ground、land、earth和soil虽然都可以表示类似于“地面”的意思，但这四个词的用法有很大的区别。
1. ground意为“地、地面”，主要指大地表面（室外），可泛指各种地面（不论是沙地、泥地还是水泥地等）。也可用指土壤，场地，庭院等（特定用途的）场地。ground不用以指松土、散土：ground还可以作为不可数名词表示空旷的场地，也可以作为可数名词表示一些特殊用途的场地或者活动场地。
I sat on the ground to eat our picnic.
我坐在地上吃野餐。
The ground is covered with snow. 地面被雪覆盖了。
Coordinating airline traffic on the ground is as complicated as managing the traffic in the air.
协调地面的航空交通与管理空中交通一样复杂。
I found her lying on the ground.
我发现她躺在地上。
He lost his balance and fell to the ground.
他失去平衡摔倒在地上。
I found her lying on the ground.
我发现她躺在地上。
The ground was frozen hard and was impossible to dig.
土地冻实了，根本挖不动。
The best fishing grounds are around the islands.
最好的渔场是在岛屿周围。
Indian hunting grounds
印第安人的狩猎场
a football/recreation/sports, etc. ground
足球场、娱乐场地、运动场等
ancient burial grounds
古代墓地
The kids were playing on waste ground behind the school.
孩子们在学校后面的荒地上玩耍。
They drove across miles of rough, stony ground.
他们驶过数英里崎岖不平、多石的土地。
表示抽象的“领地”：（兴趣、知识或思想的）范围，领域
On her own ground she knows exactly what she's doing.
她在自己熟悉的领域里对自己的行为有十足的把握。
He managed to cover a lot of ground in a short talk.
他在简短的谈话中涵盖了许多领域。
也作“领土”如：
We decided to meet on neutral ground.
我们决定在第三方领土上会晤。《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》
2. land指“陆地，土（大）地”。与海洋、河流相对，也可指“地皮、田地、耕地”，可耕种的田地或可开发建设的土地均可叫land。另外，它可以指“国士”、“国家”。land也在与海对比时使用。
In the distance the crew sighted land.
船员发现在远处有陆地。
It was good to be back on dry land again.
回到陆地上真好。
It isn't clear whether the plane went down over land or sea.
不清楚飞机是坠毁在陆地上还是海里。
They fought both at sea and on land.
他们在海上和陆上都打过仗。
It is cheaper to drill for oil on land than at sea.
在陆地上钻探石油比在海上更经济。
agricultural/arable/industrial, etc. land
农业用地、可耕地、工业用地等
Some of the country's richest grazing lands are in these valleys.
全国最肥沃的一些牧场位于这些峡谷中。
The land around here has never been cultivated.
这一带的土地从未开垦过。
The land is used by local people to graze their animals.
这块地当地人用来放牧。
This sort of land is no good for growing potatoes.
这种地不适合种马铃薯。
She longed to return to her native land.
她渴望回到她的祖国。
They dreamed of travelling to foreign lands.
他们梦想去外国旅游。
America is the land of freedom and opportunity.
美国是一个拥有自由与机遇的国度。
Only the mighty God has the power on this dark land to lighten it.
只有万能的上帝才有能力在这个愚昧的国土上教化它。
They have bought some land and are going to build a house on it.
他们买了一些地，打算盖一所房子。
She bought a small plot of land to build a house.
她买了一小块地盖房子。
The price of land is rising rapidly.
地价正在迅速上涨。
Land prices have risen quickly.
土地的价格迅速上涨。
Their home is on his father's land.
他们的家建在他父亲拥有的地皮上。
Our land extends as far as the river.
我们的土地一直延伸到河边。
This land is ripe for development.
这片土地适宜开发。
A developer bought the land and divided it into stands.
开发商买下这块土地将其分为多块建筑用地。
It must be ascertained if the land is still owned by the government.
必须确定这块土地是否仍属于政府所有。
3.earth：“地球、大地 、陆地、地面”，或“泥土、土壤”。
The earth takes approximately 365 and 1/4 days to go round the sun.
地球围绕太阳运转一周大约需要365又1/4天。
It was once thought that the sun travelled around the earth.
人们曾经认为太阳绕着地球转。
The age of the earth is reckoned at about 4 600 million years.
估计地球的年龄大约为46亿年。
Equipment on the space station is teleoperated from Earth.
空间站上的设备是从地球遥控的。（the可以省略）
The nearest star to earth is about 4 light years away.
地球离最近的恒星大约为4光年。（the可以省略）
The moon exerts a force on the earth that causes the tides.
月球对地球的吸引力引起潮汐。
I must be the happiest person on earth!
我一定是世界上最幸福的人！
Water covers a large proportion of the earth's surface.
水覆盖了地球表面的大部分。
After a week at sea, it was good to feel the earth beneath our feet again.
出海一周后，重新踏上陆地感到很愉快。
Spring rains and warm sunlight quickened the earth.
春雨和温暖的阳光使大地复苏了。
You could feel the earth shake as the truck came closer.
卡车开近时可感觉到地面在震动。
I felt the earth shake as the train came closer. 火车靠近时，我感受到地面在震动。
She fell to the earth. 她摔倒在地上。
如果重点是构成大地的岩石、土壤等可用earth表示，不过ground亦可用于此义。
earth常用以指花园里或种花用的泥土：
She put some earth into the pot.
她在花盆里放了一些泥土。
I love the smell of grass and earth.
我喜欢青草和泥土的味道。
He put the seeds in the earth .
他把种子放进土里。
Put the earth back in the hole again.
再把土放回坑里去。
The peasants were trying to fill the big hole with earth.
农民正在设法用土填那个大坑。
4.soil：“泥土、土壤”，尤指生长植物的土地。或“国家、国土、领土”。
poor/dry/acid/sandy/fertile, etc. soil
贫瘠、干旱、酸性、沙质、肥沃等的土壤
Plant the seedlings in damp soil.
把幼苗种在湿润的土壤里。
Add plenty of organic matter to improve the soil.
施用大量的有机肥料以改良土壤。
They built a wall to avoid soil being washed away.
他们建了一堵墙防止土壤流失。
soil erosion土壤侵蚀,水土流失
Soil conservation is intended to curb erosion.
土壤保持旨在控制水土流失。
Plants draw minerals and other nutrients from the soil.
植物从土壤中吸取矿物质和其他养分。
First rake the soil smooth.
首先把地耙平。
Turn the soil over with a spade.
用锹把地翻一遍。
The soil is rich. 这土地很肥沃。
The trees have rooted in the rich soil.
树木在肥沃的土壤里已经扎根。
Plants grow well in good soil.
植物在沃土里长得很茂盛。
It was the first time we had set foot on foreign/French/American soil (= gone to a foreign country/France/America).
那是我们第一次踏上异国/法国/美国的土地。（soil的这一含义几乎总是用于on African/British/Indian soil等短语中，表示在非洲 / 英国 / 印度等。）
他们决心把侵略者赶出国土。
They were determined to drive the aggressors out of their soil.
The issue of foreign troops on Turkish soil is a sensitive one.
在土耳其领土上驻扎外国军队这个问题非常敏感。
It was the first time I had set foot on American soil.
那是我第一次踏足美洲大地。
It was the first time I had set foot on African soil.
那是我第一次踏上非洲大地。
Make sure that you bed the roots firmly in the soil.
一定要使根部牢牢地扎在土壤里。
Some soils are actually too alkaline for certain plant life.
有些土壤其实碱性过强，不利于某些植物生长。