1、Confusing ShiftsConfusing Shifts in Person Study the following two sentences:A driver should never race your motor without a warm-up.When I was in high school, you never knew what to expect. They should be corrected in the same person:A driver should never race his motor without a warm-up.When I was

2、 in high school, I never know what to expected.Special attention should be paid to the person of nouns and pronouns that refer to indefinite individuals or groups:3. A human being can never ignore your own feelings.4. It always seems to anyone that I will never die.A human being can never ignore his

3、 own feelings.It always seems to anyone that he will never die.1Confusing ShiftsConfusing Shifts in Person Also keep in mind the distinction between one and you, two pronouns that are often involved in faulty person shifts.Wrong: When one is sick, you dont want company.Right:When you are sick, you d

4、ont want company.When one are sick, one dont want company.When one are sick, he dont want company.2Confusing ShiftsConfusing Shifts in Tense A writer must be sure that changes in tense are based on real changes in time; otherwise, the result is needless confusion: 1) The photographer was changing fi

5、lm when the building shudders and collapses.2) I was extremely sorry you are injured.The photographer was changing film when the building shuddered and collapsed.I am extremely sorry you are injured.Note: the historical present is generally used in literary writing. If you start with the historical

6、present, you should not lapse into the past tense.3Confusing ShiftsConfusing Shifts in Subject and Voice A writer should never shift subjects in closely related clauses without good reason. Here is a sentence in which the subject changes unnecessarily: Mike cannot keep orchids alive, but geraniums a

7、re easy for him to grow. The sentence should say Mike cannot keep orchids alive, but he finds it easy to grow geraniums.Sticking to the same grammatical subject when possible will improve the clarity and focus of your sentences, the same is true of avoiding needless shifts:Shirley won the first priz

8、e, while her brother was awarded the second.Roger crossed the goal line, and the winning touch-down was scored.Shirley won the first prize, while her brother got the second.Roger crossed the goal line, and scored the winning goal.4Confusing ShiftsConfusing Shifts in Mood or Speech A sentence should

9、end in the same mood it begins with:Wrong: First stop the noise and then you may start the discussion.Right: First stop the noise and then start the discussion.Look at the following examples:Mandy told Tome get out of here.2. Ida asked the artist could she watch him at work.Mandy said to Tom, “Get o

10、ut of here!”Ida asked the artist, “Could I watch you at work?”Mandy told Tome to get out of there.Mandy told Tom that he should get out of there.Ida asked whether she could watch the artist at work.Ida wanted to watch the artist at work and asked him whether she could.5Confusing ShiftsConfusing Shif

11、ts in Number Pointless shifts in number are another burden that no one should place on his reader. Consider this sentence: If state parks become too commercialized, they will no longer be a place to escape the pressure of city life.In high school we worked more as a group than as an individual.If st

12、ate parks become too commercialized, they will no longer be places to escape the pressure of city life.In high school we worked more as groups than as individuals.6Confusing ShiftsMixed Sentence Construction When a sentence takes any parts which do not fit grammatically or logically, it has a mixed

13、construction.His job was a policeman.2) Since he was coming was the reason for our excitement.He was a policeman.His job was that of a policeman.Since he was coming we were excited.His coming was the reason for our excitement.7Confusing ShiftsPracticePick out the sentences which have confusing shift

14、s or mixed construction, write their letters in the blanks to the left. The first one is done for you. a 1) a. When I get home I found she waited for me. b. When I got home I found she had waited for me._2) a. They want to keep freshman from having car on campus. b. They want to keep freshman from h

15、aving cars on campus._3) a. First they cultivated the garden; then the grass was cut. b. First they cultivated the garden; then they cut the grass._4) a. While waiting for my turn brought on the nervousness. b. While waiting for my turn, I grew nervous._5) a. By intense practice can cause dramatic i

16、mprovement. b. Intense practice can cause dramatic improvement._6) a. If you are bored here, you can always go home. b. If you are bored here, one can always go home.8Confusing ShiftsPracticePick out the sentences which have confusing shifts or mixed construction, write their letters in the blanks t

17、o the left. The first one is done for you._7) a. Because he was injured, he cannot play tomorrow. b. Because he is injured, he cannot play tomorrow._8) a. Gail told her boyfriend pick me up before nine. b. Gail told her boyfriend to pick me up before nine._9) a. Ben took all the clerks in the office

18、 out for a hamburger. b. Ben took all the clerks in the office out for hamburgers._10) a. Before the medicine arrived caused some anxious moments. b. Before the medicine arrived there were some anxious moments._11) a. First they painted the ceiling flat white, and then they painted the walls lime gr

19、een. b. First they painted the ceiling flat white, and then the walls were painted lime green.9Confusing ShiftsPracticePick out the sentences which have confusing shifts or mixed construction, write their letters in the blanks to the left. The first one is done for you._12) a. Kaufman needed to see

20、her sometime before she can graduate. b. Kaufman needs to see her sometime before she can graduate._13) a. If you are all ready to go, you can get your coats now. b. If everyone are all ready to go, you can get your coats now._14) a. What I really wanted to know is where is the money coming from. b.

21、 What I really want to know is where is the money coming from._15) a. Dad preferred a Japanese camera, like a Canon or an Olympus. b. Dad prefers a Japanese camera, like a Canon or an Olympus._16) a. Just because the price is low is not enough to prove that it was stolen. b. Just because the price i

22、s low, you need not assume that it was stolen.10Confusing ShiftsPracticePick out the sentences which have confusing shifts or mixed construction, write their letters in the blanks to the left. The first one is done for you._17) a. While you can never be too careful, one should not be excessively cau

23、tious. b. While one can never be too careful, one should not be excessively cautious._18) a. The wind was awesome, and branches were cracking like gunshots. b. The wind was awesome, and branches are cracking like gunshots._19) a. She asked him wouldnt be rather just stay home. b. She asked him if he

24、 wouldnt be rather just stay home._20) a. People convince themselves that they will never have accidents. b. People convince themselves that I will never have an accident.11Confusing ShiftsPractice2. Rewrite the wrong sentences you have just picked out in Exercise 1.3. Revise the sentences to get ri

25、d of the confusing shifts.When anyone shows up, they tell you to come right in.After I arrived, they asked everybody to take your seat.Consuelas was keeping her balance but finally falls.The lightning flashes, the great oak splits like a parting curtain, and the two halves fell to either side.The li

26、on sprang upon its quarry, and the antelope was killed.Whenever he saw a pine forest it reminded him of the night he spent on the mountains.I was shocked when Greg told me get lost.The firm wanted to know would she consider their offer.Above all else, we loved his paintings of flowering roses, a work of genius.10) She has never written a