9.1 Use of Chinese: Structural Sentence Errors (句子辨析：語病)

9.1 Use of Chinese: Structural Sentence Errors (句子辨析：語病)

Quick Answer: The 句子辨析 part has 8 questions. According to the CSB, it tests knowledge of Chinese grammar and the ability to analyse sentence structure, logic, word use and organisation (辨析句子結構、邏輯、用詞、組織等能力). This section covers the structural faults: mismatched collocations (搭配不當), missing components (成分殘缺), redundancy (成分贅餘), faulty word order (語序不當) and mixed constructions (句式雜糅). Section 9.2 covers logical faults. The fastest method is to reduce the sentence to its skeleton (主幹) and check whether the subject, verb and object fit together.

The official sample, explained

選出有語病的句子。 A 校方經過多次磋商後，終於釋除了學生會的疑慮和要求。 B 港府發言人表示，雙方還有不少問題待解決，他寄望港粵邊界劃分很快會有結果。 C 大學生活有苦有樂，當中少不了的是趕功課時通宵達旦的那種滋味。 D 在預科時，我也學過實用文寫作，可惜現在全都忘記了。 答案：A

Sentence A joins two objects to one verb: 釋除……疑慮 (dispel doubts) is correct, but 釋除……要求 (dispel demands) is not, because demands are met or answered (回應要求, 滿足要求), not dispelled. Errors like this hide in compound objects joined by 和, 及 or 與. Test the verb with each object separately.

The skeleton method (主幹緊縮法)

A Chinese sentence has a core skeleton with modifiers attached:

Four steps:

1. Strip the modifiers: remove 的-phrases, 地-phrases, time and place phrases, and purpose clauses (為了……).
2. Read the skeleton: subject + verb + object. Can this subject do this verb? Can this verb take this object?
3. Put the modifiers back: check that each modifies the right word and sits in a natural order.
4. Check connectives: 不但……而且……, 只有……才……, 雖然……但是…… must pair correctly (Section 9.4).

Worked example

為了落實推動創新科技的策略，有關部門近年大力引進涵蓋生物醫藥、人工智能等多個重點領域。

• Strip 為了……策略 (purpose), 近年 (time) and 大力 (manner).
• Skeleton: 部門 + 引進 + 涵蓋……領域.
• Fault: a department cannot 引進 (bring in) a field. 涵蓋……領域 was meant to modify a missing head noun such as 企業 or 人才. The fix is to add it: 引進涵蓋……等多個重點領域的企業和人才.

The five structural faults

More redundancy patterns

Redundancy often comes from a word whose meaning already includes the extra word:

• 相差懸殊很大: 懸殊 already means a great difference.
• 夙願已久: 夙 already means long-standing.
• 忍俊不禁地笑了: 忍俊不禁 already means unable to help laughing.
• 凱旋歸來: 旋 already means to return.
• 親眼目睹: 睹 already means seeing with one's eyes.

More collocation patterns

Mismatches are most common when one verb governs two objects, or one subject has two predicates:

• 提高了產品的質量和數量: 提高質量 is fine, but 數量 is 增加, not 提高.
• 他的態度和聲音都很響亮: 聲音 can be 響亮, but 態度 cannot.
• 會議討論並通過了三項議案和下一步工作: 通過工作 is not a valid collocation.

A checklist for "choose the sentence with or without errors"

1. Read the stem: 有語病 (has an error) or 沒有語病 (has no error)?
2. Strip each sentence to its skeleton. Many errors appear at once.
3. Split compound parts: test the verb with each object, and each subject with the predicate.
4. Look for redundant pairs: 大約/左右, 凱旋/歸來 and similar.
5. Check the start of the sentence: does 通過, 經過, 由於 or 在……下 swallow the subject?
6. Accept natural but informal sentences: a sentence can be correct without sounding like a government document. The CSB sample's correct sentences include everyday statements such as 我也學過實用文寫作.

Why structural errors are easy to miss

Native readers process meaning, not grammar. When a sentence's intended meaning is obvious, the mind supplies the missing object or ignores the redundant word, so the error goes unnoticed. That is why reading a faulty sentence "for sense" so often ends in "it sounds fine". The skeleton method works because it removes the context that lets the mind fill gaps. Once only the subject, verb and object remain, a phrase such as 部門＋引進＋領域 or 我們＋改善＋意見 reads as plainly wrong.

A second reason is that the CSB's correct sentences are not polished officialese. In the official sample, sentence C (大學生活有苦有樂……) and sentence D (在預科時，我也學過實用文寫作……) are informal and personal, yet both are correct. Do not reject a sentence because it sounds casual; reject it only when you can name the structural fault.

Practice: name the fault

Work through each one with the skeleton method before reading the fix. Naming the fault type in two or three characters (殘缺, 搭配, 贅餘, 語序, 雜糅) speeds up recognition in the examination.