误:They sat down and talk about the adventure.
正:They sat down and talked about the adventure.
译:他们坐下谈论那次奇遇。
析:and连接的是两个并列的谓语,它们的时态应该是一致的,所以talk要用过去式。
误:Mary and John started to dance and sang.
正:Mary and John started to dance and sing.
译:玛丽和约翰开始跳舞唱歌。
析:and连接两个并列的动词不定式,第二个不定式往往可以省略不定式符号to。
误:He not only read the book but also remember what he had read.
正:He not only read the book but also remembered what he had read.
译:他不仅读书,而且记得住他所读过的内容。
析:not only…but also连接的是两个并列的谓语,所以read和remember 都要用过去式。
误:Although my car is very old, but it still runs very well.
正:Although my car is very old, it still runs very well.
译:我的汽车虽然很旧,但仍然跑得很好。
析:汉语中可以说“虽然……但是”,英语中却只要用although或but就可以表示相同的意思。一个句子中用了although或though,就不能再使用but, however, and,但是可以用yet,如:Although John was weak, yet he tried his best to do the work. 约翰尽管很虚弱,但是他尽力做他的工作。
误:Because the dog was hungry, so we fed it.
正:The dog was hungry, so we fed it.
译:狗饿了,所以我们喂它。
析:在这个句子中,because和so只能用一次,英语主从复合句只需要用一个连词就可以把两个从句连接起来了。句子中用了because, since及as以后,就不能再使用so或therefore了。