Grammar and Clarity: Abstract Subjects

2022-08-12

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • Imagine you are giving a presentation or writing a letter.
  • 2
  • You have done your research and organized your main points.
  • 3
  • You have checked your grammar and vocabulary to make sure everything is correct.
  • 4
  • But something is missing. A final step that is just as important - if not more important. What is it?
  • 5
  • A check for clarity.
  • 6
  • Clarity - the quality of being easily understood - will be the subject of today's report.
  • 7
  • You will learn about the difference between clarity and grammar.
  • 8
  • You will also learn one of the best ways to check your presentation or writing for clarity.
  • 9
  • Clarity and grammar and two closely related issues.
  • 10
  • We can explore the difference between them by making a comparison to metalworking.
  • 11
  • Imagine you are a skilled metalworker who is making a high-quality tool such as a chef's knife.
  • 12
  • First, you collect raw materials for the tool.
  • 13
  • Then, you follow the exact order of actions to put them in high and cool temperatures, and so on, to make a knife.
  • 14
  • Vocabulary is like the raw materials - such as iron, steel, or other metal mixtures -- that go into making the tool.
  • 15
  • Grammar - putting words together in certain ways - is like putting raw materials together in an exact order to make a knife.
  • 16
  • Still, to make a high-quality knife, you need polishing and sharpening to make it look beautiful and cut smoothly.
  • 17
  • In presentation and writing, that is clarity!
  • 18
  • Remember that statements can be grammatically correct but unclear.
  • 19
  • And statements that are somewhat clear can become very clear.
  • 20
  • You can check for clarity in different ways. Start by double-checking sentences that begin with an abstract subject.
  • 21
  • Abstract subjects do not easily answer the following question: Who is doing something?
  • 22
  • Consider this example, which comes from Nora Bacon's The Well-Crafted Sentence.
  • 23
  • The phenomenon of "boomerang children," young adults who return to live with their parents after graduating from college, is an occurrence faced by many families today.
  • 24
  • The sentence is grammatically correct but could be clearer. Why?
  • 25
  • The subject is "the phenomenon," as in "the phenomenon of boomerang children."
  • 26
  • This sentence does not have a clear actor - a person or thing that is doing something.
  • 27
  • Bacon says this sentence is better:
  • 28
  • Many families face the phenomenon of "boomerang children," young adults who return to live with their parents after graduating from college.
  • 29
  • The subject of this sentence is "many families."
  • 30
  • The action is "face" - meaning to deal with something in a direct way.
  • 31
  • Let's take some time to work with this idea. Imagine you see or hear the following sentence:
  • 32
  • With the growing use of Slack in business situations, the pros and cons of the technology should be considered by the conference's speakers.
  • 33
  • How would you change this sentence into something that is polished and clear?
  • 34
  • Can you identify the subject of the sentence? Do you think a different word or expression would work better in the subject position?
  • 35
  • At first, you might find it difficult to look back on your work and check for clarity.
  • 36
  • You might need to make many changes. But that is exactly what expert writers and speakers do.
  • 37
  • They almost never present or publish something without careful checking!
  • 38
  • Remember: language is a kind of skill. Skills take time and hard work to develop.
  • 39
  • But with patience and practice, you, too, can become an expert.
  • 40
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 1
  • Imagine you are giving a presentation or writing a letter. You have done your research and organized your main points. You have checked your grammar and vocabulary to make sure everything is correct.
  • 2
  • But something is missing. A final step that is just as important - if not more important. What is it?
  • 3
  • A check for clarity.
  • 4
  • Clarity - the quality of being easily understood - will be the subject of today's report.
  • 5
  • You will learn about the difference between clarity and grammar. You will also learn one of the best ways to check your presentation or writing for clarity.
  • 6
  • Difference between clarity and grammar
  • 7
  • Clarity and grammar and two closely related issues. We can explore the difference between them by making a comparison to metalworking.
  • 8
  • Imagine you are a skilled metalworker who is making a high-quality tool such as a chef's knife. First, you collect raw materials for the tool. Then, you follow the exact order of actions to put them in high and cool temperatures, and so on, to make a knife.
  • 9
  • Vocabulary is like the raw materials - such as iron, steel, or other metal mixtures -- that go into making the tool.
  • 10
  • Grammar - putting words together in certain ways - is like putting raw materials together in an exact order to make a knife.
  • 11
  • Still, to make a high-quality knife, you need polishing and sharpening to make it look beautiful and cut smoothly. In presentation and writing, that is clarity!
  • 12
  • What can you do?
  • 13
  • Remember that statements can be grammatically correct but unclear. And statements that are somewhat clear can become very clear.
  • 14
  • You can check for clarity in different ways. Start by double-checking sentences that begin with an abstract subject. Abstract subjects do not easily answer the following question: Who is doing something?
  • 15
  • Consider this example, which comes from Nora Bacon's The Well-Crafted Sentence.
  • 16
  • The phenomenon of "boomerang children," young adults who return to live with their parents after graduating from college, is an occurrence faced by many families today.
  • 17
  • The sentence is grammatically correct but could be clearer. Why? The subject is "the phenomenon," as in "the phenomenon of boomerang children."
  • 18
  • This sentence does not have a clear actor - a person or thing that is doing something.
  • 19
  • Bacon says this sentence is better:
  • 20
  • Many families face the phenomenon of "boomerang children," young adults who return to live with their parents after graduating from college.
  • 21
  • The subject of this sentence is "many families." The action is "face" - meaning to deal with something in a direct way.
  • 22
  • Practice
  • 23
  • Let's take some time to work with this idea. Imagine you see or hear the following sentence:
  • 24
  • With the growing use of Slack in business situations, the pros and cons of the technology should be considered by the conference's speakers.
  • 25
  • How would you change this sentence into something that is polished and clear?
  • 26
  • Can you identify the subject of the sentence? Do you think a different word or expression would work better in the subject position?
  • 27
  • Closing thoughts
  • 28
  • At first, you might find it difficult to look back on your work and check for clarity. You might need to make many changes. But that is exactly what expert writers and speakers do. They almost never present or publish something without careful checking!
  • 29
  • Remember: language is a kind of skill. Skills take time and hard work to develop. But with patience and practice, you, too, can become an expert.
  • 30
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 31
  • John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
  • 32
  • ________________________________________________________________________
  • 33
  • Words in This Story
  • 34
  • chef - n. a professional cook who usually is in charge of a kitchen in a restaurant
  • 35
  • polish - v. to make (something) smooth and shiny by rubbing it
  • 36
  • abstract - adj. relating to or involving general ideas or qualities rather than specific people, objects, or actions
  • 37
  • phenomenon - n. as an interesting fact or event) that can be observed and studied and that typically is unusual or difficult to understand or explain fully
  • 38
  • boomerang - n. : a curved, flat, wooden tool that can be thrown in such a way that it returns to the thrower
  • 39
  • occurrence -- n. something that happens
  • 40
  • pros and cons expression - reasons to do something (pros) and reasons to not do something (cons); an argument for something (pros) and an argument against something (cons)
  • 41
  • ________________________________________________________________________
  • 42
  • What do you think of the difference between grammar and clarity? We want to hear from you.
  • 43
  • We have a new comment system. Here is how it works:
  • 44
  • Write your comment in the box.
  • 45
  • Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google.
  • 46
  • Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free.
  • 47
  • Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.