Chapter 9: The Placement of Phrases and Clauses

老人小孩先发言

Core Issue
Chinese and English differ significantly in the ordering of phrases and clauses. Chinese relies on parataxis (contextual and implicit logical relationships), allowing flexible placement of phrases and clauses, while English emphasizes hypotaxis (explicit grammatical structure) to clarify modifiers and relationships. Chinglish often directly mimics Chinese word order, leading to logical confusion or ambiguity.
Key Content and Case Studies
1. Misplaced Modifiers
Chinese tends to place modifiers (e.g., time, location, or conditional adverbials) at the beginning of sentences, whereas English adjusts their position based on logical emphasis.
Example of Error:
"In order to improve efficiency, the manager requires employees to work overtime."
The phrase "in order to improve efficiency" implies an unstated subject, creating a dangling modifier.
Correction:
Clarify the subject or reposition the modifier:
"The manager requires employees to work overtime in order to improve efficiency."
2. Logical Disconnect Between Clauses
Chinese often uses parallel clauses to express complex logic, while English requires subordination (e.g., relative or adverbial clauses).
Example of Error:
"The company launched a new product, it received positive feedback." (Comma splice).
Correction:
Use a relative clause or semicolon:
"The company launched a new product, which received positive feedback."
Or: "The company launched a new product; it received positive feedback."
3. Dangling Modifiers
When the implied subject of a participial or prepositional phrase mismatches the main clause’s subject, ambiguity arises.
Example of Error:
"After finishing the report, the computer was turned off."
The modifier "after finishing the report" suggests a human subject, but the main clause’s subject is "computer."
Correction:
Specify the actor:
"After finishing the report, I turned off the computer."
4. Chaotic Complex Sentence Structure
Chinese favors long, loosely connected sentences, while English organizes ideas hierarchically (main clause + subordinate clauses).
Example of Error:
"The project was delayed because the budget was insufficient, the team lacked experience, the deadline was too tight." (A Chinese-style list of causes).
Correction:
Integrate with logical connectors:
"The project was delayed due to insufficient budget, compounded by the team’s lack of experience and an overly tight deadline."
5. Placement of Appositives and Parentheticals
Chinese frequently uses appositives (explanatory phrases) to add information, while English requires them to be tightly linked to their referents.
Example from the Book:
"Beijing, the capital of China, has a population of over 20 million."
The appositive "the capital of China" must directly follow "Beijing" to avoid confusion.
Principles for Revision
Proximity Principle: Place modifiers (e.g., adverbial phrases, relative clauses) as close as possible to the words they modify.
Hierarchical Structure: Use subordinate clauses or phrases for secondary information, reserving the main clause for the core message.
Example: Replace parallel clauses with participial phrases:
"Having completed the training, the employees began working on the project."
Simplify Redundancy: Remove Chinese-style "category words" (e.g., 情况, 工作) and use direct nouns or verbs:
Error: "the work of planning" → Correction: "planning".
Explicit Logical Connectors: Use words like although, because, or which to clarify relationships between clauses.
Learning Strategies
Author Joan Pinkham recommends the following to avoid placement errors:
Read Authentic English Materials: Observe how native speakers structure complex sentences.
Practice Rewriting Long Sentences: Break Chinese-style parallel clauses into English hierarchical structures and adjust modifier placement.
Use Grammar-Check Tools: Focus on identifying dangling modifiers and clause connectivity issues.
Practice Example
Original (Chinglish):
"In order to ensure safety, the factory installed new equipment, it cost a lot of money."
Revised Version:
"The factory installed new equipment to ensure safety, which cost a lot of money."
Or: "In order to ensure safety, the factory installed new equipment at a high cost."