In English, sentence structure and word usage play a significant role in conveying the intended meaning. The difference between ‘The key to survive in this society’ and ‘The key that we survive in this society’ lies in how the phrase is constructed and what is grammatically correct in terms of its meaning. Let’s explore the reasons why the second sentence is considered incorrect.
1. Understanding the phrase ‘The key to’
In English, the phrase ‘The key to’ is commonly used to introduce the essential element or principle that leads to a specific result or success. For instance, ‘The key to success’ means that success is achieved through a particular method or principle. This structure requires a noun or noun phrase that describes the result, like ‘success,’ ‘happiness,’ or in this case, ‘survive.’
Thus, the correct structure is ‘The key to survive in this society’ where ‘survive’ acts as the result of what the key enables you to achieve.
2. The incorrect structure: ‘The key that we survive in this society’
On the other hand, ‘The key that we survive in this society’ is grammatically awkward. In this case, ‘that we survive in this society’ acts as a relative clause, which creates confusion because the word ‘key’ in this context would imply a tangible object or an abstract concept that unlocks survival in society. However, survival itself is not something directly ‘locked’ or ‘unlocked.’ Instead, ‘survive’ as a verb needs to be linked to an object or action, which is not well-formed in this structure.
3. Correct structure for expressing the idea
The correct way to express the idea is to use ‘The key to’ followed by an infinitive verb like ‘survive,’ which is the proper way to connect the concept of ‘key’ with the action it leads to. For example: ‘The key to surviving in this society’ clearly expresses that the ‘key’ is the method or principle that helps one survive in society.
4. Conclusion
To sum up, ‘The key to survive in this society’ is grammatically correct because it uses the right structure, ‘the key to + verb.’ On the other hand, ‘The key that we survive in this society’ is not grammatically correct because it misuses a relative clause (‘that we survive’) when the intention was to describe the key as something that leads to survival. Understanding these grammatical structures is crucial in conveying your ideas clearly in English.
コメント