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Q： ever so often 和 every so often 的意思一樣嗎?

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A：ever so often 的意思是「經常，多次」(very often, a great many times)，而 every so often 意為「不時，有時」(sometimes, at times, from time to time, now and then, once in a while)，所以這兩個副詞片語的意思並不相同，如 I’ve been to their house ever so often. (我去過他們的房子很多次)；I like to visit art galleries every so often, but not very frequently. (我喜歡不時去美術館參觀一下，但不是很常去)。

值得注意的是，ever so often 僅能用在口語和非正式寫作中，不能用於正式寫作。ever so often 中的 ever so 也是口語，與 ever such 一樣都意為「非常，十分，很」(very)，它們也都只能用在口語和非正式寫作，其中 ever 為副詞加強語，如 Mother was ever so upset. (媽媽很苦惱)；She’s ever such a nice girl. (她是個非常可愛的姑娘)。

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You don’t look a day over thirty

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英國《每日郵報》9 日根據《路透社》的報導指出，世上年紀最大的人 130 歲了，該報的完整標題是 “Antisa ‘the oldest person on Earth’ turns 130 (and she doesn’t look a day over 110)”，這使我想起上個禮拜天發生在自家的一則故事。

當天近中午時分，拙荊自傳統市場買了好幾樣水果回來，我看她一進門就顯得一副喜孜孜、樂不可支，好像剛發現自己中了威力彩頭獎的樣子，便隨口一問「什麼事那麼高興?」，她回答說：「賣荔枝的老闆說我看起來還不到 30 歲」。我的天啊! 拙荊天生娃娃臉，看起來的確比實際年齡年輕了好幾歲，但說已是女人四十一枝花的她還不到 30 歲，在我看來還是有點誇張。雖然心裡這樣想，但仍口是心非地說：「那位老闆講話很實在」。這下子她簡直樂歪了，瞧她那副心花怒放、喜不自勝的樣子，我又隨口補上一句：「這真是一件喜事，那麼這個月的零用金應該可以多給兩千吧!」談到錢就傷感情，她馬上警覺到，「再說吧!」

看完這則故事，看倌應該已知道本文標題的意思了吧! 那就是「你看來不超過 30 歲」，因此《每日郵報》括弧中的標題是說這位世上年紀最大的人 Antisa 雖然已 130 歲，但她看起來還不到 110 歲。

You don’t look a day over thirty. 的直譯是「你看來最多三十歲，連一天都不多」。然而，這個可以被視為固定用語的句子通常用於四十歲以上的人，如 You don’t look a day over fifty/sixty. 等。對二、三十歲的人，很少說 You don’t look a day over twenty/thirty.。

至於說外表和實際年齡相稱，英文是 To look one’s age。She does not look her age. 通常是指「她看起來比實際年紀小」，亦即 She looks younger than her age.，這與上述的 You don’t look a day over …相近。不過，look one’s age 也可以指「比實際年紀大」，如 She looks older than her age. (她看起來比實際年紀大)。

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Q：在 We recruit Ph.D.s(?) for Fortune 500 companies. 這句中，Ph.D. 的複數要怎麼寫呢?

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A：我們可以考慮將這個縮寫字的句點去掉，使其變成 PhD，然後在它的後面直接加上 s，即 PhDs。不過，雖然這是縮寫字的複數寫法之一，但一般而言，含有句點的縮寫字是以「所有格符號 ‘ + s」來構成複數，如 We have two M.A.’s and three Ph.D.’s on our staff. (我們的職員中有兩位碩士和三位博士)。所以，問題中的句子有下列兩種寫法：

  • We recruit PhDs for Fortune 500 companies. (我們為財星 500 大企業招聘博士)
  • We recruit Ph.D.’s for Fortune 500 companies.
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sit on; sit out; sit over; sit through; sit with; size up; skive off; slack off; slag off; sleep off

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sit on +
成為…的一員
She’s sat on the finance committee from the beginning.

sit on +
嚴加管教 (某人)，嚴厲管束 (某人)；壓制 (某人)；訓斥 (某人) 使其閉嘴或不鬧事
If his girlfriend finds out, she’ll get mad and sit on him.

sit on +
將…擱置不理；拖延
The government have been sitting on the report because it was so critical.

sit * out +
坐在一旁，不參加
I had to sit the game out because I was ill.

sit over +
慢慢地吃或喝
We sat over dinner discussing the plans.

sit through +
一直挨到 (不愉快之事) 結束；耐著性子聽完或看完
I was bored and wanted to leave halfway through, but we sat through the film.

sit with +
與…一致，與…相符
It’s hard to see how their new plan sits with the promises they made.

size * up +
評估；判斷
The doorstaff sized up everyone entering the club.

size * up +
使某物變大；製造尺寸較大的產品
Soft drinks manufacturers have sized up their products in recent years.

skive off
逃 (學)；逃 (課)；逃避 (工作)
I pretended I was ill and skived off on Monday.

slack off
減緩；減弱；減少；放鬆；鬆弛
Students usually begin the term well, then slack off near the end of the semester.

slag * off +
(嚴厲) 批評；詆毀；責難
The concert was terrible and all the papers slagged the band off.

sleep * off +
(尤指吃多或喝多後) 以睡眠來消除 (不適)；以睡眠來消除 (藥物的作用、生氣等)
She went to bed to sleep off the effects of the tequila.
He should be able to sleep off the effects of the drug within a few hours.

本文亦刊載在下列網址：
http://htmfiles.englishhome.org/phrasalverbs/phrasalverbs-s.htm

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Q：在英文報紙上看到 Winter is come! 這樣的句子。我想這個句子應該是對的，不然他們不會這麼寫。不過，我還是不懂，為什麼一個句子中可以把兩個動詞放在一起呢? 不是要寫成 Winter is coming. 嗎?

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A：無論是 Winter is come. 還是 Winter is coming.，都是正確的句子，但意思不同。首先來看 Winter is coming.，其意為「冬天即將來臨」，這是用現在進行式來表示不久即將發生的事情。至於 Winter is come.，句中的 come 是過去分詞，當主詞補語，而不是現在式 (come 的動詞三態是：come, came, come)，所以這句的意思是「冬天已來臨」或「冬天來了」。

有一個文法觀念必須建立，那就是：不管及物或是不及物動詞，它們的過去分詞都可以作形容詞用，當主詞補語。由於不及物動詞不能有被動態，所以就不及物動詞而言，「BE + P.P.」就相當於「have + P.P.」的主動完成式結構，意為「已經…」；至於及物動詞，由於「BE + P.P.」就是被動態，所以它相當於「have + been + P.P.」的被動完成式結構，意為「已經被…」。請看下面的例句：

  • Winter is come. (冬天來了)
    = Winter has come.
  • You can watch TV when your homework is completed. (作業做完後，你可以看電視)
    = You can watch TV when your homework has been completed.
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凡事豫則立，不豫則廢

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英譯：
forewarned is forearmed

例句：
Let me know when the Department Required Test (DRT) is given; forewarned is forearmed. (通知我什麼時候舉行指考；凡事豫則立)

Check the temperature before you go outside. Forewarned is forearmed. (外出前要看看氣溫。預先知道，才能有準備)

本文亦刊載在下列網址：
http://htmfiles.englishhome.org/idioms/idioms_chinese-1.htm

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Q：Sun、Moon 和 Earth 這幾個字是否一定要大寫，若不一定，那麼在什麼情況下要大寫?

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A：根據 New York Public Library Writer’s Guide，恆星、行星、衛星、星座以及其他占星名稱都要大寫，如 Venus and Mars are the planets closest to Earth. (金星和火星是最接近地球的行星)，但 sun, earth 和 moon 則不大寫，除非它們跟上述的星體名稱一起使用，如 (亦見上句) Jupiter is farther from the sun than Earth is. (木星比地球離太陽遠)。然而，如果 earth 的前面有定冠詞 the，那麼它一定要小寫，如 The moon came between the earth and the sun. (月球在地球與太陽之間)。

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Q：為何搭乘汽車是 in a car 而搭乘巴士是 on a bus 呢? 這類介系詞用法是否有規則可循呢?

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A：in, on 等介系詞在英文中扮演舉足輕重的角色，但每個介系詞的意思少則數個，多則數十個，對於非英語系國家的人士來說，要把這些字的用法完全弄懂或用得非常自然，可說相當困難，或至少需要一段很長的時間，所以只有仰賴平常多看、多用，讓它習慣成自然。同樣是交通工具，為何有的用 in，有的用 on，誰也說不出原因，也沒有規則可循，唯有掌握英語的正確用法後多加使用才能駕輕就熟。茲將常見的交通工具與 in 或 on 連用的習慣用語臚列如下並舉例供大家參考：

IN：a car, a taxi, a truck, a helicopter, a boat

ON：a bus, a train, a bicycle, a motorbike, a plane, a ship, horseback, elephant

  • I traveled in a car from Taipei to Kaohsiung. (我從台北坐汽車到高雄)
  • I traveled on a train from Taipei to Kaohsiung. (我從台北坐火車到高雄)

再者，交通工具使用 in 或 on 會影響上/下車 (飛機等) 的英文說法。就 in 而言，上/下車是 get in/get out of，如 get in/get out of a taxi；就 on 而言，上/下車是 get on/get off，如 get on/get off a bus。

由上述可知，要正確使用介系詞唯有靠長時間的練習，多看、多用，習慣成自然。如果你硬要用記憶的方式把它們記下來，筆者也不反對，只是記不勝記，因為同樣的事物在不同的場合，可能就會使用不同的介系詞，譬如說，同樣是「角落」，房間的角落跟街道的角落就使用不同的介系詞，前者是 in the corner of a room，後者是 at (或 on) the corner of a street。此外，同樣是 weekend，英國人說 at the weekend，而美國人是說 on the weekend。

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pull away; pull back; pull down; pull for; pull in; pull off; pull on; pull out; pull over; pull through

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pull away
(車輛或司機) 開走，駛出 (某地方)
Just as I was pulling away from the parking place, another car crashed into mine.

pull * back +
扳回 (在足球比賽中落後時進球)
They were two-nil down until five minutes before the end, when they pulled back a goal.

pull * back +
(軍隊) 撤退，撤回
They have pulled the troops back from the front line.

pull back
決定不做
They pulled back from the deal.

pull back
躲開；閃避
She pulled back when he tried to kiss her.

pull * down +
賺得
He pulls down about $300,000 a year.

pull * down +
拆除，拆掉
They pulled the old cinema down to build a new shopping mall.

pull * down +
使 (某人) 沮喪
Losing her job pulled her down.

pull for +
支持
Who will you be pulling for in the final?

pull in
(火車) 進站，到站
The train pulled in and we rushed to meet her as she got off.

pull in
(駛向路邊或建築物旁邊) 停車
Mark pulled in too quickly and crashed into the wall.
I pulled in to let the passengers out.

pull * in +
吸引
The program pulled in 3.6 million viewers.

pull * in +
逮捕 (某人) 或將 (某人) 帶回警局偵訊
The police pulled them in after the trouble.

pull * off +
成功做成 (某件困難或棘手的事)
No one thought that she would be able to do it, but she pulled it off in the end.

pull off
(車、船等) 駛離
When the lights turned green, the car pulled off.
The boat pulled off from the shore.

pull * on +
(尤指迅速地) 穿上，戴上
I pulled on a jumper when the sun went in.

pull out
(火車) 離站
Our train pulls out at 8:00, so don’t be late.
The train was pulling out when I got there.

pull out
(車輛或司機) 開出；(車輛) 超車開到或插在 (別車) 前面
The traffic was so bad that it took me ages to pull out.
She just pulled out in front of me without indicating.

pull out
退出；擺脫
The project was going badly and they decided to pull out.

pull * out +
(軍隊) 撤退，撤離
People want the government to pull the troops out.

pull * over +
(車輛或司機) 停靠 (在路邊)
The police pulled the car over.

pull * over +
(警察命令駕駛人把車) 開到路邊
The police pulled the car over and tested the driver for alcohol.

pull through
從 (疾病、負傷等) 康復；恢復健康
I didn’t think she was going to make it, but she pulled through in the end.
Don’t worry. Your dad’s going to pull through.

pull * through +
使度過難關
He said the support of his fans had pulled him through.
A gift of money from the government pulled the theater company through their money troubles.

本文亦刊載在下列網址：
http://htmfiles.englishhome.org/phrasalverbs/phrasalverbs-p.htm

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Q：”in doing so” 和 “in so doing” 有何不同呢?

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A：這兩個片語的意思和用法並無二致，都意為「這樣做 (的時候)」。在英文寫作中，這兩個片語經常會用到，如 In doing so/In so doing, the author avoids redundancy. (這樣做作者就避免了冗語贅詞) — 這裡的 author 是論文或文章的作者，而 so 代表前面所提到或做過的事情，所以要上下文銜接起來看才知道 the author 做了什麼事情。

除 in doing so 和 in so doing 外，by doing so 和 by so doing、of doing so 和 of so doing 以及其他 doing so 和 so doing 也分別是通用的，如 Mary as much as told him the secret, even though she had no intention of doing so/of so doing. (瑪麗雖然不是有意把秘密告訴他，但這等於 [言下之意] 已告訴他了)。