通顺与连贯是一篇好的英语文章必须具有的条件之一。
一、句子的连贯
如果一个句子的各个词或各个成分之间的连接是既清晰又合理的，那么这个句子就是连贯的、通顺的。要写出连贯通顺的句子需要注意以下问题：
(一)关于正确使用平行句的问题
在英语中，所谓平行句就是把结构相似或相同，意义相关，语义一致的一个或几个词组或句子并列使用。包括名词短语、形容词短语、副词短语、动词短语、非谓语动词短语、从句等的平行。正确使用平行结构，既能使重点突出，又能使句子更易理解和连贯。例如：
1. We should judge a person not only by what he says but also his deeds.
此句中的what he said和his deeds在结构上是不平行的，因此其中一个应该被改正。即：
We should judge a person not only by what he says but also by what he does.(从句的平行)或We should judge a person not only by his words but also his deeds. (名词短语的平行)
2. We thought she was young, fair and a beautiful girl.
此句要么用名词短语的平行，要么用形容词短语的平行。即改为：We thought she was young, fair and beautiful.或We thought she was a young, fair and beautiful girl.
3. He sat down at the table and began to read newspaper. (动词短语的平行)
4. He likes playing basketball and collecting stamps. (非谓语动词的平行)
5. The teachers and students have great faith and high hopes for you.
此句中的名词faith和hope尽管是平行的，但它们应该接不同的介词。该为：The teachers and students have great faith in and high hopes for you.
(二)关于指代不明的问题
6. He told Tom that he had passed the driving-test.
句子中的第二个he究竟是指主语还是指Tom，模棱两可。我们可以理解为He had passed the driving-test and he told Tom. 也可理解为He told Tom that Tom had passed the driving-test.
7. I went to see a film last night because she is a star I like.
因为句子中没有涉及第三者，所以很难断定she指代何人。可改为I went to see a film last night because the actress is a star I like.
8. Li Ming was knocked down by a motorbike, but it was not badly hurt.
It指代前面出现过的名词, 这是it的基本用法之一。此句中唯一的名词是motorbike在此是泛指，故不能用it. 若改为Li Ming was knocked down by a motorbike, but was not badly hurt.句子的意思就明了多了。
为避免此错误发生，写句子时要先分清代词要指代的对象。
(三)关于修饰语的问题
9. 我在会上作了重要的关于如何学好英语的报告。
误：He gave an important talk at the meeting about how to learn English well.
析：此句由于修饰语的位置错放而引起的意思模糊。从句子结构来看，很容易让人觉得修饰语about how to learn English well像是修饰the meeting，但根据汉语句子原意，应该修饰talk.
10. 他说了上课迟到的原因，没有人相信。
He gave a reason for his being late for school, which nobody believed.
析：此句也属于修饰语的位置误放。这种错误的修改法有两种：一是使修饰语紧跟他所修饰的成分He gave a reason，which nobody believed，for his being late for school。二是重复被修饰的成分He gave a reason for his being late for school, a reason which nobody believed.
11. 从山上看，我们学校看起来很美。
误：Seeing from the hill, our school looks very beautiful.
析：非谓语动词seeing与句子的主语our school 不构成主动关系，而是被动的。非谓语动词的错用造成句子的不通顺。因此应该为Seen from the hill, our school looks very beautiful.这是同学们写作中最常犯的错误，应该引起高度重视。
(四)关于语序的问题
语序(语言顺序)是句子通顺的重要因素。下面我们就几种常用语序作些分析，相信对同学们的写作会有所帮助。
12. If I had a long enough holiday, I’d visit Europe, stopping at all the small interesting places.
显然，此句是关于副词的语序问题。enough作副词修饰形容词时要后置。
13. ―How was you recent visit to Qingdao?
―It was great. We visited some friends, and spent the last few sunny days at the seaside.
此句是关于几个形容词修饰一个名词的语序问题。写这类句子，我们可以遵循下列规则安排语序：1)与被修饰的名词关系愈密切的形容词愈靠近名词；2)如果密切程度差不多，则音节少的形容词在前，多的在后；3)一般按照“九字令”：限(last, first，few等)、描(fine, beautiful, fat等)、大(big, small等)、形(round, square等)、龄(young, old, five-year-old等)、颜(red, brown等)、籍(出处，籍贯)、物(物质、材料)、类(类别、用途)。
14. You can’t imagine how excited they were, when they received these nice Christmas presents.
此句是关于宾语从句的语序问题。在写带有宾语从句的句子时，同学们可以熟记以下口诀：宾语从句要牢记，陈述语序在心里；主句一般从任意，主句过去从过去(主句如果是过去时态，从句用相应的过去时态)；陈述句连词用that， 一般问句if或whether, 特殊问句词不变。
15. So shallow is the lake that no fish can live in it.
此句是关于倒装语序的问题。写作时正确使用倒装句，对提高文章的生动非常有帮助。但如果把握不准，写出错句子的话，将会影响文章的档次。
二、段落的通顺连贯
写出了足够的通顺连贯的句子，是不是就意味着会写出通顺连贯的文章呢?答案是否定的。段落的通顺连贯与段落的组织有关。如果把写好的每一句话，只是简单地无次序堆在一起，写出来的文章就会杂乱无章，读者也就无法跟上作者的思路，甚至很难理解作者在说什么。因此，按一定的逻辑规则排列句子，才能写出通顺连贯的段落。例如：
As we all know, Human beings and the environment can have a great effect on each other. If we use environment resources properly, Human society will develop very quickly and the environment around us will be improved at the same time. But on the other hand, If we use them wrongly, we’ll suffer a lot from it because there will be many environment problem. For example, ecological environment will be destroyed, a lot of land will be changed into deserts and soil will be washed away in heavy rains. To protect our environment is to save ourselves.
本段落是通顺连贯的。作者先陈述了一个事实：人类和环境相互影响。再从正反两方面阐述二者的相互影响，然后进一步举例说明，如果人类破坏生态环境，必将受到惩罚。最后得出结论：保护我们的环境就是挽救我们自己。
另外，文章的连贯还与文章的过渡和衔接(见下一节)有着密切关系。构成语篇连接成份的过渡词语，被称为“篇章纽带”，其语篇衔接作用是不言而喻的，同学们若能学会正确恰当地使用这些表示过渡与衔接的“篇章纽带”，使文章前后连贯、结构紧凑、过渡自然，那么文章便可锦上添花了。