Using Modifiers and Parentheticals · 使用修饰语和括号成分
Put the modifier next to what it modifies
- A modifier attaches to whatever is nearest, whether or not you meant it to.
- She only reviewed the first report and She reviewed only the first report say different things.
- Misplacement is the commonest and quietest way a sentence says what you did not mean.
“I photographed the teacher with a telescope” leaves the teacher wondering who had the telescope.
把修饰成分放在它所修饰之物旁边
- 修饰成分会附着到离它最近的东西上,无论你是否本意如此。
- 她只是审阅了第一份报告与她审阅的只是第一份报告说的是不同的事。
- 位置放错,是句子说出你本意之外内容的最常见、也最不动声色的方式。
“我看见了拿着望远镜的老师”，还是“我拿着望远镜看见了老师”？介词没站对位置，老师就莫名多了一件装备。
Choosing a modifier honestly
- Before keeping a descriptive word, ask whether you intend the perspective it carries.
- If you do, keep it and be ready to defend it with evidence.
- If you do not, replace it with one that only specifies.
诚实地选择修饰成分
- 在保留一个描述性词语之前,先问你是否想要它所携带的那种视角。
- 如果想要,就保留它,并准备好用证据为它辩护。
- 如果不想要,就换成一个只作具体化的词。
A modifier attaches to... · 修饰语依附于……
That is why misplacement changes the claim without announcing it. · 这就是为什么误置会在不加以说明的情况下改变主张。
One parenthetical per paragraph
- A parenthetical creates emphasis by interrupting, and emphasis is relative.
- One well-placed interruption marks something; three in a paragraph mark nothing.
- Choose the single place where stopping the reader is worth it.
每段一个插入成分
- 插入成分靠打断制造强调,而强调是相对的。
- 一处位置得当的打断能标记某样东西;一段里三处则什么也标记不了。
- 选定那唯一一处值得让读者停下的地方。
Several parentheticals in one paragraph increase emphasis. · 一段中的多个括号成分会增加强调效果。
Emphasis is relative — three interruptions in a paragraph mark nothing. · 强调是相对的——一段中三次打断并不构成任何强调。
Keep a loaded modifier only if you ____ the perspective it carries. · 除非你____它所承载的视角，否则不要保留带有倾向性的修饰语。
If you do, be ready to defend it with evidence; if not, replace it. · 如果打算如此，请准备好用证据来辩护；如果不是，请替换它。
A misplaced modifier changes the claim silently. "She only reviewed the first report" and "She reviewed only the first report" differ in what is being denied — and neither version announces that the other was available.
位置放错的修饰成分会悄然改变主张。*"她只是审阅了第一份报告"与"她审阅的只是第一份报告"*所否定的东西不同——而两个版本都不会提醒你还有另一个版本。
Which bracketing suits this material? · 哪种括号形式适合本材料？
Match each parenthetical to the volume it needs. · 将每个括号成分与其所需的音量匹配。
Select all · 所有 the bracketings and their volumes as this lesson gives them. · 根据本课内容，选择所有括号形式及其对应的音量。
Quotation marks mark speech or a source, not a parenthetical's volume. · 引号用于标示对话或来源，而非括号成分的音量。
Which bracket to use
- Dashes make a parenthetical loud — the reader is stopped and told to notice.
- Commas make it quiet — the interruption is absorbed into the sentence.
- Parentheses rank the material as secondary, present but demoted.
该用哪种括法
- 破折号让插入成分响亮——读者被停住,并被告知要注意。
- 逗号让它安静——打断被吸收进句子之中。
- 括号把材料排为次要——在场,但被降级。
Match each check to the fault it catches. · 将每个检查项与它能发现的缺陷匹配。
Three checks, three different ways a sentence escapes its writer. · 三个检查项，三种句子脱离作者掌控的方式。
A modifier pass
- Find each descriptive word: is the perspective it carries one you intend?
- Find each modifier: is it next to what it modifies?
- Find each parenthetical: is it the only one in its paragraph, and is its bracketing the right volume?
修饰成分检查
- 找出每一个描述性词语:它所携带的视角是你想要的吗?
- 找出每一个修饰成分:它是否紧挨着它所修饰之物?
- 找出每一个插入成分:它是否是所在段落里唯一的一个,而它的括法音量是否合适?
Meant: no other report was reviewed. Written: "She only reviewed the first report" — which denies that she did anything else to it. Fixed: "She reviewed only the first report." One word moved, and the sentence now denies what the writer meant to deny.
本意:没有审阅其他报告。写成:"她只是审阅了第一份报告"——这否定的是她对它做过别的事。改为:*"她审阅的只是第一份报告。"*一个词挪了位置,这个句子此刻否定的才是写作者本要否定的东西。
Place a modifier next to what it modifies — misplacement changes the claim silently. Keep a loaded modifier only if you intend its perspective. Use one parenthetical per paragraph, and choose its bracketing by volume: dashes loud, commas quiet, parentheses demoted.
把修饰成分放在它所修饰之物旁边——放错位置会悄然改变主张。只有当你确实想要那种视角时,才保留带色彩的修饰语。每段用一个插入成分,并按音量选择括法:破折号响亮,逗号安静,括号降级。