desert

grammar · medium

易错句子They were stranded on a dessert island.

正确表达They were stranded on a desert island.

“desert”作形容词时意为“荒无人烟的”，修饰岛屿等地点；而“dessert”是名词，意为“甜点”。二者拼写和读音相近，但意思完全不同。因此描述无人居住的岛屿应用“desert island”。

grammar · medium

易错句子The desert wife had to raise her children alone.

正确表达The deserted wife had to raise her children alone.

“desert”作形容词时通常修饰地点，表示“荒废的、无人居住的”，不用于人。表示“被遗弃的人”应用“deserted”（或“abandoned”）。因此修饰“wife”应改用“deserted”。

grammar · medium

易错句子The island was a desert.

正确表达The island was desert.

要表示岛屿“无人居住、荒芜”，应使用形容词“desert”，在句中作表语；而名词“desert”意为“沙漠、荒漠”，用冠词“a”则指一片干旱地区。因此这里应去掉冠词，用形容词形式。