中式英语之鉴读后感

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Reader:曾维庭
Reading Time:4.18-4.20
Reading Task:pronouns and Antecedents
After reading the chapter about "pronouns and What They Refer to" in The Translator's Guide to Chinglish, I finally understand the big differences between Chinese and English in using pronouns. In Chinese, we often don’t need pronouns because people can understand from the context. For example, we can just say "很重要" ("very important") without a subject. But in English, pronouns must clearly point to their nouns, or people will get confused. The book gives an example: the wrong sentence "Although raining, he came" (直接翻译中文“虽然下雨了，他还是来了”) misses the word "it". In Chinese, we don’t need to say "it was raining", but in English, we must say "Although it was raining".

The book also warns that using too many pronouns like "they" or "it" in formal writing can make readers lost. For example, the sentence "The government should consider their policy" is unclear because "their" is wrong here. It should be "The government should consider its taxation policy". Another useful tip: "There are..." simply shows something exists, while "It is..." emphasizes a fact. They can’t be used interchangeably.

Now when I write in English, I always check if every pronoun (like "it", "they", or "this") clearly refers to a noun mentioned earlier. If the noun hasn’t been mentioned in the last five words, I repeat the noun instead of using a pronoun. This book taught me that English is like building blocks—every piece must fit perfectly. Chinese is like flowing water—ideas connect naturally through meaning. To write natural English, I need to change my Chinese thinking habits.