Avoiding repetition in a text
Look at these examples to see some different ways to avoid repetition in a text:
The composition of chimpanzee muscle was found to differ from that of humans, which explains their greater strength.
Featuring holes at an altitude of 2,895m, it is the only such golf course in the world.
Some birds can find their way without any landmarks, and we still don't know for sure how they do so.
Growing numbers of people are buying food that is grown without artificial chemicals. The popularity of organic produce is โฆ
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We commonly use words like it, this/these, that/those, such and do so, as well as synonyms, to avoid repetition. This can make a text shorter, easier to understand and more interesting.
It, this and that in texts
It, this/these and that/those can all be used to refer to something that has just been mentioned or that has been mentioned previously.
It is used to refer to something we are already talking or writing about, with no particular emphasis.
We watched the latest episode last night. It was OK, but not nearly as good as the previous ones.
This (or these) is more emphatic and often shows that something is new or interesting. This often signals that more is about to be said about the topic.
More funding has been approved for primary schools in the area. This does not, however, solve the problem faced by โฆ
That (or those) is also more emphatic than it and is used in a similar way to this. However, that suggests greater distance. For example, we can use that to distance ourselves from a particular idea:
They're idiots! โฆ OK, sorry, maybe that was unfair.
A: I refuse to do this any more!
B: I understand you're upset, but I think that's going a bit too far.
Or that/those can refer to an idea mentioned further back in the text:
A classic mistake inexperienced hikers make is to pack things they don't really need. Such items can include shoes, extra toiletries and electronics.
(two paragraphs later)Those extra kilos of weight are soon left behind as hikers learn to reduce what they carry to a minimum.
That/those is also chosen over this/these to suggest greater physical distance:
Scientists believe that some animals may use the Earth's magnetic fields to find their way from A to B, even if that B is thousands of miles away.
That and those meaning 'the one(s)'
In more formal English, that and those can be used to mean 'the one' or 'the ones'. They are often followed by of and are used in this way to avoid repetition.
We compared our experience to that of a group of teenagers. (that = the experience)
They obtained better exam results than those of the same year group in other schools.
(those = the exam results)
Those who means 'the people who'.
She was among those who voted for the policy.
Those who are unable to attend the event in person are invited to view it online.
Such meaning 'of this or that type'
In more formal English, such can be used to refer back to the type previously mentioned.
Some species of ants can find their way using the memory of how many steps they have taken.
Such navigation methods are actually fairly basic compared with others in the animal world. (such navigation methods = methods of that type)
We can use such in this way before a/an + single noun or before a plural or uncountable noun. It is often used after expressions like no, the only, the few, the first, etc.
The library is free and open to the public 24 hours a day. It is the only such library in the city.
The group will meet once a month to report on progress. The first such meeting will be held in April.
Do so
Again, in more formal English, do so can be used to mean 'to behave in the way mentioned'. It is used to avoid repeating the verb.
Our company raised salaries, but few others in the sector did so.
Employees who have agreed to work overtime should be prepared to do so this month.
While some went vegan for the supposed health benefits, others reported doing so for ethical reasons.
Synonyms
A synonym is a word or phrase that has the same meaning as another word or phrase. We can use synonyms to avoid repetition.
Air pollution is a significant problem in many European capitals. Urgent action needs to be taken on this worrying issue.
Using synonyms can also make your writing more interesting and enjoyable.
Salmon use their sense of smell to travel back to the river where they were born. These aquatic homing missiles can travel hundreds of miles to return to their birthplace.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
๐๐ฅ-๐ฅ๐๐๐ค/๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐ - ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ/๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ค๐ - ๐๐ ๐ค๐ -๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ : "๐ง๐ผ ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป"
1-"๐๐ ๐ค๐ ":
to avoid repetition of ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ that has just been mentioned.
e.g.:
-Several countries ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐, but only a few have actually ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐จ.
-The company advised customers ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ณ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐; failure to ๐๐ ๐ค๐ could expose them to security risks.
-๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐บ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ, failure to ๐๐ ๐ค๐ may result in rejection.
2-"๐ค๐ฆ๐๐":
of this type / kind.
e.g.:
-๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ was spotted in Tunisia, the first ๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ sighting in nearly a decade.
-It is one of the few ๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ that still stand in our city.
-He really ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ and always makes ๐ค๐ฆ๐๐ errors.
--> Such: refers back to the type of errors just mentioned (errors with the past participle).
3-"๐๐ฅ": with no particular emphasis.
e.g.:
-I bought ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ. ๐๐ฅ is very fast.
-I visited ๐๐ด๐๐ฝ๐. ๐๐ฅ was breathtaking.
-๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐h๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ถ๐น ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น. ๐๐ฅ caused a lot of malfunctions..
4-"๐ฅ๐๐๐ค/๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐":
It points forward (nearly things).
e.g:
-The government announced new ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ today, aiming to reduce unemployment across the country. One of ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐ involves allocating a set number of operational robots to companies.
-Weโve reviewed ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐. ๐๐๐๐ค is what we should choose.
-Thousands have lost their jobs due to ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง. ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค, many city residents may have to relocate to rural areas for work.
5- ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ/๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ค๐:
refers back to something already mentioned.
e.g.:
-You always ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐บ, and ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ doesnโt follow the rules.
-๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฎ๐๐ yesterday. ๐๐๐๐ฅ caused major flooding in several towns.
-Many ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ are facing climate challenges. ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ with limited resources are most affected.
Both tests were useful exercises. Such teaching ways help us to improve & refine those required skills to make the sentences interesting.
These two activities were so beneficial, and that helped me to enhance my grammar towards the usage of so, that, this, those, these. By the end of the lesson I was be able to identify the difference between them.
It was great. i like it so much.
well done
Avoid redundancy and you would score higher in an English exam. That technique is of huge importance. So, I think that this lesson is crucial and a reminder of how English is.
Hi team,
1) For Task 1) 5., "Most myths and legends have some element of truth in them."
2) One of the examples: โIt was OK, but not nearly as good as the previous ones.โ How is the meaning different if we remove โnearlyโ from this sentence?
3) One of the examples: โSuch navigation methods are actually fairly basic compared with others in the animal world.โ Why isnโt โsuch a navigation method isโ used in this sentence?
Thank you very much.
Hi _Yan_,
Yes, you could. In this sentence 'element' is similar to words like 'type' and 'kind', which can be used in plural or singular form without any change in the meaning.
If we say 'A is not as good as B then we know which is better but not by how much. B might be a lot better or just a little bit better.
If we say 'A is not nearly as good as B then we know that B is a lot better.
You can say either 'such a + singular' or 'such + plural'. It's similar to the first question you asked in that the meaning is essentially the same. 'Such a method' is like 'a method like this' while 'such methods' is like 'methods like this one'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter,
Thank you very much for your reply.
A) To clarify, so for 3), does it matter if the example mentioned actually cover several examples (i.e. could we first describe several navigation methods by different species and then still use 'such a method' to mean 'a method like these methods') [currently, it is just one example (just one [ants'] navigation method)]
B) Furthermore, when we are to choose to say either 'such methods' or 'such a method', the basis is really, in our mind, whether we want to say another method like this (or these [if we can mentioned several examples as per my Q under A]) OR other methods like this one (these). Is this correct?
Thank you so much.
Hello again _Yan_,
Yes to both questions. I think you've got it. Well done!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team