许多学术作者在写作时,习惯使用“there is”或“there are”作为句子的开头,但是 “there is” 或 “there are” 往往是冗词赘字。本文將簡單介紹三種刪去 “there is” 或 “there are” 的方法,让您的文章更简洁有力!
1. 将主词移到句首
例句:There is a cat in my room.
修改后的例句:A cat is in my room.
在例句中,主词(cat)在句子中间,修改后的例句则将主词直接移动到句首。主词在句首的好处是读者可以马上聚焦在句子的主词,在阅读较长的句子时能掌握句子的重点。例句中的 “is” 在修改后移动到主词后面成为动词,而 “there” 则可以删除。
2. 直接删去 “there is” 或 “there are”
例句:Due to the soaring housing prices, there are many young people who cannot afford to buy their own house and are forced to rent houses.
修改后的例句:Due to the soaring housing prices, many young people cannot afford to buy their own house and are forced to rent houses.
更理想的例句:Many young people cannot afford to buy their own house and are forced to rent houses due to the soaring housing prices.
许多学者在翻译“由于房价快速飙涨,因此有许多年轻人无法买房,被迫选择租屋”这句话时,看到“有许多年轻人”便直接翻译成 “there are many young people”。
然而,在这片语中 “there are” 为赘字,因为 “there are many young people” 与 “many young people” 意思相同。因此,在修改后的例句中直接将 “there are” 删除。
第一种方法谈到将主词移到首句,能让读者更快掌握到句子重点。虽然修改后的例句没有错,但更理想的做法是直接将主词“many young people”移动到句子的最前面。
3. 额外使用其他英語动词
例句:There are chemicals that can pollute the environment easily.
修改后的例句:Chemicals can pollute the environment easily.
例句中谈到有些化学药品能够轻易污染环境。由于不是所有化学药品都会污染环境,因此直接将 “there are” 删除并翻译成 “chemicals can pollute the environment easily” 是错误的,因为这意思是所有化学药品都会污染环境。
这时可以运用一些动词(例如 “exist”)或重组句子来避免无意间改变句子原有的意思。如果句子有上下文,也可以尝试与上下文连结,例如:“chemicals that can pollute the environment easily are found/are discovered/are created”等。