我們一直在不斷的學習語法規則，為什么呢?因為語法知識是用英語交流的基礎。

1. Memorize 3 Fundamental Capitalization Rules

記住三個基礎的大寫規則

The first word in a sentence. You should always capitalize the first word in a sentence regardless of what type of word it is.

大寫句子里的首字母。不管句子里的第一個單詞屬于什么類別，都要大寫其首字母。

Proper nouns (names). These include the names of people, places, days and months, companies, etc. For example: Matthew, Helen, France, Tokyo, Mississippi, Saturday, January…

專有名詞首字母大寫。包括：人物的名字，地點，日期，月份，公司等。例如：馬修，海倫，法國，東京，密西西比州，星期六，一月等….

Honorifics and titles, as well as their abbreviations. Mr., Mrs., Miss, Doctor (Dr.), President, Lord, etc.

大寫敬語及頭銜的首字母。例如：先生，夫人，小姐，醫生，主席，公爵等。

2. I and Me Aren’t Interchangeable

I和Me是不可互換的

I and me are’t interchangeable. They are used in different grammatical constructions. I is a pronoun that serves as a subject of a sentence. For example, Matthew and I went for a walk, both I and Matthew are subjects of the sentence while went is the verb. Me is a pronoun that serves as an object of a sentence. Me is needed when someone else is performing the action.

I和 Me是不可互換的,它們用于不同的語法結構。I 是一個代詞，是一個句子里的主語。例如：馬修和我出去散步，這里I 和Matthew 都是句子里的主語，而went是一個謂語動詞。Me是一個代詞，作為句子里的賓語。當其他人需要執行某個動作時就需要使用me。

To use the example above: Matthew took me for a walk. Matthew is the subject and me is the object in the sentence. Knowing your subjects and objects will help you use these types of pronouns flawlessly!

使用上面的例子：馬修和我一起出去散步。Matthew是句子里的主語，me是句子里的賓語。明確你的主語和賓語會幫助你無誤地使用這些介詞。

3. Be Careful When Using Your and You’re

小心使用Your和You’re

This is probably the most common mistake on the internet today! Your and you’re sound absolutely the same, but they have very different meanings and uses.

這可能是今天網絡上最常見的錯誤!Your和You’re的讀音聽起來完全一樣，但是它們的意義和用法完全不同。

Your is a possessive determiner that attributes something to you:

Your是一個物主限定詞，用來限定屬于你的東西。

Your work is impressive!

你的工作簡直令人欽佩!

You’re is a contraction of you are:

You’re 是you are的縮寫。

You’re a very successful writer. (You are a very successful writer.)

你是一個非常成功的作家。(你是一個非常成功的作家。)

Mistakes happen when possessive pronouns are confused with verb contractions, even among native English speakers. Often, you may see phrases like your wrong (instead of you’re wrong), you’re sister (instead of your sister), etc. These are grammatical errors. They’re easy to avoid. Don’t repeat them!

物主代詞和動詞縮寫混淆的錯誤經常出現，即使是本族語使用者也常犯這樣的錯誤。通常情況下，你經常會看到your wrong(而不是you’re wrong)，you’re sister(而不是your sister)等。這些都是語法錯誤，很容易避免，所以不要重復犯錯!

4. Be Careful When Using Their, They’re and There

小心使用Their, They’re 和 There

這是代詞，縮寫以及副詞混淆的一個例子。Let’s analyze each of the words in question.下面讓我們在具體的例子中分析每一個詞。

Their is a possessive determiner. When using their, you indicate that something belongs to them. For example, Their car has broken down.

Their 是一個物主代詞。當使用their的時候，你的意思就是某物是屬于他們的。例如，他們的車壞了。

They’re is a contraction of they are. For example, If they’re not coming, I’m leaving early. (If they are not coming, I’m leaving early.)

They’re是 they are 的縮寫。例如，如果他們不來，我就早點離開。(如果他們不來，我就早點離開。)

There is an adverb indicating a location of something. For example, Your keys are over there, on the table.

There 是一個副詞，說明某物的地點。例如，你的鑰匙在那，在書桌上。

Once you understand the difference between these three words, you won’t make a mistake like their nice (instead of they’re nice) or there dog (instead of their dog) ever again!

一旦你理解了這三個詞之間的差別，你就不會犯類似的錯誤，例如，their nice(而不是they’re nice)或者there dog(而不是their dog)!

5. There’s a Subtle Difference Between Must and Have To

Must 與Have To有細微的差別

Modal verbs in English serve to indicate possibility, obligation and more. The most common examples of modal verbs include can, may, must, will and shall. Must is the one indicating an obligation or a necessity to do something.

英語中的情態動詞用來說明可能性，義務或者其他。最常見的情態動詞包括can, may, must, will和shall。Must是用來說明義務以及做某事的必要性。

I must wake up early to catch a morning train.

我必須早點起來去趕早車。

However, we could also say:

然而，我們也可以說：

I have to wake up early to catch a morning train.

我不得不早點起來去趕早車。

語法上來說，他們都對，但是有什么細微的區別嗎?有!

The difference between must and have to is subtle. Both refer to an obligation, but must indicates an opinion or suggestion. Have to is an expression of a more objective obligation coming from an outside force.

Must與have to之間的差別是細微的。兩者都指義務，但是must是指意見或者建議。Have to指來自于外部世界的客觀義務。

因此說某個人必須做她的家庭作業是你的意見。說她不得不做她的家庭作業代表著她必須這樣做。在非正式的場合must和have to不可互換。在正式一點的場合，熟知must和have to的區別你就可以把它們區分開。

6. Always Check for Subject and Verb Agreement

時常檢查主謂是否一致

One of the most basic grammar rules in English states that the subject of the sentence has to agree with its verb. To approach fluency in English, it’s crucial to understand subject-verb agreement. The subject of a sentence can be either singular or plural, which will determine what form the verb takes.

英語中最基本的語法規則就是句子的主語必須要和謂語一致。為了流利地使用英語，了解主謂一致是至關重要的。句子的主語可以是單數也可以是復數，主語的單復數形式決定了它的謂語要采取何種形式。

For example:

例如：

She likes pizza.

她喜歡披薩。

They like burgers.

他們喜歡披薩。

But what happens when a sentence gets more complicated?

但是如果一個句子更加復雜該怎么辦呢

When there’s more than one subject connected by and, it’s a compound subject that requires a plural.

當句子中存在由and連接的并列主語時，那么這就是一個復合主語，謂語動詞需要用復數。

Lily and Tom want to order pizza. (They want to order pizza.)

莉莉和湯姆想要點披薩。(他們想要點披薩。)

But here’s where things get really complicated. Sometimes the subject is accompanied by an additional piece of information that follows along with, together with, as well as, such as and more. These don’t change the subject into a compound subject and don’t require a plural verb.

但是這里我們要說明的才是真正復雜的。有時，主語后會伴隨額外的信息，由along with, together with, as well as, such as 或者其他的詞連接。這種情況下不需要把主語看成是復合主語，謂語動詞也不需要是用復數形式。

Lily, just like Tom, wants to order pizza. (She wants to order pizza. So does Tom.)

莉莉想要點一份披薩，湯姆也是。

I, together with Matthew, am going for a walk. (I am going for a walk. Matthew is going with me.)

我要去散步，馬修和我一起。

Note that this a slightly awkward sentence, and using a compound subject like Matthew and I would be preferable here.

注意這個句子有一點歧義，使用復合賓語Matthew and I 會好一些。

A book, along with a few cards and pencils, was on the table. (A book was on the table. There were also a few cards and pencils.)

書在桌子上，桌子上還有一些卡片和鉛筆。

Notice how these sentence elements provide additional information that can be safely removed. The sentence would be less informative, but still grammatically correct.

注意句子中提到的一些附加信息可以被移除。雖然這樣句子可能不那么富有信息性，但是語法是卻是正確的。

A simple way to check for subject and verb agreement is to replace the subject with an appropriate pronoun, like we did in the first sentence above.

這里有一個驗證主謂是否一致的簡單方法，可以用一個合適的代詞來替換主語，就像我們在第一個句子里做的一樣。

Lily, just like Tom, wants to order pizza. (She wants to order pizza.)

莉莉想要點一份披薩，湯姆也是。(她想要一份披薩。)

Lily and Tom want to order pizza. (They want to order pizza.)

莉莉和湯姆想要點一份披薩。(他們想要點一份披薩。)

If the sentence still makes sense, your subject and your verb are in agreement!

這樣做，如果句子仍舊有意義，那么你所使用的主語和謂語就是一致的。

7. Mix It Up with Active and Passive Voice

主動語態和被動語態混合在一起

In many English sentences, the subject is the one performing the action described by the verb of the sentence. This is called “active voice.”

在許多英文的句子里，句子的主語是動作的執行者。這就是主動語態

While the children played a game in the backyard, their dad prepared dinner.

孩子們在后院玩游戲的時候，他們的爸爸在準備晚飯。

In other instances, the subject is being acted upon. Someone else is performing the action! This is “passive voice.”

在其他的情況下，主語是被執行者，其他人在完成這個動作。這就是被動語態。

While a game was played by the kids, dinner was prepared by their dad.

孩子們在后院玩游戲的時候，他們的爸爸在準備晚飯。

This sentence also has two clauses, and both of them are written in the passive voice: the game was played (by the kids) while dinner was prepared (by their dad).

句子由兩部分組成，兩部分都包含著被動語態：游戲由孩子們來玩，晚飯由爸爸來做。

While it’s recommended to use passive voice sparingly, you should know how to recognize and use both active and passive voices.

我們推薦偶爾使用被動語態，但是你應該明白如何讓辨認并且使用主被動語態。

A good mix of active and passive verbs will make your English, especially written English, varied and colorful. Don’t be afraid of combinations!

同時使用主被動語態尤其是你的書面英語富有變化且多彩。要勇敢地把主被動語態結合在一起使用。