cowherds

grammar · medium

易错句子My grandfather was cowherd when he was young.

正确表达My grandfather was a cowherd when he was young.

cowherd 是可数名词，指“放牛的人”这一职业身份；英语中表示职业或身份的单数可数名词前必须加不定冠词 a/an。汉语“我爷爷年轻时是放牛的”没有冠词这一范畴，容易漏掉 a。

grammar · medium

易错句子Two cowherd took the cattle up the hill.

正确表达Two cowherds took the cattle up the hill.

cowherd 是可数名词，受数词 two 修饰时要用复数形式 cowherds。汉语名词本身不标复数，学习者常把数词后的名词保持原形，造成主谓与数的错误。

grammar · medium

易错句子The boy looks after sheep, so everyone calls him a cowherd.

正确表达The boy looks after sheep, so everyone calls him a shepherd.

cowherd 专指放牛、牧牛的人（herds cattle），放羊的人英语用 shepherd。汉语“放牧的人”可笼统概括，学习者易把 cowherd 当成泛指牧人的词，应按牲畜种类选词。