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2010年09月13日
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Submitted by 長青人 on 2010年09月13日 05:35
2010年09月13日 05:35
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【明報專訊】This is a nicely written letter, Vicky. Let's have a look at a few points to improve upon.

Firstly, let's change E.T. and U.F.O. to aliens. They are not exactly synonymous, but using a single word will make your letter easier to read. Also, be careful of other almost-but-not-quite synonyms, such as opinions (assertions is better here), believe (believe in), true (real), At last (finally), and know (find out). Dictionaries and translators are helpful to find similar words to the ones we want, but "a similar meaning" does not mean "the same meaning"!

Secondly, we have a mixture of Chinese-style and English-style punctuation. Chinese-style commas and full stops are big and centred and don't have spaces, whereas English ones are small, sit on the line, and should have a space afterwards (but not before). This is a small point, but it will make your writing look more professional.

Thirdly, we're talking about something that might not exist. Therefore we need the "second conditional": If + past tense... would + present tense, e.g. "If aliens were real, they would be very special", "... no creatures would (be able to) live on other planets."

The truth is out there... apparently!

 

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