20 2 Word Order Typical complaints of Referees There were several sentences that I was simply unable to parse.I failed to work out what the subject was and what verb related to it,nor could I identify what adjective or what adverb modified what noun or verb.At times it was like trying to decipher a doctor's handwriting.I am of the opinion that one should be able at least to iden- tify the various components of a sentence and how they relate to each other,even if one does not understand the precise meaning of each component. Although it is well-structured,it is extremely difficult to read because of the some- what labored English. I was often only able to understand the logic of the sentence when I read the last word.The authors need to rearrange the components of their sentence so that the reader immediately understands the build up of the logic
20 2 Word Order Typical complaints of Referees There were several sentences that I was simply unable to parse. I failed to work out what the subject was and what verb related to it, nor could I identify what adjective or what adverb modified what noun or verb. At times it was like trying to decipher a doctor’s handwriting. I am of the opinion that one should be able at least to identify the various components of a sentence and how they relate to each other, even if one does not understand the precise meaning of each component. Although it is well-structured, it is extremely difficult to read because of the somewhat labored English. I was often only able to understand the logic of the sentence when I read the last word. The authors need to rearrange the components of their sentence so that the reader immediately understands the build up of the logic
2.2 Compare word order in your language with word order in English 21 2.1 Basic word order in English English has a strict order in which words can appear in a sentence.SI shows an example of this order. S1.The researchers sent their manuscript to the journal. This order is rarely altered.It is: 1.subject (the researchers) 2.verb(sent) 3.direct object (their manuscript) 4.indirect object (the journal) The key is to keep the subject,verb,direct object and indirect object as close to each other as possible.This is illustrated in S2,which maintains the exact order of S1. S2.Last week the researchers sent their manuscript to the journal for the second time. S3.*The researchers last week sent for the second time to the joumal their manuscript. S3 is incorrect English.The position of last week and for the second time is wrong, and the indirect object comes before the direct object. 2.2 Compare word order in your language with word order in English Native English-speaking readers are accustomed to finding the various parts of speech (noun,verb,adjective etc.)in the order given in Sect.2.1.If these parts come in a different order,this requires more effort by the native reader to under- stand the whole meaning. Even very banal differences in word order can affect readers.White and black,for instance,sounds strange to a mother tongue English person,the correct order is black and white.It would also sound strange to someone who speaks,for instance Chinese,Hungarian,Polish or Tamil,as in this case they use the same order as in English.But it is likely to sound far more normal to a Hindi,Italian or Spanish speaker,where white comes before black. You can improve the order in which you put words and information in an English sentence if you analyze how you do it in your own language and then analyze the differences with English.Here are two examples,with which your language may share some similarities. Germans don't like to begin sentences with the subject.For example,instead of"We have received your letter"they prefer"Your letter has reached us".German syntax dictates that the verb sometimes goes at the end of the clause or sentence,also making you wait for the main thrust of the sentence
2.2 Compare word order in your language with word order in English 21 2.1 Basic word order in English English has a strict order in which words can appear in a sentence. S1 shows an example of this order. S1. The researchers sent their manuscript to the journal. This order is rarely altered. It is: 1. subject (the researchers) 2. verb (sent) 3. direct object (their manuscript) 4. indirect object (the journal) The key is to keep the subject, verb, direct object and indirect object as close to each other as possible. This is illustrated in S2, which maintains the exact order of S1. S2. Last week the researchers sent their manuscript to the journal for the second time. S3. *The researchers last week sent for the second time to the journal their manuscript. S3 is incorrect English. The position of last week and for the second time is wrong, and the indirect object comes before the direct object. 2.2 Compare word order in your language with word order in English Native English-speaking readers are accustomed to finding the various parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective etc.) in the order given in Sect. 2.1. If these parts come in a different order, this requires more effort by the native reader to understand the whole meaning. Even very banal differences in word order can affect readers. White and black, for instance, sounds strange to a mother tongue English person, the correct order is black and white. It would also sound strange to someone who speaks, for instance Chinese, Hungarian, Polish or Tamil, as in this case they use the same order as in English. But it is likely to sound far more normal to a Hindi, Italian or Spanish speaker, where white comes before black. You can improve the order in which you put words and information in an English sentence if you analyze how you do it in your own language and then analyze the differences with English. Here are two examples, with which your language may share some similarities. Germans don’t like to begin sentences with the subject. For example, instead of “We have received your letter” they prefer “Your letter has reached us”. German syntax dictates that the verb sometimes goes at the end of the clause or sentence, also making you wait for the main thrust of the sentence
22 2 Word Order Russians have difficulties with constructing correct English sentences because unlike in English.there are no strict rules for word order.For example.in Russian a simple tongue twister that translates as"the mother was cleaning the window"would mean exactly the same thing if "mother"and"window"switch places.In English,it would of course make no sense. 2.3 Choose the most relevant subject and put it at the beginning of the sentence Clear English requires that you put the subject at the beginning of the sentence, however you may have a choice of possible subjects. X was elicited by Y. Y elicited X. In the simple example above,your choice will depend on whether you want to emphasize X or Y.The one you want to emphasize should be put as the subject. As readers,we tend to focus on the areas of a sentence that come immediately before and after a full stop.This is because there is extra white space between one sentence and another,which acts as a restful pause for the eye.Our eyes are also drawn to the capital letter that begins each sentence.These are the moments where you potentially have the reader's attention,so don't waste them.If the first few words routinely con- tain no useful or new information,then it becomes very tedious.So the best solution is to shift 'no value added'phrases to later on in the sentence and preferably reduce them to one word.Otherwise you are encouraging readers to skim the whole time. The sentences below(S1-S4)come from a paper written by a physicist in a physics journal.They all contain exactly the same information.However,there are four possible subjects: S1.Particularly interesting for researchers in physics is the new feature,named X,for calculat- ing velocity. S2.Plysics now has a new feature,named X,for calculating velocity. S3.Velocity can now be calculated with a new feature,named X,which is particularly interest- ing for physicists. S4.X is a new feature for calculating velocity.It is particularly interesting for physicists When deciding what the subject is for your sentence,it is generally best to choose the most recent or newest information.S1 and S2 refer to known situations-physics, and physicists-they do not give any new information,so they are not well con- structed sentences. S3 also begins with a known,in this case velocity.This is fine if velocity is the main focus.However,given that velocity is a common factor for physicists,then S4 may be the best solution as it begins with completely new information.The choice between S3 and S4 will depend on where the author wants to put the focus
22 2 Word Order Russians have difficulties with constructing correct English sentences because unlike in English, there are no strict rules for word order. For example, in Russian a simple tongue twister that translates as “the mother was cleaning the window” would mean exactly the same thing if “mother” and “window” switch places. In English, it would of course make no sense. 2.3 Choose the most relevant subject and put it at the beginning of the sentence Clear English requires that you put the subject at the beginning of the sentence, however you may have a choice of possible subjects. X was elicited by Y. Y elicited X. In the simple example above, your choice will depend on whether you want to emphasize X or Y. The one you want to emphasize should be put as the subject. As readers, we tend to focus on the areas of a sentence that come immediately before and after a full stop. This is because there is extra white space between one sentence and another, which acts as a restful pause for the eye. Our eyes are also drawn to the capital letter that begins each sentence. These are the moments where you potentially have the reader’s attention, so don’t waste them. If the first few words routinely contain no useful or new information, then it becomes very tedious. So the best solution is to shift ‘no value added’ phrases to later on in the sentence and preferably reduce them to one word. Otherwise you are encouraging readers to skim the whole time. The sentences below (S1–S4) come from a paper written by a physicist in a physics journal. They all contain exactly the same information. However, there are four possible subjects: S1. Particularly interesting for researchers in physics is the new feature, named X, for calculating velocity. S2. Physics now has a new feature, named X, for calculating velocity. S3. Velocity can now be calculated with a new feature, named X, which is particularly interesting for physicists. S4. X is a new feature for calculating velocity. It is particularly interesting for physicists. When deciding what the subject is for your sentence, it is generally best to choose the most recent or newest information. S1 and S2 refer to known situations - physics, and physicists - they do not give any new information, so they are not well constructed sentences. S3 also begins with a known, in this case velocity. This is fine if velocity is the main focus. However, given that velocity is a common factor for physicists, then S4 may be the best solution as it begins with completely new information. The choice between S3 and S4 will depend on where the author wants to put the focus
2.6 Don't use a pronoun(it,they)before you introduce the noun 23 2.4 Choose the subject that leads to the most concise sentence If your sentence is short and you have two possible subjects,which you could indif- ferently put at the beginning of the sentence,then choose the subject that will give the shortest sentence (S2 rather than S1). S1.The most significant values are highlighted in Table 1. S2.Table I highlights the most significant values. Shorter sentences are often obtained by using active (S2)rather than passive(S1) verbs. 2.5 Don't make the impersonal it the subject of the sentence Putting it first often delays the subject.Use modal verbs (might,need,should etc.) where possible (Sect.5.11). ORIGINAL VERSION (OV) REVISED VERSION(RV) It is probable that this is due to poor This may /might/could be due to poor performance. performance. It is possible do this with the new system.This can be done with the new system. It is mandatory to use the new version. The new version must be used. 2.6 Don't use a pronoun (it,they)before you introduce the noun (i.e.the subject of the sentence)that the pronoun refers to It is OK to use a pronoun at the beginning of the sentence,provided that this pronoun refers back to a noun in a previous sentence (i.e.a backward reference).For example: SI.Beeswax is a very important substance because...In fact,it is... In S1 it is clear that it refers to beeswax.But in S2 it refers to a noun that comes after (i.e.a forward reference).The reader does not know what the pronoun refers to and thus has to wait to find out. S2.*Although it is a very stable and chemically inert material,studies have verified that the composition of beeswax is .. S3.Although beeswax is a very stable and chemically inert material,studies have verified that its composition is... S3 immediately tells the reader what the subject is
2.6 Don’t use a pronoun (it, they) before you introduce the noun 23 2.4 Choose the subject that leads to the most concise sentence If your sentence is short and you have two possible subjects, which you could indifferently put at the beginning of the sentence, then choose the subject that will give the shortest sentence (S2 rather than S1). S1. The most significant values are highlighted in Table 1. S2. Table 1 highlights the most significant values. Shorter sentences are often obtained by using active (S2) rather than passive (S1) verbs. 2.5 Don’t make the impersonal it the subject of the sentence Putting it first often delays the subject. Use modal verbs (might, need, should etc.) where possible (Sect. 5.11). original version (ov) revised version (rv) It is probable that this is due to poor performance. This may / might / could be due to poor performance. It is possible do this with the new system. This can be done with the new system. It is mandatory to use the new version. The new version must be used. 2.6 Don’t use a pronoun (it, they) before you introduce the noun (i.e. the subject of the sentence) that the pronoun refers to It is OK to use a pronoun at the beginning of the sentence, provided that this pronoun refers back to a noun in a previous sentence (i.e. a backward reference). For example: S1. Beeswax is a very important substance because ... In fact, it is ... In S1 it is clear that it refers to beeswax. But in S2 it refers to a noun that comes after (i.e. a forward reference). The reader does not know what the pronoun refers to and thus has to wait to find out. S2. *Although it is a very stable and chemically inert material, studies have verified that the composition of beeswax is … S3. Although beeswax is a very stable and chemically inert material, studies have verified that its composition is … S3 immediately tells the reader what the subject is
24 2 Word Order 2.7 Put the subject before the verb The subject in English must come before their verb.Here are some examples of simple mistakes (OVs)and their corrected versions(RVs).The subjects are high- lighted in italics. ORIGINAL VERSION (OV) REVISED VERSION (RV) In the survey participated 350 subjects. Three hundred and fifty subjects participated in the survey. Were used several different methods in the Several different methods were used in the experiments. experiments. With these values are associated a series of A series of measurements are associated with measurements. these values. Say what something is before you begin to describe it.In the OVs below,the authors have delayed the subject(in italics)until the end of the clause.They have used an introductory subsidiary clause to stress the importance or evidence of the subject before telling the reader what the subject something is.This is not what is normally done in English,as indicated by the RVs. ORIGINAL VERSION(OV) REVISED VERSION (RV) Among the factors that influence the choice Time and cost are among the factors that of parameters are time and cost. influence the choice of parameters. Of particular interest was the sugar The sugar transporter was of particular transporter,because... interest,because... Important parameters are conciseness and Conciseness andnon-ambiguity are important non-ambiguity. parameters. 2.8 Keep the subject and verb as close as possible to each other Word order in written English tends to reflect the way English is spoken.When native speakers talk they usually keep the subject and verb as close as possible.This is because the verb contains important information. In SI and S2,you force the reader to wait too long to find out what the verb is and thus delay important information. SI.*A gradual decline in germinability and vigor of the resultant seedling,a higher sensitivity to stresses upon germination,and possibly a loss of the ability to germinate are recorded in the literature [5,8,19]
24 2 Word Order 2.7 Put the subject before the verb The subject in English must come before their verb. Here are some examples of simple mistakes (OVs) and their corrected versions (RVs). The subjects are highlighted in italics. original version (ov) revised version (rv) In the survey participated 350 subjects. Three hundred and fifty subjects participated in the survey. Were used several different methods in the experiments. Several different methods were used in the experiments. With these values are associated a series of measurements. A series of measurements are associated with these values. Say what something is before you begin to describe it. In the OVs below, the authors have delayed the subject (in italics) until the end of the clause. They have used an introductory subsidiary clause to stress the importance or evidence of the subject before telling the reader what the subject something is. This is not what is normally done in English, as indicated by the RVs. original version (ov) revised version (rv) Among the factors that influence the choice of parameters are time and cost. Time and cost are among the factors that influence the choice of parameters. Of particular interest was the sugar transporter, because ... The sugar transporter was of particular interest, because ... Important parameters are conciseness and non-ambiguity. Conciseness and non-ambiguity are important parameters. 2.8 Keep the subject and verb as close as possible to each other Word order in written English tends to reflect the way English is spoken. When native speakers talk they usually keep the subject and verb as close as possible. This is because the verb contains important information. In S1 and S2, you force the reader to wait too long to find out what the verb is and thus delay important information. S1. *A gradual decline in germinability and vigor of the resultant seedling, a higher sensitivity to stresses upon germination, and possibly a loss of the ability to germinate are recorded in the literature [5, 8, 19]