Common problems

1、(especially Chinese)Common Difficulties Encountered by Non-Native English Speakers2TensenProblem: Chinese language does not have tensesnWe discussed this a little yesterday.nIn a scientific paper:nAbstract: usually past tense, except introductory statement may be present tensenIntroduction: usually present tensenMethods: past tensenResults: past tensenDiscussion: present tense3Subject-Verb AgreementnFor complicated sentences, remember to look for the subject, where ever it may be, and make the v

2、erb agree with the subject. nRead the sentence without all the modifiers and clauses to help younDiagram the sentence to help you4Plural Nouns Used as AdjectiveWhen a plural noun is used as an adjective, it becomes singular:nPhenotype of dendritic cellsncells is a plural nounnDendritic cell phenotypenphenotype is the noun and cells is the adjectivenBut cells becomes singular as the adjectivenDendritic cell populationnpopulation of dendritic cells5Abbreviations: Singular or Plural? If a word or t

3、erm will be used in both the singular and plural, then it is better to derive the abbreviation from the singular form and add an s to make it plural.nAn important effector cell in an immune response is the dendritic cell (DC).nIslet infiltrates consist mainly of T cells but also include macrophages, DCs, and B cells.6Commonly Used TermsnSuggest: to cause you to think about somethingnUse when your results point to that direction, but you havent totally proven itnThe genetic results suggest that C

4、D103 is a candidate gene for the development of type 1 diabetes.nAssess: to evaluate, but in common speech usually refers to estimating a value for something.nNot a great word to use in science. Use determine instead.7Commonly Used TermsnDetermine: to decide or settle, to reach a conclusionnWe wanted to determine.nFor experiments that have not yet been done: The actual binding constant remains to be determined.nInvestigate vs Examine ninvestigate: to observe or determine in detailnexamine: to an

5、alyze or carefully observenBut investigate is a little stronger, and shows more action8Commonly Used TermsnDemonstrate vs ShownDemonstrate: to prove or make evident by reasoning, to describe by experimentnShow: to make visible, to presentnDemonstrate is stronger for science writing nBut use show for:nAs shown in Fig. 14nNot: As showed in Fig. 149Commonly Used TermsnImply vs Implicate: frequently misusednImplicate: to connect or involvenOur results implicate glucocorticoids as a cause fornImply:

6、to say or express indirectlynThe surgeon implied that the disease was fatal.nElucidate: to make clearnUsually used with respect to something very complicatednOur long-term goal is to elucidate the role of PPAR2 in the development of type I diabetes.10Slang/Spoken LanguagenBe careful not to use slang or common termsngetting the DNA sequencenChange to: determining the DNA sequence11Articles: A/An/ThenWhich to use: a/an or the?nWhen to use them, when not to.nOften it takes an “ear” for the language

7、, which takes time to develop.nOne of the most difficult concepts in writing for non-native English speakers, both European and Asian.12Articles: A/An/ThenIdentify nouns as nouns, as general or specificnarticlesare not adjectivesnA/An: indefinite, evolved from the word onenUsed only in singularnIf a noun is plural, the a/an is usually omittednThe: specifies the nounnThe picture means a specific picturenA picture could refer to any picture13RulesnUse a or an with singular nouns that name things t

8、hat can be counted but whose specific identity is not known.nA paper, an experiment nNOT: The nurse gave a water to the patient. nWater cannot be counted. So it should read: The nurse gave water to the patient. nUse the with most nouns whose identity is known to the readernThe professor teaching this classnThe experiment that I just described14RulesnDo not use the with most singular proper nouns.nNOT: the Professor Dynan, nNOT: the ChinanBut there are many exceptions:nThe United States of Americ

9、a, nThe Peoples Republic of ChinanThe Medical College of Georgia15Articles: A/An/ThenBritish and American writing differ somewhatnBritish omit the article before singular nouns that refer to places or timesnBritish: He attends university.nAmerican: He attends a university.nBut there are some nouns in American English where the article is also omitted.nOn Sunday, she always goes to church.We, of course, would like you to learn American English!16A or An?Rule nUse a before a word that starts with

10、a consonantnUse an before a word that starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)ButnIt is the sound of, not the letter at, the beginning of the wordnA university/an umbrellanA hero/an honest person17A/An/TheYes, it is confusing.but dont worry.You will get the hang of it with practice!18WhethernConjunction used in indirect questions to introduce an alternativenSentence does not take a ? because the question is indirectnThese experiments will tell us whether GILZ inhibits marker gene expression indirectl

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