介词是一些非常常见的小词,例如at、for、in、on和to,通常位于名词或代词前面,表达与另外一个词之间的关系。

母语是英语的人在常见的介词使用中很少犯错,然而,英语学习者经常犯错,因为他们更多地是直接从自己的语言中翻译,而非听地道的英语。

提高介词使用能力最好的方法是:

1. listen to spoken English as much as possible
尽可能多地听英语口语

2. test yourself on common prepositions
自我测试常用的介词

 

下面罗列了10个常见的介词用法错误:

1) arrive at 还是 arrive in

*When we arrived to Claudio’s house…

at通常用在具体的地点前:school学校、restaurant餐厅、airport机场、aunt’s house阿姨的家;而in通常用在城市或国家前面。

When we arrived at Claudio’s house…
我们到达克劳迪奥的家……

The train arrived at Shibuya station thirty seconds late.
火车延迟30秒到达涩谷车站。

On Friday, the president arrived in Poland.
总统于周五到达波兰。

The K-pop band arrived in Phnom Penh last week.
韩国流行乐队上周到达金边。

2) at night

*We often go out in the night.

in可以用在in the morning, in the afternoon, 和in the evening里,但是night前面需要用at。

We often go out at night.
我们经常在夜晚出门。

Krakow is beautiful at night.
夜晚的克拉科夫很美。

3) look for 还是 wait for

*I was looking my glasses.

*Giulia was waiting me at the bus stop.

如果你想表达寻找,那么用look for或者search for;如果你想表达等待,那么用wait for。

 I was looking for my glasses.
我在寻找我的眼镜。

 Tomis looking for a new job.
汤姆正在寻找一份新工作。

Giulia was waiting for me at the bus stop.
茱莉亚正在车站等着我。

Lucy is waiting for her sister to finish class.
露西正在等她的妹妹放学。

4) for [period of time]

*I’ve been working here since five years

for用在一段时间前面,比如:a few minutes/three months/twenty years。 

since和具体的时间点连用,比如:this morning/September/the day we met

I’ve been working here for five years.
我已经在这里工作五年了。

She hasn’t drunk coffee for years.
她好多年不喝咖啡了。

She’s been living in Yokohama since February.
她从二月起一直住在横滨。

I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning.
昨天早上之后,我就没再见到她。

5) in [months and years]

*It’s my birthday on July!

in总是和年份或月份连用。

It’s my birthday in July!
我的生日在7月。

Ola was born in 2004.
欧拉出生在2004年。

6) live/work/study in [cities and countries]

*I live at Tokyo.

在某个城市或国家居住、工作或学习用in,但住在某个具体的地址则用at,比如在一个特定的机构工作,或者是在某所大学学习。

I live in Tokyo.
我住在东京。

Roberta works in Sassari.
罗伯塔在萨萨里工作。

Hector studies in Canada.
赫克托尔在加拿大学习。

Ania lives at No.34, Green Street.
艾尼雅住在格林大街34号。

Ryosuke works for Toyota.
凉介在丰田工作。

Dara studies at Phnom Penh International University.
达拉在金边国际大学读书。

7) on [days and dates]

*It’s my birthday in Saturday!

on和具体的星期几或日期连用:

It’s my birthday on Saturday!
我的生日在周六!

It’s my birthday on May 1st. (But remember: It’s my birthday in May.)我的生日在五月一号。(但是要记住:我的生日在五月用 in。)

8) it depends on

*It depends of what you want: Italian food or Chinese food.

depend后面如果要加某人或某物,一定要和on连用,不然只能说it depends。 

It depends on what you want: Italian food or Chinese food.
这取决于你想吃什么:意大利菜还是中国菜。

We’ll go to either Disney World or the beach, depending on the weather.
我们要去迪士尼乐园或海滩,这要看天气。

What do you usually have for breakfast – tea or coffee? – It depends!
你早餐通常喝什么——茶还是咖啡?—看情况。

9) welcome to

*Welcome in Peru!

欢迎到某地用welcome to+地点,比如:a house/school/organization/city/country。

Welcome to Peru!
欢迎来秘鲁!

Welcome to Cagliari.
欢迎来卡利亚里。

Welcome to Meiji University.
欢迎来明治大学。

Welcome to the Plaza Hotel. We hope you enjoy your stay.
欢迎来广场饭店,我们希望你在此过得愉快。

10) married to

*He’s married with Kim.

与某人结婚要用married to或者get married to,也可以说marry sb.。

He’s married to Kim.
他和金结婚了。

John’s getting married to Sara next summer.
约翰明年夏天要和萨拉结婚。

✓Kate is marrying my old school friend.
凯特要和我的一个老校友结婚了。