0307 TPS Spot the Error Contest-Answer and Explanation 你是挑錯的高手嗎? 正確解答

Answer: “was” should be “were.”

“If this reliable microorganism were to fail in its bioremediation task, the contaminant would continue to pose environmental danger.”

Error: The writer stumbles in using a speculative conditional sentence. In such a sentence, in which a hypothesis is floated, the verb is conjugated differently. Why? Blame it on the vagaries of language, but sentences with the “if” formulation require extra attention. The sentence should read … “If this reliable microorganism were to fail…” This writing mistake is No. 7 of 10 Common Writing Errors That Can Spell “Rejection” for Your Manuscript, which are posted elsewhere on The Published Scholar Fans page.
錯誤之處:本句的作者在使用推測性的條件句時犯下錯誤。這類句子的假設並非篤定事實,因此動詞的變化也有所不同。原因要歸諸於語言本身特有的文法規則,也就是有if的句子就必須特別謹慎。正確的句法為 “If this reliable microorganism were to fail…” 這樣的寫作錯誤可參照本專頁所張貼之「10 個導致退稿的常見寫作錯誤之七:“In the Conditional Tense, Use “Were”」。

Thanks for everyone's participation in this week's Spot the Error Contest, it's been fun!
謝謝所有粉絲們參與本周的「你是挑錯的高手嗎?」活動,將實用、有意義的知識和大家交流與分享。


TPS Editorial Team



Posted at 2012-09-14 11:10:02

0 Response to 0307 TPS Spot the Error Contest-Answer and Explanation 你是挑錯的高手嗎? 正確解答

請登入才能留言