下面，是我到美国不久所写的一篇日记：

Last Saturday, I happened to be at Hofmann’s home when the telephone rang. I answered the phone. The caller sounded like an American. He asked me whether Hofmann was in. I was told that Hofmann had gone to the hospital to see his girlfriend, who was in hospital because of her illness. I reckoned that he was still in the hospital. However, as my English was not that good, and I was afraid that I could not express myself clearly, I did not tell the caller why Hofmann went to the hospital. Hence I just replied, “No, he is now in hospital.”

The caller suddenly asked me which hospital he was in. I told him the name of the hospital. Later, I got to know the caller hurried to the hospital to see Hofmann with a bunch of flowers, firmly believing that Hofmann was a hospitalized patient!

I was to blame! I made a mistake. Instead of saying “Hofmann is in hospital.” I should say, “Hofmann is in the hospital.” The former means Hofmann is a patient, while the latter Hofmann isn’t a patient. 

假如说这个故事有点幽默，那确实有几分苦涩。因为语言问题，我在美国闹过不少笑话，比这个更加苦涩的还有。正是这些苦涩，让我下定决心，学好英语文法。

我开始关注语法，关注语言表达中细微末节的现象。比如，一个定冠词之差，许多表达的含义就大相径庭。

1/ in view of ≠ in the view of

a/ In view of his youth, the police have decided not to continue with the case against him. 

考虑到他的年轻，警方决定停止审理他的案件。

b/ In the view of the director, we are right in doing this experiment. 

根据校长的意见，我们做这个实验是对的。

2/ in red ≠ in the red

a/ The girl in red is my sister. 

穿红色衣服的那个女孩是我的妹妹。

b/ The company has been in the red until he took over.  

在他接管之前，这个公司一直亏损。

3/ in secret ≠ in the secret 

a/ They have met in secret three times.   

他们三次秘密地见面。

b/ Are you in the secret?   

你知道那个秘密吗？

4/ two of them ≠ the two of them

a/ Two of them have failed in the examination.  

他们中有两人考试不及格。

b/ The two of them have failed in the examination. 

他们俩考试都不及格。

5/ in sight of ≠ in the sight of 

a/ Are you in sight of the red flag on the top of the mountain?  

你能看见山顶上的那面红旗吗？

b/ Blacks and whites in American are equal in the sight of the law.  

从法律观点来看，美国的黑人和白人是平等的。

6/ take air ≠ take the air

a/ The matter has taken air somehow. Everyone seems to know about it.  

不知怎么事情已经传开了，好象每个人都知道。

b/ I’d like to go out to take the air.

我想出去呼吸新鲜空气。

7/ keep house  ≠  keep the house 

a/ She offered to stay and keep house.

她主动留下来料理家务。

b/ The doctor told her to keep the house for a few days. 

医生要她在家休息几天。

8/ by hand  ≠ by the hand

a/ Are your socks knitted by hand or are they machine-made?  

你的袜子是手织的，还是机器织的？

b/ He led his boy by the hand across the street. 

他搀着孩子的手穿过大街。

9/ in case of ≠ in the case of

a/ You can consult with your friends in case of need.  

必要时你可以与朋友们商量。

b/ I have a different opinion in the case of that matter.  

对于那件事我有不同的看法。

10/ in future ≠ in the future

a/ You should be more careful with your work in future.  

从今以后，你对工作应再仔细些。

b/ Who can tell what will happen in the future?   

在将来，谁晓得将来会发生什么情况？