Scientific Writing part 2: Parts of Speech, Phrases and Clauses

The one experiment that has been given the most attention in the debate on saccharin is the 1977 Canadian study done on rats. The Calorie Control Council, a group of Japanese and American manufacturers of saccharin, spent $890,000 in the first three months of the 1977 ban on saccharin on lobbying, advertisements, and public relations. A flat-plate collector located on a sloping roof heats water which circulates through a coil and is pumped back to the collector. The blades start turning when the windspeed reaches 10 mph, and an anemometer is attached to the shaft to measure windspeed. The multifuel capacity of the Stirling engine gives it a versatility not possible in the internal combustion engine. The regenerative cooling cycle in the engines of the Space Shuttle is made up of high pressure hydrogen that flows in tubes connecting the nozzle and the combustion chamber.

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Pronouns. A pronoun stands in the place of a noun. There are several types: personal pronouns, demonstrative and indefinite pronouns, and relative and interrogative pronouns. Pronouns have antecedents, a reference to a word they take the place of. Personal pronouns. Personal pronouns include nominative case, objective case, and possessive case pronouns. Nominative case pronouns are used in the positions of subjects or subjective complements; they include: I you he, she, it we you they Possessive case pronouns show possession; they include: my, mine your, yours his her, hers its our, ours your, yours their, theirs Demonstrative and indefinite pronouns. Demonstrative pronouns substitute for things being pointed out; indefinite pronouns substitute for unknown or unspecified things: Demonstrative pronouns this these that those Indefinite pronouns each either any neither anybody some every somebody everybody someone Relative and interrogative pronouns. Relative pronouns link dependent to independent clauses; they link to adjective or noun clauses to simple sentences. Relative pronouns include: who whom whose when where why   which whether that

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Here are some examples of relative pronouns in use:

Until the early 1960s, desk calculators, which performed only the basic arithmetic operations, were essentially mechanical in operation. The invention of the transistor in 1948 and the integrated circuit in 1964 were two events that formed the basis of the electronic calculator revolution. The form in which memory is presented to the software is sometimes called local address space. George Boole, who was a self-taught man, is famous for his pioneering efforts to express logical concepts in mathematical form. In 1855, Boole married Mary Everest, a niece of Sir George Everest after whom Mount Everest was named. Lemaitre proposed that all the matter in the Universe was con- centrated into what he termed the primeval atom, whose explosion scattered material into space to form galaxies, which have been flying outward ever since.

Interrogative pronouns, similar to relative pronouns, are used in question sentences:

What is the fundamental unit of storage in a computer? When did the first exhibit of computer graphics occur? Who were the mathmaticians that arranged that first exhibit? Where was the first computer graphics exhibit held? Why is computer-aided art not considered art by some?

Verbs. Traditionally, verbs are divided into four groups: active verbs, linking verbs, auxiliary verbs, and modals. Active verbs. Active verbs express some sort of action and can be subdivided into intransitive and transitive verbs. Intransitive verbs do not take direct objects while transitive verbs do, as these two sets of examples show:

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Intransitive Verbs The rearrangement or division of a heavy nucleus may take place naturally (spontaneous fission) or under bombardment with neutrons. The probability of an accident leading to the melting of the fuel core was estimated to be one chance in 20,000 reactor-years of operation. The fuels used in ramjet engines burn in only a narrow range of fuel-air ratios. Transitive Verbs The generation of electric energy by a nuclear power plant requires the use of heat to produce steam or to heat gases in order to drive turbogenerators. In an auxiliary relay, when the applied current or voltage exceeds a threshold value, the coil activates the armature, which either closes the open contacts or opens the closed contacts. The solar power satellite absorbs the solar energy in geosynchronous orbit. In the photovoltaic solar power system, solar cells convert the light energy into electricity.

Linking verbs. A linking verb is any form of the verb to be without an action verb; it sets up something like an equal sign between the items it links. Linking verbs of a sentence can be longer than one word:

had been would have been was being might have been had to have been will have been

A few linking verbs do not use to be but function like it:

That word processing program seems adequate for our needs. This calculus problem looks difficult. Since the oil spill, the beach has smelled bad. He quickly grew weary of computer games.

Auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs "help" the main part of the verb. Here are some auxiliary verbs:

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By 1967, about 500 U.S. citizens had received heart transplants. Better immunosuppression management in transplant operations has yielded better results. Researchers have found propranolol to effective in the treatment of heartbeat irregularities.

Modals. Modal verbs change the meaning of the verb in a variety of ways as illustrated in the examples below:

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Cracks in the welding can only be detected by x-rays. Liquid oxygen could have leaked into the turbine and caused the fire. The light metal fast-breeder reactor must be operated under extreme safety precautions.

Verbs are used together in a complex variety of tenses. In the chart below, keep in mind that "continuous" tenses are those that use -ing and "perfect" tenses are those that use some form of the auxiliary verb have.

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Simple Present works Simple Past worked Present Continuous is working Past Continuous was working Present Perfect has worked Past Perfect had worked Simple Future will work Future Continuous will be working Future Perfect will have worked Present Perfect Continuous has been working Past Perfect Continuous had been working Future Perfect Continuous will have been working

Adjectives. An adjective provides more detail about a noun; that is, it modifies a noun. Adjectives occur just before the nouns they modify, or after a linking verb:

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The armature is a rectangular ring about which another coil of wire is wound. The generator is used to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. The steel pipes contain a protective sacrificial annode and are surrounded by packing material.

Adverbs. An adverb provides more information about a verb, adjective, or another adverb; that is, it "qualifies" the verb, adjective, or adverb:

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The desk is made of an especially corrosion-resistant industrial steel. The drilling bit actually tears rock apart to get at the oil. The power company uses huge generators which are generally turned by steam turbines. The debate over nuclear power has often been bitter.

Conjunctions. Conjunctions link words, phrases, and whole clauses to each other and are divided into coordinating, adverbial, and subordinating conjunctions. In this list, only the coordinating conjunctions are complete:

Coordinating conjunctions and or nor but yet for whereas

Subordinating conjunctions although since because when while if as if as

Adverbial conjunctions therefore however in other words thus then otherwise nevertheless on the other hand

Coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases, and clauses. Here are some examples:

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Nuclear-powered artificial hearts proved to be complicated, bulky, and expensive. In the 1960s, artificial heart devices did not fit well and tended to obstruct the flow of venous blood into the right atrium. The blood vessels leading to the device tended to kink, obstructing the filling of the chambers and resulting in inadequate output. The small clots that formed throughout the circulatory system used up so much of the clotting factor that uncontrolled bleeding from external or internal injury became a risk. Current from the storage batteries can power lights, but the current for appliances must be modified within an inverter.

Adverbial conjunctions link two separate sentences, but require a semicolon or colon:

The Kedeco produces 1200 watts in 17 mph winds using a 16-foot rotor; on the other hand, the Dunlite produces 2000 watts in 25 mph winds. The first artificial hearts were made of smooth silicone rubber which apparently caused excessive clotting and, therefore, uncontrolled bleeding. (This example does not contain two sentences; no semicolon, therefore, is needed.) For short periods, the fibers were beneficial; however, the eventual buildup of fibrin on the inner surface of the device would impair its function. The atria of the heart contribute a neglible amount of energy; in fact, the total power output of the heart is only about 2.5 watts.

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Subordinating conjunctions combine separate sentences in a different way: they turn one of the sentences into an adverb clause. Here are some examples of subordinating conjunctions:

The heart undergoes two cardiac cycle periods: a diastole, when blood enters the ventricles, and systole, when the ventricles contract and blood is pumped out of the heart. Whenever an electron acquires enough energy to leave its orbit, the atom is positively charged. If the wire is broken, electrons will cease to flow and current is zero.

Phrases and clauses Phrases and clauses are groups of words that act as a unit and perform a single function within a sentence. A phrase may have a partial subject or verb but not both; a dependent clause has both a subject and a verb (but is not a complete sentence). Here are a few examples (not all phrases are highlighted because some are embedded in others):

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Phrases Electricity has to do with those physical phenomena involving electrical charges and their effects when in motion and when at rest. Electricity manifests itself as a force of attraction, inde- pendent of gravitational and short-range nuclear attraction, when two oppositely charged bodies are brought close to one another. In 1800, A. Volta constructed and experimented with the voltaic pile, the predecessor of modern batteries. In 1833, Faraday's experimentation with electrolysis indicated a natural unit of electrical charge, thus pointing to a discrete rather than continuous charge. The symbol that denotes a connection to the grounding conductor is three parallel horizontal lines, each of the lower ones being shorter than the one above it. Clauses Electricity manifests itself as a force of attraction, independent of gravitational and short-range nuclear attraction, when two oppositely charged bodies are brought close to one another. The symbol that denotes a connection to the grounding conductor is three parallel horizontal lines, each of the lower ones being shorter than the one above it. These studies led Planck to postulate that electromagnetic radiation is emitted in discrete amounts, called quanta. Since the frequency is the speed of sound divided by the wavelength, a shorter wavelength means a higher wavelength. Nuclear units planned or in construction have a total capacity of 186,998 KW, which, if current plans hold, will bring nuclear capacity to about 22 % of all electrical capacity by 1995. (A clause within a clause)

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Prepositional phrases. A prepositional phrase, composed of a preposition and its object, shows relationships involving time, direction, or space:

An artificial heart was installed in a human subject for the first time in 1969. The current leads to the field coils and into an external circuit. Alternators are not compatible with wind systems because of their high rpm requirements. The operation of a wind generator is based upon Faraday's law of induced voltage which states that the voltage between the ends of a loop of wire is proportional to the rate of change in the magnetic field lines within the loop. (Four prepositional phrases in the last one highlighted.)

Appositives. An appositive, a word or phrase that renames a noun or pronoun, adds information about a noun but in a way different than do adjectives:

In 1972, Richard Nixon, president of the U.S., approved the development of a reusable space vehicle, the Space Shuttle. Broad principles about space flight were laid down by the Austrian astronautical pioneer, Dr. Eugen Sanger. The external tank of the Space Shuttle's main engines is composed of two tanks — a large hydrogen tank and a smaller oxygen tank. An upper air inversion, a layer of stable air, is usually present over large areas of the tradewinds as a hurricane develops.

 

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Participial phrases. A participial phrase is a group of words acting as an adjective and modifying a noun or pronoun. A participle is the -ed or -ing form of a verb:

The Eagle Generator uses a 6-pole, shunt-wound generator designed to reach maximum power at 20 mph. Because of the design created by Kwan-Gett, endothelial cells could grow on the fibrin layer, making the interior surfaces of the artificial heart similar to those of the natural heart. The wire is wrapped around field cores made of steel lamina- tions.

Gerunds and gerund phrases. Similar in appearance to a participial phrase, the gerund plays the role of noun. A gerund is a single word with -ing used as a noun. A gerund phrase is a single word with -ing accompanied by its objects, complements, and modifiers; it is a group of words acting as noun

In the iron-core type transformer, the winding is wrapped around an iron bar. The splitting of an atom produces a great amount of energy. The cloning of a cell produces an identical cell. Jarvik changed his artificial heart design in 1974 by fitting his model with a highly flexible three-layer diaphragm made of smooth polyurethane. The Jarvik-7 design then in 1979 achieved a record time of sustaining life in a calf for 221 days. Reversing the rotation of the electrohydraulic heart pump reverses the direction of the hydraulic flow.

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Adjective clauses. An adjective clause is almost a complete sentence — but not quite. It functions the same way a single-word adjective does: both modify, that is, add more information to our understanding of a noun. Adjective clauses contain (1) a relative pronoun, (2) in some cases, a subject, (3) a complete verb, and (4) any other accompanying predicates or objects:

Typically, one portable drilling rig, which requires two tug boats to bring it to the site, and several other boats are used in the exploratory drilling phase. The company holds many patents on its wind energy systems, such as the flyball governor which varies the pitch of the blades in high winds and the slow-speed generator whose performance curve matches that of the propeller. The idea of the artificial heart arose in part from the need to treat people who cannot receive a donor heart. Nose designed a "biolized" heart in which the surfaces that came into contact with blood were made from natural tissues treated with chemical fixatives to make them tougher and immunologically inert. (An adjective clause within another adjective clause) The regular CPR class people are taking everywhere now only lasts an evening.

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Adverb clauses. An adverb clause is also nearly a complete sentence; it functions like an adverb does by explaining the how, when, where, and why of the discussion. The adverb clause usually contains a subordinating conjunction, a subject, a complete verb, and any other related phrases or clauses:

Because the shortage in donor hearts is so severe, transplant surgery is limited to people with the best chances of surviving. As long as the wind speed is sufficient, the electrical energy will be continuously generated. If an oil spill occurs away from shore, it is unlikely to affect many birds, unless they are directly in a major migratory path at a migrating season.

Noun clauses. A noun clause is a group of words used as a noun. Introduced by a relative pronoun, a noun clause can play any of the functions a noun plays: subject, direct object, object of preposition, subjective or object complement. Here are example noun clauses, with their functions labelled:

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Estimates indicate that 20 million Americans owned hand-held calculators by 1974. (direct object) Computer systems are often measured by how much main memory their architectures allow and by how fast that memory can be accessed. (object of preposition - two of them!) Lemaitre proposed that all matter in the Universe was once concentrated into what he termed the primeval atom. (direct object; in this sentence, "what he termed the primeval atom" is also a noun clause.) The choice of furnace wall construction depends on how sophisticated the gas-cleaning equipment to be used is and on whether a large amount of waste is to be recovered. (object of preposition - two of them) Most microcomputers use what are called flexible diskettes for program and data storage. (direct object) The major disadvantage of sequential files is that they are slow. (subject complement)

Coordinated elements. Many of the sentence elements described above can be "coordinated"; that is, they can be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled and linked with coordinating conjunctions like and and or. For example, in the phrase "a black and white Datsun 240Z," two adjectives are are coordinated. Here are some examples of coordinated sentence elements and their coordinating conjunctions:

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In 1800, A. Volta constructed and experimented with the voltaic pile, the predecessor of the modern battery. (two verb phrases) Maxwell's theory not only synthesized theories about electricity and magnetism, but also showed optics to be a branch of electromagnetism. (two nouns and verb phrases) Heat exchangers may be so designed that chemical reactions or energy-generation processes can be carried out in them. (two noun phrases) Heat exchangers find wide applications in the chemical process industries, in the food industry, in the generation of steam for production of power and electricity, in aircraft and space vehicles, and in the field of cryogenics for low-temperature separation of gases. (five prepositional phrases; two pairs of nouns)

© Università degli Studi di Padova - Centro Linguistico di Ateneo Project and design:Marina Canapero, Elena Nalon

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