2008-Test of English as a Foreign Language Grammar Breakthrough-(Latest Edition)

Author: Hu Min
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-02-01
Features: English learning can never be detached from the basics, and grammar is a crucial part of the foundation. Although the postgraduate English exam no longer includes purely grammar-focused questions, with only the "English Knowledge Application" section explicitly testing grammar, the indirect and in-depth assessment of grammar is ubiquitous. As everyone knows, the postgraduate English exam is challenging, and the demand for grammar proficiency is even higher. All language skills require a solid grammatical foundation, requiring candidates to use grammatical knowledge accurately and skillfully. Therefore, the foundation of grammar not only cannot be weakened but must be strengthened. However, many candidates make a mistake during preparation by focusing on specific question types while neglecting the review of fundamental knowledge, driven by a desire for quick results, leading to difficulties and achieving the opposite of their intentions. It can be said that studying without a foundation is like water without a source or a tree without roots. "How can the pool be so clear? Because it has a living spring." According to the general principles of English learning, if candidates can strengthen their internal skills and solidify their language foundation, it truly means enhancing their strength, allowing them to remain victorious no matter how the exam changes. Therefore, candidates should not neglect the foundation for the sake of superficial gains but trace back to the root, not just address the symptoms but treat the root cause. There are countless postgraduate English exam preparation books, but none focus solely on grammar, with few dedicated grammar guides for the exam. This book is written in response to the needs of candidates, drawing on the author's years of experience in learning, teaching, and researching English, aiming to help candidates fundamentally solve language problems, enhance their abilities, and pave the way for success in the exam. This book successfully achieves the following five unifications:
1. Grammar Explanation and Postgraduate Exam Questions Unified: All examples in the book are derived from exam questions, summarizing the linguistic essence of past postgraduate tests. Review is the best prospect; studying this book allows candidates to fully immerse themselves in the language of exam questions. Based on actual tests, the book omits rarely tested linguistic phenomena and avoids overly simple rules, focusing on the key and difficult points of postgraduate English.
2. Morphology and Syntax Unified: Morphology is micro-grammar. For words, it is not enough to know their pronunciation, spelling, and meaning; one must also grasp their collocations, modifications, references, and logical relationships with other words, i.e., interword relationships. Only by understanding a word's interword relationships can one truly master and skillfully use it. Syntax is macro-grammar, primarily involving the arrangement of sentence structures, the connection between sentences, and logical relationships. English expresses content through form. Every sentence uses specific patterns, and many complex sentences with coordinate or subordinate relationships are formed through connecting devices. Morphology is the rule of word choice, while syntax is the rule of sentence construction. The most versatile verbs, highly polyvalent prepositions and adverbs, and various idiomatic expressions are the focus of the morphology section, while conjunctions, clauses, comparative structures, and other common sentence patterns are the core of the syntax section.
3. Standardization and Flexibility of Language Unified: English expression cannot be arbitrary; it must conform to linguistic habits and grammatical requirements. At the same time, English also has a degree of flexibility. Some expressions are not mandatory but achieve the same result through different means. This book is not rigidly bound by traditional rules but faithfully reflects actual language use and provides various alternative expressions.
4. Theory and Practice Unified: Beyond each chapter's explanations are "Classic Exam Questions" related to the chapter content, divided into subjective and objective types. Objective questions are multiple-choice, while subjective questions are English-Chinese translation. These have been the two main question types throughout the history of the postgraduate exam and continue to be used today. Through practice, grammar knowledge is gradually internalized in a subtle way. The "Question Analysis" section provides detailed guidance and clarifies doubts.
5. Grammar and the Three Core Postgraduate Exam Skills (Reading, Writing, Translation) Unified: This book goes beyond simply discussing language rules; it does not just talk about grammar for grammar's sake but uses grammar as a starting point to comprehensively improve candidates' reading, writing, and translation skills. The reading passages in the postgraduate exam are characterized by diverse expressions and concentrated complex sentences, which are often a major challenge for candidates. Therefore, in addition to focusing on the three types of clauses, the book also highlights phenomena such as inversion, ellipsis, and emphasis. The final chapter is dedicated to sentence expansion and analysis, selecting complex sentence structures from exam questions to help candidates familiarize themselves with the sentence patterns of postgraduate English, provide correct approaches to analyzing and understanding them, and thus enhance their ability to handle long and difficult sentences.
Combining the specific requirements of the postgraduate exam and starting from the perspective of actual language use, the book opens thematic discussions, pointing out typical problems caused by the influence of Chinese expression habits and thinking patterns, such as "agreement between pronouns," "redundant pronoun reference," "tense consistency," and "logical relationship between participles and sentence subjects." To strengthen candidates' translation skills, the book also reveals the prominent differences between English and Chinese from a comparative linguistic perspective and arranges translation exercises for relevant grammar topics, such as "Translating the conjunction 'before'," "Translating the passive voice," "Translating relative clauses," "Translating appositives," etc., as well as translation exercises at the end of each chapter. "Special Tips" scattered throughout the book highlight typical problems candidates encounter when using English, answer common questions, provide targeted advice, analyze errors, and clarify misunderstandings.
Winter is over, and spring is approaching. May the publication of this book bring a gentle breeze of hope to all candidates. Wishing all students success and smooth progress on their postgraduate journey.
At the time of writing, I am grateful to Mr. Hu Min, President of Beijing New Oriental School and a renowned English education expert, for his support and encouragement to the author. I also thank the experienced postgraduate exam preparation expert, Ms. Chen Caixia, for her planning and guidance for this book.