etc.* are objects of prepositions; they do not affect the number of the subject. So the singular verbs are correct in the two sentences above.Where I can put all these books is/are a problem.What I want is/are only three meals a day.A subject clause generally takes a singul