分類: 極短小品

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藥物治病是「藥物 + for + 疾病」，不可使用 against

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  • Which medicines should you take for cough? (治療咳嗽應服用哪種藥物？) (正)
  • Which medicines should you take against cough? (誤)

解說：For 在此意為「為了 (治療)」(= in order to cure)，而 against 意為「預防 (疾病)」。因此，當疾病的前面給的是治療該疾病的藥物或措施時，介系詞須使用 for，不可使用 against。例如：

  • The doctor treated him for epilepsy. (醫生治療了他的癲癇) (正)
    The doctor treated him against epilepsy. (誤)
  • Do you have medicine for a cold? (你有感冒藥？) (正)
    Do you have medicine against a cold? (誤)
  • A good diet and lots of exercise can protect against some kinds of illnesses. (良好的飲食和大量運動可預防一些疾病) (正)
  • This is a vaccination against hepatitis B. (這是 B 型肝炎疫苗的接種) (正)
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Specialty、speciality 和 specialism 之對與錯

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  • Shell carvings are a specialty of Penghu. (貝殼雕刻是澎湖的特產) (正)
  • Shell carvings are a speciality of Penghu. (正)
  • Shell carvings are a specialism of Penghu. (誤)

解說：Specialty 意為「特產，名產；專業，專長」，為美式拼法；speciality 也意為「特產，名產；專業，專長」，為英式拼法；specialism 亦是英式拼法，但僅有「專業，專長」的意思。這三個字都是可數名詞。

  • His specialty is geoscience. (他的專業是地球科學) (正)
  • His speciality is geoscience. (正)
  • His specialism is geoscience. (正)

請參閱「Speciality, specialty (nn.)」這篇文章以進一步瞭解這兩個字的其他用法。

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It’s time + 主詞 + 過去簡單式動詞是指現在時刻

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  • Gosh! It’s almost midnight. It’s time we went home. (天啊！快深夜了。我們該回家了) (正)
  • Gosh! It’s almost midnight. It’s time we go home. (誤)
  • Gosh! It’s almost midnight. It’s time to go home. (正)

解說：It’s time + 主詞 + 過去簡單式動詞是指現在時刻，不可使用現在簡單式。It’s time 後面除了接子句外，亦可接不定詞 (片語)，而做不定詞所表示之動作的人 (亦即不定詞的主詞 － It 並非不定詞的主詞) 雖被省略，但指的是說話者 + 聽者，不是僅指其中任何一人。再舉一例：

  • It’s time to start learning English. We are going to study abroad next year. ([我們]該開始學英文了。明年我們就要出國唸書了)
    = It’s time we started learning English. We are going to study abroad next year.
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「如上所述」、「如前所述」是 as stated above，不是 as stated before

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  • As stated above, there is no shortcut for learning English grammar. (如上所述，學習英文文法沒有捷徑) (正)
  • As stated before, there is no shortcut for learning English grammar. (誤)

解說：在正式寫作中，我們經常會使用到 as mentioned above (如上所述，如上面所提及的)、as noted above (如上面所指出的)、as demonstrated above (如上所示)、as shown above (如上所示) 和 as stated above (如上所述，如前所述) 等片語來表示上文、上面或之前所提到的事物，但在這些片語中，不可使用 before 來代替 above。再舉一例：

  • As noted above, the government lacks efficiency. (如上面所指出的，這個政府缺乏效率) (正)
  • As noted before, the government lacks efficiency. (誤)
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Promise 須接含有 will 或 would 的名詞子句或不定詞

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  • The government have promised (that) they’ll reduce income taxes. (政府已承諾要降低所得稅) (正)
    The government have promised (that) they reduce income taxes. (誤)
  • I promise (that) I won’t tell your wife. (我答應不會告訴你太太) (正)
    I promise (that) I don’t tell your wife. (誤)

解說：Promise 可當名詞和動詞用，主要意為「允諾，答應；保證」。用作動詞時，promise 可接 that 引導的名詞子句 (that 可以省略) 或帶 to 的不定詞。若接名詞子句，子句中須有 will 或 would。下面為使用過去式 would 和不定詞的例句：

  • He promised (that) he would attend my wedding on Saturday.
    = He promised to attend my wedding on Saturday. (他保證週六會參加我的婚禮) (正)
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appraise 和 apprise 之對與錯

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  • After I have the jeweler appraise the diamond, I will apprise you of its value. (在我請珠寶商鑑定這顆鑽石的價格後，我會通知你它的價值) (正)
  • After I have the jeweler apprise the diamond, I will appraise you of its value.

解說：appraise 和 apprise 都是及物動詞，前者意為「鑑定，估價」(to set a value on something)，後者意為「通知，告知」(to notify or inform)。這兩個動詞的拼字只有一個字母之差，但意思截然不同，切勿把「馮京」當「馬涼」。

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bazaar 和 bizarre 之對與錯

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  • A bazaar was held for the benefit of the victims of the strong earthquake. (為強震災民舉辦義賣) (正)
  • A bizarre was held for the benefit of the victims of the strong earthquake. (誤)

解說：Bazaar 是個名詞，意為「(尤指中東和南亞的) 市場，市集；(為了募款的) 義賣，尤指舊貨義賣」。Bizarre 為形容詞，意為「古怪的，奇異的」，如 bizarre behavior (古怪的行為)；bizarre clothes (奇裝異服)。

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Yet 不可用於進行式

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  • John is still living in Taipei. He’s not moving to Kaohsiung till next month. (約翰還住在台北。他下個月才要搬到高雄) (正)
  • John is yet living in Taipei. He’s not moving to Kaohsiung till next month. (誤)
  • John is living yet in Taipei. He’s not moving to Kaohsiung till next month. (誤)

解說：Still 和 yet 當副詞用時都有「還，仍然」的意思，但 yet 不可用於進行式。

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Eventually 不可用於列舉

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  • Lastly, don’t forget to take the medicine. (最後一點，別忘了吃藥) (正)
  • Eventually, don’t forget to take the medicine. (誤)

解說：寫作時我們經常需要列舉 (enumerate or enumeration)，如第一、第二、第三… 最後，英文列舉的寫法有好幾種，其中之一是 Firstly, … secondly, … thirdly, … lastly。除列舉外，lastly 亦可用於表示討論或敘述的最後一項或最後一點。

在表示討論或敘述的最後一項或最後一點時，我們可用 finally 來代替 lastly，它們通常位於句首，意為「最後」。儘管 eventually 亦意為「最後，終於」，但它不能用來表示列舉、討論或敘述的最後一項或最後一點。例如：

  • Finally, I must explain that. (最後，我得解釋一下那件事)
  • Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone for coming to my birthday party. (最後，我要感謝各位來參加我的生日派對)
  • She fell ill and eventually died. (她得了病，最後往生了)
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Explain 不可接雙受詞

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  • Can you explain this rule to me? (你能給我講解這項規則嗎？) (正)
  • Can you explain me this rule? (誤)

解說：英文中有些動詞可以接雙受詞，有些則不行。Buy, give teach 等動詞可以接雙受詞，句型為「動詞 + 間接受詞 (人) + 直接受詞 (事物)」(= 動詞 + 直接受詞 + for/to + 間接受詞)。例如：

Tony teaches foreign students Chinese.
= Tony teaches Chinese to foreign students. (東尼教外國學生學中文)

但 explain 不可接雙受詞，只能用「explain + 直接受詞 + to + 間接受詞」句型。