Paraphrasing in English
Paraphrase with word class changes
We have seen the effects of replacements with synonyms. The next technique I have learned and would like to introduce to you is replacing word classes. That means changing a noun phrase into a verb phrase or a verb into an adjective and some other changes. These changes already require the necessary change of sentence structure.
emergence (noun) -> to emerge (verb)
educational (adjective) -> education (noun)
successive (adjective) -> to succeed (verb)
The emergence of big data technology at the end of last century has revolutionized linguistic research.
When big data technology emerged at the end of the last century, it revolutionized linguistic research.
A majority of German parents regards a stay in England as highly educational for their children.
A majority of German parents regards a stay in England as important part of their children's education.
A day is marked by successive times of light and dark.
Times of light and dark succeed each other and thus mark a day.
We can now change the word classes of our example.
Jonathan Safran Foer's (Foer 2009, 149) claim that the complexity of our choices of food is increased is based on the fact that people eat in company. Dinner companionship exerts a great influence on our choice of food.
What you can do to develop mastery in this area is to study word families. Whenever you get to know a word in English, take five minutes to study also its family and find examples.
Verb | Noun | Adjective | Adverb | Others |
to inform someone | to collect information | informational (meeting) | informationally rich | an informative presentation |
to implicate (be implicated in the crime) | and, by implication, (=und indirekt auch) | implicit | implicitly | - - - |
to imply criticism | have practical implications | express or implied conditions | - - - | - - - |