Abstract: On the basis that language use must consist of the continuous making of linguistic choices,Verschueren has put forward the theory of adaptation,which holds that the process of language use is the process of continual choice of language by the language user in light of communicative contexts.This article makes a tentative discussion of the application of Verschueren’s pragmatics to translation theory and practice.The enlightenment can be summed up as follows:first,contextual correlates of adaptability provide the theoretical basis for the choice of word meaning and text coherence;secondly,dynamics of adaptability implies the dynamic relationship between language and context and provides a new translation model,which avoids the argument about translation strategies;and thirdly,the salience of the adaptation process provides a new insight into the construction of translatology.