大学英语写作常见错误分析

范雄飞

摘要:本文主要从用词错误、句法错误、语义错误三个方面分析了大学英语写作中的常见错误并提出了一些改正建议,以期改进当前我国的大学英语教学,切实提高学生的英语写作水平。

关键词:大学英语写作错误分析

中图分类号: H319文献标识码: A文章编号:1672-1578(2009)11-0035-02

写作既是一个人语言能力的综合体现,也是一个人思维方法的体现。《大学英语课程教学要求》对大学阶段学生在书面表达能力上的基础要求是:能用常见的应用文体完成一般的写作任务, 能描述个人经历、事件、观感、情感等,能就一般性话题或提纲在30分钟内写出120词的短文,内容基本完整、用词恰当, 语篇连贯。 能在一般或应用写作中使用恰当的写作技能。这个要求对众多经过两年基础阶段英语学习之后的大学生来说本不算高,但从历年的英语四、六级考试来看,写作却普遍成为他们考试中的薄弱环节。我们认为究其原因主要在于学生写作的基本技能差,无法准确表达出自己想要表达的问题,写作中出现大量的语言错误甚至中式英语,以至写出来的文章不忍卒读,得分较低。

本文拟就大学英语写作中常见的错误作一次梳理并简要分析其原因,以便改进大学英语的教和学,希望能给酷爱英语写作或英语写作水平较差的同学一些启发。

1 用词错误

英语写作中的用词错误主要表现在词语的选择、搭配、遗漏和因选词不当而引起指代关系不明等。

1.1选词不当

英语中有不少词的汉语意思相同或相近,但在英语的表达上却有严格的差别;有些单词拼写相似,有些单词发音相似甚至相同,但词的含义却相差甚远;有些单词的词形变化有规则,有的没有规则。在写作中一旦选错了词,就会出现表达不清的问题。例如:

Early in the morning, we went to the shore to see the sunrise.(错)

Early in the morning, we went to the beach to see the sunrise.(正)

Shore与 beach是近义词,均可指“海滨”。但两者是有区别的。Beach是指较为平坦,覆盖着沙石,适宜于游泳和日光浴的海滩或沙滩。shore是比较笼统的说法,指毗邻大片水的陆地,既可包括beach,也可指岩石突兀或陡峭的岸边。

1.2搭配不当

搭配不当主要是指动词和介词,动词和副词的搭配以及随意改变介词短语的固定结构和搭配关系等。这是因为对相关英语知识掌握得不牢靠造成的。例如:

I have been studied in the university for three years. (错)

I have been studied at the university for three years. (正)

“在大学”的英语比较固定的表达是 at the university,而非in the university.

另外,如果一个动词后面接有另一个动词,其接续是有严格限制的,有的只可接不定式,如ask, pretend, decide等;有的只能接不带的不定式,如make,hear,watch 等。

1.3 词语遗漏

词语遗漏现象的出现是因为没有很好地掌握英语词组,常忽视了一些介词、副词、代词与其他实词的结合,最终影响了意思的完整表达。例如:

I think no use telling you. (错)

I think it no use telling you. (正)

这里的it 是形式宾语,指代动名词telling you,它必须放在宾语补足语之前。再如:

The population of Shanghai is larger than Beijing. (错)

The population of Shanghai is larger thanthat of Beijing.(正)

这个问题是一个较为有代表性的问题。拿上海的人口与北京的人口作比较,而不是拿上海的人口与北京相比较,故此that of 不能遗漏。

1.4指代不清

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

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.

2 句法错误

句子是作文的基本单位,每一个句子都应该表达一个完整的意思。英语是形合的语言,句子有很高的语法规定,语法错误多了会使语言表达不清,结构混乱,不能表达出原来的意义。大学英语写作中学生们在句法方面出现的错误主要有下列几种:

2.1句子结构错误

2.1.1主从句叠置

There are more and more students like to use the computer.(错)

There are more and more students who like to use the computer.(正)

2.1.2简单句叠置

I like chatting on line very much, I go to the net bar almost every weekend.(错)

I like chatting on line very much that I go to the net bar almost every weekend. (正)

2.1.3从句叠置

As is known to all that computers play an important role in many fields of our life. (错)

As is known to all , computers play an important role in many fields of our life.(正)

2.1.4 语序错误

Why college students spend more and more time on the computer? (错)

Why do college students spend more and more time on the computer? (正)

2.2句子不完整

句子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而把句子的一部分从其所属的句中分离出来独立成句.例如:

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

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.

一个完整的句子通常应有主语和谓语, 学生们常写出没有谓语的句子来。 例如:

The girl who stands over there looking beautiful.(错)

The girl who stands over there looks beautiful. (正)

2.3句子前后不一致

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.

分析: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)

例2. The people was running for their lives.

分析:people 形式上是单数,但意义上却表达复数概念,所以谓语动词也应选择复数形式。改为:

The people were running for their lives.

例3. No sooner I entered the room than it began to rain. (错)

No sooner had I entered the room than it began to rain. (正)

分析:句中 entered和 began 都发生在过去,但entered 发生在前,began 发生在后,故 entered要用过去完成时形式。

2.4句子成分的误置

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。例如:

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

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

分析:better位置不当,应置于句末。

3 语义错误

3.1语义重复

In my opinion, I agree with the view that…. (agree一词本身就表示说话人的观点,可将In my opinion去掉,或把后面的一半改为the view that… is right)

share many common interests (common与share属同义反复,可改为have many common interests或share many interests)

3.2论断过于绝对,缺乏足够思考

A person with good finance will not understand why his poor friend gets on a sardine-jam like bus and always choose to dine at some poor-condition restaurant at the roadsides.(相信富人也不至于笨到这个程度)

3.3 句义严重反复,缺乏变化

Some people believe that financial disparity affects friendship。 Some believe that financial disparity doesn't affect friendship。For my part, I agree with the latter, because financial disparity doesn't affect friendship.(不必多说了)

3.4累赘

言以简洁为贵。写句子没有一个多余的词;写段落没有一个无必要的句子。能用单词的不用词组;能用词组的不用从句或句子。如:

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

本句的“the fact that he is lazy”系同位语从句,我们按照上述“能用词组的不用从句”的原则可以改为:In spite of his laziness,I like him.

3.5不连贯

不连贯是指一个句子前言不对后语,或是结构上不畅通。例如:The fresh water,it is the most important things of the earth.

分析:The fresh water与逗号后的it不连贯。It与things在数方面不一致。改为:Fresh water is the most important thing in the world.

以上笔者只列举了大学英语作文中的一些常见错误,其他错误还有很多,比如表达习惯错误、 句子连接错误、 词性误用、 悬垂修饰语、 标点符号及大小写错误、 汉化英语等, 而且写作中的错误往往是综合的,不同类型的错误常常是交叉在一起的。作文是对语言的综合运用,可以集中体现出学习者的基本功和思维能力;英语语感对于写作非常重要,不过要形成好的语感还需要长期的反复训练。总之,写作能力必须建立在大量阅读、用心感受和无数次练习的基础之上,唯有如此,才能不断地改正错误,提高英语写作水平。