PE3011 English Language Studies and Teaching 1

Grammar Lecture 10 : Style

(Reading : Greenbaum, ch.9)

What is one important goal we want to achieve when we

pass a message to another person?

How can we achieve this goal?

Overall goal: clarity (clear focus, clear meaning)

I. Clear focuses:

I.1 Default focus: placed at end

• normal (default) position of focus  end  new

information
• beginning of a sentence or clause typically contains 
general knowledge / known information
• as such beginning  unmarked (default, normal) theme
ending  unmarked (default, normal) rheme

Theme -----------rheme

e.g.
I am painting my living room blue.
People who strive to become better-off are "upwardly mobile".
The American public is not interested in foreign policy.
Foreign policy does not interest the American public.
Teenagers are difficult to teach.
I.2 Marked focus: placed at front

• If we place an expression in an abnormal position (usually

front), the effect is to make the expression more
conspicuous.

e.g. Attitudes will not change overnight, but change they will.
Easily recognizable was the leader of the wolf pack.
Here they are.

I.3 End – Weight  avoiding missing of information

• When there is a choice, it is normal for a longer structure to

come at the end.

e.g. She visited him that very day.

She visited her friend that very day.
She visited that very day an elderly and much beloved
friend. (end-weight)

Which of the following pairs of sentences is better?

1. That he was prepared to go to such lengths astounded me.

2. I was astounded that he was prepared to go to such lengths.

3. Einstein's theories have made many important technological

developments which we now take for granted possible.
4. Einstein's theories have made possible many important
technological developments which we now take for granted.

I.3.1 There - Structures and Cleft Sentences

• There - Structures give greater prominence to the subject.

e.g. There were some students who refused to show their ID

card.

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• Cleft sentences provide greater prominence to one part of
the sentence.

e.g. It was a human error that caused the explosion.

II. General ambiguities & ways to clarify meanings

II.1 Overuse of abstract nouns

• It is often possible to make a sentence clearer by eliminating

unnecessary abstract nouns.

Which of the following sentences are easier to decode?

They should lessen their self-centredness and increase their

assistance to others.
They should be less self-centred and more helpful to others.

The charge that the industry is making excessive profits does

not stand on a valid foundation.
The charge that the industry is making excessive profits is not
valid.

II.2 Repeated Sounds

• Avoid putting words near each other if they sound the same
or almost the same but have different meanings.

Which of the following is easier to decode?

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1. Industries and the professions are finding it increasingly
difficult to find people qualified in basic writing skills.

2. Industries and the professions are finding it increasingly

difficult to recruit people qualified in basic writing skills.

II.3 Nonessential Words

• Avoid using too many nonessential words.

Which of the following is easier to decode?

1. It seems to me that it doesn't make sense to allow any bail to

be granted to anyone who has ever been convicted of a
violent crime.
2. I think bail should not be granted to anyone ever been
convicted of a violent crime.

3. The antique dealer who is on Allen Street has a pair of silver

candlesticks that were designed by Paul Revere.
4. The antique dealer on Allen Street has a pair of silver
candlesticks designed by Paul Revere.

5. Because I chose the field of chemistry as my major, the

whole character of my attitude towards the area of
learning has changed.
6. Majoring in Chemistry has changed my attitude towards
learning.

7. The curriculum was of a unique nature.

8. The curriculum was unique.

According to your observation of the sentences above, what

makes a non-essential word?

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II.4 Parallelism

Which of the following sentences are easier to decode? What

makes them easier to decode?

1. You will find long lines in the bookstore and to pay your
tuition.
2. You will find long lines in the bookstore and at the
cashier.

3. His collages derive from both art and from popular

culture.
4. His collages derive from both art and popular culture.
5. His collages derive both from art and from popular
culture.

6. I prefer the novels of Hemingway to Faulkner.

7. I prefer the novels of Hemingway to those of Faulkner.

8. They discontinued the production of the paint because the

results of the field tests were unsatisfactory and a lack of
interested customers.
9. They discontinued the production of the paint because the
results of the field tests were unsatisfactory and there was
a lack of interested customers.

• providing a pleasing balance between the parallel units, and

they emphasize meaning relationships between the units
such as equivalence and contrast.
• Particularly needed when listing things
• Making things easy to decode / remember

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Parallel structures include:

• Parallel sentence/clause structures (e.g., SVSc, SVSc)

• Parallel phrasal structures (e.g., prepositional phrase,
prepositional phrase, etc.)
• Parallel use of word class (e.g., noun, noun, noun;
gerund, gerund, gerund)
• Parallel ideas (e.g., quality 1, quality 2, quality 3,etc.)

II.5 Pronoun Reference

• The antecedent (reference) of a pronoun should be made

clear.

Which of the following sentences is clearer? Why?

1. Three students worked during the vacation for the

researchers who were fussy about their work.
2. The students worked during the vacation for the researchers
who were fussy about the students’ work .

3. The airlines and the airports are unable to cope with the
flood of passengers. Delays and frustration affect travellers
daily. No one saw it coming.
4. The airlines and the airports are unable to cope with the
flood of passengers. Delays and frustration affect travellers
daily. No one anticipated this.

5. Many Hong Kong people have emigrated. It has caused a

number of problems.
6. Many Hong Kong people have emigrated. This situation has
caused a number of problems.

7. When class attendance is compulsory, some students feel

that education is being forced on them . This is not true.

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8. When class attendance is compulsory, some students feel
that education is being forced on them . This feeling is not
true.

• Do not use a pronoun to refer vaguely to an antecedent that

is implied but is not actually present.

• Avoid broad reference to an expressed idea.

• Use "this" or "that" + nominalization to refer to the whole of

the previous sentence or the group of ideas presented in
preceding sentences, not "it".

Which of the following is clearer? Why?

It would be unwise to buy the new model now, although it is a

superior machine.
It would be unwise to buy the new model now, although the
machine is superior.

• Avoid the awkward placement of "it" near the anticipatory

"it".

Which of the following sentences are problematic?

In our book, it says that we should ...

Our book says that we should ...

According to the author, he says that we should ...

According to the author, we should ....

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• Avoid unnecessary pronouns.

Consistency

Which of the following sentence is problematic?

1. Get a university map because they really help.

2. Get a university map because it really helps.

3. Every day you are bombarded with advertisements. It is up

to us to decide what is worth buying.
4. Every day you are bombarded with advertisements. It is up
to you to decide what is worth buying.

• Be consistent in the use of pronouns.

Which of the following sentence is problematic?

Although I worked until midnight, I can't finish all my

assignments.
Although I worked until midnight, I couldn't finish all my
assignments.

• Be consistent in the use of tenses.

II.6 Faulty Predication

• Avoid faulty predication. Verbs should indicate actions that

are possible for the subjects. Faulty predication occurs when
the subject and predicate do not fit each other logically.

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Do the following sentences sound right to you? Why or why
not?

1. One book I read believes in eliminating subsidies.

2. An example of discrimination is an apartment owner,
especially after he has refused to rent to people with
children.
3. The reason we were late is because we had an accident.
4. An examination is when you are tested on what you know.

Better:

1. The author of one book I read believes in eliminating

subsidies.
2. An example of discrimination is an apartment owner's
refusal to rent to people with children.
3. An examination is a test of what you know.
4. In an examination you are tested on what you know.
5. The reason we were late is that we had an accident.

II.7 Hiccups causing mis-reading: overuse of linking words

(also called connectives)

What do these words do? When are they used?

‘however’, ‘furthermore’, ‘moreover’, etc.

Do the linking words in the following paragraphs contribute

much to the linking of the ideas? How or how not?

Now there are many experienced people in the field of

advertising in china. Moreover, the level of technology is
rising in the media. However, China is still an underdeveloped
country. Moreover, the closed policy will hinder the inflow of
foreign technology.

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What could have been the cause of the problem?

• Many students over use linking words

• Linking words are used as logical links when there are
no such links at all in a text.
• Linking words are used to signal links which are all
too obvious to the reader.

Other locations to place linking words at:

e.g. That is one reason why their economic policies are

unlikely to restore full employment. It is not, however, the only
one.

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