Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

回覆文章
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

文章 Kooper »

From time to time while reading, we may encounter very good sentences or sentence structures which make an article concise, refreshing, and prevent it from monotony. It is likely that we may enhance our writing skills by emulating those sentences or sentence structures. Let’s share good one we find and also practice them here. :mrgreen:
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

文章 Kooper »

Here are some of them I would like to share with you.

There will come a time when (sth) will become a thing of the past.
Ex: There will come a time when Alzheimer's disease will become a thing of the past.

With (a situation), (sth) couldn't come at a better time.
Ex: With an estimated 62.8 million Asians to be diagnosed with the disease of the world's projected 106 million Alzheimer's patients, the optimism couldn't come at a better time.

The days of (old-fashioned method) are long over; today, (state-of-the-art method).
Ex: The days of blasting with dynamite and wielding picks are long over; today, underground miners ply the coal seams with enormous computerized shears.


(A type of occupation) could one day become an endangered species.
Ex: The underground Appalachian coal miner could one day become an endangered species.

Note: All examples come from Reader's Digest.
頭像
Wayne
Member
文章: 1500
註冊時間: 週四 5月 13, 2004 10:53 am
來自: Taipei, Taiwan, Pandemonium

Re: Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

文章 Wayne »

Kooper 寫:
There will come a time when (sth) will become a thing of the past.
Ex: There will come a time when Alzheimer's disease will become a thing of the past.
This pattern looks strange to me.

We ussually do not use future tense in both main clause and its subordinate clause. Therefore, the following sentense looks more natural to me.

There will come a time when Alzheimer's disease becomes a thing of the past.

Note that in the subordinate clause simple tense has replaced future tense.
Knowledge is power -- when shared.
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

文章 Kooper »

Thanks for Wayne's advice. It looks like I cannot wholely count on Reader's Digest. Sentences in it are not 100% correct in grammar.
Sherry Liao
YOYO member
文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

文章 Sherry Liao »

A blog of my favorites invited its readers to write a six-word motto for the U.S. of A. The result was amazing. Among the more than 1200 replies there were lots of amusing, meaningful, well-organized short sentences.

Here are a tiny portion of the entries I like:

Still Using Fahrenheit, Feet, and Gallons. (This reminds me of an article I read some time back in Chinatimes)

What can we screw up next?

God bless America! And nobody else!

Some are more equal than others.

Infuriatingly ignorant, deplorably unfocused, passionately hopeful.

Home of much bravery and knavery.

Home of The Brave, The Whopper

Affordable or not, we’ll buy it.

USA, the Declining Land of Opportunities

Made in America (with foreign components)

Not that bad. Could be better.

Dream of Liberty, Liberty to Dream

No money? No credit? No problem!

Of Plutocracts, By Bureaucrats, For Corporations


To read others, you can scroll through the comments of this article:
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2 ... or-the-us/

Finally, the winner of this contest was:

Our Worst Critics Prefer to Stay
頭像
Wayne
Member
文章: 1500
註冊時間: 週四 5月 13, 2004 10:53 am
來自: Taipei, Taiwan, Pandemonium

Re: Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

文章 Wayne »

Ha! Ha! It's lot of fun.
Sherry Liao 寫:A blog of my favorites invited its readers to write a six-word motto for the U.S. of A. The result was amazing. Among the more than 1200 replies there were lots of amusing, meaningful, well-organized short sentences.

Here are a tiny portion of the entries I like:

Still Using Fahrenheit, Feet, and Gallons. [/size](This reminds me of an article I read some time back in Chinatimes)


I have read this article too.

Sherry Liao 寫:USA, the Declining Land of Opportunities

Would this one be "USA, the Land of Declining Opportunities' to be grammatically correct?
Knowledge is power -- when shared.
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

文章 Kooper »

Wayne 寫:
Kooper 寫: There will come a time when (sth) will become a thing of the past.
Ex: There will come a time when Alzheimer's disease will become a thing of the past.
This pattern looks strange to me.
We ussually do not use future tense in both main clause and its subordinate clause. Therefore, the following sentense looks more natural to me.
There will come a time when Alzheimer's disease becomes a thing of the past.
Note that in the subordinate clause simple tense has replaced future tense.
According to "English Grammar in Use",

(1)The same thing happens after while, before, after, as soon as, until or till.

Ex: I'm going to read a lot of books while I'm on holiday.
Ex: I'm going back home on Sunday. Before I go, I'd like to visit the museum.
Ex: Wait here until I come back.

(2) In addition to present tense. present perfect can also be used after when, after, until or as soon as.
Ex: I'll come as soon as I've finished.
Ex: You'll feel better after you've had something to eat.

"Focus on Grammar - A High-Intermediate Course for Reference and PRactice" also exemplifies the case of using present progressive tense in the time clause - I'll be cooking while the robot is cleaning.
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: Sharing good sentences or sentence structures

文章 Kooper »

However, the numbers pale in comparison to the US$2.8 trillion in writedowns the IMF estimates US and European lenders will have made between 2007 and next year. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/a ... 2003459693

A pales in comparison to B: to seem much less serious or important when compared with sb/sth else
Ex: Today's economic problems pale in comparison to those of the 1930s.
回覆文章