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17 - Words and parts of speech for EAL writers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2014

Neville W. Goodman  and
Martin B. Edwards
Edited by
Elise Langdon-Neuner
Illustrated by
Andy Black
Neville W. Goodman
Affiliation:
Southmead Hospital, Bristol
Andy Black
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
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Summary

Words

ACUTE: see p. 49

ALLOW to or for?

Allow is a common word in medical writing and the mistakes that EAL authors make when using it are also common. The word demands detailed consideration because it flits between prepositions changing its meaning as it goes. Allow is usually used in the context of to let something happen, when it has to be followed by a direct object in English: We allow analysis immediately. Mistakes arise because, in some other languages, allow does not need a direct object and is often immediately followed by to.

An additional aim was to find an indicator that would allow to follow-up ovarian stimulation.

. . . the transgenic mice allowed to visualize the corresponding glomerulus and to stimulate with a known ligand.

These sentences are incorrect, and are cured by adding the direct object us: allow us to follow-up, allowed us tovisualize (used correctly).

The object in medical writing is often a noun formed from a verb by a suffix: – ‘ment’ or ‘ion’ or ‘ing’; this last form is grammatically a gerund. In these cases the object is followed by of.

There is no specific questionnaire that allows evaluating treatment-induced changes in QoL.

The simple way to correct the grammar is allows the evaluating of . . . or (better) allows the evaluation of . . . , but the object of the wanted questionnaire is the changes not the evaluation. The sentence is better rephrased: There is no specific questionnaire that measures changes in QoL caused by treatment. (QoL is quality of life.)

Type
Chapter
Information
Medical Writing
A Prescription for Clarity
 , pp. 258 - 284
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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