I won’t allow them to fell the trees.

  • I won’t allow them to fell the trees. (我不會允許他們砍樹) (正)
  • I won’t allow them to fall the trees. (誤)

解說:Fell 是個規則動詞 (regular verb),意為「砍伐,砍倒」,其時態變化為 fell, felled, felled, felling。Fall 是個不規則動詞 (irregular verb),意為「落下,掉落;降落;跌落;跌倒;下降;減退」等,其時態變化為 fall, fell, fallen, falling。

Amy is the tallest girl in our class.

  • Amy is the tallest girl in our class. (艾美是我們班上最高的女生) (正)
  • Amy is the tallest girl of our class. (誤)

解說:在最高級形容詞之後,我們通常在單數地名或團體名稱之前使用 in,而不用 of。不過,在指一群人的複數字之前,我們可以使用 of。例如:

  • All the sisters are pretty, but Daisy’s the prettiest of them all. (這些姊妹都很漂亮,但黛西是她們之中最漂亮的)

About four-fifths of the students in my class are girls.

  • About four-fifths of the students in my class are girls. (我班上的學生約有五分之四是女生) (正)
  • About four-fifth of the students in my class are girls. (誤)
  • About four-fives of the students in my class are girls. (誤)

解說:表示幾分之幾時,分子用基數詞 (cardinal),分母用序數詞 (ordinal),若分子大於一,則分母的序數詞後面要加 s。

Rome was founded in 753 BC.

  • Rome was founded in 753 BC. (羅馬建於西元前 753 年) (正)
  • Rome was founded in BC 753. (誤)

解說:BC 指「西元前;公元前」,為 Before (the birth of) Christ 的縮寫,須置於年份之後。AD 指「西元;公元」,為拉丁語 Anno Domini 的縮寫,英文意思是 “(in the year) since the birth of Christ”,即 after the birth of Christ。AD 可置於年份之前或之後,如 The Persian Gulf War took place in 1990 AD/AD 1990 but lasted less than one year. (波斯灣戰爭在西元 1990 年爆發,但持續不到一年)。在美國,AD 和 BC 經常寫成 A.D. 和 B.C.。

elicit 和 illicit 之對與錯

  • He believes he can elicit the truth from the suspect after much questioning. (他相信在多次偵訊後可從嫌犯身上誘出事實真相) (正)
  • He believes he can illicit the truth from the suspect after much questioning. (誤)

解說:elicit 意為「引出,誘出」(動詞);illicit 意為「非法的,不法的」(形容詞)。