Many a + 名詞要接單數動詞

  • Many a good climber has met his/her death on this mountain. (許多優秀登山者都在這座山身亡了) (正)
  • Many a good climber have met his/her death on this mountain. (誤)

解說:Many a 與 many 同義,但前者後面接單數可數名詞,後者接複數可數名詞,故 many a + 名詞後面的動詞要用單數形式。這句亦可寫成 (請注意句中主詞、動詞和所有格的數的變化):”Many good climbers have met their death on this mountain.”。

alive 和 living 之對與錯

  • John believes he is the happiest man alive. (約翰認為他是世上最快樂的人) (正)
  • John believes he is the happiest man living. (誤)

解說:Alive 和 living 都是形容詞,也都有「活著的」意思,但 alive 只能用於敘述用法 (predicatively),亦即用在名詞之後,而 living 則用在名詞之前。

地名專有名詞是否加定冠詞的規則

  • Mount Tai is in the east of China. (泰山在中國的東部) (正)
  • The Mount Tai is in the east of China. (誤)
  • A Mount Tai is in the east of China. (誤)

解說:江、河、海洋的專有名詞前面要加定冠詞 the,但湖泊前面不加定冠詞;Mount 和 Mountain 的專有名詞不加定冠詞,但 Mountains 和 Sierra 等表示山脈的名稱前要加定冠詞。Island (島嶼) 的專有名詞不加定冠詞,但 Islands 和 Archipelago (群島) 以及 Peninsula (半島) 等專有名詞前則要加定冠詞。國家名稱大多不加定冠詞,但若國名中有 Republic 或 Kingdom 或最後一個字母為 s,則該國名前要加定冠詞,如 The United Kingdom (英國)、The United States (美國)、The Netherlands (荷蘭)、The Philippines (菲律賓)。

Used to 的否定式

  • Amy used not to go to clubs, but now she goes there almost every day. (艾美過去不常上夜店,但現在幾乎每天都去) (正)
  • Amy usedn’t to go to clubs, but now she goes there almost every day. (正)
  • Amy wasn’t used to go to clubs, but now she goes there almost every day. (誤)
  • Amy didn’t used to go to clubs, but now she goes there almost every day. (誤)

解說:語氣或情態助動詞 used to 的否定式為 “used not to” 或縮寫成 “usedn’t to” 或 “didn’t use to”。used to 的肯定問句為 “Used + 主詞 + to + V…?” 或 “Did + 主詞 + use to + V…?”;否定問句為 “Usedn’t + 主詞 + to + V…?” 或 “Didn’t + 主詞 + use to + V…?”。

過去分詞作受詞補語

  • Have you ever heard Tibetan spoken? (你曾經聽過有人講藏語嗎?) (正)
  • Have you ever heard Tibetan to be spoken? (誤)
  • Have you ever heard Tibetan speaking? (誤)

解說:現在分詞和過去分詞都可作受詞補語,其中現在分詞表示主動和進行,而過去分詞表示被動。本句 spoken 為過去分詞作受詞補語,表示「語言被講」。

Not receiving any answer, he sent another email to her.

  • Not receiving any answer, he sent another email to her. (由於沒有收到回信,他又給她寄了一封電子郵件) (正)
  • No receiving any answer, he sent another email to her. (誤)
  • Receiving not any answer, he sent another email to her. (誤)

解說:否定詞放在現在分詞之前置於句首時,不能用 no 來否定現在分詞,而要用 not;換另外一種說法,not 可以放在動名詞或不定詞之前來否定動名詞或不定詞 (如 To be, or not to be …)。分詞構句 Not receiving any answer 是原因子句 Because he did not receive any answer 的減化。

Looks like rain.

  • Looks like rain. (看起來好像要下雨) (正)
  • Look like rain. (誤)

解說:這句是 It looks like rain 的省略,由於主詞是 it (表天氣),省略後動詞仍然要用第三人稱單數 looks。一般而言,在不會引起誤解的情況下或在非正式場合中,句子的主詞可以省略。Look like 意為「看起來好像」。

Nobody but my sisters wants to stay in now.

  • Nobody but my sisters wants to stay in now. (現在只有我的姊妹想待在家裡) (正)
  • Nobody but my sisters want to stay in now. (誤)
  • Nobody but my sisters wanted to stay in now. (誤)

解說: nobody but 意為「只有…」,其中 but 為介系詞,意為「除…之外」,後接名詞 (人),因此主詞是 nobody,動詞要用單數;又因後面有時間副詞 now,所以要用現在簡單式。Nothing but 同樣意為「只有…」,但 but 後面要接事物的名詞。

That river is very dangerous to swim in.

  • That river is very dangerous to swim in. (在那條河裡游泳很危險) (正)
  • That river is very dangerous to swim. (誤)

解說:不定詞經常放在敘述形容詞之後,用來表示該敘述形容詞所表述的情狀的原因。當這個不定詞為不及物動詞時,其後的介詞不可缺少,如本句中的 in,意指「在那條河裡」(in that river)。