How do I encapsulate an inferred verb? Why can’t two versions of the verb be used in the same sentence?
I work in a scientific field and when my reports are reviewed I commonly have them kicked back asking for a second “were” before “compared”, This kind of sentence: The items
were entered into the database and the results were compared… Is
the second “were” necessary?
I’ve been writing like this for a while and never thought twice about it, but when asked what makes this work. I can’t explain why this works. How do you write past perfect forms of two verbs in a sentence?
Thanks in advance for the question!
Is it possible to save time and money online when you can’t drive to my restaurant?
If the subject of the sentence does not change, this can be done because the conjunction combines two similar component of the sentence.
The study results had been grouped and compared.
The results were compiled using proprietary software and compared by hand. In addition, the accuracy of the results was more than statistically significant.
As soon as you create two independent clauses (a single clause) you create your second verb (then you forgo the previous clause)!
I had opened a new store and invited more than 500 guests to the big party in celebration of his birthday. What was the end of the party for me?
His wife had invited the guests to his grand opening party in honor of the anniversary.
All of this still depends on the time frame, correct sentences can have two verbs with different tenses. Assuming.
When a reference is needed for a specific example, the word “were” is definitely needed, otherwise “the results” are the subject of their independent clause. This is a passive construction of the verb (Who compare the results?), which is okay in a report where the subject is unknown or does not matter. A better option is to reconstruct the sentence and create a more complex subject. All this depends on context. If an emotion is held in your brain without regard for your surroundings.
All of the entries in the database were compared
to…
What is the evidence for the validity of the sentences that
were entered into the database and the results compared?
Is the passive auxiliary by any method. Any one can do this. The ellipsis of auxiliaries in coordinated sentences is quite a common and natural. Also, we quite often see auxiliaries and lexical verbs elided. However, the problem here is that the sentence can garden path your reader. What this means is that the reader may start interpreting the second clause in a different way from intended, and then, when they get to the end of the sentence, may have to go back and re-parse what they’ve read.
In particular the ellipsis of the passive auxiliary in this particular example means that the subject occurs next to what looks like a tensed (past simple) verb form. In fact it is a past participle but the reader won’t know this until they get to the end of the sentence (and maybe backtrack and reread). Next to the second
- clause,… The results compared
Perhaps this may make the whole idea sound logical as if the results were doing the comparing – as opposed to somebody was comparing the results. This is not a fatal problem once we get to the end of the sentence, the editor involved may feel that it is a problem best avoided for the sake of ease of reading.
