英語寫作常見錯誤與分析

荊　棘

下面我們對一些在英語寫作中典型的病句實例逐一加以剖析。

一、不一致（Disagreements）

所謂不一致不光指主謂不一致，它還包括數的不一致、時態不一致及代詞不一致等。例如：

When one have money, he can do what he wants to.

人一旦有了錢，他就能想干什么就干什么。

剖析：one是單數第三人稱，因而本句的have應改為has;同理，want應改為wants。本句是典型的主謂不一致。

改為：Once one has money, he can do what he wants (to do).

二、修飾語錯位（Misplaced Modifiers）

英語與漢語不同，同一個修飾語置于句子不同的位置，句子的含義可能引起變化。對于這一點中國學生往往沒有引起足夠的重視，因而造成了不必要的誤解。例如：

I believe I can do it well and I will better know the world outside the campus.

剖析：better位置不當，應置于句末。

三、句子不完整（Sentence Fragments）

在口語中，交際雙方可借助手勢、語氣、上下文等，不完整的句子完全可以被理解。可是書面語就不同了，句子結構不完整會令意思表達不清，這種情況常常發生在主句寫完以后，筆者又想加些補充說明時發生。例如：

There are many ways to know the society. For example by TV, radio, newspaper and so on.

剖析：本句后半部分“for example by TV, radio, newspaper and so on.”不是一個完整的句子，僅為一些不連貫的詞語，不能獨立成句。

改為：There are many ways to know the society, for example, by TV, radio, and newspaper.

四、懸垂修飾語（Dangling Modifiers）

所謂懸垂修飾語是指句首的短語與后面句子的邏輯關系混亂不清。例如：

At the age of ten, my grandfather died.

這句中“at the age of ten”只點出十歲時。但沒有說明“誰”十歲時，按一般推理不可能是my grandfather, 如果我們把這個懸垂修飾語改明確一點，全句就不那么費解了。

改為：When I was ten, my grandfather died.

例如： To do well in college, good grades are essential.

剖析：句中不定式短語“to do well in college”的邏輯主語不清楚。

改為：To do well in college, a student needs good grades.

五、詞性誤用(Misuse of Parts of Speech)

“詞性誤用”常表現為：介詞當動詞用；形容詞當副詞用；名詞當動詞用等。

例如：None can negative the importance of money.

剖析：negative 系形容詞，誤作動詞。

改為：None can deny the importance of money.

六、指代不清(Ambiguous Reference of Pronouns)

指代不清主要講的是代詞與被指代的人或物關系不清，或者前后所用的代詞不一致。試看下面這一句：

Mary was friendly to my sister because she wanted her to be her bridesmaid. 瑪麗對我姐姐很好，因為她要她做她的伴娘。

讀完上面這一句話，讀者無法明確地判斷兩位姑娘中誰將結婚，誰將當伴娘。如果我們把易于引起誤解的代詞的所指對象加以明確，意思就一目了然了。這個句子可改為：

Mary was friendly to my sister because she wanted my sister to be her bridesmaid.

例如：And we can also know the society by serving it yourself.

剖析：句中人稱代詞we 和反身代詞yourself指代不一致。

改為：We can also know the society by serving it ourselves.

七、不間斷句子(Run-on Sentences)

什么叫run-on sentence?請看下面的例句。

There are many ways we get to know the outside world.

剖析：這個句子包含了兩層完整的意思：“There are many ways.” 以及“We get to know the outside world.”。簡單地把它們連在一起就不妥當了。

改為：There are many ways for us to learn about the outside world. 或：

There are many ways through which we can become acquainted with the outside world.

八、措詞毛病(Troubles in Diction)

Diction是指在特定的句子中如何適當地選用詞語的問題，由于教學時間緊迫，教師平時在這方面花的時間往往極其有限，使學生中沒有養成良好的推敲，斟酌的寫作習慣。他們往往隨心所欲，拿來就用。所以作文中用詞不當的錯誤比比皆是。例如：

The increasing use of chemical obstacles in agriculture also makes pollution. 農業方面化學物質使用的不斷增加也造成了污染。

剖析：顯然，考生把obstacles“障礙”，“障礙物”誤作substance“物質”了。另外“the increasing use (不斷增加的使用)” 應改為“abusive use (濫用)”。

改為：The abusive use of chemical substances in agriculture also causes/leads to pollution.

九、累贅(Redundancy)

言以簡潔為貴。寫句子沒有一個多余的詞；寫段落沒有一個無必要的句子。能用單詞的不用詞組；能用詞組的不用從句或句子。如：

In spite of the fact that he is lazy, I like him.

本句的“the fact that he is lazy”系同位語從句，我們按照上述“能用詞組的不用從句”可以改為：In spite of his laziness, I like him.

又如： For the people who are diligent and kind, money is just the thing to be used to buy the thing they need.

剖析：整個句子可以大大簡化。

改為：Diligent, caring people use money only to buy what they need.

十、不連貫(Incoherence)

不連貫是指一個句子前言不對后語，或是結構上不暢通。這也是考生常犯的毛病。例如：

The fresh water, it is the most important things of the earth.

剖析：The fresh water與逗號后的it不連貫。it與things在數方面不一致。

改為：Fresh water is the most important thing in the world.

十一、綜合性語言錯誤(Comprehensive Misusage)

所謂“綜合性語言錯誤”，是指除了上述十種錯誤以外，還有諸如時態，語態，標點符號，大小寫等方面的錯誤。例如：

Today, Money to everybody is very importance, ours eat, cloth, live, go.