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grammar question!!!!

發表於 : 週二 5月 20, 2014 1:53 pm
Tina Sun
I was just asked a grammar question by my friend but it beats me!! :ccry:

" Keeping a diet of the right foods, eaten at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels. "
from
http://www.lifegooroo.com/eat-healthy/h ... aign=77670
(second paragraph)

why using " ~ right foods, "eaten" at the right times of the day...... why using eaten why why why.......

If I wrote that... I will write "Keeping a diet of the right foods and eating at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels"

Does anyone know the answer.... >///<

Thank you very much lar. :)

Re: grammar question!!!!

發表於 : 週二 5月 20, 2014 4:52 pm
Iris Wu
I think it might be:
"Keeping a diet of the right foods (that are) eaten at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar level...."

Otherwise, if you said,
"Keeping a diet of the right foods and eating at the right times of the day", then you might need to use "make sure" because there are two actions (subjects).

Anyway, just a thought, we should check with "The Experts"/native speakers! :)

Iris

Re: grammar question!!!!

發表於 : 週二 5月 20, 2014 9:48 pm
Luis Ko
Iris Wu 寫:
I think it might be:
"Keeping a diet of the right foods (that are) eaten at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar level...."

Otherwise, if you said,
"Keeping a diet of the right foods and eating at the right times of the day", then you might need to use "make sure" because there are two actions (subjects).

Anyway, just a thought, we should check with "The Experts"/native speakers! :)

Iris
+1

"Keeping a diet of the right foods eaten at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar level...."

Re: grammar question!!!!

發表於 : 週三 5月 21, 2014 12:24 am
Wayne
Tina Sun 寫:I was just asked a grammar question by my friend but it beats me!! :ccry:

" Keeping a diet of the right foods, eaten at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels. "
from
http://www.lifegooroo.com/eat-healthy/h ... aign=77670
(second paragraph)

why using " ~ right foods, "eaten" at the right times of the day...... why using eaten why why why.......

If I wrote that... I will write "Keeping a diet of the right foods and eating at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels"

Does anyone know the answer.... >///<

Thank you very much lar. :)
Actually, the original sentence has, I believe, a typo. There could be a missing comma or an unecessary comma.

1. Keeping a diet of the right foods, eaten at the right times of the day, makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels. (addtional comma befoe "makes sure".
2. Keeping a diet of the right foods eaten at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels. (no comma after "the right foods)

Sentence 2 can also be written, as Iris suggests, "Keeping a diet of the right foods (that are) eaten at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels. However, without the comma, "(that are) eaten at the right times of the day" will be an restricted relative clause. As far as I know, we don't have to emphasize it is a kind of food that are eaten at the right times of the day. I mean, there won't be another kind of food -- barring snacks -- that are not eaten at the right times of the day.

Therefore, we'd better use "eaten at the right times of the day" as a parenthetical expression/parenthetical clause/non-nrestricted relative clause, which provides additional information when keeping a diet of the right foods.
a. Keeping a diet of the right foods, which are eaten at the right times of the day, makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels.
b. Keeping a diet of the right foods, as long as they are eaten at the right times of the day, makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels.

Re: grammar question!!!!

發表於 : 週三 5月 21, 2014 12:57 am
Wayne
Iris Wu 寫: "Keeping a diet of the right foods and eating at the right times of the day", then you might need to use "make sure" because there are two actions (subjects).
Let's think about this.

Supposed that there are two actions.
1. Keeping a diet of the right foods makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels.
2. Eating at the right times of the day makes sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels.
Note that in Sentence 2, the subject is strictly eating and it has nothing to do with eating the right foods.
If this is the case, we certainly can combine Sentence 1 and sentence 2 into one as follows:
3. Keeping a diet of the right foods and eating at the right times of the day make sure your blood sugar levels are kept at correct levels. Here the plural form of the verb "make" is correctly used.

However, I believe the author wants the readers to do only one thing under one condition.
The one thing is keeping a diet of the right foods, and the condition is eating the right foods at the right times of the day. Note, if using "eating" without an object, the author refers to eating in a general sense (that is, no matter what is eaten).

When we use the non-restrictive clause (or restrictive clause) the object of eating has become important as it shows the thing eaten has a relation with the right foods. It furthers proves the author does not refer to eating in a general sense.

Again, if the author wants the readers to do only one thing under one condition, we should not combine two ideas as in Sentence 1 and sentence 2 into one as in Sentence 3 (a compound sentence). Instead, we should use the structure of a complex sentence with a relative clause, and the use of a parenthetical clause/non-restrictive clause is preferred. Alternatively, the parenthetical clause can be an adverbial clause, such as "as long as they are eaten at the right imes of the day"; it also uses the structure of a complex sentence..