(单词翻译:单击)
I’M going to be very careful writing this week’s column. I’m trying not to make any grammatical mistakes.
我会非常小心地撰写本周的专栏文章,尽量不犯任何语法错误。
Even though I’ve published millions of words, I’m certain some errors will slip through because we’re all guilty of making grammatical mistakes from time to time. But learning grammar is easier than ever now — with the right apps, of course.
尽管我发表的文章怎么说也有数百万字,但我确信自己肯定会出错,因为我们每个人都会时不时地犯一些语法错误,并对此感到内疚。但现在学习语法比以往任何时候都要容易——这当然得借助靠谱的应用才行。
And they are not just for people learning English; they’re also good for those of us who already speak it.
它们不只是面向普通的英语学习者;对于我们这些以英语为母语的人来说,使用这些应用也是有裨益的。
The free app Practice English Grammar from Cleverlize is among the most polished, and is easy to use for improving your grammar skills. It’s available for both iOS and Android and covers the whole gamut of grammatical details from conjunctions through tenses to using the passive voice.
Cleverlize公司推出的免费应用“练习英语语法”(Practice English Grammar)设计精美,易于使用,绝对是一款改善语法技能的利器。iOS和Android用户均可使用自己的设备下载这款应用。从连词到时态,再到被动语态,它涵盖了所有语法细节。
Its main interface is a pleasing graphical display of your progress in each of the various modules. Tapping on one of these modules takes you to a section where you can see the grammar lessons in the form of flashcards, and then a section where you can test your knowledge in an interactive quiz.
它的主界面令人愉悦地显示你在每个不同模块的学习进展。点击其中任意一个模块,可观看以卡片形式展示的语法课程,另一部分则会以互动问答的方式测试你对相关知识的掌握情况。
The flashcards are easy to read, with the bare minimum of information you need to know. For example, did you know that the present continuous tense is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb “to be”? Still, while the flashcards are easy to read, sometimes the information feels a little too spartan.
这些卡片易于阅读,包含你需要知道的最基本的信息。例如,你是否知道现在进行时需要助动词“to be”的帮助?不过,尽管这些卡片易于阅读,但其中包含的信息有时候让人觉得过于精炼。
The app is clean and professional with few frills, and I liked its no-nonsense style. I even learned a thing or two while reviewing it. But it can get costly.
这款应用干净且专业,没有多余的虚饰,我喜欢它不讲废话的风格。在评估它时,我甚至掌握了一两个语法知识。但你也许需要花费一笔不菲的费用。
While the core app is free with basic lessons, you have to purchase more content in-app if you want access to every module. Individual modules cost $1, or you can subscribe for around $10 a month.
虽然最基本的核心课程是免费的,但如果你想进入每个模块,你就必须得花钱购买更多的内容。每个模块售价1美元,或者你可以每月花费大约10美元订阅该应用。
Another option is the LearnEnglish Grammar app from the British Council. This app, too, has lessons covering different subjects and has sections to review and test your knowledge. The design is plain, with simple colors, large text and straightforward instructions, so it’s easy to use.
另一个选择是英国文化协会(British Council)推出的“学英语语法”应用(LearnEnglish Grammar)。这款应用也有涵盖不同主题的课程,以及评估和测试用户知识掌握情况的部分。其设计朴实无华,配有简单的颜色,大字体和明确的说明,所以很容易上手。
Its testing system is a little more fun than Practice English Grammar’s; you play simple games to enter the correct answers to quiz questions. I also liked the linguistic examples it gives when you’re learning about a particular grammatical rule, because they feel more natural for a native English speaker.
它的测试系统要比“练习英语语法”多了一点乐趣;你需要玩一些简单的游戏,以获取问答题的正确答案。我也喜欢你在学习一个特定语法规则时,它为你提供的鲜活例句,因为对于一个以英语为母语的学习者来说,例句给人的感觉更加自然。
This app is free for both iOS and Android, but you must pay for the complete range of content. Packs cover grammatical topics at different levels, from Beginner Pack 1 to Intermediate Pack 2 for more advanced lessons, and each costs $1.
iOS和Android用户均可免费下载这款应用,但你必须花点钱,才能看到全部内容。各个学习包涵盖不同层次的语法主题。无论是面向初级学习者的Pack 1,还是面向中级学习者,传授更高深课程的Pack 2,每个学习包所需的费用均为1美元。
Interestingly, there’s both a British English edition (free on iOS and Android) and an American English one (free on iOS and Android), which may be handy if you find yourself writing mainly for one audience or the other.
有趣的是,这款应用的iOS和Android版本既包括英式英语版本,也包括美式英语版本,如果你主要面向英国或美国受众写文章的话,这种设计可能就会派上用场。
A free alternative to these apps on Android is English Grammar Ultimate from Maxlogic. The app lacks the design polish of the other two mentioned here, but it is still well organized into sections for different grammatical rules and has an easy-to-use interface.
另一个面向Android用户的免费选择是Maxlogic公司开发的“英语语法终极指南”(English Grammar Ultimate)。就设计的精美程度而言,它不如上述两款应用,但它的结构同样井井有条,由不同的语法规则部分组成,其界面也易于使用。
You may find the way this app explains grammar suits you even more because of the slightly longer explanations and examples it gives.
你可能会发现这款应用解释语法的方式更适合你,因为它提供的解释和例句往往会更长一些。
For testing your grammatical skills on Android devices, you should also check out English Grammar Test by SevenLynx. This app has a clean and attractive look, and feels professional and trustworthy for a free piece of software. It also does a nice job of explaining why your incorrect test answers were wrong.
如果你想在Android设备上测试你的语法技能,你也可以尝试一下SevenLynx公司开发的“英语语法测试”应用(English Grammar Test)。它的外观非常整洁,很有吸引力。就一款免费软件而言,它还是非常专业、值得信赖的。此外,这款应用也能够很好地解释你答错问题的原因所在。
For brushing up on your grammar in a business setting, apps like Grammar and Practice for Business from HarperCollins and Grammar Up from Webrich Software are great options.
对于希望提升语法技能的商务人士来说,哈珀柯林斯出版社(HarperCollins)的“语法和实践”(Grammar and Practice),以及Webrich软件公司开发的Grammar Up,都是非常好的选择。
The HarperCollins app, which is free for iOS with paid lessons at different levels of learning, is built with the publisher’s traditional quality and is packed with detailed examples and tests. The app hasn’t been updated in quite a while, though, which may mean it manifests some bugs on your device.
哈珀柯林斯的应用可在iOS设备免费下载,其中包含面向不同层次学习者的付费内容。这款应用拥有大量详尽的例句和测试。这家出版社的传统声誉足以保证它的品质,不过这款应用已经很长时间没有更新了,这或许意味着你在使用时可能会碰到一些程序上的漏洞。
Also, this app isn’t available for Android and is word-centric in design, so you may prefer the more relaxed and graphical style of Grammar Up, free as a sampler on iOS and Android, and $5 for all the tests. Grammar Up offers some neat feedback in the form of graphs showing where your grammatical strengths and weaknesses lie, and this may help you decide where to concentrate your learning efforts.
此外,这款应用目前还没有推出Android版本,而且它的设计依然以单词为中心,所以你可能会青睐用起来更加轻松,采用图像风格的Grammar Up。它可以在iOS和Android设备上免费试用,花费5美元可以进行所有的测试。Grammar Up以图表形式提供一些整洁的反馈意见,从中你可以清楚地看出,哪些是你的语法强项,哪些是你的弱项,而这可能会帮助你决定应该把学习重点放在什么地方。
Grammar can be fun. As Winston Churchill joked, “A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with.”
学语法或许也是一件很有意思的事情。正如温斯顿·丘吉尔(Winston Churchill)那句戏言所说,“用介词结束一句话,是件很可怕的事情(A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with)。”
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If you’re an Android owner and in thrall to all the delightful digital fare your phone can offer, then you should try QualityTime, free from ZeroDesktop. This app analyzes how often you use your phone and which apps you click on the most. If you’re surprised by how often you are staring at your phone, you can set alerts to help you manage your time.
如果你拥有一部Android手机,整天都沉浸在它提供的数字内容之中,那么你应该尝试一下ZeroDesktop公司开发的免费应用QualityTime。这款应用能够分析你使用手机的频率,以及你点击次数最多的应用。如果你每天看手机的频率让你感到惊讶,你可以设置警报来管理你的时间。