Kibbitzer 55 | Specificity |
The following revision is taken from the Conclusion of an essay by a Chinese-speaking student of Law:
Original | Revisions |
---|---|
It is still not clear whether decisions that departed from the Salomon doctrine were principled and achieved certainty and justice | It is still not clear whether the decisions that departed from the Salomon doctrine were principled and achieved certainty and justice |
It is still not clear whether decisions that depart from the Salomon doctrine can be principled and achieve certainty and justice. |
It is not clear from the original drafting whether the Conclusion relates only to the decisons discussed in the essay (the 'Specific' interpretation) or relates to decisions of the type that are discussed in the essay (the "Non-specific" or "General" interpretation).
Given the choice, the student chose the Non-specific revision.
This sentence illustrates how choices at different points in the grammatical system interact (here parallel choices of specificity in the Noun Phrase and the Verb Phrase). Such interactions are likely to be missed in traditional pedagogic presentations of grammar in which choices of Definite or Zero Article, of Past or Present Tense, or of Modal verb, are dealt with separately and without reference to underlying patterns of meaning.
12th February 1999 | Consultant: Tim Johns |
Back to Tim Johns EAP page |