托福写作常见语法错误解析
名词
在托福独立写作中会有哪些常见的语法错误呢?从这期开始，我们将和大家一起讨论写作中经常出现的名词、代词、形容词、副词、数词、动词、介词、连词方面的错误，希望大家“引以为戒”——“语言的准确性”是托福独立写作评分标准中的重要要求。
1.可数名词不“裸奔”
Even expert or scholar specializing in a certain field might cover a vast
spectrum of knowledge in order to succeed.
During high school, a very important time in a person’s education career, student will learn skill necessary to be successful in university and the work world.
第一句句子中的expert和scholar都是可数名词，因此需要在这些词之前加上冠词(定冠词或不定冠词)或物主代词，或变为名词的复数形式。Even experts or scholars specializing in a certain field might cover a vast spectrum of knowledge in order to succeed.
第二句句子中的student和skill也都是可数名词，全句应该改为：During high school, a very important time in a person’s education career, students will learn most of the skills necessary to be successful in university and the work world.
2.集合名词的单复数
我们来看下面的例句：
Technology is developing at a remarkable speed that our ancestors might never have foreseen.
在此句句子中，technology 是不可数名词。考生是否可以将这句句子改成：Various modern technologies are developing at a remarkable speed that our ancestors might never have foreseen呢?technology到底是可数名词还是不可数名词?
当technology理解为抽象的“科学技术”，即强调总称时，是不可数名词，如例句中的Technology is developing at a remarkable speed中的technology正是对“科学技术总称”的指代。当强调“各种各样”科技产品的'时候，此时的technology则是可数名词，如例句 Various modern technologies are developing at a remarkable speed. 这类名词称之为“集合名词”，在托福独立写作中，经常使用的“集合名词”还有government，如：
The central government is so concerned about keeping pandas in existence that it is spending millions of dollars trying to determine how to artificially inseminate the giant panda. (中央政府是一级具体的“政府机关”，因此使用可数名词形式)
It is crucial for government to setup more funds by attracting larger investments to solve financial problems encountered during the course of environment-related projects. (这里的政府是“行政机关的总称”，因此使用不可数名词形式)
3.名词的首字母大写
在哪些情况下，名词需要对其首字母进行大写(capitalization)?
表示月份：February
表示历史事件：The Enlightenment
表示历史时期：The Middle Ages
表示书刊、报纸：The New York Times，The Washington Post
表示节日：Christmas，the Spring Festival
表示国家(地区)：North America
表示专有名词：the Amazon
数词
在托福写作中，“数词”“粉墨登场”的机会并不多见——因此，对“数词”“准确、到位”讲解的匮乏着实不难理解。然而，秉持着“细微之处见真章”的精神，本篇总结了托福写作中“数词写作的一般规则”，这些规则也同样适用于考生的日常写作。
规则一： 当数词可以用至多两个英文单词表达时，尽量使用英文字母表示。因此，12以下的数字或整数一般都需要“写出来”，但在percent(百分比)前面一般直接使用阿拉伯数字，如：
Experts quickly realized that there were two possible explanations for the decline of sea otters: environmental pollution or attacks by predators. 专家很快认识到，海獭数量减少有两个可能的原因：环境污染或来自捕食者的攻击。
When the price difference between two products is small, for example, less than 5 percent in the case of eco-certified wood products, American consumers often choose on factories other than price. 当两种产品之间的价格差距非常的小(在环保认证木材制品的案例中，这种差距小于5%)，美国消费者会考虑生产厂商而不是价格。
规则二：当数字需要用两个以上英文单词表达时，尽量使用阿拉伯数字表示，因此年份往往是直接用阿拉伯数字进行表示，如：
These animals could run very fast, reaching speeds up to 125 kilometers per hour. 这些动物奔跑速度非常快，可以达到每小时125千米。
Cane toads were introduced to Australia in 1935 with the expectation that they would protect farmers’ crops by eating harmful insects. 蔗蟾于1935年被引入澳大利亚，期待它们通过吃害虫来保护农民的庄稼。
规则三： 句子的开头一般不使用阿拉伯数字，如：15 couples were invited to participate in a survey that aimed to figure out the fatal elements leading to personal success.十五对夫妇被邀请参与到一项调查之中，该调查的目的是探究个人成功最重要的要素。
较好的表达方式为：Fifteen couples were invited to participate in a survey that aimed to figure out the fatal elements leading to personal success.
规则四：表达小数(或分数)时，尽量使用数字，如：The government has spent over $12.4 million constructing new recreational facilities for local residents in the past few decades. 在过去的几十年间，政府花费了超过1240万元用于为当地居民建造新的娱乐设施。
