一. 不一致(disagreements)
所谓不一致不光指主谓不一致,它还包括了数的不一致 时态不一致及代词不一 致等.
例1. when one have money ,he can do what he want to .
(人一旦有了钱,他就能想干什么就干什么.)
剖析:one是单数第三人称,因而本句的have应改为has ;同理,want应改为wants.本句是典型的主谓不一致.
改为: once one has money ,he can do what he wants (to do)
二. 修饰语错位(misplaced modifiers)
英语与汉语不同,同一个修饰语置于句子不同的位置,句子的含义可能引起变化.对于这一点中国学生往往没有引起足够的重视,因而造成了不必要的误解.例1. i believe i can do it well and i will better know the world outside the campus.
剖析:better位置不当,应置于句末.
三. 句子不完整(sentence fragments)
在口语中,交际双方可借助手势语气上下文等,不完整的句子完全可以被理解.可是书面语就不同了,句子结构不完整会令意思表达不清,这种情况常常发生在主句写完以后,笔者又想加些补充说明时发生.
例1. 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 .”不是一个完整的句子,仅为一些不连贯的词语,不能独立成句.
改为:there are many ways to know society ,for example ,by tv ,radio ,and newspaper.
四. 悬垂修饰语(dangling modifiers)
所谓悬垂修饰语是指句首的短语与后面句子的逻辑关系混乱不清.例如:at the age of ten, my grandfather died. 这句中"at the age of ten"只点出十岁时,但没有说明” 谁”十岁时.按一般推理不可能是my grandfather, 如果我们把这个悬垂修饰语改明确一点,全句就不那么费解了.
改为:
when i was ten, my grandfather died.
例1. to do well in college, good grades are essential.
剖析:句中不定式短语 “to do well in college” 的逻辑主语不清楚.
改为:
to do well in college, a student needs good grades.
五. 词性误用(misuse of parts of speech)
“词性误用”常表现为:介词当动词用;形容词当副词用;名词当动词用等.
例1. none can negative the importance of money.
剖析:negative 系形容词,误作动词。
改为:
none can deny the importance of money.
六. 指代不清(ambiguous reference of pronouns)
指代不清主要讲的是代词与被指代的人或物关系不清,或者先后所用的代词不一致。试看下面这一句:
mary was friendly to my sister because she wanted her to be her bridesmaid.
(玛丽和我姐姐很要好,因为她要她做她的伴娘。)
读完上面这一句话,读者无法明确地判断两位姑娘中谁将结婚,谁将当伴娘。如果我们把易于引起误解的代词的所指对象加以明确,意思就一目了然了。这个句子可改为:
mary was friendly to my sister because she wanted my sister to be her bridesmaid.
例1. and we can also know the society by serving it yourself.
剖析:句中人称代词we 和反身代词yourself指代不一致。改为:
we can also know society by serving it ourselves.
七. 不间断句子(run-on sentences)
什么叫run-on sentence?请看下面的例句。
例1. there are many ways we get to know the outside world.
剖析:这个句子包含了两层完整的意思:“there are many ways.” 以及“we get to know the outside world.”。简单地把它们连在一起就不妥当了。