VOA日常语法2024--Reviewing Prefixes in Protest Stories

In last week's Everyday Grammar, we looked at prefixes² in reports of student protests against the war between Israel and Hamas.

Then, we asked our readers to use prefixes from that story to write about their experiences with protests in their own countries.

Our reader Kaori from Japan wrote to us about her father's experiences with student protests. She begins:

"My father experienced anti-war demonstration³ against Japanese military re-establishment after World War Ⅱ when he was a university student."

Use an article before a singular noun

First, let us consider some small grammatical corrections. The phrase, "anti-war demonstration," needs an indefinite article as in "an anti-war demonstration," or it needs to be plural⁴, as in "anti-war demonstrations⁵." This is because it is the first time the demonstrations are being described. Remember this rule:

Definite or indefinite article + Singular noun

(Definite article) + Plural noun

Using the definite article can be optional in some cases.

Another correction is to the phrase, "Japanese military." This is a singular noun phrase, and it should have a definite article before it, as in "the Japanese military."

The phrase, "the Japanese military re-establishment" might be unclear to a reader who does not know a lot about the history of Japan.

We can change this statement to make it a little easier to understand. Rather than "the Japanese military re-establishment," we suggest using a prepositional phrase, "the re-establishment of the Japanese military." This kind of possessive structure can help clarify that the process of "establishing the military again" is being described.

Among the prefixes Kaori uses in the statement, we find "anti-," which means "against" and "re-," which means "do again."

Kaori might re-write her statement:

"My father experienced an anti-war demonstration against the re-establishment of the Japanese military after World War II when he was a university student."

Looking back from age 80

Kaori continued, "Now, he is over 80 years old and says that it was some stupid memory because he didn't have any anti-war policy and reforming unstable⁶ society after war." Here we have the prefix¹ "un-," which means "the opposite of."

A formal way to say how your father sees this experience is "he looks back on it with some embarrassment⁷." You say, "He didn't have any anti-war policy" but usually we talk about a government or organization having a policy.

Speaking of an individual, Kaori may re-write this statement:

"He looks back on the protests with some embarrassment because he did not hold strong anti-war opinions."

The next phrase, "reforming unstable society after war," is a little unclear. It might mean that Kaori's father did not understand the need to reform Japan's society, which was unstable after the war. A clearer way to say this uses the noun form, "instability," where the prefix "un" changes to "in-."

Then we can use the conjunction "nor" to connect two negative statements:

"He looks back on the protests with some embarrassment because he did not hold strong anti-war opinions, nor did he understand the instability of Japan's society after the war."

Youthful energy

Kaori's next statement is, "Young power and enthusiastic mood at that time let him to march with his friends near U.S. navy camp in Yokosuka."

Let us correct one word choice first. The verb "let" does not fit well in this statement because it means to permit someone to do something. "Led" works better because it means to cause someone to do something. Note that we can express "young power and enthusiastic mood" with the shorter phrase, "youthful energy." And remember our rule about the definite article. We need "the" before "U.S."

To describe a large group of military structures, we usually use "base" rather than "camp." We should use the adjective form, "naval⁸" instead of the verb form, "navy." Putting these changes together, we can say, "His youthful energy led him to march with his friends near the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka."

Thank you for writing to us, Kaori. It was good for you to talk with your father about his youthful experience with anti-war protests. And we are grateful to you for sharing it with us.

Words in This Story

phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

mention - n. an act of saying something about a topic

optional - adj. available as a choice but not required

stable - adj. in a good state or condition that is not easily changed or likely to change

embarrassment - n. the state of feeling foolish in front of others

1 prefix   

n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面

参考例句：

• We prefix "Mr."to a man's name.我们在男士的姓名前加“先生”。
• In the word "unimportant ","un-" is a prefix.在单词“unimportant”中“un”是前缀。

2 prefixes   

n.前缀( prefix的名词复数 )；人名前的称谓；前置代号（置于前面的单词或字母、数字）

参考例句：

• The prefixes cis and trans are frequently applied to disubstituted cycloalkanes. 词头顺和反常用于双取代的环烷烃。 来自辞典例句
• Why do you use so many prefixes while talking? 你说起话来，怎么这么多中缀？ 来自互联网

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

7 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。