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
“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
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