although省略问题

Spencer125

Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on
the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on the Sun’s poles or equator.

(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun, although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun’s surface, which have never been sighted on
这道题目正确答案是A,我选的是C
OG对C的解释是:Although typically introduces a subordinate clause, which has a subject and a verb, but here there is no subject and sighted is not a complete verb.
为什么不能把C看作是省略主语吖?
难道although必须要有主语？可是OG48有一题也考了though， 其实一个正确选项是 Though called a sea, the landlocked Caspian is actually the largest lake on Earth, covering more than four times the surface area of its closest rival in size, North America's Lake Superior.   这里though不就是省略了Caspian sea吗？ 为何又是对的了？？？？

AMBER513

以上是RON的解答

AMBER513

there's also a problem of meaning. it's not a huge glaring issue, but it's still an issue.

the basic meaning of "xxxx, although yyyy" / "although yyyy, xxxx" is...
"yyyy" is something that makes "xxxx" seem unlikely (or, at the very least, less likely than it would otherwise seem), but, nevertheless, "xxxx" is true.

the way those answer choices are written, they don't make literal sense:
Sunspots are visible as dark spots ..., (al)though ... never sighted at the Sun's poles or equator
--> this sentence doesn't fit the template above. i.e., the fact that sunspots have never been sighted at the sun's poles or equator doesn't reduce the likelihood that they appear as dark spots.

importantly, the main clause DOES NOT just say that the sunspots appear on the surface of the sun. that, by contrast, would actually make sense here.
the problem is that the main clause describes the specific physical appearance of the spots ("as dark spots"), and thus doesn't create a proper contrast anymore.

AMBER513

1."although xxxx" 在句子之前：
• if "(al)though xxxx" PRECEDES the sentence, then "xxxx" can be either a complete sentence or an adjective/modifier.
e.g.,
(Al)though James has never been formally trained in medicine, he is able to identify a wide variety of maladies.
("although" + complete sentence; precedes the main sentence)
also see OG SC problem #39 (can't reproduce here)

(Al)though not formally trained in medicine, James is able to identify a wide variety of maladies.
("although" + adjective-type modifier; precedes the main sentence)
also see OG SC problem #48 (can't reproduce here)

2. "although xxxx" 在句子之中
if "(al)though xxxx" INTERRUPTS the sentence, then "xxxx" should be only a modifier. in this case, "xxxx" should NOT be a complete sentence.

^^ this is something i discovered just now. despite trying, i wasn't able to make a good sentence that's interrupted by "(al)though + complete sentence". i can't guarantee that this is a "rule", though i can vouch for it with a reasonable degree of certainty.

e.g.,
if the interruption follows a noun, then you should have a modifier that describes the noun (adjective-type modifier):
Paula, though exhausted, managed to stay awake through her son's entire piano recital.

if the interruption follows a verb, you should have a modifier that describes the verb (adverb-type modifier):
Audrey just admitted, though inadvertently, how she really feels about her mother-in-law.

also see OG SC problem #36 (can't reproduce here)

3."although xxxx" 在句子之后
• if "although xxxx" FOLLOWS the sentence, then "xxxx" should be a complete sentence. in this case, "xxxx" should not be a modifier/adjective.

(i assume this construction is familiar enough to make examples unnecessary. if you need examples, just say so in a response)

^^ this one is what's relevant to the particular problem at hand. as with the idea above, this is another incidental "discovery" that i can't %100 guarantee is actually a "rule".

--

and here's the weirdest discovery of all: if "though" (NOT "although") follows the sentence, it IS allowed to introduce a modifier.
in this case, the modifier should be an adverb-type modifier; in other words, it should describe the entire action that precedes it.

e.g.,
I wear swimsuits often, though never for actual swimming; I just lie out in the sun.

蟹黄味蚕豆

Spencer125 发表于 2013-7-8 23:23
你太牛了。学习学习。非常赞同你的说法。

加上was 个人认为也是不对的， never imply的是过去发生的事情对现在的影响，也就是说现在也还是没有看到。所以不省略的情况下，应该是 although sunspots have never been spotted。
但是省略的时候，只能省略主语以及be动词，对于have这样的助动词以及could这样的情态动词是不能省略的，因为省略了以后句子的意思就是完全不一样的意思了。

慢腾腾的老鼠

我想问一下，如果在although前加一个逗号，那么C是否是正确的？

暗香明月

也就是说 while although存在的考点其实也是平行咯

兰心寒

所以C选项的错误其实是，就算省主语，也不能省谓语are/have been是吗？

ashlyzhu

苏木苏木 发表于 2013-7-8 22:47
个人拙见。。
lz拿这两个句子的类比不甚恰当， “Though called a sea”和“although never sighted at”这 ...

再问一个问题啊：although 可以连从句吗？
可是C选项为什么不能把它although never sighted at ..当做从句呢？？？

ashlyzhu

苏木苏木 发表于 2013-7-8 22:47
个人拙见。。
lz拿这两个句子的类比不甚恰当， “Though called a sea”和“although never sighted at”这 ...

OG对C的解释是:Although typically introduces a subordinate clause, which has a subject and a verb, but here there is no subject and sighted is not a complete verb.
og这样说什么意思（是因为Although后面没有主语，所以错）。。og真是误导人啊。。。不过我觉得你说的很对啊。。。