英语单项填空题是考查学生基础知识、语言应用能力的一种基本题型。近几年，高考英语单项填空题得到不断改革、创新并日趋完善，单项填空题考及的知识面更广，试题更灵活多变。在日常英语单项填空题的教学中，要注重练习学生认真审题的习惯、仔细分析的习惯，把握一定的技巧，才能收到较好的练习效果。对于一些有比较复杂的句式结构的单项填空题，考生因对其不太熟悉，影响了解题的速度和准确率，其实，对于这类题目，只要巧妙地运用一些方法，即可化难为易。本文试从具体的解题方法这一角度作几个实例分析。

一、找要害词法
找准要害性的提示语。对于有些单选题来说，假如能找准要害性的提示
语，问题就会迎刃而解。
例1：① Do you know John is getting on well with his studies?
② Do you know John is getting on with his studies?
A、how B、what C、that D、with
解析：句①意为“你知道约翰学习进展好吗？”宾语从句的意思已经完整，故选C项，因为that本身无中文含义，解这一题的要害是要注重well；句②意为“你知道约翰学习进展如何？”故选A 项。well就是这两题的要害词。
例2：① ____on the stone, you will see farther.
② on the stone,，and you will see farther.
A、Stand B、To stand C、 Stood D.、Standing
解析：这两句的根本区别在于句②有一个and ，and是这两题的要害词，所以句②的结构为祈使句+and/or/or else +陈述句，祈使句应该用动词原形，故句②选A项；句①实际上是现在分词作条件状语，表示主动的动作，其逻辑主语是you，相当于条件状语从句if you stand on the stone，故选D项。

二、结构分析法
有的单项填空题的句子结构复杂，迷惑性大，稍有疏忽，便会受到干扰项的干扰，这时要仔细分析，弄清句子结构，然后再对照所给的选项，选出正确答案。
例3：① It was such a good film I saw it yesterday.
② Don’t talk about such things you don’t understand.
A、which B、that C、what D、as
解析：答这类题时，首先要分析句子结构，such 有两种搭配。第一种such…that…，that 引导结果状语从句，在结果状语从句中不充当句子成分，因此that后面的句子应该是一个完整的句子；第二种such…as…, as引导定语从句，as在定语从句中充当主语或宾语，因此as后面的句子应该少一个成分，该成分由as来充当，照这样分析，句①选B项，句②选D项(as 作understand 的宾语)。
例4：① We are looking forward to you again.
A、saw B、see C、sees D、seeing
② The day we looked forward to at last.
A、came B、come C、coming D、comes
解析：一般的学生都知道look forward to后接名词或代词或动名词，故句①的答案为D项,意为“我们期望再一次见到你。”而答句②的要害是要分析句子结构，抓主干，去枝节，“主干”为The day came at last. The day是主语，came 是谓语；“枝节”为中间的we looked forward to，其实we looked forward to是定语从句，引导词that或 which 作介词to的宾语，省略了，故正确答案为A 项。
例5：① I found her her eyes on the hole in the ceiling.
② I found her eyes on the hole in the ceiling.
A、are fixed B、fixing C、being fixed D、fixed
解析：分析句子结构，可以看出，这两题主要是考查found 的宾补用法，一般地说，形容词、副词、介词短语、现在分词、过去分词等均可作found的宾补，现在分词表示主动的动作，过去分词表示被动的动作，据此，句①应选B项，表主动；句②选D项，表被动。词组为fix one’s eyes on…。再如：He stood there with his eyes fixed on the wall.
例6：① What do you think has happened to her?
② Who do you suppose will come to our house?
③ What do you suppose he is doing now?
④ Who do you think he will help?
⑤ When do you suppose he is going to start?
⑥ Where do you think she has gone?
解析：这6道题涉及插入语do you think / do you suppose / do you believe的用法。解答这组题的要害是要弄清句首的疑问词在句中的成分。显然，句①、句②的疑问词在句中作主语，只要去掉插入语do you think 与do you suppose，剩下的便是What has happened to her? Who will come to our house? 问题就迎刃而解了。句③、句④的What与Who在句中作宾语，其实句③的What he is doing now是suppose的宾语从句。句④的Who he will help是think的宾语从句，所以应该用陈述句排列，不应像句①、句②那样可以去掉插入语来理解。同样，句⑤、句⑥的When与Where在句中作状语，句⑤ When he is going to start 实际上是suppose的宾语从句。句⑥的Where she has gone 也是think的宾语从句，所以都应该用陈述句排列。
典型错误为：
③What do you suppose is he doing now?
④ Who do you think will he help?
⑤When do you suppose is he going to start?
⑥Where do you think has she gone?
（错误的原因是没有分析句子结构，全采用去掉插入语的方法来解题。）

三、成分简化法
为了快捷、准确的理解题意，去掉插入语或附加的次要信息成分，就会迅速找出答案。
例7：He felt that he, rather than Alice and Lisa, ___for the coldness that had grown between them.
A、were to blame B、was to be blamed
C、were to be blamed D、was to blame
解析：去掉rather than Alice and Lisa，便可看出本句实际上是He felt that he was to blame for the coldness…，而be to blame是固定搭配，应用主动形式。这样问题就简单了，故答案为D项。
例8：His health is .
A、as poor as, if not poorer than, his sister’s
B、as poor, if not poorer than, his sister
C、poor as his sister’s if not poor
D、as poor, if not poorer than his sister’s
解析：本题乍一看很难，其实，只要把插入语if not poorer than 去掉，原句就是His health is as poor as his sister’s.故答案为A项。

四、句式还原法
1、感叹句还原为陈述句
例9：____ what little Tom said to his mother sounded !