英语论文网

非英文母语者常见写作错误：修饰语错置(Misplaced Modifiers)

身为专业译者与编辑，多年来为许多英语非母语人士修改与润饰文章，发觉华人从事英文写作时常犯的错误，在于落入中文的语法陷阱中、或是无意识受到中文影响而使用不该用的措辞，造成词不达意而无法精确地用英文的句构逻辑链接起来，但也可能仅是对于英文句法结构的不熟悉所致。此次推出的新专栏希望能带领读者发现常见的英文写作陷阱，并避免将这些谬误带入文章当中。新专栏并非在教导文法规则，而是提出一些观点，提点写作者如何提升英文写作风格与文字说服力。

As an editor and translator with years of experience in correcting English written by non-native speakers, I have come across certain areas that seem to be major pitfalls for Chinese speakers when writing in English. These mistakes are usually the writer’s Chinese grammar or diction unconsciously coming out in their English exposition, or perhaps simply a unfamiliarity with English composition at its higher levels. This monthly column can teach you to spot these common writing pitfalls and thus avoid having them find their way into your English composition. It will not be a list of grammar rules to follow, but instead a look into how we can improve the style and force of our English writing.

Misplaced Modifiers (or do you know where your participle phrase is pointing?)
修饰语错置 (您能正确区分分词词组的意义吗？)

Let’s look at the following three phrases. Can you tell what they all have in common?
让我们看看下面三个例句。您能找出他们的共同点吗？

Filled with hope after receiving the aid,
接受援助后充满希望

Since joining the WHO,
自从加入世界卫生组织后

By bringing desperately needed supplies,
透过带来急需的物资

Simply put, they are all participle phrases.
简而言之，他们都是分词词组。

There are many rules detailing the functions and uses of a participle phrase and I encourage you to look them up, however, for the scope of this column it is suffice to say that participle phrases act as adjectives modifying a noun. And one of the cardinal rules of modification is to get the modifier as close as possible to the word it describes.
分词词组有许多规则与使用的功能和用途，建议大家可以多多查阅字典并详读研究。然而，本专栏此次重点在于介绍分词词组如何扮演形容词的角色，以达到修饰名词的作用。修饰的其中一项最重要原则就是让修饰语尽可能地贴近想要描述的字词。

Now we can look at the entire sentences (all three of which were written by non-native speakers):
现在让我们看看下面三个例句（皆由英语非母语人士所写）：

1)Filled with hope after receiving the aid, the volunteers hope the tenants of the hotel can one day join their ranks and work to help others in need.
志工在接受援助后充满希望，期待饭店的房客有一天能加入他们的行列，以实际行动帮助有需要的人。

2)Since joining the WHO, many medical supplies could now be imported to Taiwan.
许多医疗用品自从加入世界卫生组织后，都可以进口到台湾了。

3)By bringing desperately needed supplies, many lives have been saved by the volunteers.
许多生命透过带来急需的物资，才得以被志工拯救。

Let’s look at the first sentence.
首先我们来检视第一句。

Filled with hope after receiving the aid, the volunteers hope the tenants of the hotel can one day join their ranks and work to help others in need.
志工在接受援助后充满希望，期待饭店的房客有一天能加入他们的行列，以实际行动帮助有需要的人。

“Filled with hope after receiving the aid” is a participle phrase that, acting as an adjective, points to a someone or a group of people being “filled with hope”. However, immediately following the phrase we have the noun “the volunteers”. This is what we call a misplaced modifier, as the people who are “filled with hope after receiving the aid” are not the volunteers, but “the tenants of the hotel.” This mix-up occurred because the author of the sentence allowed the modifier (Filled w