写在前面的话

在知乎中看到“英文学术论文写作，有什么好书可以推荐”话题中有人推荐了香港大学出版社Steve Hart写的《English Exposed》一书，从副标题“Common Mistakes Made by Chinese Speakers”可以看出书是针对中国人常犯的错误而写的，作者修改过大量论文后把常见的错误总结成一本小书。https://www.zhihu.com/question/35071142自己从阅读中也学到不少，想想给同事润色过不少论文都有点后怕。俗话说：好记性不如好笔头，现在的笔头都是各种笔记软件或电子版记录了。在边读边学习的过程中，摘录要点，作为学习的记录，也陆续分享一下。如有侵权，请告知删除。特别需要说的是：如果语法扎实的话，里面大多数错误是可以避免的。另外，语言是灵活的，英语语法或用法有的也存在分歧，如果碰到问题，建议多方查询。最后，在word文档里编辑好后，写作插件转换的格式字体和大小都比较乱，一一修改工作量实在大，就偷懒了。个人感觉：冠词的用法是英语中最不好掌握的地方之一。 

冠词使用方面的常见错误

冠词用在名词前面表明所指的名词，有定冠词the、不定冠词a/an和零冠词。判定是否需要使用定冠词最好的方法就是问如下的问题：读者是否知道我的确切所指？我是否想或者能够将名词挑出作为个例？如果两个问题的答案都是“是”，那么名词是确定所指，需要前面使用定冠词the。The changeswere designed to make it easier to attract investment.如果名词是专有名词或固定短语的一部分，可能就不需要定冠词，如下面的例子：The first case study is a company from Hong Kong.They have analysed the policies of PepsiCofrom the US.Most of the workers arrived by bus.如果读者不能识别或者意识到所描述的确切事物，或者写作者希望模糊或作一般描述，那么所指事物就是非确定的。如果名词为非确定所指，就需要不定冠词或零冠词。这时，可数名词单数前面用不定冠词。A theoryneeds to be found that will help to explain this circumstance.如果名词为非确定所指，可数名词复数或不可数名词前面用零冠词。Journals may also be a good source of information at this stage.Educationis the main reason for the improvement we are currently seeing.如果名词为确定所指，可数名词复数或不可数名词前面用定冠词。The journalsin the office may also be a good source of information at this stage.The educationin this country is below the level of its neighbours. 2.1可数名词单数总需要冠词

★当名词作为可数名词使用时，总需要冠词—定冠词或不定冠词。

Study by Morgan (2009) looked at the issue at a local level. ✘

A study by Morgan (2009) looked at the issue at a local level. ✔

前面的例子中，study是作为可数名词使用的，Morgan的一项研究，如果作为不可数名词使用，就不需要冠词，如下例(作为学习)：

Study is important for improving concentration in these pupils.

复数形式使用时，如果studies在前面已经提到过，则可以使用定冠词指提到过的studies：

Six studies were randomly selected from the database for this stage. The studies were given a score out of five for their objectivity.

复数形式在一般情形下使用不需要定冠词，如下例中的含义同some studies(一些研究)：

Studies have also focused on class size and the diversity of the pupils.

★写作者称呼自己的时候。写作者在论文中称呼自己为researcher或author的时候，常常漏掉冠词。Researcher和author为可数名词，如果特指论文的作者时前面需要定冠词。Researcher has demonstrated that practices in the country need to be in line with international ones. ✘The researcherhas demonstrated that practices in the country need to be in line with international ones. ✔Because of this, authordecided to rephrase question four. ✘Because of this,the authordecided to rephrase question four. ✔常常漏掉冠词的一个可数名词是approach(可能是由于前面形容词different的干扰)：We decided to use different approachthis time. ✘We decided to use a different approachthis time. ✔★相关错误。Such一词常常导致错误。如果其后跟可数名词单数，中间需要不定冠词。Such problemwill not be solved in the short term. ✘Such a problemwill not be solved in the short term. ✔如果其后跟可数名词复数或不可数名词，中间需要不定冠词。Such development can only take place with extensive planning.Such problemswill clearly affect their ability to attract investment.2.2缩写词和数词前面如何使用不定冠词

★缩写词每个单词拼读的话，根据第一个单词的发音决定用a还是an，发元音时前面用an，如SME (S ‘es’, M ‘em’, E ‘e’)。

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that anSME will be able to secure a loan under this scheme.This would not be the case for aPLC.I also spoke toa MODemployee. ✘I also spoke to an MODemployee. ✔(‘M’= ‘em’)★对于数字，对应英文的拼读决定了用a还是an。An18-gauge needle . . . (eighteen)★特别注意名词虽然以字母‘u’开头但发音为 ‘you’ 的话，需要用a而不是an。The case study was that ofanEuropean country. ✘The case study was that of aEuropean country. ✔It was not possible without anuniversity degree. ✘It was not possible without auniversity degree. ✔2.3不使用定冠词的场合

★写作者常常在不确定所指的名词是特例的时候使用the。

This leaves an opportunity for the further study. ✘

This leaves an opportunity for further study. ✔这一错误在介绍背景的时候常常发生，因为写作者尽管在讨论一个具体的主题但常常混淆句子的不定性和特定性特征。在下面的例子中如果使用定冠词就使得名词显得是个例。China hasthelong history of developing this type of product for overseas markets. ✘China hasalong history of developing this type of product for overseas markets. ✔As previously mentioned, this istheold culture and many traditions have been passed down through the generations. ✘As previously mentioned, this is anold culture and many traditions have been passed down through the generations. ✔★另外常犯的错误是我们在学校学习的语法规则：首次提到用a，再次出现用the。是否用the仍然要看名词是一般概念还是特指。Brand loyalty(1) is a broad area that has been extensively discussed in the marketing literature. This study will focus onthebrand loyalty (2) and especially the concept of online brand advocacy.此句中第一个brand loyalty为名词短语的一般概念，所以使用零冠词，而第二个brand loyalty前面加the为错误使用，因为brand loyalty仍然为一般概念。类似的例子如下，国家仍然是泛指，使用零冠词。It is not just in Asia either, as they have also reported a prevalence of approximately 20%–25% in the Western countries. ✘It is not just in Asia either, as they have also reported a prevalence of approximately 20%–25% in Western countries. ✔★写作者在不能识别在泛指名词的一般意义时容易犯冠词误用的错误，特别是名词前有修饰词时。A major aspect of the customer serviceis the complaint resolution. ✘A major aspect of customer serviceis complaint resolution. ✔★在定义一个术语或描述其特性时，通常不使用定冠词。这一点在科技论文中常常出现。The promotional pricingis a form of sales promotion designed to increase product demand by offering a short-term price reduction. ✘Promotional pricingis a form of sales promotion designed to increase product demand by offering a short-term price reduction. ✔2.4复数名词使用不定冠词这一常见错误复数名词跟不定冠词搭配这一错误比较低级，但是常常出现，特别是名词前有修饰词时。It has been important to utilize a different contextsfor this. ✘It has been important to utilize different contextsfor this. ✔所以一定要正确识别名词。These were all obtained from asemi-structured questionnaires. ✘These were all obtained from semi-structured questionnaires. ✔The problem withanadditional and revised parameters is the inability to identify them during the later stages. ✘The problem with additional and revised parameters is the inability to identify them during the later stages. ✔2.5固定短语中冠词的使用固定短语为通用用法，其中的冠词使用是“固定”的。★介词by常与名词连用构成的短语表示交通、通讯、方法等。这些固定短语中不用冠词。These were obtained by the interviewafter the questionnaires had been returned and analysed. ✘These were obtainedby interviewafter the questionnaires had been returned and analysed. ✔I would also recommend doing this by an emailinstead or by the post. ✘I would also recommend doing this by emailinstead or by post. ✔★in the case of/in case of这两个短语虽然像，但是意义不同，前者意为“防备、假如、如果发生”，后者意为“就...来说，在...的情况下”。I suggested conducting the experiment indoors in case of rain.This could be as large as 40% in the case ofdeveloping countries.★相关错误。注意有的固定搭配是有冠词的。Most of the literature they had used was out of the dateeven then. ✘Most of the literature they had used was out of dateeven then. ✔Morgan (1998) covered this at a lengthin his previous paper. ✘Morgan (1998) covered this at lengthin his previous paper. ✔The headmaster also knew every one of the pupils by the name. ✘The headmaster also knew every one of the pupils by name. ✔As the result, financial institutions may be reluctant to lend to these firms. ✘As a result, financial institutions may be reluctant to lend to these firms. ✔2.6什么时候省略冠词科技论文经常描述的是一般原理和过程，这时候定冠词常被忽略让名词更具有一般意义，特别是复数名词。Target regionswere identified and drugs then added at regular intervals. Subjectswere observed for one hour or until effectshad worn off, whichever was sooner.标准写作中，这几个名词前需要定冠词the。但是忽略过度就会使得写作不准确而难懂。Coefficientdepends on physical parametersof soil. Imageobtained was recorded and added to survey. ✘The coefficientdepends on the physical parameters of the soil. The imageobtained was recorded and added to the survey. ✔★相关错误。标题和目录中常常省略冠词。1.1 Nature of Learning Resources 31.2 Learning Resources in Context of Taiwan 5如下例，该部分的标题不含冠词，但是第一个句子就开始包含冠词。XII Policy on Marine Area of Surrounding IslandsThepolicy on the marine area ofthesurrounding islands has recently been . . .