【英語論文の書き方】　第33回　 report と show、２つの動詞の時制について 論文翻訳・英文校正　研究者専門の翻訳会社　ワールド翻訳サービス

『英語論文の書き方』の執筆者である興野先生がご多忙のため、しばらく
執筆をお休みされることになりました。

そのため代わりまして、当社のベテランEnglish EditorのBobさんが執筆している
”Quality Review” をしばらくの間お届けします。

長年日本人の論文を専門に見ているEditorならではの、ネイティブの視点です。
わかりやすい英語で解説していますので、ぜひお気軽に読んでみてください。

今回の３つのトピックはこちらです。

（１）We reported/have reported? We showed/have shown?
Which tense is appropriate in such cases?

過去形か過去完了形か、時制で迷うことありますよね。
今回は論文で頻出の report と show、２つの動詞について解説します。

（２）Some hints on writing section headings

論文の見出しの書き方についてのヒントです。
Results、Discussionは単数か複数か、どちらにすべきかなど、
細かい所ですが、ネイティブの解説は腑に落ちるのではないでしょうか。

（３）Hereafter and similar expressions

何度もくりかえし出したい表現が長いフレーズの場合、
”hereafter～”を使えばフレーズを短く省くことができます。
便利な表現です。




 

In this edition of Quarterly Review, first we delve into the use of tenses with the words report and show.
We then examine some of the conventions used for writing section headings, and conclude with a brief look at
how we use the word hereafter and similar expressions.
 

The question of whether to use the past tense (e.g., we developed) or the present perfect tense
(e.g., we have developed) in a particular situation often comes up,
and we have already referred to this problem in some previous issues of Quarterly Review
(see, for example, the Autumn 2010, Summer 2012, and Spring 2014 issues).
This time, let’s examine the correct tense usage with the words report and show,
both of which appear very frequently in scientific papers.
 
When we mention one particular paper or study that was published in the past,
we generally use the past tense (e.g., we reported).
On the other hand, when we are not referring to one particular paper or study,
but are mentioning several papers or reports published up to the present time,
we generally use the present perfect tense (e.g., we have reported).
Please see the following examples:

• “In our previous paper¹⁾, we reported that X” (one specific paper; past tense).
• “Smith et al. (2010) reported that X” (one specific paper; past tense).
• “Various researchers^16-21) have reported [up to the present time] that X” (several papers; present perfect tense).
• “We have previously reported (Sato et al., 2011; Sato, 2013) that X” (two papers; present perfect tense).

 
The same is true for the word show; the past tense is generally used when referring to one specific study,
experiment, etc., and the present perfect tense is used when mentioning multiple studies,
experiments, etc. in a more general way. Here are two examples:
 

• “Our previous study (Smith et al., 2015) showed that X” (one specific study; past tense).
• Previous studies^9-12) [up to now] have shown that X (several studies; present perfect tense).

 
Incidentally, the superscript reference citations shown above, such as “^9-12”　in “Previous studies^9-12),”
are often written as normal (not superscript) numbers enclosed in square brackets
in manuscripts being prepared for publication; e.g., “Previous studies [9-12].”
Please use the style specified by the journal, etc. to which your paper will be submitted
(or whichever style you prefer if a particular reference citation style is not specified).
 
Note that in scientific writing, we usually say report X rather than report on X.
The expression report on is often used when describing meetings or events; for example,
“Here, we report on a meeting held last week to discuss policy,” or “In this article,
we report on the latest developments in the Middle East.”
In a scientific paper, on the other hand, we would not normally use on; for example,
“In this paper, we report [not report on] a new method for X.” 

It is standard practice to use an uppercase A when referring to your paper’s own appendix.
The same applies to other sections of the paper, such as the abstract and the introduction;
e.g., “as mentioned in the Abstract,” “as described in the Introduction,” and so on.
 
The section heading Results is always written in the plural form,
whereas the section heading Discussion is always written in the singular form.
The reason why the section heading Results is written in the plural form is that a study
usually produces multiple results (i.e., not just one result).
On the other hand, the content of the Discussion section is considered to be
a mini-dissertation on the subject of the paper, so the singular form is used for that section heading.
The plural form of the word, discussions (not a section heading), would be used when there are
multiple discussions by various participants with different points of view; for example, at a conference.
In such a case, we would say, “There were fruitful discussions involving various participants
during the period of the conference.”
 
The heading of the section containing the conclusions can be either singular,
Conclusion, or plural, Conclusions.
I recommend using the singular form, Conclusion, as a general rule,
unless the conclusions are presented in the form of a list with consecutive numbers,
in which case Conclusions (plural form) would be the best choice.

When you are going to repeat a long expression several times in a paper,
it is often a good idea to define a shorter form of that expression in parentheses
the first time it appears, using the word hereafter; for example,
“We have developed a new method called the integrated topographical and
geological survey approach (hereafter referred to as the integrated survey approach).”
If you use an abbreviation, there is no need to use hereafter; for example,
“We have developed a new method called the integrated topographical and
geological survey (ITGS) approach.”
Note, however, that in legal or highly formal texts, hereinafter is often used
rather than hereafter; for example, “. . . (hereinafter referred to as X).”

Until next time, please keep up the good work.
 
Bob Gavey
For World Translation Services, Inc.
 

第１回　if、in case、when の正しい使い分け：確実性の程度を英語で正しく表現する
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbunwriting-1/index.html
 
第2回 「装置」に対する英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-equipment/index.html
 
第3回　助動詞のニュアンスを正しく理解する：「～することが出来た」「～することが出来なかった」の表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun3/index.html
 
第4回　「～を用いて」の表現：by と with の違い
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-writing4/index.html
 
第5回　技術英文で使われる代名詞のitおよび指示代名詞thisとthatの違いとそれらの使用法
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-daimeishi/index.html
 
第6回　原因・結果を表す動詞の正しい使い方：その1 原因→結果
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun6-kekka/index.html
 
第7回　原因・結果を表す動詞の使い方：その2 結果→原因
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-kekka/index.html
 
第8回　受動態の多用と誤用に注意
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-writing8/index.html
 
第9回　top-heavyな英文を避ける
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-topheavy/index.html
 
第10回　名詞の修飾語を前から修飾する場合の表現法
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun10/index.html
 
第11回　受動態による効果的表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun11/index.html
 
第12回　同格を表す接続詞thatの使い方
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun12/index.html
 
第13回 「技術」を表す英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun13/index.html
 
第14回　「特別に」を表す英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun14/index.html
 
第15回　所有を示すアポストロフィー + s ( ’s) の使い方
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun15/index.html
 
第16回　「つまり」「言い換えれば」を表す表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun16/index.html
 
第17回　寸法や重量を表す表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun17/index.html
 
第18回　前置詞 of の使い方: Part 1
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun18/index.html
 
第19回　前置詞 of の使い方: Part 2
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun19/index.html
 
第20回　物体や物質を表す英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun20/index.html
 
第21回　句動詞表現より1語動詞での表現へ
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun21/index.html
 
第22回　不定詞と動名詞: Part 1
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun22/index.html
 
第23回　不定詞と動名詞の使い分け: Part 2
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun23/index.html

第24回　理由を表す表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun24/index.html

第25回　総称表現　（a, theの使い方を含む）
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun25/index.html
　
第26回　「研究開発」を表す英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun26/index.html

第27回　「0～１の数値は単数か複数か？」
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun27/index.html

第28回　「時制－現在形の動詞の使い方」
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun28/index.html

第29回 　then, however, therefore, for example など接続副詞の使い方
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun29/index.html

第30回　 まちがえやすいusing, based onの使い方－分詞構文
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun30/index.html

第31回　 比率や割合の表現（ratio, rate, proportion, percent, percentage）
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun31/index.html