英语语法：159 Are You Annoyingly Redundant?

Grammar Girl here.

In today's episode we’re going to look at, examine, and explore redundancies, tautologies¹ and other superfluous² excesses.

We all want to keep our writings as cogent³ as possible; in part, that means excising⁴ needless words – notably⁵ redundancies.

Earlier and Later

There’s a particular construction that frequently makes its way into even the best news writing, as well as into press releases and other corporate⁶ communications: “later this week,” “earlier this year” and the like. Here’s how and why the “later” and “earlier” are redundant⁷. Consider this sentence:

“I’ll get back to you later this week.” Well, it has to be later this week; it’s in the future. “Later” is implicit⁸. It’s sufficient, when discussing an upcoming event, to say, “I’ll get back to you this week.”

The same goes for this sentence, dealing⁹ with a past event: “She went to Marrakesh earlier this year.”

An exception would be when striking a contrast between two events and the relative chronology is important. Here’s an example: “The senator said in June that he supported the railroad project. “Earlier” this year, he opposed the project.”

Future Plans

A similar redundancy can be found in this sentence: “Let me know what your future plans are.”

If you’re talking about plans that one has now, they are almost invariably plans for the future. You might modify the word “plans” with the words “immediate” or “long-term” to clarify a timeframe, of course.

If, by chance, you had some plans in the past that didn’t work out, you could toss a “previous” in there, as in, “My previous plans were to become an aerialist, but then I got that inner-ear infection … ”

Past History

We can find a comparable situation with “past history”and “past experience.” Again, when taken in the opposite direction, time-wise, a modifier would be helpful: “We here at Granite¹⁰ Airlines hope your future experience with us will be far more enjoyable. And we do hope that nasty stain comes out of your suit.” Similarly, one need not prepare ahead of time. To prepare is sufficient.

Ten-Year Anniversary

Here’s another doozy: “Happy 10-year anniversary!” The Random¹¹ House and American Heritage dictionaries trace the origin of “anniversary” to words roughly meaning “the turning of the year.” The root “annus” means year, so it’s fine to go simply with “Happy 10th anniversary!”

That is the opposite problem, of course, of people who insist on marking their “six-week anniversary,” which doesn’t really make sense, even if it is kind of sweet for a new couple.  Awwwwww. Just don’t use it in your writing.

Some verbal excesses aren’t necessarily redundant; they’re just cumbersome¹².

In the Process Of

One such phrase to excise¹³ from your writing is “in the process of,” as in, “My kids are in the process of driving me crazy.” Delete it, and you have, “My kids are driving me crazy.” Anytime you see “in the process of,” take it out and check to see whether any meaning is lost. You’ll save your fingers thousands of superfluous keystrokes over a few decades. (Notice we didn’t need to say “a period of a few decades.”)

Extend an Invitation

Recently a writer “extended us an invitation to” a party. Well! It seems “invite” wasn’t enough. That must have been some party. Probably to a 10th anniversary party.

Please RSVP

Oh, as long as we’re discussing invitations, watch out for “please R.S.V.P.” R.S.V.P. stands, of course, for répondez s'il vous plaît and that means “respond, please.” So, “please R.S.V.P.” would mean “please respond, please.” If you're begging, that's fine; but really, it's better to preserve your dignity.

Whether or Not

Another quick way to trim a couple of words at a time from your writing (and your speech) is to keep an eye on the “whether” – the “whether or not,” that is.

I can’t decide whether or not to bring my umbrella. Lose the “or not”in that instance, and you’re fine. Just don’t lose your umbrella.

The Fix

The Quick and Dirty Tip is overarching, yet fairly simple: Think about what every word means; don’t toss in a phrase just because you hear it or see it a lot. Common usage all too frequently is incorrect usage.

The Reason Is Because

Take this example, and you’ll see what we mean: The reason you love grammar is because you love rules.

Well, let's see. The words “reason” and “because” both represent the same idea. The sentence would be just as clear if you leave either of them out. It could read, “The reason you love grammar is that you love rules,” or “You love grammar because you love rules.”

Think about what every word means, and take out the ones that are redundant. It's easy, and it works.

You Can Say That Again

Let’s close with one a familiar term: “reiterate.” “Let me reiterate,” one might say, usually for emphasis. According to many dictionaries, to iterate is to say or do something again or repeatedly. So, “reiterate” would mean to re-repeat your words or actions.

“Reiterate,” of course, has become the more common term. The savvy¹⁴ writer, though, knows that “iterate” works just as well and that knowledge can be useful. For a headline writer, for example, any tactic¹⁵ for trimming characters helps in a tight count.

Ragan.com

This podcast was written by Rob Reinalda, executive editor for Ragan Communications (word_czar on Twitter), and I'm Mignon Fogarty, the author of Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

That's all. Thank for listening.

 

1 tautologies   

n.同义反复，赘述( tautology的名词复数 )；恒真命题

参考例句：

• Generalized tautologies theories of universal logic are studied for the first time. 本文首次对泛逻辑的广义重言式理论进行研究。 来自互联网
• ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF COMPLEMENTED LATTICES ACCORDING TO THEIR TAUTOLOGIES I. 可？格按恒I式集分类的？ 来自互联网

2 superfluous   

adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的

参考例句：

• She fined away superfluous matter in the design. 她删去了这图案中多余的东西。
• That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it.我这样写的时候觉得这个请求似乎是多此一举。

3 cogent   

adj.强有力的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• The result is a cogent explanation of inflation.结果令人信服地解释了通货膨胀问题。
• He produced cogent reasons for the change of policy.他对改变政策提出了充分的理由。

4 excising   

v.切除，删去( excise的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The censor insisted on excising the passage from the film. 电影审查员坚持剪去影片的这一段。 来自辞典例句
• This contradiction embodied uncertain life value idea and excising state. 在这种矛盾冲突中又体现了不确定性的人生价值观和生存处境。 来自互联网

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

8 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

11 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

12 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

13 excise   

n.(国产)货物税；vt.切除，删去

参考例句：

• I'll excise the patient's burnt areas.我去切除病人烧坏的部分。
• Jordan's free trade zone free of import duty,excise tax and all other taxes.约旦的自由贸易区免收进口税、国内货物税及其它一切税收。

14 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

15 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。