英语写作技巧知识要点

英语写作技巧知识要点

Ｃ

hapter 9

：

Ｃ

orrecting

Ｐ

roblems with

Ｍ

odifiers

Ａ

djectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases are all

part

of

a

group

of

words,

clauses,

and

phrases

that

are

modifiers.

Ｍ

odifiers describe nouns, pronouns, and verbs in

a

sentence.

Ｍ

odifiers

help

to

make

your

writing

vivid,

clear,

and specific.

Ｔ

he

problems

with

modifiers

are

created

when

the

modifier

either has nothing to describe in a sentence or it has been

placed in the wrong spot in the sentence so it describes the

wrong

element

in

the

sentence.

Ｍ

isplaced

or

dangling

modifiers

can

create

confusing

and

often

unintentionally

funny

sentences.

Ｔ

he

best

way

to

avoid

the

problem

of

dangling

or

misplaced

modifiers

is

to

be

sure

that

the

modifier

is

placed

next

to

what

it

describes

in

a

sentence.

Ｔ

his

is

fairly

simple

with

single

word

modifiers.

Ｗ

orking

with

phrases and

clauses

that

modify

requires

paying

very

close

attention

to

what

is

being

described

by

the

phrase

or

clause

so

that

you

can

be

certain

that

placement

in the sentence is correct.

Ｃ

hapter 12

：

Ｖ

erbs

：

Ｃ

onsistency and

Ｖ

oice

1

Ｏ

nce

you

have

decided

whether

to

write

in

the

present

tense

or the past tense, you must remain consistent.

Ｙ

ou cannot

shift tenses in the middle of a sentence or the middle of a

paragraph unless there is a reason within the context of the

writing to make a change in time.

Ｉ

n other words, you can't

go

from

the

past

to

the

present

and

back

to

the

past

if

all

the

events you are describing occurred

in the past.

Ｙ

ou must

remember when you are editing to check the tenses to be sure

that

you

have

been

consistent

with

the

choices

you've

made.

Ｃ

orrecting

shifts

is

easy.

Ｓ

imply

choose

one

of

the

tenses

and

make everything with in the sentence that tense.

Ｖ

oice describes the subject of the sentence.

Ｗ

hen the

subject

of the

sentence

does the

action of

the sentence,

it

is

considered active.

Ｗ

hen the subject of the sentence does not

do the action with in the sentence, the subject is considered

passive.

Ｐ

assive

voice

is

wordier

and

weaker

than

active

voice

so you should avoid using it whenever possible.

Ｃ

hapter 10

：

Ｔ

he

Ｆ

our

Ｍ

ain

Ｆ

orms

Ｖ

erbs

are

one

of

the

essential

ingredients

in

the

creation

of sentences.

Ｖ

erbs tell the reader when something occurs

through the use of tense.

Ｔ

ense is time.

Ｖ

erbs tell the

reader whether

the action is happening

now, in the past,

or

in

2

the future.

Ｖ

erbs have four main forms and it is these forms

used

alone

or

in

combination

with

helping

verbs

that

create

the

tenses.

Ｔ

he four main forms are the present form, the past form,

the present participle, and the past participle.

Ｉ

n addition to having four forms, verbs also come in two

types-regular

and

irregular.

Ｒ

egular

verbs

use

the

same

pattern to create the main verb forms; irregular verbs do not

use the same pattern.

Ｔ

hree of the most common verbs in

Ｅ

nglish are

irregular

verbs and

need

special

consideration.

Ｔ

hose verbs are be, have, and do.

Ｇ

ood writing requires that

the writer have mastery of verbs and the main forms of both

regular and irregular verbs.

Ｃ

hapter 11

：

Ｍ

ore on

Ｖ

erb

Ｔ

enses

Ｙ

ou have already studied in

Ｃ

hapter

Ｔ

en the four main

verb forms.

Ｔ

hese verb forms are combined with helping verbs

to

create

tenses

other

than

the

simple

present

and

simple

past

tenses.

Ｓ

ome

tenses describe

the

continuation

of action from

the past to the present or the present in to the future.

Ｉ

n

addition,

some

tenses

describe

more

than

one

action

being

completed in the past, but at different times.

Ｔ

hese are the

progressive and perfect tenses.

3