幾個例子看看英文寫作如何避免歧義

03-02

本文首發於立文悉通微信公眾號（Transystom）

句子中單詞位置擺放不當會導致句意的模稜兩可，比如下面這個句子：

He noticed a large stain in the rug that was right in the center.

這一句中的that可以指代rug，表示rug在（房子的）中心；也可以修飾a large stain in the rug這個整體（也就是stain），表示stain在rug的中心。

這就讓人糾結了，寫文章不能讓讀者糾結，要清晰。改成下面這樣就好了：

He noticed a large stain right in the center of the rug.

You can call your mother in London and tell her all about Georges taking you out to dinner for just two dollars.

這一句中的for just two dollars到底是指Georges taking you out to dinner花了two dollars，還是指call your mother花了two dollars？好像都可以。如果要表示打電話花了two dollars，建議把two dollars放到最前面：

For just two dollars you can call your mother in London and tell her all about Georges taking you out to dinner.

There was a stir in the audience that suggested disapproval.

這一句的讀者也面臨著that是修飾audience還是a stir in the audience（即stir）的疑惑。為了消除疑惑，改成下面這樣：

A stir that suggested disapproval swept the audience.

A proposal to amend the Sherman Act, which has been variously judged.

看到這句讀者又會糾結了，which是指the Sherman Act還是proposal？用英文來說就是This sentence leaves the reader wondering whether it is the proposal or the Act that has been variously judged. 所以可以把關係從句放到前面：

A proposal, which has been variously judged, to amend the Sherman Act....

The grandson of William Henry Harrison, who

這句話中who的修飾對象也是模稜兩可，不如改成如下這樣更為明確：

William Henry Harrisons grandson, Benjamin Harrison, who

All the members were not present.

這句話很有迷惑性，感覺是「所有成員都沒在場」的意思，但其實它的意思是：「不是所有成員都在場」。如果有要表達「所有成員都沒在場」,一般是寫成：None of the members were not present. 正是由於這種表達實在是彆扭，母語人士用得也不多，一般寫成如下形式：

Not all the members were present.

She only found two mistakes.

Only是修飾two的，所以讓only和two挨在一起更好：

She found only two mistakes.

The director said he hoped all members would give generously to the Fund at a meeting of the committee yesterday.

在這句話中，at a meeting of the committee yesterday到底是指give generously to the Fund這個動作發生的時間地點，還是指said這個動作發生的時間地點？如果是指said的時間地點，不如放到最前面，意思更為明確：

At a meeting of the committee yesterday, the director said he hoped all members would give generously to the Fund.

Major R. E. Joyce will give a lecture on Tuesday evening in Bailey Hall, to which the public is invited on "My Experiences in Mesopotamia" at 8:00 P.M.

"My Experiences in Mesopotamia"是lecture的主題，但是現在和lecture相隔很遠；public is invited on感覺有點怪異。經過一些列調整，優化成以下形式：

On Tuesday evening at eight, Major R. E. Joyce will give a lecture in Bailey Hall on "My Experiences in Mesopotamia." The public is invited.

首先把時間放在了句首，由於有了evening，P.M.也可以省去；give a lecture in Bailey Hall on "My Experiences in Mesopotamia."和give a lecture on "My Experiences in Mesopotamia" in Bailey Hall這兩種表達都可以，但是"My Experiences in Mesopotamia"比Bailey Hall長，英文中一般傾向於把較長的結構甩在後面。最後，The public is invited另起一句。

在醫學論文中也經常遇到這種情況

This study included 300 women and 298 men who were admitted for acute pancreatitis.

這句話中who的修飾對象容易讓人疑惑，不夠明確，不如改成如下形式：

This study included 300 women and 298 men, all admitted for acute pancreatitis.

Two patients had complete remission, 5 patients had partial remission, and 1 patient died in the treatment group.

這句話中in the treatment group的包含對象不夠清晰，我們不妨把in the treatment group放到最前面：

In the treatment group, 2 patients had complete remission, 5 patients had partial remission, and 1 patient died.

Leptin was reduced, ghrelin was elevated, and body mass index was increased in the individuals with short sleep duration.

和上句一樣，由於前面有多個主語，我們把in the individuals放在句首，意思更加明確：

In the individuals with short sleep duration, leptin was reduced, ghrelin was elevated, and body mass index was increased.

總之，要避免歧義，就要盡量保證句子在語法層面只有一種理解方式；如果不能保證在語法層面只有一種理解方式，那就要確保通過上下文很容易排除其他的理解方式，且目前的句式更優。

借鑒改編自《The Elements of Style》