Writing in English Style in Written English

Common stylic problems 1. Sequence of tenses 2. Say/Tell 3. Dangling participles 4. Antecedents of pronouns 5. Participles as adjectives 6. Redundancy 7. Parallel structure 8. Transformation of Direct and Indirect objects 9. Adverbial at the beginning of a sentence

1. Sequence of tenses then the dependent clause will be a clause I seethatyou are mixing the acid and the alkaline solution sentence present tense (1) Present progressive (2) Modal + verb (3) Past tense (4) Present perfect main clausedependent clause If the main clause is

Purpose of the clauses Showing (to the main clause) : 1. Simultaneous actions 2. An after action 3. A before action 4. A before action at indefinite time Make your own examples ! 1. Do you know who is presenting in the class? 2. He says that he can finish the chemical equations. 3. They think they were late for the lecture this morning. 4. She tells us that she has done the same experiment before.

1. Sequence of tenses cont’d then the dependent clause will be past tense (1) Past progressive/simple past (2) Modal (past) + verb (3) Past perfect If the main clause is I said that I could not come to the lecture No present form can come after the past tense

Purpose of the clauses Showing (to the main clause) : 1. Simultaneous actions 2. An after action 3. A before action Make your own examples ! 1. I gave the sample to my classmate when she joined our science group last week. 2. He said that he would make a good mark next exam. 3. They thought you had been in the library yesterday.

Exercises : Change the main clause to past and adjust the dependent clause as necessary 1. We hope that he will be able to finish the thesis by May. 2. Loi tells his friends that she is good in mathematics. 3. I realize that the chemical reaction consists of some simple reactions. 4. The student is asking the lecturer when the class will do the next experiment. 5. Andi thinks he is going to win the Chemistry olympiad.

2. Say or tell He says that he is flattened today. He told us that he was busy yesterday. The lecturer tell us a story about this year Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry.  Those verbs have the same meaning.  But, the grammar is different.  If there is an indirect object  use tell  If there is no indirect object  use say  Always use tell before the following nouns (whether there is an indirect object or not)  tell a storya secreta lie a joke the truththe time

Exercises : Write the correct form of say or tell 1. Hamlet _____, “To be or not to be, that is the question”. 2. I wonder who _____ that Quantum Chemistry had more fun. 3. Never ____ a secret to your enemy. 4. Our lecturer ____ that we would not have any homework during the exam. 5. What time did you ___ that the lecture had begun?

3. Dangling participles - Illogical participial modifiers Introductory participal phrases must be followed by the noun which is logically responsible for the action of the participle. There is no written subject in the participial phrase – no change of subject Sometimes the participial phrase is preceded by a preposition  A participial phrase (one containing a (verb+ing) without auxiliaries) can be used to join 2 sentences with a common subject.  But, when the two phrases do not share a common subject, the participal phrase  dangling participles  After jumping out of a boat, the shark bit the man.  After jumping out of a boat, the man was bitten by the shark. byupon after beforewhile

Examples  After preparing the stock solution of Cadmium, she will make a series of standard solution.  Having a terrible fire accident, the laboratory officer performed a comprehensive risk assessment of the laboratory experiments.  By studying a ten-hour day for a week, she is very confident to pass her English test.

Exercises : Write the correct form 1. Guiding us through the laboratory, a special explanation was given by the lecturer. 2. Having apprehended by the hijackers, they are whisked off to the police station by the security guards. 3. Before singing the school song, a poem was recited.

Find out the mistake/s! 1. I hear that she has accept a new position at the University. 2. We thought that he is rearranging the molecule models. 3. You know that I have arguing about the reaction mechanism. 4. Before we can decide on the future use of this chemical, is necessary to review the side effects. 5. A growing concerns about the possible hazardous effects of chemical wastes have resulted in several new laws.