词语与句子用法
Highlights from Chapter 10 <<Style – Toward Clarity and Grace>> by Joseph Williams
1.
Style, Grammar, and Choice
We should adopt the worst-case policy: follow all the rules all the time because somewhere, sometime, someone might criticize us for something beginning a sentence with and or ending it with up.
2. First Group of Real Rules
1) Double negatives: The engine had hardly no systematic care.
2) Nonstandard verb forms: They knowed that nothing would happen.
3) Double comparatives: This way is more quicker.
4) Some adjectives for adverbs: They did the work real good.
5) Pleonastic subjects: These ideas they need explanation.
6) Some incorrect pronouns: Him and me will study the problem.
7) Some subject-verb disagreements. They was ready to begin.
3. Second Group of Real Rules
1) Never begin a sentence with because, except in an introductory clause.
2) Never begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction such as and or but.
3) When referring to an inanimate referent, use the relative pronoun that not which for restrictive clauses; use which for nonrestrictive clauses.
4) Don’t use which or this to refer to a whole clause.
5) Use each other to refer to two, one another to refer to three or more.
6) Use between with two, among with three or more.
7) Use fewer with nouns that you can count, less with quantities you cannot.
8) Use due to meaning ‘because of’ only in a phrase that modifies a noun, never in a phrase that modifies a verb.
9) most careful writers nevertheless use since with a meaning close to ‘we take for granted that the claim in this clause is true’:
Since we agree on the matter, we need not discuss it further.
10) Careful writers use while with a meaning close to ‘although what follows in the next clause is the case right now, we can simultaneously assert a contradictory or qualifying claim’:
While we agree on the main issues, we disagree on the next steps.
4. Optional Rules
1) “Never split an infinitive.”
2) “Use shall as the first person simple future, will for second and third person simple future; use will to mean strong intention in the first person, shall for second and third person.”
3) “Always use whom as the object of a verb or preposition.”
4) “Never end a sentence with a preposition.”
5) “Do not use whose as the possessive pronoun for an inanimate referent.”
6) “Use one as a generalized pronoun instead of you.”
7) “Do not refer to one with he or his; repeat one.”
8) “When expressing a contrary-to-fact statement, use the subjunctive form of the verb.”
5. Special Formality
1) Negative inversion.
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
Negatives such as rarely, never, not, only, and so on, typically let you put an auxiliary verb before its subject:
Rarely do we confront a situation such as this.
Only once has this corporation failed to pay a dividend.
2) Conditional inversion. Instead of beginning a conditional clause with if, begin it with should, were, or had.
If there had been any objections, they would have been met.
Had there been any objections, they would have been met.
3) Instead of do not have to, use need not:
You don’t have to answer now.
You need not answer now.
4) Instead of does not have any, use have no:
The court does not have any precedent to follow.
The court has no precedent to follow.
6. Avoid these
1) Never use like for as or as if. Not this:
These operations failed like the earlier ones did.
But this:
These operations failed as the earlier ones did.
2) After different use from, never to or than. Not this:
These numbers are different than the others.
I must solve this problem differendy than I did last year.
3) Use hopefully only when the subject of the sentence is in fact hopeful. Not this:
Hopefully, the matter will be resolved soon.
But this:
I hopefully say that the matter will be resolved soon.
4) Do not modify an absolute word such as perfect, unique, final, or complete with very, rather, quite, etc. Not this:
We require a more perfect system.
5) Never use finalize to mean finish, complete, end. Finalize does not mean what any of those other words mean. Finalize means to clean up the last details of an extended project, a specific sense captured by no other word.
6) Never never use irregardless for regardless.