Title of presentation: Teaching advanced grammar to adult
learners C1/C2 level
Brief abstract (max. 50 words / make sure you specify your
target group):
This talk will help you tackle some of the trickier advanced
grammar points for adult learners. It
will demystify:
·
Relative clauses: GB or US style? How is usage changing?
·
Subjunctive:
formal or informal usage?
·
Reported speech: how strictly are the rules
applied?
·
Passive voice:
which are the useful forms today?
Presenter’s bio-data (max. 20 words):
Carol Waites
teaches advanced English and writing skills to international civil servants at
the United Nations in Geneva.
Advanced Grammar
Contents
January 2015 © Carol Waites, Staff Development and Learning
Section, United Nations Office at Geneva.
Fill in the blank. Put
several options if you think there are.
What is the difference? What is
the grammar point being examined?
1.
They suggested that the section ________________
(review) their request.
2.
Medical services recommends that she
______________ (consult) a doctor to get a second opinion.
3.
I suggest that she ____________(go) to the secretary to see if she can help.
4.
A suitcase _____________ has no handle is useless.
6.
It _____________(report) that the war will increase in momentum if
troops ____________ (not send) soon to control the situation.
7.
The section announced that it ______ (hold) a
meeting soon to inform the staff of the changes.
1
According to writing style guides and Word
style, using the passive voice is best avoided.
How do you teach passive voice?
When do you suggest they use it?
2
With relative clauses, what do you
teach? What is the rule you teach with
‘which or that’?
For example, is this sentence OK? ‘I
would like to show you the book which I just bought.’
3
Do you teach reported speech? How strict are you about tense changes in
reported speech? In what contexts is it
important to be strict and when can we be liberal?
4
How do you teach the subjunctive?
What
aspects do you categorize as subjunctive?
What about ‘unreal past’? Do you teach
that in this category or separately?
How do you deal with was/were and ‘suggest’ + various possible structures?
Task:
} Great interest has been shown by the public in the work of UNICEF.
} Your letter of 16 January has been received.
Use
the active voice rather than the passive voice
English usually has on average 15% passive
sentences. Passive voice shifts the
responsibility, and sounds impersonal. More
and more journalistic articles and texts have 0% passive voice today. Things have become much more
personalized.
Why?
The active voice puts the person back
into the writing and makes the reader feel included. It is action-oriented. As an
editor of the United Nations said:
‘would you rather do or be done to?’
Try to find the subject and use the active
verb. Make the organization sound like
it is composed of people.
Examples:
Passive: The statement was read by
the representative of Albania.
Active: The representative of
Albania read the statement.
Passive: All
applications will be reviewed by the committee in early April.
Active: The committee will review
all applications in early April.
Tips
Using
the readability statistics, check your percentage of passive sentences.
(English has an average of 15% of passive sentences. )
Word grammar check also underlines
passive sentences asking you to consider revising them. If you can, do so.
Tradition and the Passive Voice
More
than a century ago, scientists typically wrote in an active style that included
the first-person pronouns I and we. Beginning in about the
1920s, however, these pronouns became less common as scientists adopted a
passive writing style.
Considered
to be objective, impersonal, and well suited to science writing, the passive
voice became the standard style for medical and scientific journal publications
for decades.
There
were exceptions, however. For instance, in 1953, one elegantly written paper
began:
We wish to suggest a structure for the
salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.).1
The
opening sentence of Watson and Crick's classic article is simple, direct,
and clear. But suppose the authors had taken the passive point of view:
In
this paper, a structure is suggested for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid
(D.N.A.).
The
emphasis is now on the receiver of the action (the structure), but at a
price—the sentence has lost its clarity (who suggested?), energy (passive
verb), and overall impact.
Emphasize the Active Voice
Nowadays,
most medical and scientific style manuals support the active over the passive
voice.
For
example, the American Medical Association's AMA Manual of Style
recommends that "in general, authors should use the active voice, except
in instances in which the author is unknown or the interest focuses on what is
acted upon."2
The
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
(APA) has similar advice: "Prefer the active voice....The passive voice is
acceptable in expository writing and when you want to focus on the object or
recipient of the action rather than on the actor."3
These
manuals and other books on science writing recommend using the active voice as
much as possible. An author may decide to focus on the receiver—and thus use
the passive voice—when the performer is unknown or of less importance. For many
authors, this occurs most often in the Methods section.
Do
scientific and medical journals, in their instructions for authors,
advise them to write in the active voice?
Many
journals indirectly do so by referring authors to a style manual that supports
the active voice, or by publishing articles in which active-voice sentences are
common and acceptable.
Although
some journals ask authors to limit first-person pronouns or restrict them to
certain sections, others not only encourage authors to write in an
active style, but prefer them to use first-person pronouns over passive
voice. Here is a small sampling:
Behavioral Ecology: "The first-person
active voice is preferable to the impersonal passive voice."4
British Medical Journal: "Please write in a
clear, direct, and active style....Write in the active [voice] and use the
first person where necessary."5
The Journal of Neuroscience: "Overuse of the
passive voice is a common problem in writing. Although the passive has its
place—for example, in the Methods section—in many instances it makes the
manuscript dull by failing to identify the author's role in the research....Use
direct, active-voice sentences."6
The Journal of Trauma and Dissociation: "Use the active voice
whenever possible: We will ask authors that rely heavily on use of the passive
voice to re-write manuscripts in the active voice."7
Nature: "Nature journals like
authors to write in the active voice ('we performed the experiment...') as
experience has shown that readers find concepts and results to be conveyed more
clearly if written directly."8
Ophthalmology: "Active voice is much
preferred to passive voice, which should be used sparingly....Passive
voice...does not relieve the author of direct responsibility for
observations, opinions, or conclusions (e.g., 'The problem of blood flow was
investigated...' vs. 'We investigated the problem of blood flow...')."9
Science: "Use active voice when
suitable, particularly when necessary for correct syntax (e.g., 'To address
this possibility, we constructed a lZap library ...,' not 'To address this
possibility, a lZap library was constructed...')."10
Summary
For
vigorous, clear writing, opt for the active voice unless you have good
reasons for choosing the passive voice.
Choose
the passive voice when the performer is
unknown or when you want to focus on the action or the recipient of the action.
Writing
from the first-person point of view (I, we), when necessary and
natural, is accepted and encouraged by many journals. If you are not sure about
a specific journal, however, study its guidelines and recent issues to get a
feel for the journal's perspective on the passive voice and first-person
pronouns.
Commas
or no commas?
} The conference which was well attended had more success than the one
which was not.
} The conference which I couldn’t attend was postponed anyway.
There
are two types of relative clauses; those with and those without commas.
Example:
The objectives which we agreed on / [that] we agreed on were included in
the meeting to discuss the report.
We are defining which
objectives were included in the meeting.
When we define which we do not use commas. The relative clause is essential to
understanding which ones.
Commas are used when a
relative clause refers to unessential information that can be omitted without
affecting the meaning of the sentence.
·
In the following examples,
the relative clause is preceded by a comma and finished with a full stop.
Example from Time article:
Because
of airplanes and telephones and now social media, human beings touch the lives
of vastly more people than did our ancestors, who might have encountered only
150 people in their lifetime.
All
social media involve a mixture of narcissism and voyeurism. Most of us display
a combination of the two, which is why social media are flourishing faster
and penetrating deeper than any other social development in memory.
·
In
the following examples, the relative clause has a comma before it and after
it. This information could be removed.
The report, which was well received, was
distributed to all participants.
The report on human rights, which focuses on the
treatment of displaced people, has been presented to the Deputy Director of
our division.
The objectives for the
report, which were first agreed on last month, are now being revised.
Older grammar books and US grammarians
make two firm points about the difference between the two types of clause:
·
Restrictive
clauses are introduced by that and are not separated from the
rest of the sentence by commas.
·
Non-restrictive
clauses are introduced by which and must be separated by
commas from the rest of the sentence to indicate parenthesis.
This makes the whole matter seem neat
and simple. But few writers have ever followed these rules systematically, and
it’s easy to find examples in which which is used to start a
restrictive clause. Sir Ernest Gowers, writing in the 1965 edition of Fowler’s
Modern English Usage, comments rather sadly about this situation:
If writers would agree to regard that as
the defining relative pronoun, and which as the non-defining,
there would be much gain both in lucidity and in ease. Some there are who
follow this principle now; but it would be idle to pretend that it is the
practice either of most or of the best writers.
This is even more true today than when
he wrote it; most modern grammar guides have caught up with the way people
actually use the language and now say that either relative pronoun can be used
with restrictive clauses. As an example, this sentence is quoted in Oxford
English:
A suitcase which has lost its handle is
useless.
The clause which has lost its
handle is certainly restrictive. If you take it out, you are left
with A suitcase is useless, obviously a different meaning to that
intended. According to the traditional rules, the which ought
to be that. Note, however, that there’s no problem understanding
what the writer means!
Despite the grammatical shift, there
remain some situations in which that is still regarded as
preferable to which, though they’re difficult to tie down.
- In
clauses that follow impersonal constructions, such as it is, that is
preferred: “It was the dog that died”.
- Clauses that refer back to the words anything, nothing, something,
or everythinghave a slight preference for that over which:
“Can you think of anything that still has to be done?”
- Clauses that follow a superlative also tend to
prefer that: “Thank you for the most superb dinner that I’ve
ever eaten”.
According to the Chicago Manual (US
style) ‘some people use “which” restrictively, which is more or less okay (and
popular among writers of British English) (sic)
as long as no commas are involved:
Pianos which have a fourth pedal to mute the strings
are popular among apartment owners.’
Thus, many US people believe that ‘which’ used in
defining clauses is wrong. Be careful
and sensitive to your audience. It is a style choice.
Task:
What is wrong?
} Dr. reminded that it is important to clarify
the role and actions of the Committee.
} X noted
that the process started in mid-August and that a reply from the company was
received on 23 October.
Report
writing is a formal task requiring careful command of tense shifts, use of
correct structures following reporting verbs, and careful use of reporting
verbs. Time expressions also shift back in time. So, ‘now’ becomes ‘then’, ‘next week’ becomes
‘the following week’, ‘last week’ becomes ‘the week before’ etc.
When
writing more informal documents or those intended for internal use (e.g.
minutes of meetings) the rules are more relaxed.
If I had more assistance I could finish the
report soon . (I don’t have it but it
sounds like a request for assistance and maybe it was given)
If I had had more assistance I could have
finished the report. (means I never got any assistance and I didn’t finish the
report)
Will
goes to would in reports. The problem of whether the original meaning
was real or hypothetical is unavoidable.
Try to clarify in the context.
Examples:
Wrong: The
Country Team (CT) informed us that the new President will stay in the
position for a year and a half, so, some political stability is to be
expected.
Right: The
Country Team (CT) informed us that the new President would stay in the
position for a year and a half;
consequently, some political stability was to be expected.
Past
perfect is used in reports when referring to an event which happened before the
meeting. It is used with certain
expressions and only when necessary.
Examples:
Wrong: Dr
X informed the Committee that she
was already contacted by a section whose absenteeism rate due to
psycho-social reasons was increasing.
Right: Dr X
informed the Committee that she had already been contacted by a
section whose absenteeism rate due to psycho-social reasons was increasing.
Wrong: Ms.
informed us that the problem was resolved.
Right: Ms.
informed us that the problem had been resolved.
Many
writers lack a good vocabulary of reporting verbs. In annex 3 is a list to help you increase
your repertoire. Some of the verbs
should only be used once in any one context.
Examples include the ones with (emphatic) next to them. These are dramatic verbs intended to pinpoint
only one point, not many. They are often
overused in United Nations reports.
These verbs take a variety
of structures. Annex 3 gives the structure in the third column. Notice that a number of verbs can take more
than one form.
Verbs
that are frequently misused:
i)
Inform / remind
In
the active voice, inform and remind must take a direct object:
He
informed the participants about his
recent mission to Iraq.
He
reminded the team about the meeting.
In
the passive voice, inform and remind don’t take a direct object
The
participants were informed about his
recent mission to Iraq.
The
team were reminded about the
meeting.
ii)
Propose
Propose
is used in a very formal context in English and reserved for high level
meetings. Do not overuse it. It is
followed by a gerund, or a ‘that’ clause + subjunctive.
The
Chair proposed adjourning the meeting.
The Chair proposed that we adjourn the meeting.
See also
subjunctive with reported speech.
Iii Brief
someone on or about something
Passive:
to be briefed on or about something
Correct these formal statements:
} A suggested that D studies the E Schedule and makes suggestions.
} It is essential the meeting is convened by 1 July.
What can be classified as
subjunctive?
1
Unreal past? Wish / if only / would rather / as if / it’s
time + past simple / past perfect
2
Present subjunctive?
Certain
idiomatic expressions: Long live the
queen. Be that as it may.
The subjunctive uses only
the base form of the verb. Confusion
arises because of register issues.
Formal usage requires base
infinitive while informal usage allows simple present in present
structures and simple past in past
structures.
Exercise with subjunctive
sentences
Some examples of phrases followed by subjunctive
We recommend/propose/suggest
that…
It is
proposed/recommended/suggested that…
It is
important/essential/crucial/imperative that…
Write the correct form of the verbs in the blank spaces:
1. (be) It is
crucial that lapses in communications systems ______ addressed.
2. (arrive) It is
essential that he _______ on time for the meeting.
3. (neg: arrive)
It is important that he ________ late.
4. (understand) It
is imperative that all staff ________ the warning system.
5. (understand) It
is imperative that each staff member ________ the warning system.
6. (apply) We
recommend that he ________ for the post.
7. (neg: grant) We recommend that the office ___________ the
transfer request at this time.
8. (meet) Our team
proposes that the committee ________ to discuss the matter next week.
9. (passive: represent) The report proposed that all
parties ___________ in the negotiations.
10. (neg passive:change) The team suggested the procedure __________ until the
end of the year.
Subjunctive
The
subjunctive is used after the following expressions ‘it is + adjective ‘ to
emphasize urgency or importance. Examples:
|
Formal
|
Informal
|
|
It
is essential that we be there.
|
It
is essential that we are there.
|
|
It
is crucial that you be
there before the Director arrives.
|
It
is crucial that you are
there before the Director arrives.
|
|
It
is important she attend
the meeting.
|
It
is important she attends
the meeting.
|
The
Subjunctive is only noticeable in certain forms and tenses. In the examples
below, the Subjunctive is not noticeable in the "you-form" of the
verb, but it is noticeable in the "he-form" of the verb.
Examples:
· You try to attend the meetings often. you-form of
"try"
· It is important that you try to attend
the meetings often. Subjunctive form of "try" looks the same.
· He tries to attend often. he-form of
"try"
· It is important that he try to attend
often. Subjunctive form of "try" is noticeable here.
We
ask that participants submit their documents well before the meeting.
|
to
ask (that)
|
to
propose (that)
|
to
suggest (that)
|
|
to
demand (that)
|
to
recommend (that)
|
to
stress (that)
|
|
to
insist (that)
|
to
request (that)
|
to
urge (that)
|
The subjunctive is only noticeable in certain forms and tenses. In the
examples below, the subjunctive is not noticeable in the you-form of the verb,
but it is noticeable in the she/he-form of the verb.
Examples in the present:
|
Formal
|
Informal
|
|
I
suggest that he become
the next Chair.
|
I suggest that he becomes the next Chair.
|
|
X recommends that you join the committee.
|
X recommends that you join the committee.
|
|
The chief insists that
her employees be on time.
|
The chief insists that her employees are on time.
|
Note that you only notice the difference in third person singular (he,
she) and with the verb ‘to be’.
Examples in the past:
|
Formal
|
Informal
|
|
They
recommended that he take a mobile phone with
him if he wants to stay connected.
|
They
recommended that he takes or took
a mobile phone with him if he wants to stay connected.
|
|
She suggested that we be on time tomorrow.
|
She suggested that we were on time tomorrow.
|
|
They insisted that we accept the
recommendation.
|
They insisted that we accepted the
recommendation.
|
|
She requested that the meeting be postponed.
|
She requested that the meeting was postponed.
|
|
Dr. Smith asked that Mark submit
his report before the end of the month.
|
Dr. Smith asked that Mark submitted
his report before the end of the month.
|
|
Donna requested that Frank come
to the conference.
|
Donna requested that Frank came
to the conference.
|
After many of the above expressions, the word
"should" is sometimes used to express the idea of subjunctiveness.
This form is used more frequently in British English and is most common after
the verbs "suggest," "recommend" and "insist."
Examples:
· The doctor recommended that she should
see a specialist about the problem.
· X suggested that W should prepare
harder for the final interview.
Many human rights reports
use ‘should’ in their recommendatio
Sometimes
called non-restrictive or non-defining relative clauses.
British English view
http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/which.htm
American English
view http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/Whichvs.That/Whichvs.That01.html
