[Grammar] ... to cope, adapt, and survive trying circumstances.

[kadioguy]

President of Taiwan: How My Country Prevented a Major Outbreak of COVID-19

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen writes about the lessons the country learned in combatting the coronavirus pandemic

Taiwan is an island of resilience. Centuries of hardship have compelled our society to cope, adapt, and survive trying circumstances. We have found ways to persevere through difficult times together as a nation, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no different. Despite the virus’s highly infectious nature and our proximity to its source, we have prevented a major outbreak. As of April 14, we have had fewer than 400 confirmed cases. ...

https://time.com/collection-post/5820596/taiwan-coronavirus-lessons/
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1. Why did the editor use "writes" rather than "wrote" in "Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen writes about the lessons ..."?

2. Why are the prepositions "with" and "to" omitted? Is this use acceptable? I mean,

Centuries of hardship have compelled our society to cope (with), adapt (to), and survive trying circumstances.

What do you think?

 

[GoesStation]

1) Headlines and introductory text are often written in the present simple to give them a sense of immediacy.

2) The three verbs need prepositions if you read them as part of a parallel structure. The President wasn't thinking that way, though. She sees society

• coping,
• adapting, and
• surviving trying circumstances.

 

[kadioguy]

1) Headlines and introductory text are often written in the present simple to give them a sense of immediacy.

Thank you, GoesStation.

Please compare it to the following use:

The author writes several paragraphs in the past simple. Why? She's talking about something that happened (in the past).

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...ike-a-Person?p=1585663&viewfull=1#post1585663

I thought that Tarheel's use is the same as my question here, but now I know they are different. Could you tell me why Tarheel used the present tenses rather than the past tenses there?

Any member's comment is welcome.

 

[GoesStation]

I thought that Tarheel's use is the same as my question here, but now I know they are different. Could you tell me why Tarheel used the present tenses rather than the past tenses there?

The two examples feel the same to me.

 

[kadioguy]

The two examples feel the same to me.

Do you mean that Tarheel's uses of the present tense also give them a sense of immediacy (as if these just happened)?

 

[GoesStation]

Do you mean that Tarheel's uses of the present tense also give them a sense of immediacy (as if these just happened)?

Yes. I'm not really satisfied with my explanation, though. It's a start but it doesn't say enough to be very useful to learners.

 

[jutfrank]

1) The past tense is entirely inappropriate there. It would be very odd to talk about the action of writing the article as a past event! We never use the past simple unless there is a reason to point out that an action has a remoteness, whether that's a remoteness in time or anything else.

To give you a simple, specific, and superficial rule of usage: if you're a journalist writing an introduction to an article, use the present simple.

2) Yes, you're right. I don't agree with the analysis in post #2. The prepositions should be there, analytically speaking. The writer may have decided to omit them for reasons of economy. I definitely would not have omitted them. I'm not sure what you mean by 'acceptable'.

 

[kadioguy]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'acceptable'.

Sorry for being vague. I mean "Does this use sound OK to native speakers?"

 

[GoesStation]

2) Yes, you're right. I don't agree with the analysis in post #2. The prepositions should be there, analytically speaking.

After a second look, I have to agree with jutfrank. The sentence would need semicolons for my analysis to work. It would be a terrible sentence though.

 

[jutfrank]

Sorry for being vague. I mean "Does this use sound OK to native speakers?"

Well, I suppose that the writer might just have gotten away with it, but maybe I'm being too generous. It doesn't sound okay to me, but perhaps it does to many readers.