一般上说，下列这些场合中的词语要配合好，句子的结构才会和谐，词语才会相称：
① 主语—动词
② 动词—宾语
③ 修饰语—词类
④ 形容词—名词
⑤ 副词—动词
⑥ 形容词分句—先行词
词语的搭配，对学习中英文的人来说尤其重要，因为中英文在词语的搭配上有同有异。例如英语同一个动词“wear”，可以和不同的名词宾语搭配，如：WEAR+shoes/ clothes/ spectacles等。中文就不行；中文的“穿”只能和“衣鞋”连用，“眼镜”就要改为“戴”了。
再举“cut”为例。英语里可以说“CUT+ grass/ finger-nails/ a tooth/ prices/ a stone figure/ a record”。在中文里“cut”（割）只能和“草”连用；其他的名词宾语，就需要别的动词，如：剪指甲、出牙齿、减价、雕刻石像、灌录唱片。
同样道理，中文里同一个动词，英语里却需要不同动词，如：
“风萧萧、雨萧萧、马萧萧、树萧萧”——the wind whistled, the rain pattered, the horse neighed, the tree murmured.
在英语的错误中，词语的搭配不是严重的一类，但也时有出现。例如①a里的动词“harmed”和主语“houses”不合；②里的宾语“knowledge”及“experience”和动词“exercise”格格不入；③a里的修饰语“upset”和被修饰的名词“eyes”很不相称。把它们改为①b、②b和③b之后，词语间的搭配就很舒畅了：
①a. Many houses in the low-lying area were harmed by the floods.
b. Many houses in the low-lying area were damaged by the floods.
②a. This will give you an opportunity to exercise your knowledge and experience.
b. This will give you an opportunity to use/ make use of your knowledge and experience.
③a. Upset by the thick smoke, Susan's eyes were filled with tears.
b. Irritated by the thick smoke, Susan's eyes were filled with tears.
现在请看看下列各句中都有个不相称的词语，改正后，才顺口：
④ The authorities preferred to educate dog owners rather than jeopardise them for every little transgression. （penalise/punish）
⑤ Anyone charged with skyrocketing a political regime will be severely dealt with. （dismantling/disintegrating）
⑥ Weapons easily become slipshod and the need to acquire new arms can be very ruinous to national coffers. （obsolete/outmoded）
⑦ Good health is especically vital to old people who are prone to anticipatory diseases. （degenerative）
⑧ Some people are sanguine about the situation and think that the scandal would soon blow over without severe misery of the present political system. （dislocation/dysfunction）
（责任编辑：）