English Grammar in Use

2009年夏，我刚刚出国读书，被系里临时安排在交流学者的办公室。办公室书架上，竖着几本书无人认领，我就顺手牵羊拿走了唯一的一本英文书。此书叫做《English Grammar in Use》，作者是Raymond Murphy，剑桥大学出版社1985年第一版，1988年第八次印刷。扉页上还印着“仅在俄罗斯和乌克兰出售”。20年前的书，难怪闻起来一股古董味。

随手翻了一下，我立刻被吸引住了。这本全部用英文写的语法书，我竟能轻松读懂，顿时很有成就感。书的副标题是“给中级学生的自学参考和练习书”，我不知道自己的水平算不算得上中级，但里面很多小语法点是我的弱项，值得好好学习。此书对语法点没有过多解释，主要是举例子，点到为止，甚合我意。随便摊开，左面一页是语法点和示例，右面一页是习题，两页就是一个单元。每个单元独立成篇，全书共130个单元。前15个单元的习题已经被人用笔写满了，从第16单元，字迹戛然而止。

“虎头蛇尾的家伙。”我暗笑。当时我想，每天做一个单元，5分钟都用不了，那么四个月之后就全部搞定。书从印刷到现在都20年了，书的主人竟然没做完？真瞧不起这种没有自制力的人。

2016年冬，7年多过去了，我……我总算把这本外语书吭哧吭哧读完了。比较一下，大娃京生，7年前只会中文叫“爸爸”，现在能流利地用中文和德语进行日常交流；二娃德生，7年前还在这世上不存在，现在能用中文说“爸爸，你走开，我喜欢妈妈”。而我读一本外语书花了7年多。好吧，自己正是自己瞧不起的那种缺乏自制力的人。

据说，这本书是世界上最受欢迎的中级英语自学语法书。多年来一版再版，甚至还出了配套光盘以及手机上的app。最新版是第四版，共145个单元，彩色，比我手头这本上世纪80年代黑白印刷的、印刷错误比比皆是的旧书帅多了。我们来感受一下21世纪的时代气息：

而且，网上竟然可以下载得到（点击下载pdf版、含光盘版）。此外，该书作者为这本中级语法书写了个姊妹篇给初级用户，叫Essential Grammar in Use（点击下载）。

这么好的英语书，为什么我年轻时没有接触到？

下面，是我摘录的难点笔记，加上了我的简单注解。一边做笔记一边想，什么中级英语，难度不及我国高考，跟入门级德语的难度相比，更是被完爆……

---

#English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy

Present tense with a future meaning 现在时表将来

When you are talking about what you have already arranged to do, use the present continuous (I am doing) or going to do. Do not use will.

• What are you doing tomorrow? (not ‘what will you do’)
• What are you going to do tomorrow?

We use the present simple when talking about timetables, programs etc. (for public transportation, cinemas)

• The concert this evening starts at 7:30.

Going to, will

We use going to in this way when we say what we think will happen. 确定将要发生的事情。

• Look at those black clouds! It’s going to rain.
• Oh, I feel terrible. I think I am going to be sick.

We use will when we decide to do something at the time of speaking.

• Oh, I’ve left the door open. I’ll go and shut it.

Do not use will to say what someone has already decided to do or arranged to do.

• I can’t meet you tomorrow because my parents are coming to see me. (not ‘my parents will come’)

临时起意的计划用will，有“愿意”的意思；蓄谋已久的计划用going to。

We often use will (you) be doing to ask about people’s plan, especially when we want something or want someone to do something.

• ‘Will you be using your bicycle this evening?’ ‘No, you can take it.’

Present perfect 现在完成时

We often use the present perfect (I have done) to give new information or to announce a recent happening.

• I’ve lost my key. Can you help me look for it?

Yet shows that the speaker is ecpecting sth. to hapen.

• Has it stopped raining yet?

Present perfect continuous 现在完成进行时

We use the present perfect continuous (I have been doing) when we talk about an action which began in the past and has recently stopped or just stopped or is still happening. 过去开始，最近刚刚结束，或者尚未结束、尚在进行。

• You’re out of breath. Have you been running?
• It is still raining. It has been raining for two hours. (how long, for, since)

We use the present perfect continuous (I have been doing) when we are interested in the action. It does not matter whether something has been finished or not. We use the present perfect (I have done) when we are interested in the result of the action, not in the action itself. 现在完成进行时关注动作本身，不关心动作是否结束。相反，现在完成时关注动作的结果，不关注动作本身。

• Tom’s hands are very dirty. He has been repairing the car.
• The car is going again now. Tom has repaired it.

We use the present perfect continuous (I have been doing) for situations over a short time. We use the present perfect (I have done) for situations that exist for a longer time. 现在完成进行时用在短时间的情况，现在完成时用于长时间的情况。

• John has been living in London since January.
• John has always lived in London.

Do not use the present simple (I do) or continuous (I am doing) to say how long something has been happening. 表述某件事情发生了多久时，用完成时，不用一般时或进行时。

• I have been waiting here for an hour. (not ‘I am waiting’)

But:

• How long is it since you had a holiday?
• It is ages since Tom visited us.

May, might, can, need, should, would, will

We use may/might as well to say that we should do something but only because there is no reason not to do it and because there is nothing better to do. 我觉得相当于had better。中文可以翻译成“还是”。

• You’ll have to wait an hour for the next bus, so you might as well walk.
• We may as well go to the party. We’ve nothing else to do.
• ‘Shall we have dinner now?’ ‘We might as well.’

To give permission, we use can or may (but not could).

• You can/may smoke if you like.

Can has only two forms: can and could. So sometimes you have to use be able to instead.

• I haven’t been able to sleep recently. (can has no present perfect)
• Tom might not be able to come tomorrow. (can has no infinitive)

If you mean that someone managed to do something in one particular situation, you have to use was/were able to (not could).

• The fire spread through the building very quickly but everyone was able to escape. (not could escape)

We use needn’t have to say that someone did something but it wasn’t necessary.

• Thank you for doing the washing-up but you needn’t have done it really. I was going to do it later.

Need doing = need to be done.

• The batteries in this radio need changing.
• The grass needs cutting.
• The jacket needs cleaning.

Be careful with suggest. You cannot use the infinitive (to do) after suggest.

• What do you suggest we should do? or what do you suggest we do? (but not ‘what do you suggest us to do’)

However, you can use doing after suggest.

• Tom suggested going to the cinema.

When you imagine something not really possible, you use a past tense after if. But the meaning is not past. 过去时表达假想一件不可能发生的事情。

• ‘Are you going to catch the 10:30 train?’ ‘No. If we caught the 10:30 train, we would arrive too early.’
• If I found 100 Euro in the street, I would keep it.

We use I wish … would… when we want something to happen or somebody to do something. The speaker is complaining about the present situation. So you cannot say ‘I wish I would …’. 抱怨

• I want to go out. I wish it would stop raining.
• I wish someone would answer that telephone. It’s been ringing for about five minutes.

You can use would when you look back on the past and remember things that often happened (= used to).

• When we were children, we lived by the sea. In summer, if the weather was fine, we would all get up early and go for a swim.

Do not use will after in case. Use a present tense when you are talking about the future. 以防

• John might phone tonight. I don’t want to go out in case he phones.
• Wait. I’ll draw a map for you in case you cannot find our house.

In case of ( = if there is/are) is different from in case ( = because it is possible that). 万一

• In case of fire, please leave the building as quickly as possible.

if, provided/-ing, unless

• Unless = except if 除非
• not … unless = only if. 只有

• As/so long as = provided that = providing that = but only if 只要

• Joe cannot hear unless you shout. (Joe can hear only if you shout.)

• You can use my car as long as you drive carefully.

supposed to

Sometimes supposed to means said to. 据说

• Let’s go and see that film. It’s supposed to be very good.

But sometimes you can use supposed to to say what is planned or arranged. 计划

• The train was supposed to arrive at 11:30 but it was 40 minutes late.
• You were supposed to clean the windows. Why didn’t you do it?

We use not supposed to to say what is not allowed or not advisable. 不允许，不建议

• You are not supposed to park here.
• He is much better after his illness but he’s still not supposed to do any heavy work.

dare

After dare you can use the infinitive with or without to. But after daren’t you must use the infinitive without to.

-I wouldn’t dare (to) ask him. - I daren’t tell him what happened.

be afraid

Be afraid to do = do not want to do because the result could be unpleasant. 不敢

Be afraid of doing = there is a possibility that something bad will happen. 不想

You are afraid to do something because you are afraid of something happening as a result.

• The boys were afraid to play football in the garden because they were afraid of braking a window.
• I was afraid to stay in the sun because I was afraid of getting burnt.

Verb + preposition + doing

• I don’t feel like going out tonight. (= would not like to do) 不愿意
• I’ve always dreamed of being rich.
  
• We decided against moving to London.
• They accused me of telling lies.
• They suspected the man of being a spy.
• I congratulated her on Passing the exam.
• What prevented him from coming to the wedding?
• We stopped everyone (from) leaving the building.
• I thanked her for being so helpful.
• Please forgive me for not writing to you.
• They warned us against buying the car.

Expressions + doing

• It is no use/good worrying about it. There is nothing you can do.
• There’s no point in buying a car if you don’t want to drive it.
• My house is only a short walk from here. It’s not worth taking a taxi.
• This book is worth reading.
• I had difficulty (in) finding a place to live.
• It’s a waste of time/money buying things you don’t need.

Rather

When you want someone else to do something, you can say I’d rather you did…. We use the past in this structure but the meaning is present or future.

• I’d rather you cooked the dinner now.
• ‘Do you mind if I smoke?’ ‘I’d rather you didn’t.’

It’s time someone did

We use it’s time someone did something especially when we are complaining or criticizing or when we think someone should have already done something. 抱怨

• It’s time the children were in bed. It’s long after their bedtime.
• I think it’s (about/high) time the government did something about pollution.

See, hear, watch, listen to, feel, notice, smell, find

Verb + someone + do/doing

• I saw her go out.
• She was seen to go out.
• I saw him walking along the street.
• I didn’t hear you come in.
• She suddenly felt someone touch her on the shoulder.
• Listen to the birds singing!
• Did you notice anyone go out?

You can only use doing after smell and find.

• Can you smell something burning?
• She found him reading her letters.

Chance and opportunity

Someone has/stands a/any/no/little/much chance of doing something. 有可能。

• We have a very good chance of winning the match.
• He stands no chance of passing the examination.
• What are the chances of success?
• Is there any chance of you lending me some money until tomorrow?
• There is a chance that I’ll be late home this evening.

Someone has a chance/an opportunity to do something. (= time) 有机会，有时间。

• ‘Have you read the book I lent you?’ ‘No, I haven’t had a/much/any chance to look at it yet.’
• These days I don’t get much chance to watch TV. I’m too busy.
• I have the opportunity to study in Germany for a year.
• After the lecture there will be an apportunity to ask questions.

You can also say any/no/little/much/plenty of/more opportunity. Opportunity of doing is also possible. Do not say ‘possibility to do something’.

Uncountable nouns 不可数名词

• You need experience fro this job. (= knowledge of something because you have done it before – uncountable) 经验
• We had many experiences during our holiday. (= things that happened to us – countable) 经历

Some nouns are usually uncountable in English but often countable in other languages. accommodation, behavior, trouble, advice, baggage, luggage, progress …

Do not use travel to mean journey/trip:

• We had a good journey. (not a good travel)

The

We say the sea, the sky, the ground, the countryside.

• Would you rather live in a town or in the country?

We say go to sea/be at sea when the meaning is go/be on a voyage.

• He is a seaman. He spends most of his life at sea.
• I would love to live near the sea.

We say space when we mean space in the universe. 太空

• There are millions of stars in space.
• He tried to park his car but the space wasn’t big enough.

We say the cinema, the theater, the radio, but television (without the).

We do not normally use the with breakfast, lunch, dinner, but we say a nice lunch. We also say a meal.

• We had lunch in a restaurant.
• We had a meal in a restaurant.
• Thank you. That was a very nice lunch.

We use the + a singular countable noun or a plural noun without the to talk about a plant, animal etc. 动植物

• The rose is my favorite flower.
• Roses are my favorite flowers.

We use the + a singular countable noun when talking about a type of machine, an invention, a musical instrument etc. 机器，发明，乐器

• When was the telephone invented?
• The bicycle is an excellent means of transport.
• Can you play the guitar?

When we use the with some adjectives (without a noun), the meaning is always plural.

• Do you think the rich should pay more taxes?

We do not usually say the withe the names of countries and states. But we say the with names which include words like ‘republic’, ‘union’, ‘kingdom’, ‘states’. We also use the with plural names. 国家

• France. West Germany. Texas.
• the German Federal Republic. the Soviet Union. the United Kingdom. the United States of America.
• the Netherlands. the Philippines.

Islands groups and mountain ranges usually have plural names with the. Individual islands and mountains usually have singular names without the. 岛，山

• the Bahamas. the Canaries. the British Isles. the Rocky Mountains. the Rockies. the Alps
• Corfu. Sicily. Bermuda. Easter Island. (Mount) Everest. (Mount) Etna.

Lakes usually have names without the. 湖

• Lake Superior. Lake Constance.

Names of oceans/seas/river/canals have the. 海，河，海峡

• the Atlantic. the Mediterranean. the English Channel. the Nile.

Regions. 地区

• The Middle East. The Far East. The north of England.
• northern England. western Canada (without the)

We do not normally use the with names of streets/roads/squares etc. 街道，广场

• Regent Street. Fifth Avenue. Broadway. Red Square.

Many names are two words, such as Kennedy Airport, Cambridge University. The first word is usually the name of a person or place. We do not usually say the with names like these.

• Victoria Station. Peking University. Hyde Park. Buckingham Palace.

We usually say the before the names of hotels, restaurants, pubs, theaters, cinemas, museums, galleries. 旅馆，餐馆，酒吧，剧院，影院，博物馆，画廊

• the Hilton. the Bombay Restaurant. the National Theater. the British Museum.

We say all day (without the) or the whole day.

• We spent all day / the whole day on the beach.
• I’ve been trying to find you all morning / the whole morning.

Singular or plural? 单复数

We do not often use the plural of person (‘persons’). Instead we use people.

Some words end in -s and can be singular or plural, such as means (a/many means of transport), series (a/two TV series), species (a/two species of bird).

Some singular nouns are often used with a plural verb, such as government, staff, team, family, audience, commitee, police.

We normally use a plural verb with the names of sports teams.

• Scotland are playing France in a football match next week.

We say ‘a holiday of three weeks’ but ‘a three-week holiday’, or “three weeks’ holiday’.

Someone/anyone/nobody/everyone are singular words, but we often use they after these words.

• If anyone wants to leave early, they can.
• Someone has spilt their coffee on the carpet.
• No one in the class did their homework.
• Everyone has got their tickets.

After none of + a plural word we can use a singular or a plural verb. A plural verb is more usual.

• None of the people I met were English.

…’s (apostrophe s) and …of… 所有格

We normally use ’s when the first noun is a person, an animal, an organisation, a place, a time word. Otherwise (with things) we normally use …of….

• a policeman’s hat. the horse’s tail.
• the government’s decision or the decision of the government. the company’s success or the success of the company.
• the city’s new theater. the world’s population.
• tomorrow’s meeting. last Monday’s newspaper.
• the door of the room (not the room’s door). the beginning of the story (not the story’s beginning’).

Reason

We say the reason why or the reason that or leave out why and that.

• The reason (why/that) I’m phoning you is to invite you to a party.

Adjectives: word order 形容词词序

Opinion adjectives usually go before fact adjectives. 态度 - 事实

• a nice sunny day
• delicious hot soup
• an intelligent young man
• a beautiful large round wooden table

When there are two or more fact adjectives. Very often we put them in this order:

how big – how old – what color – where from – what is it made of

• a tall young man. a large wooden table. big blue eyes. an old Russian song. a small black plastic bag. an old white cotton shirt.

Adjectives of size and length usually go before adjectives of shape and width.

• a large round table. a tall thin girl. a long narrow street.

Superlatives

We use eldest (not oldest) when we are talking about the members of a family.

• My eldest son is 13 years old.
• Are you the eldest in your family?

After superlatives, we use in with places (towns, buildings etc.), but we use of with time.

• the longest river in the world
• the nicest rooms in the hotel
• the happiest day of my life
• the hottest day of the year

Quite and rather

Rather is similar to quite but we use rather mainly with negative words and negative ideas. Quite is also possible in these examples.

• It’s rather/quite cold, so you’d better wear your coat.
• ‘What was the examination like?’ ‘Rather/quite difficult, I’m afraid.’

When we use rather with positive words, it means ‘unusually’ or ‘surprisingly’.

• These oranges are rather nice. Where did you get them?

We often use quite with a positive idea.

• She is quite intelligent but rather lazy.

Quite can also mean ‘completely’ with a number of adjectives or verbs, especially sure, right, true, unnecessary, different, amazing, certain, wrong, safe, extraordinary, impossible, amazed, agree, finish, understand. 完全

• ‘Are you sure?’ ‘Yes, quite sure.’
• Everything they said was quite true.
• I quite agree with you.
• They haven’t quite finished their dinner yet.
• I don’t quite understand what you mean.

Although, though, even though, in spite of, despite 虽然

Compare although and in spite of / despite.

• Although the traffic was bad, I arrived on time.
• In spite of the traffic, I arrived on time.
• I couldn’t sleep although I was very tired.
• I couldn’t sleep despite being very tired.

In spoken English we often use though at the end of a sentence ( = but).

• The house isn’t very nice. I like the garden though. (= but I like the garden)

At/on/in (time, position)

We use on with dates and days, but: - at the weekend / at weekends, at Christmas (but on Christmas Day)

We use in to say how long it takes to do something.

• I learnt to drive in four weeks.

In + position.

• He lives in a small village in the mountains.
• When we were in Italy, we spent a few days in Venice. (not ‘at Venice’)
• Have you read this article in the newspaper? (not ‘on the newspaper’)

On + position

• London is on the river Thames.
• Portsmouth is on the south coast of England.
• Have you ever worked on a farm?

We say in the corner of a room, but at/on the corner of a street.

We say in the front/back of a car, but we say at the front/back of a building/hall/cinema/group of people, and we say on the front/back of a letter/piece of paper.

At + position

• at university
• at a station
• at an airport
• at the seaside
• at sea (on a voyage)

At + event

• at a party/concert/conference/football match

In time (for something / to do something) = soon enough. The opposite of in time is too late.

Noun + preposition

• They sent me a cheque for 50 USD.
• That firm closed down because there wasn’t enough demand/need for its product. (countable)
• The train was late but no one knew the reason for the delay.
• No one knew what the cause of the delay was.
• There has been an increase in road accidents recently.
• The advantage of living alone is that you can do what you like.
• There are many advantages in living alone.
• He always keeps a photo of his wife in his wallet.
• The accident was my fault, so I paid for the damage to the other car.
• I was surprised at his reaction to what I said.
• His attitude to/towards his job is very negative.
• Do you have a good relationship with your parents?
• Police want to question a man in connection with the robbery.
• Police have said that there is no connection between the two murders.

Preposition + noun

• Did you pay by cheque or in cash?
• We hadn’t arranged to meet. We met by chance. (by mistake, by accident)
• Look! The car is on fire!
• I didn’t watch the match on TV. I listen to it on the radio.
• I’ve put on a lot of weight. I’ll have to go on a diet.
• Did you go to Paris on business or on holiday? (on a trip/tour/excursion/cruise/expedition)
• Tom has gone to France for a holiday.
  

Adjective + preposition

• She is excited/worried/upset about his plan.
• What are you so angry/annoyed/furious about?
• They were angry/annoyed/furious with me for not inviting them to the party.
• I was delighted/pleased/satisfied/disappointed with my examination results.
• He gets bored/fed up with doing the same thing every day.
• Everyone was surprised/shocked/amazed/astonished at/by the news.
• I am good/bad/excellent/brilliant/hopeless at repairing things.
• I am afraid/frightened/terrified/scared of dogs.
• I am proud/ashamed of what I did.
• She is always jealous/envious of other people.
• He was suspicious of my intentions.
• I wasn’t aware/conscious of their marriage.
• I am sorry about the noise.
• I am sorry for shouting at you yesterday. (= I am sorry I shouted at you.)
• He wasn’t keen on going out in the rain. 喜爱
• The city center was crowded with tourists.

Verb + preposition

• He is selfish. He doesn’t care about other people. 关心
• Would you care for a cup of coffee? (= like) 喜欢
• She is old. She needs someone to care for her. (= look after) 照料
• There was an accident this morning. A bus collided with a car.
• Concentrate on your work!
• He lost control of the car and crashed/drove/bumped/ran into a wall.
• I dreamed about you last night. 做梦
• I often dream of being rich. (= imagine) 梦想
• ‘Don’t tell anyone what I said.’ ‘No, I wouldn’t dream of it.’
• Did you hear about the fight in the club on Monday?
• Have you heard about Jane? She’s getting married. 听说某件事
• ‘Have you heard from Jane recently?’ ‘Yes, she wrote to me last week.’ 有消息
• ‘Who is Jane?’ ‘I have no idea. I have never heard of her.’ 听说某个人
• He was angry and started shouting at me. (when angry)
• He shouted to me from the other side of the street.
• You are quite. What are you thinking about? (= consider) 思考
• He told me his name but I can’t think of it now. (= remember) 回想
• Good idea. Why didn’t I think of that? (have an idea)
• ‘What did you think of the film?’ ‘I didn’t think much of it.’ (give an opinion) 看法
• He accused her of being selfish. 谴责
• Everyone blamed me for the accident. 责怪
• Everyone blamed the accident on me.
• Everyone said that I was to blame for the accident.
• Three men were arrested and charged with robbery. 控告
• The economic situation is getting worse and worse. The government ought to do something about it.
• The school provides all its students with books.
• This house reminds me of the one I lived in when I was a child. (cause someone to remember) 令回忆
• I’m glad you reminded me about the party. (tell someone not to forget) 提醒
• Everyone has been warned about/of the dangers of smoking.

Useful expressions

• Can you change a pound? 找零钱
• I arranged to meet him after work but he didn’t turn up. (appear)
• We all know how wonderful you are. There’s no need to show off. (show how good you are at something)
• I can’t hear you very well. Can you speak up a bit? (speak louder)