商务英语写作指南：邮件中常见的错别字

 　Ever experienced that moment after you press send and reread your email only to realize you've let some typos sneak¹ in? Avoid that icky feeling from here on out by being hyper aware of some of the most common missteps. Whether you're applying for a job (don't forget to triple check that cover letter!) or sending emails to the boss, you don't want to look unprofessional by making mistakes that can easily be avoided. Here are some words you're bound to use in the working world and how to master them.

　　你有过这样的经历吗：在你按下发送以后重读了一下已发的邮件，才发现你的邮件里已经混入了不少错别字？从现在开始尽力避免那种糟糕的感觉吧，你可以把更多的注意力集中在那些最常见的错误上。不管你是要申请一份工作（别忘了再三检查你的求职信！）还是给老板发邮件，你都不希望因为一些很容易避免的错误而显得不专业。以下是一些你一定会在工作中用到的词以及你该如何掌握它们。

　　Misspellings to keep in mind

　　需要牢记心中的拼写错误

　　Amateur: The vowels² at the end can get tricky³, but pretend you are texting an Australian friend and say, "a mate u r."

　　Amateur：这个词末尾的元音颇具欺骗性，不过你可以想象你在和一个澳洲朋友发信息，“a mate u r”（你是个好伙计）。

　　Definitely: Just think of the word "definite" and add an -ly to the end. Never put an "A" in definitely.

　　Definitely：只要想到definite然后在后面加个ly就行了。千万不要在这个词里加上“A”。

　　Referred: Some people spell it refferred or refered, but remember it as a combination of two words: refer + red.

　　Reffered：有些人会把它拼成refferred或是refered，你要记住这个词是两个词的结合：refer和red。

　　Separate: Not spelled "seperate," separate will be easy to write out if you think of a grade-school trick - there is always "a rat" in the word.

　　Separate：不要按照发音而拼成“seperate”，如果你在拼写时想到这个词里始终有“a rat”，就很容易把它拼对了。

　　Occurrence: Ditch the singles and double up on the first two consonants⁴ for this one. Pretty soon it will become a regular occurrence.

　　Occurrence：记住这个词中的前两个辅音都需要双拼，这样你很快就能把它拼对了。

　　Common Mix-Ups

　　容易混淆的词

　　Affect vs effect: This one is tricky because just one letter can throw you off. Typically, "affect" is a verb and "effect" is a noun. If you can substitute a verb for affect, then you'll know that you're using it right (I was affected⁵ by the merger⁶; I was surprised by the merger).

　　Affect和Effect：这两个词很容易混淆，因为只有一个字母的区别。通常来说，“affect”是一个动词而“effect”是一个名词。假如你换一个词来代替affect，你就会知道你是否把它用对了（I was affected by the merger; I was surprised by the merger 我对这次收购惊呆了）。

　　Loose vs. lose: Saying these words out loud will help you distinguish the two. "Loose" means not tight (The letter on my keyboard is loose). "Lose" is the opposite of win (We will lose this client if we don't pay him more attention).

　　Loose和Lose：大声喊出这两个词能帮助你把它们区别开来。“loose”的意思是不紧（The letter on my keyboard is loose 我键盘上的这个按键很松）。“lose”是win的反义词（We will lose this client if we don't pay him more attention 如果我们不多关注这位客户我们就会失去他）。

　　You're vs. your: Although you probably learned this one in grade school, it's easy to type one word when you really mean the other. "You're" is shorthand for "you are." The word "your" indicates possession (You're not going to believe how much they loved your presentation).

　　You're和Your：虽然你可能小学就学过这两个词了，但你还是很有可能会把它们拼错。“you're”是“you are”的缩写。而“your”是所有格。（You're not going to believe how much they loved your presentation 你不会相信他们有多喜欢你的演讲）。

　　Who vs. whom: Even a grammar wiz can get these two confused from time to time. But if you can switch the sentence around so that you use the word "him" as opposed to "he," then "whom" is the way to go. For example, instead of saying, "Sam is the guy whom we interviewed for the position," you could say "We interviewed him for the position." But in reversing the sentence "Sam is the guy who got the job," you would say, "He is the guy who got the job."

　　Who和Whom：就算是语法大师也很容易把这两个词搞混。不过要是你能想一想同一句话用“him”和“he”会怎么表述，你就很容易就能去区别出这两个词了。比如说，“Sam is the guy whom we interviewed for the position Sam是我们为这个职位面试过的人”这句话你也可以说成“We interviewed him for the position 我们为这个职位面试了他”。然而“Sam is the guy who got the job Sam是获得这个职位的人”这句话则会表述为“He is the guy who got the job 他是获得这个职位的人”。

　　Its vs. it's: "It's" is a contraction⁷ for "it is" or "it has," whereas "its" signals possession. Actually saying "it is" aloud will remind you of the difference.

　　Its和It's：“it's”是“it is”或“it has”的缩写，而“its”是所有格。实际上大声念出“it is”能够帮助你记住他们的区别。 

　　Every day vs. everyday: They key here is to know that "everyday" is an adjective, and "every day" is a phrase. If you can replace "every" with "each," then what you mean to use is the two-word phrase.

　　Ever day和Everyday：关键在于要知道“everyday”是一个形容词，而“every day”是一个词组。假如你可以用“each”来代替“every”，你就会知道你应该用的是那个两个字母组成的词组。

　　Than vs. then: These two words are easy to confuse because they sound almost identical. But remember that "than" is used to compare something (I think this partnership⁸ is a better bet than the other), while "then" is used for time (First we called her, then we followed up with an email).

　　Than和Then：这两个词很容易搞混，因为他们听起来简直一模一样。但你要记住“than”是用来比较某些东西的（I think this partnership is a better bet than the other 我认为这个合作伙伴比另一个好），而“then”是用来表示时间的（First we called her, then we followed up with an email 我们先给她打了个电话，但后来通过email交流）。

1 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

2 vowels   

n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

3 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

4 consonants   

n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母

参考例句：

• Consonants are frequently assimilated to neighboring consonants. 辅音往往被其邻近的辅音同化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

7 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。