Imagine you are a business owner. You hire employees and ask them to do the jobs that best suit them.One employee is good at dealing with people, so let them interact clientAnother employee is good with numbers, so let him handle the records and payments.
Nowadays everyday grammar, consider a situation that in some ways resembles our fictional business. Instead of employers putting people in place, we explore one way language learners put words in place.
What is the correct position? The one that provides the clearest expression of meaning.
In this report, you’ll learn about common situations that can impair the articulation and clarity of your ideas. In this situation, you should use the noun form of the word, which is better expressed as a verb.
sentence structure
Let’s start with sentence structure.
We usually divide sentences into two parts: subject and subject. predicate.
for example:
The boy threw the ball.
This sentence has the following structure:
Subject – Verb – Object
The theme is “Boys”. The verb is “to throw” and the object is “ball”.
The further away a sentence is from the subject-verb-object order, the more difficult it is to understand.
Similarly, concrete – means they can act; they can do something – better than some subject OverviewAbstract words and phrases cannot act.
Abstraction is often the result of noun forms that are better used as verb forms.
Consider the following two examples.
The man took a walk.
Establishing better tax policies will come after the election.
The first sentence is much easier to understand – not just because it’s shorter.
The second sentence is much more difficult to understand because it contains the abstract subject of establishment, like “establish better tax policy”.
The noun “Establishment…” can do nothing. Abstract nouns are easier to understand than verbs.
How can the sentence be changed to make it clearer? Here is one possibility.
Council members establish better tax policies after elections.
In our new sentence, the subject is “members of the council.” they can act. Changed the noun form “established….” to the verb form “established.”
When Verbs Act Like Nouns
If a sentence seems unclear, see if there is a noun that works better as a verb. In other words, make sure your nouns and verbs are in the best place for what you want to express.
in her book, well-crafted sentenceswriting expert Nora Bacon provides an example of an unstructured sentence:
Emphasis is placed on developing our research skills graduation program.
Bacon suggests that the sentence would be much better if the noun form of “emphasis” was removed and replaced with the verb form of “emphasis”:
Our graduate programs emphasize the development of research skills.
training
Take some time to work on these ideas.
After listening to the example sentence, pause the audio. Consider how to change the sentence so that the subject is clear.
The candidate made the decision to drop out of the race when he dropped to eighth place in the polls.
Here’s one way to modify the statement:
The candidate decided to drop out of the race when he fell to eighth place in the polls.
Changing the noun “decided” to the verb “decided” shortened the subject of the sentence and made it clearer.
At the end
This report began with a comparison with business owners. The comparison isn’t perfect, but it provides a useful way to think about sentences. Business owners want to hire people with the strongest personal talent. In other words, business owners want the right person for the job.
The same idea applies when choosing a language. The reason we use a word or structure is because it is the right word or structure for the job.
Next time you read or write, check the sentences that you find confusing. If it seems unclear, the verb form is more likely to include the proper noun.
I’m John Russell.
John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
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the words of this story
customer –n.someone who buys goods or services from a business
predicate –n.Grammar: the part of a sentence that expresses what is being said about the subject
concrete – adjective relating to or involving a particular person, thing, or action rather than a general idea or property
Overview – adjective relating to or involving general ideas or qualities rather than a specific person, thing, or action
graduation – adjective: of or relating to courses taken at college or university after obtaining a bachelor’s degree or other first degree
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