中文作文向來被稱為「死亡之卷」,英文 Writing 亦都不惶多讓,學生捉唔到英文語法嘅規律,結果俾人扣曬啲 grammar 分。加上使用嘅句式唔夠多元,所以攞唔到高分。今次就分享下Grammar不同嘅用法同常犯錯誤,同埋 Writing 5**狀元會用嘅句式喇。
Grammar 常犯錯誤
there have vs there be
好多香港人都會下意識咁將中文直譯成英文,當中最有標誌性嘅莫過於「呢度有」-> “there have” 。正確嘅用法應該係 “there is/are” ,例如:
There are 3 pairs of shoes in the locker.
everyday vs every day
呢兩個字看似一樣,但係佢地嘅用法實際上係有少少分別嘅;”everyday” 係一個adjective,用嚟形容一啲每日都會發生嘅事,
例如:
Exercise should be a part of your everyday life.
(everyday = daily)
而 “every day” 就係一個 adverb ,every 反可以跟 “time”, “minute” 等,只係加上 “day” 後令同學更混淆。例如:
I exercise every day.
如果喺要用 “everyday” 嘅地方用錯 “every day” ,或者相反,就會錯 grammar 啦,同學要小心留意。
*上堂會教你獨家口訣,到時上堂教你😊
lack(n) of vs lack(v)
另一個最常犯嘅 grammar 錯誤就係 “lack”了。要寫「缺乏」嘅時候,你係咪就咁寫 “lack” 就算數?冇錯,當呢個字係動詞用嘅時候就係啱嘅。但若果係當名詞用,後面必須要加上 “of sth” (某事物的短缺),例如:
She lacks confidence.
The lack of money has become a bigger problem than expected.
Passive Voice 用法
Passive voice 裡的動詞必要轉換
若果同學用 passive voice 嘅時候漏咗冇轉動詞嘅時態,就會有 grammar 錯誤,例如:
The floor is mop by me. (x)
祇是:
The floor is mopped by me. (v)
Tenses 問題
以前有不少同學仔在寫作文Part A 時,因為太依賴考試技巧,往往忽略了文法,寫完之後求其proofread,沒有認真對待。明明是講過去的事 (My high school life 或 The Life 50 years ago) ,但是同學仔經常不小心,一時用present tense,一時用past tense,因此嚴重扣分。另外,能善用不同tenses同學仔亦不多(好簡單的past continuous / past perfect tense 都用得不足)。即使用了所謂的技巧,最終作文分數仍是不夠好!
Past participle 而非 simple past
同學平時接觸到嘅英文詞多數都係 “ed” 尾,可能就會俾到個錯嘅印象俾同學,以為係simple past tense,但應該係past participle (PP) 先啱。例如:
The pencil was took by Peter. (x)
應是:
The pencil was taken by Peter (v)
*大家要重溫少用的pp形態,例如 (seek – sought -sought / sweep – swept – swept / deal – dealt – dealt 等)
*上堂同你分享10大伏位
唔用得 Passive voice 嘅情況
有啲情境係唔可以亂咁加上 passive voice嘅,因為並唔係所有英文句子都由 SVO 構成,有啲唔會有 O,側如:
She was gone out. (x)
應是:
She went out. (v)
仲有start/finish等字都不可以用被動 (一般而言)
我和XXX…
要寫包括自己在內嘅一群人時,大家又會點寫呢?例如「我和我的家人」,係 “Me and my family”,抑或 “My family and I” 先啱呢?正確答案應該係後者: “My family and I”。但相信有人都聽過第一個講法,尤其喺外國人口中。 “Me and xxx” 雖然喺文法上錯誤,但大部分人都會因為順口而講咗呢個版本,若書面寫出嚟係會扣分的。
There vs. They’re vs. Their
呢三個詞嘅讀音完全一樣,唔少人都無辦法分清楚咩時候用邊個。雖然聽起嚟一樣,但係佢地嘅意思就絕對唔一樣。 “There” 嘅意思係「那裡」, “They’re” 係 “They are” 嘅縮寫,而 “Their” 就係解「他們的」。以意思嚟記住,就唔怕會用錯啦。
It’s vs. Its
呢兩個詞語比起 “there/they’re/their” 嘅混淆程度更加高,一個唔小心就會用錯咗,而且亦都好容易會記錯。同學可以記住有單引號嘅就係縮寫, it’s -> it is。
Grammar 用法
3 大必學Phrasal Verbs
ask sb out
ask同out砌埋,就會變成約某人出街,例如:
He asked her out last Sunday.
上個星期日他約了她出街。
come across sth
come同across砌埋,意思就係發現、碰見。例如:
He came across some old keychains on his desk.
他在抽屜裡發現了一些舊鑰匙圈。
put up with sth/sb
呢個phrasal verb嘅意思可以講同put或up冇任何關聯,分開寫有唔同嘅意思,但組合埋就解「忍受、容忍」。例如:
I don’t know how you put up with such horrible living conditions.
真不知道你是怎麼忍受這麼惡劣的生活環境的。
gerund 定 infinitive?
gerund 可以作為 subject (動名詞)
I like cycling. 我喜歡踩單車這項活動。
I like to cycle. 我喜歡去踩單車。
轉做主語
(To cycle?) Cycling is my hobby.
踩單車是我的興趣。
*記得不少朋友經常寫成
“Cycle is my hobby”
介詞後應接 gerund
介詞即 “in, at, on, of, about, for” 等。例如:
He is interested in joining the art club.
He is thinking about doing skydiving next.
形容詞後應接to- infinitive
She is talented enough to get recruited.
This jewellery is too expensive to buy for a lot of people.
改善grammar兩大方法
你應該由細到大都聽很多人講文法,有人同你講,你學好,神技神技神技,你考試就可以高分,但另一方面,學校老師成日都同你講Grammar !!! Grammar!! Grammar!! 個個都想學好Grammar,唔通個個都可以學好咩?
但係,認真,文法對英文考試的影響有幾大?
誠實地話比你知: 想英文考試考得好,考試技巧及文法都是同樣重要! 這雖然看似是廢話,但當我地愈來愈接近公開試或學校考試,我們愈容易忽略它的重要性。
那麼,有什麼方法可以學好Grammar?
其實我建議:
1. 一定要勤做proofreading,一邊做一邊提升自己對搵錯處的sensitivity (Spencer Sir以前都苦練過一排),另一方面,就睇下自己有邊一個topic 不太熟就溫返啦!
2. 有咩唔明就問清楚,唔好一知半解,特別是重大grammar topics (passive voice/ tenses/ conditionals / relative clauses)
Writing 中"所以" 文法句式
“所以”係除左”因為”外最常見嘅連接詞 / 句式,除左Therefore/So…? 想唔想知點樣用更多嘅句式嚟講「所以」?以下有三個句式俾大家參考吓。
That being the case
He does not have real knowledge. That being the case, he cannot make a wise decision.
他沒有真正的智慧,所以不能作出明智的決定。
Thus/Hence
She always throws tantrums at people around her. Thus, he has not many friends.
她常常向身邊的人發脾氣,所以沒有多少朋。
Accordingly
Costs are soaring. Accordingly, the product goes up in price.
因為成本正在上漲,所以產品價格也上升了。
*當然每個字都有不同的用法,大家要特別小心的
5** 狀元秘密 作文必用句式
…is the lesser of two evils
平時你只會講:
- Both presidential candidates have had a bad reputation, so I voted for the one that is not as bad as the other one.
其實5**狀元會寫:
- The trolley problem is a well-known example of how most people would opt for the lesser of two evils.
irreversible damage 不可逆的傷害
平時你只會講:
- The damage is extremely serious.
其實5**狀元會寫:
- Using fossil fuels has made irreversible damage to the atmosphere.
hinge on (sth) 取決於(某物)
平時你只會講:
- Success depends on work ethics.
其實5**狀元會寫:
- Whether or not he will study abroad in England hinges on his parents’ opinion.
如果大家有什麼英文問題,如Spencer Lam, 好唔好咁樣學英文呀? 或者IELTS考試,成人英文/商業英文的知識及英文資源,歡迎你可以隨時再跟我多交流一下,可以Follow 「Spencer Lam English Team」 Facebook page同IG得到更多英文資訊,亦都可以上 https://spencerlam.hk/ 了解更多!