多年以来,英语教师最为关心的是,他们的学生应学会正确地用英语交谈和写作。近年来,他们深感关切的不只是语言使用的要正确,而且还要使用得体。着重点的这种转变是在语用学研究的影响之下形成的。从传统的角度来看,词典和语法涉及词、短语和句子所表达的意义。语用学则研究词如何使用和说话人想表达什么意思。句子本身的意思和说话人想表达的意思之间可能有很大的区别。譬如说,某人问:“Is that your car?(这是你的车子吗?)”这句话可能有几种不同的意思,它可以表示:“Your car Over the years, the greatest concern of English teachers is that their students should learn to speak and write correctly in English. In recent years, they are deeply concerned not only with language use but also with decent use. This shift of emphasis was formed under the influence of pragmatic studies. Traditionally, dictionaries and grammars involve the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences. Pragmatics studies how words are used and what the speaker wants to express. There may be a big difference between what the sentence itself means and what the speaker wants to say. For example, someone asks: ”Is that your car?“ This sentence may have several different meanings, which means: ”Your car