noun it modifies.To say that hardships are "temporary in nature"is like saying that the Chinese flag is "red in color"or that pandas are"few in number."] A:the development of our economy in the future will,to a large extent,depend on. B:the development of our economy will depend to a large extent on.,. The future tense of the verb ("will depend")is sufficient to express futurity. A:we should adopt a series of measures to ensure that. B:we should adopt measures to ensure that. [Here the plural form of "measures"covers the sense of a “series."] Other unnecessary nouns (or gerunds)may be less easy to iden tify.Nevertheless,a little thought will reveal that they add nothing to the meaning of the sentence.When they are deleted the sense is not diminished,only clarified.Some examples: A:following the realization of mechanization and electrification of agriculture B:following the mechanization and electrification of agriculture A:it is essential to strengthen the building of national defense B:it is essential to strengthen national defense A:these constitute important conditions in striving for the ful- fillment of the general task in the transitional period B:these are important conditions for fulfilling the general task in the transition period A:at that time the situation in northeast China was still one 4
where the enemy was stronger than the people's forces B:at that time the enemy was still stronger than the people's forces in northeast China ["Situation"is a particularly dangerous noun.Not only is it generally unnecessary,but it drags other unnecessary elements after it (in this instance,"one where").] A:the key to the solution lies in the curtailment of expenditure B:the solution is to curtail (r:cut back on)expenditure ["Key"is sometimes useful,but usually it too can be dis- pensed with.And like"situation,"it often leads to fur- ther unnecessary complications (here,"lies in"). A:inner-Party democracy is a subject that has been discussed in detail B:inner-Party democracy has been discussed in detail Category nouns There is one type of noun that deserves special mention,because it is the commonest unnecessary word in Chinglish.This is the gen- eral noun that serves only to introduce a specific noun (or gerund)to follow:"a serious mistake in the work of planning." In such constructions,the first noun announces the category of the second;in this case,it tells readers that"planning"falls into the category of "work."That is something they already know.Accord- ingly,the first noun should be deleted:"a serious mistake in plan- ning." Other examples: A:promoting the cause of peaceful reunification B:promoting peaceful reunification 5
A:reforms in the sphere of the economy B:reforms in the economy (or:economic reforms) A:to ensure a relationship of close cooperation between. B:to ensure close cooperation between. A:we must oppose the practice of extravagance B:we must oppose extravagance A:these principles apply to all cases of relations between China and other countries B:these principles apply to relations between China and all oth- er countries A:this,coupled with the factor of price instability,caused. B:this,coupled with price instability,caused. Whatever function the category noun serves in Chinese,in Eng- lish it is generally useless.All it adds to the sentence is weight with- out substance. Verbs Like unnecessary nouns,most unnecessary verbs in Chinglish occur in phrases.Usually,they are combined with nouns (plus the inevitable articles and prepositions that nouns bring with them). These phrases are of two principal types: 1.unnecessary verb plus noun 2.unnecessary verb plus unnecessary noun plus third word We shall look at first one and then the other 1.Unnec.verb noun The commonest type is a phrase like "we must make an 6
improvement in our work."Here the verb ("make")is a weak,col- orless,all-purpose word having no very specific meaning of its own, while the real action is expressed in the noun ("improvement") Since the verb is not contributing anything to the sense,it can be edited out:"we must improve our work." The basic pattern is unnec.verb noun.Both translators and polishers tend to overlook conructions of this sort,because they are grammatically correct and because-precisely-everyone is so ac- customed to them.Once you become alert to the pattern,however, it is easy enough to eliminate the unnecessary words by substituting plain verbs: A:it is impossible for us to accomplish the transformation of the whole society overnight B:it is impossible for us to transform the whole society overnight A:they should conduct a careful examination of. B:they should carefully eramine. A:trying to entice the Korean army to launch an attack against them B:trying to entice the Korean army to attuck them A:to bring about a change in this state of affairs B:to change this state of affairs A:they must make up their minds to implement the reform of the current system B:they must make up their minds to reform the current system A:until China realizes industrial modernization B:until China modernises its industry 7
The construction may also appear in passive voice.That is,in- stead of“we must make an improvement in our work,”we find“ay improvement must be made in our work.But this is only a variation of the same patter,and the solution is the same too:substitute a plain verb.The result is“our work must be improved”(because“to make an improvement in”=“to improve"). More examples in passive voice: A:approval should be given to all these projects B:all these projects should be approued [Because "to give approval to"="to approve."] A:solutions to these problems can be found only through. B:these problems can be solved only through. [Because“to find solutions to'”=“to solve."] A:grain rationing was implemented B:grain was rationed [Because "to implement rationing"="to ration."] The verb most frequently found in these combinations with nouns is to make: to make an investigation of=to investigate to make a careful study of=to study carefully to make a decision to=to decide to to make a proposal that=to propose that to make efforts to=to try (or:attempt)to to make an analysis of=to analyze The runner-up is doubtless to have: