誤用例

英文の誤用例

実際の原稿でよく見かける間違いをもとに、間違いやすい英文の用法を以下にまとめる。
論文では、自分の意図が読者に一義的に伝わるような文章を書くことが大切である。

able

×	The newly developed system is able to estimate the number of defects.
○	The newly developed system can be used to estimate the number of defects.

＜解説＞
be able toは主に主語が人の場合に使用する

affect/effect/influence

○	The signal affects a specific part of the body.
○	We study the effect of the drug.
○	The influence of environmental changes is examined.

＜解説＞
・affect:　動詞は「影響を及ぼす」、名詞は「感情、情緒」の意味。ほとんどの場合は動詞として使う。科学論文ではaffect(動詞)の方がinfluence(動詞)より好まれる。
・effect:　動詞は「生じさせる」、名詞は「効果、影響」。ほとんどの場合は名詞として使う。
・influence:　動詞は「影響を与える」、名詞は「影響」。effectに比べて間接的な因果関係を示す。動詞として使うときは(政治的な)感化、影響力のニュアンスで使われることが多い。

aircraft

×	Aircrafts are being manufactured in the new factory.
○	Aircraft are being manufactured in the new factory.

＜解説＞
aircraftやspacecraftなど語尾に-craftが付く名詞は単複同形。他に単複同形の単語は stationary などがある。

apply

×	A computer simulation model is applied to automobiles.
○	A computer simulation model is applied to the study of automobiles.

＜解説＞
モデルは"車"ではなく"車の研究"に適用する。

approach (approachが動詞の場合)

×	The value asymptotically approached to zero.
○	The value asymptotically approached zero.

＜解説＞
approach は他動詞なのでtoは不要。

approach to (approachが名詞の場合)

×	There are several approaches to upgrade the furnace.
○	There are several approaches to upgrading the furnace.

＜解説＞
approach toの後は名詞形。

call

×	These are called as bound states.
○	These are called bound states.

＜解説＞
「～と呼ぶ」というときはasは不要。

characteristics

△	Careful study is needed to clarify the characteristics of this sheet.
○	Careful study is needed to determine the characteristics of this sheet.

＜解説＞
特性を「はっきりさせる」のではなく「決定する」ので、determineが適切。

compare

×	The extent of irradiation in area A is greater compared with area B.
○	The extent of irradiation in area A is greater than that in area B.

＜解説＞
"compared with"と比較級は併用できない。"compared with"は原級と共に使う。

comprise

×	The structure is comprised of three layers.
○	The structure comprises three layers. The structure is composed of three layers. The structure consists of three layers.

＜解説＞
「…から成り立っている」には、いくつかの言い回しがある。

condition

×	The specimen was sintered in the critical condition.
○	The specimen was sintered under the critical condition.

＜解説＞
「条件下」という場合はunderが一般的。

describe

△	This paper describes a new method of fabricating nanotubes in a wet environment.
○	In this paper, we describe a new method of fabricating nanotubes in a wet environment.

＜解説＞
describe は主に人が主語の場合に用いられる。

devote

×	We devoted to develop a new photocatalyst.
○	We devoted ourselves to the development of a new photocatalyst.

＜解説＞
devote oneself toで「～に専心している」。

discuss

×	We discussed about the A-to-B ratio.
○	We discussed the A-to-B ratio.

＜解説＞
discussがは他動詞なので、目的語がすぐに続く。

enter

×	Light enters to the slit.
○	Light enters the slit.

＜解説＞
enterは他動詞なのでtoは不要。

hardly affected/negligibly affected

○	The output is hardly affected by the disturbance.
○	Temperature is negligibly affected by the presence of vapor.

＜解説＞
「ほとんど～の影響を受けない」の場合、"hardly affected by"または"negligibly affected by"使う。

help

×	The authors thank Dr. A for helping the measurements of Raman spectra.
○	The authors thank Dr. A for his help with the measurements of Raman spectra.
○	The authors thank Dr. A for helping with the measurements of Raman spectra.

＜解説＞
一つ目は、「measurement」を助けたようにも聞こえてしまう。

kind

△	There are five kinds of steel plate.
○	There are five types of steel plate.

＜解説＞
無生物にはtypeを使用したほうがしっくりする。但し、Bessel function of the first kindという表現もあるので要注意。

literature

×	It is widely reported in literatures.
○	It is widelyl reported in the literature.

＜解説＞
「文献に」という意味では、in the literature。

number

×	The electrons in the p-region is decreasing.
○	The number of electrons in the p-region is decreasing.

＜解説＞
電子の「数 (the number)」が減少する。

order

×	The defect density was found to be in the order of 10⁸.
○	The defect density was found to be on the order of 10⁸.

＜解説＞
in the order of ... は「～の順に」の意味になる。

peak

×	We conclude that the peak position corresponds to the signal from the annealed region.
○	We conclude that the peak corresponds to the signal from the annealed region.

＜解説＞
position(位置)は信号と対応しない。peakが信号と対応する。

percent

×	Eighty percent of the specimens was unusable.
○	Eighty percent of the specimens were unusable.

＜解説＞
percentの後の名詞が可算名詞かどうかで単複の使い分けをする。ここで"specimen"は可算名詞なので複数形になる。

phenomenon

×	The phenomenon was increased after laser irradiation.
○	The phenomenon was enhanced after laser irradiation.

＜解説＞
"phenomenon"の動詞は、increaseではなく、enhanceを用いる。

previously

△	We have previously shown that the bending stress is much smaller than this value.
○	We previously showed that the bending stress is much smaller than this value..

＜解説＞
二つ目の表現の方が多用される。

property

×	The anticorrosion property of the metal was increased by the treatment.
○	The anticorrosion property of the metal was improved by the treatment.

＜解説＞
「propertyが良くなる」は"improve"を使う。

ratio

×	The ratio of pressure and temperature was calculated.
○	The ratio of pressure to temperature was calculated.

＜解説＞
ratio of A to Bとなる。

recently

△	We recently discovered a new plasmonic phenomenon.
○	We have recently discovered a new plasmonic phenomenon.

＜解説＞
recently は多くの場合現在分詞と共に用いる。

relatively

×	The value was relatively estimated.
○	The value was roughly estimated.

＜解説＞
relativelyは「相対的に」という意味なので、estimateとは合わない。

report

×	We report on the findings of neuronal activities.
○	We report on the progress of our research. We report the findings of our research.

＜解説＞
report on は事実をそのまま報告するのではなく、discussion するときに用いる。

research

×	Many researches have been carried out on this subject.
○	Many studies have been carried out on this subject. Much research has been carried out on this subject.

＜解説＞
researchは複数形をとらない。studyは複数形をとる。

respectively

×	The value of A was 1.5, that of B was 3.5, and that of C was 6.5, respectively.
○	The values of A, B, and C were 1.5, 3.5, and 6.5, respectively.

＜解説＞
上段の文では、それぞれの値が何の値であるかすべて明記されているので、respectivelyは不要。

room temperature

×	The experiment was carried out at the room temperature.
○	The experiment was carried out at room temperature.

＜解説＞
「室温で」というのにtheをつけると「ある特定の部屋の室温」というような意味になる。

’s

×	This system was developed in the 1990’s.
○	This system was developed in the 1990s.
○	The number of holes is greater in the central region than i the peripheral area.

＜解説＞
1990年代というときは、1990sとなる。

than

×	The number of holes in the central region is greater than the peripheral area.
○	The number of holes in the central region is greater than that in the peripheral area.
○	The number of holes is greater in the control region than in the peripheral area.

＜解説＞
比較するものは同等のものでなければならない。ここでは"that"は"the number of holes"を指している。

underlie

×	The idea underlining the system is...
○	The idea underlying the system is ...

＜解説＞
underlieの-ing形はunderlying。

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