English Grammar, Third edition (2011)

The grammar of academic English

Introduction

When you write or speak in academic contexts, it is important to:

be clear about what you want to say

connect and sequence your message

establish your relationship with the reader appropriately.

The language you choose is related to the purpose of your text. This will vary according to (i) the form in which your message will be presented and (ii) your audience.

A lecture or seminar presents information and points out areas of disagreement. A lecture is often certain in tone, but it raises questions that can be explored. A seminar is an occasion where views are presented and discussed. The speaker often uses you and we.

An essay or assignment brings together and discusses information. A dissertation or a journal article investigates a topic. These texts are formal, and the tone is generally impersonal.

A textbook presents information for teaching and reference: it tells the reader what is known, and its tone suggests certainty.

Being clear about what you want to say: noun and verb phrases

The aim of academic speech and writing is to communicate a message precisely, and without using too many words. In order to achieve this, speakers and writers concentrate information mainly in noun and verb phrases.

Research involves investigating or analysing a subject. This means that nouns and verbs used in academic texts often relate to processes and concepts.

Nominalization

Verbs are often nominalized (= made into nouns) in order to focus the reader on a concept or idea instead of the action. For example:

The demonstration of brain mechanisms at work is not proof that rehabilitation has been achieved.
In 1898 Marie and Pierre Curie announced their discovery of a new element.
After an initial measurement of the patient’s blood glucose, they are given 50g of soluble lactose to drink.
They base their assessment of risk on available scientific evidence.
The maintenance of blood pressure is achieved less rapidly as we age.
Laboratory technicians can provide assistance when required.

The noun phrase (1): Premodifying noun phrases

Premodification allows you to concentrate a lot of information in the noun phrase. You can build the noun phrase in the following ways:

noun + noun (+ noun)

…a food preservation process.

adverb + -ed participle + noun + noun (+ noun)

…a recently developed food preservation process.
…strongly motivated history students.
…a well-organized advertising campaign.

-ed adjectives

Some -ed adjectives (see 2.77 to 2.93) carry the meaning of something that has already been completed.

…finalized plans. (= plans that have been agreed)
…a previously exhibited work of art. (= a work of art that has been shown previously)
…a closed case. (= a case belonging to the group of cases that have been solved)
…a recently completed project. (= a project that has recently been finished)

adverb + -ed participle + adjective + noun + noun (+ noun)

…a recently developed cost effective food preservation process.
…a newly discovered major oil field.

-ing adjectives

-ing adjectives (see 2.63) are used for describing an effect or a process, or a state that continues over a period of time.

Further changes may well bring diminishing returns.
…measures to control the rising cost of living.

Using more than four premodifiers makes the noun phrase difficult to understand, especially when this consists only of nouns. For example:

…the school team game playing area.

In this case, it would be better to use a prepositional phrase (see prepositional phrases below).

…playing areas for school team games.

The noun phrase (2): Postmodifying noun phrases

When you need to be more precise about the noun phrase, or to give the reader more information, you can use a relative clause, a participle or infinitive clause, or a prepositional phrase.

To identify a subject clearly, you use a defining relative clause introduced by a relative pronoun (see 1.146 to 1.150). The most common relative pronoun in academic English is which:

A magnet is a device which strongly attracts certain metals.

reducing the relative clause

The relative clause is often reduced in academic writing. You can reduce the relative clause in the following ways.

leaving out the relative pronoun (when the defining relative clause refers to the object of the sentence).

The hard drive was erased because of the confidential information (which) it contained.

using a participle clause

Participle clauses reduce the relative clause to either an -ing participle or an -ed participle.

…one of the hundreds of Internet entrepreneurs (who are) launching startups in Palo Alto.
They recommend four to twelve doses (which are) given a few days apart.

Other common verbs that are used to reduce the relative clause are use, base, cause, make and concern.

using an infinitive clause

Infinitive clauses are less frequent than participle clauses. An infinitive clause often suggests that it is important to do something.

A problem to watch for is loosening of the joints at the top of the legs.
(…instead of A problem which you should watch for is…)

There are some basic psychological principles to bear in mind.
(…instead of There are some basic psychological principles which you should bear in mind.)

replacing the relative clause with a prepositional phrase.

When a relative clause contains have, you can reduce it to a prepositional phrase using with:

Parliament is a national governing body with the highest level of legislative power.
(…instead of …a national governing body which has the highest level…)

When a relative clause contains is + preposition, you can reduce it to a simple prepositional phrase:

A second central concept (which is) at the core of much developmental research is…

adding an identifying noun phrase

You can give further information about a person or thing by using a noun phrase that describes or identifies them or it (see 2.302).

The Marianas Trench, 11,034 m at its deepest point, is deeper than the height of Mount Everest.
A quicker alternative, a simple search program, makes it easier to search the corpus.

This is common when you are introducing or defining acronyms, abbreviations or technical terms.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has issued a draft report.

non-defining relative clauses

A non-defining relative clause is not needed to identify the person, thing or group you are talking about; instead, it gives the reader more information about the subject, or it evaluates or comments on the subject (see 8.85).

Dark matter, which may be invisible for many reasons, has become increasingly important.

The verb phrase

In general, academic English is less concerned with events, and more concerned with what has been learnt from the event. Therefore, the focus of the sentence moves away from the verb phrase to the noun phrase. Verbs are often nominalized (= made into nouns) – see Nominalization.

The range of tenses used in academic English is more restricted than in everyday English: simple forms of verbs are used more frequently; progressive forms, the past perfect, and the future perfect are used less often.

The tense you use shows your attitude and other people’s attitude to the subject. For example, it shows whether a piece of research or an idea is still generally accepted or not.

the present simple

The present simple is commonly used in the following ways.

to refer to something that you believe is still valid

The two theories are known as ‘ridge push’ versus ‘slab pull’ respectively.

to state continuing objectives

The aim is to direct the energy of the radiation to kill the cancerous cells.

to describe general principles or laws

When water freezes, it expands.

to explain or discuss data or results.

The results show that only a portion of world trade is affected.

to make reference to or relate events in literary works, films, etc.

Shakespeare, in King Lear, emphasizes the social causes of madness.

the present perfect

The present perfect is commonly used in the following ways.

to review research

There is a vast literature looking at development issues, the main elements of which have been reviewed here.

to make a general statement about the state of research activity in a given area

Little research has been done on microscopic plastics.

to summarize a text

In light of the evidence that has been reviewed thus far in this book…

the past simple

The past simple is commonly used in the following ways:

to indicate that something happened or was true at a particular time in the past, and that it may be less valid today

The almost universal view was that the liver was the main organ in the blood system.

to describe samples and procedures

A full study was conducted with a sample of managers from the UK head office.

to report findings

Their research showed that over half of all cancer cases could be prevented.

will

Will is used to state your intention.

This study will examine the effects of depression.

Will often occurs with an adverb such as often or probably, because academic writers must avoid suggesting that their personal ideas and theories are facts.

The desert regions will probably become more extensive.
Changes in practice will often be the result of a long political process.

linking verbs

Linking verbs are used for describing a situation or a quality, and so they occur frequently in academic English. Linking verbs that are commonly used in academic English are be, become, look, remain, seem, appear, prove, and represent (see 3.126 to 3.181).

At first glance, the system seems overwhelmingly complex.
Scientists fear that some viruses may prove challenging to deal with.
The source of the information must remain anonymous.

Common complements include:

nouns

The results of this experiment remain a secret.
Their decision represents a turnaround.

adjectives

The patients appeared to be immune to the HIV virus.
Predictions for next year look increasingly uncertain.

object complements

You can put a noun or adjective complement after the object of some transitive verbs. This complement describes the object, and is called an object complement.

They cannot keep the options of both politics and terrorism open.
Television scored significantly higher amongst those who found politics interesting.
Some analysts do not consider it a virus.