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Q：關於字尾為 -y 的雙音節形容詞，其比較級和最高級分別為去掉 -y 加 – ier 和 -iest。那麼複合形容詞如 easy-going 或 user-friendly 的比較級和最高級是寫成 easier-going, easiest-going, user-friendlier, user-friendliest，還是寫成 more easy-going, most easy-going, more user-friendly, most user-friendly呢?

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A：一般而言，單音節形容詞 (和副詞) 係在字尾加上 -er 和 -est 來構成比較級和最高級，而三音節 (含) 以上的形容詞則是在其前分別加上 more (或 less) 和 most (或 least) 來構成比較級和最高級。

雙音節形容詞比較棘手，因為它們有的是加上 -er 和 -est，有的是使用 more (或 less) 和 most (或 least) 來構成比較級和最高級，另有一些雙音節形容詞則是兩種型態都可以。請看下面的解說：

第二音節弱讀 (非重音節) 的雙音節形容詞通常採用 -er/-est 型態。

simple simpler simplest
clever cleverer cleverest

以 -ful / -less / -ing / -ed / -ous 為字尾的雙音節形容詞都是以 more 和 most 來構成比較級和最高級。

boring more boring most boring
worried more worried most worried
anxious more anxious most anxious
careful more careful most careful
hopeless more hopeless most hopeless

若干雙音節形容詞則兩種型態都可以。

common commoner/more common commonest/most common
shallow shallower/more shallow shallowest/most shallow
friendly friendlier/more friendly friendliest/most friendly
pleasant pleasanter/more pleasant pleasantest/most pleasant

字尾為 -y 的雙音節形容詞，其比較級和最高級幾乎都是去掉 -y 加 – ier 和 -iest。這可是一項通則! 注意：加上字頭 un- 並不多算一個音節，所以 untidy, unhealthy 等字還是以「兩個音節」來計算。

pretty prettier prettiest
happy happier happiest
dirty dirtier dirtiest
untidy untidier untidiest
unhealthy unhealthier unhealthiest

至於複合形容詞 (compound adjectives) — 亦稱為用連字號連接的形容詞 (hyphenated adjectives)，通常使用 more 和 most 來構成比較級和最高級，這是通則。但有些複合形容詞可能 -er/-est 和 more/most 型態兼而有之。依個人淺見 (In my humble opinion — IMHO)，問題中提到的兩種比較級和最高級型態，似乎都有可能，如 easy-going 的比較級可以寫成 easier-going 或 more easy-going，而最高級寫成 easiest-going 或 most easy-going。不過，由於 easy-going 現在都拼寫成 easygoing，其比較級和最高級無庸置疑地須寫成 more easygoing 和 most easygoing；這也免除了到底要使用 -er/-est 還是 more/most 的困擾。

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否極泰來；苦盡甘來；雨過天晴

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英譯：
after a storm comes a calm; after the storm comes a calm; the calm after a storm

例句：
Don’t worry again, Tom, after a storm comes a calm. All bad things are gone, and everything will get better and better. (湯姆，別再擔心了，否極泰來。所有不好的事情都已過去，未來一切將會越來越好)

John: I can’t believe how peaceful the office is today, when yesterday everyone was threatening to quit. Jane: After a storm comes a calm. (約翰：我不敢相信今天辦公室會這麼平靜，昨天大家不是還揚言要辭職嗎! 珍：雨過天晴)

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

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Divide, divide up (vv.)

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Divide 可當及物和不及物動詞用，經常與介系詞 into 和 in 連用 (divide sth into pairs/groups/parts 等等)，意為「分；分成；劃分；分割」，如 The teacher divided the class into three groups. (老師把全班分成三個小組)；The film divides into two distinct halves. (影片分成明顯不同的兩半)；He divided his students in half. (他將他的學生分成兩半)。這動詞亦常與 among 和 between 連用 (divide sth between/among sb)，意為「分配；分發；分享」，如 The children divided the candy between/among themselves. (孩子們把糖果分吃了)；After his death his property was divided between/among his children. (他死後，他的財產由他的孩子們平分)；The chamber was nearly equally divided between conservative and liberal deputies. (議會中保守派和自由派議員的人數幾乎各半)；The prize money will be equally divided between/among the three winners. (獎金將由三名優勝者均分)。

Divide 亦不時與 from 連用 (divide sth from sth)，意為「使分開；使隔開」，如 A low wall divides our garden from theirs. (一道矮牆把我們的花園和他們的隔開)；The railway divides his family’s land from the plains below. (鐵路把他家的土地與下面的平原隔開)。這動詞還可跟 over, on 和 upon 連用來表示「分裂；意見分歧」的意思，如 The Board of Directors divided on [upon, over] the new project. (董事會對這個新計劃意見分歧)；My family divided on [upon, over] almost every political issue. (我家人對幾乎每個政治議題都各持己見)。此外，divide 與 with 連用的情況亦所在多有，其句型與 divide sth between/among sb 等量齊觀，即 divide sth with sb，意思同樣為「分配；分發；分享」，如 Work out how you would like to divide the money with us. (商量一下，你打算如何跟我們分這筆錢)；You have to divide the cake with your sister. (你必須跟你妹妹分吃這塊蛋糕)。

Divide 也是數學上不可或缺的用字，其後接 by (divide sth by sth)，意為「除以」，若接 into (divide sth into sth)，則意為「除」，如 10 divided by 2 is/equals 5. (10 除以 2 等於 5)；Divide 10 by 2 (10 除以 2 或用 2 除 10)；2 divides into 10 5 times./Two divides into ten 5 times. (2 除 10 得 5)；Divide 2 into 10 (2 除 10)。divide by 除了「除以」的意思外，還有一個比較普遍化的意思，那就是「使分歧；使分裂」，如 The ruling class was divided by internal conflicts. (統治階級因內部衝突而分裂)；We are divided by our nationalities, our languages, and our religions. (我們因國籍、語言和宗教信仰的不同而分歧)。

至於 divide up，這片語與 divide 完全同義，意為「分成；分開；分割；分配；分發；分享」，如 The prize money will be equally divided up between/among the three winners. (獎金將由三名優勝者均分)；The teacher divided the class up into three groups. (老師把全班分成三個小組)；a secret Soviet-German pack for dividing/dividing up Europe in 1940 (1940 年瓜分歐洲的蘇德秘密條約)。職是之故，divide up 跟 break up, think up 及其它與 up 組成的片語一樣，在某些情況中會被視為贅詞，因為 up 被認為是多餘的。然而，divide 和 divide up 都是正規英語。這些 up 組成的片語動詞有些是慣用語 (break 和 break up 並非相同的動作 — break 可意為「打破」或「打碎」，而 break up 一定是「打碎」)，有些是用來加強語氣或基於文體的需要。當 up 可省略時，保守派人士通常選擇省略 up 以求文體的簡潔。

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Q：在省略 if 的條件句中，若為否定形式，好像不能將 “had not” 縮寫後移到句首 (如不能將 Had it not been… 寫成 Hadn’t it been…)，這是否屬實?

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A：沒錯! 英文的條件句有三種情況可以省略 if：當條件句的動詞部分含有 were (與現在事實相反)、had (與過去事實相反) 或 should (與未來事實相反 — 即假設的情況不太可能發生) 時，我們可將它們移到句首並省略 if，使句子變成倒裝句。例如：

  • If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.
    = Were I you, I wouldn’t do that. (如果我是你，就不會那麼做了)
  • If he had taken my advice, he might not have made such a bad mistake.
    = Had he taken my advice, he might not have made such a bad mistake. (要是他聽我的勸告，就不會犯這樣嚴重的錯誤了)
  • If I should have a chance to try it, I would do it in another way.
    = Should I have a chance to try it, I would do it in another way. (要是我有機會試一試，我會用另一種方法去做) — Should 係表示有機會一試的可能性微乎其微。
  • If we were to have children, we’d need to move to a bigger house.
    = Were we to have children, we’d need to move to a bigger house. (如果/要是將來有小孩，我們必須換一間較大的房子) –「were to + 原形動詞」是另一種與未來事實相反的條件句型。

如果條件句為否定形式，那麼在寫成倒裝句時，NOT 必須置於主詞的後面，不能將它與 were、had 或 should 縮寫後移到句首。例如：

  • Were she not my daughter, I’d have no hesitation in phoning the police. (如果她不是我女兒，我會毫不猶豫地打電話報警) (正)
  • Weren’t she my daughter, I’d have no hesitation in phoning the police. (誤)
  • Had it not rained last Saturday, we would’ve celebrated Tom’s birthday with a barbecue in the garden. (上週六要是沒下雨，我們會在花園烤肉慶祝湯姆的生日) (正)
  • Hadn’t it rained last Saturday, we would’ve celebrated Tom’s birthday with a barbecue in the garden. (誤)
  • Should you not wish to sign the contract, you must let them know before the end of June. (要是你不想簽約，你必須在六月底之前讓他們知道) (正)
  • Shouldn’t you wish to sign the contract, you must let them know before the end of June. (誤)

但如果將倒裝句改回正常的詞序，那麼 were、had 或 should 就可與 not 縮寫在一起。請看下面的例句 (其它條件句亦同)：

  • If she weren’t my daughter, I’d have no hesitation in phoning the police and telling them about the crime that has been committed. (如果她不是我女兒，我會毫不猶豫地打電話報警，告訴警方她所犯的罪)
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Besides, apart from, aside from, except (for), in addition to (preps.)

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這幾個字和片語都當介系詞用，且都意為「除…之外」。雖然表面上它們的意思似乎完全一樣，但實際上它們的含意並不盡相同，所以在應用上必須多加留意。

Besides 的意思是「除…之外還有」，亦即將其後的人事物「包括在內」，如 Five of us passed the exam besides John. (除了約翰通過考試之外，我們還有五人通過) — 通過考試的人包括約翰在內，亦即約翰也過關。

Except (for) 的意思是「不包括…在內」，亦即「除去…」，如 All of us passed the exam except John. (除約翰外，我們都通過考試) — 通過考試的人不包括約翰在內，亦即約翰未過關。

In addition to 除了在少數情況中不能與 besides 互換外，其他大多數情況都與 besides 等量齊觀，如 Milk, in addition to (= besides) fruit juices, is the best drink for children. (除果汁外，牛奶也是兒童的最佳飲料) — 兒童的最佳飲料包括果汁在內。

Apart from 和 aside from 則兼具 besides 和 except (for) 的意思，所以必須從上下文來判斷它們真正的意思，如 Apart/Aside from the new freshmen, all the students were there. (除新生外，所有學生都在那裡) — 新生不在那裡 (在此 apart/aside from = except for)；Apart/aside from being too large, it just doesn’t suit me. (除了太大之外，它也不適合我) — 在此 apart/aside from = besides。值得一提的是，apart from 在美式英語和英式英語都是標準用法，而 aside from 主要是美國的用法，且以「不包括在內」的意思比較常見。

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Q：He didn’t come home all the night. 和 He didn’t come home all night. 這兩句是否一樣呢?

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A：這兩句的意思是一樣的，都意為「他整晚都沒有回家」，但語法則有對錯之分。一般而言，在否定句中，all 與其後所接的時間名詞之間是不可以有定冠詞 the 的。雖然不少英國人在談話時可能會在否定句中使用 the，如 all the day, all the week 等等，但這是很奇怪的事。美國人無論在肯定句或否定句中，似乎都不用定冠詞。例如：

  • He sings all day. (他整天都在唱歌)
  • He didn’t sing all day. (他整天都沒有唱歌)

這規則並不適用於副詞片語 all the time (一直，始終)，此片語無論在肯定句或否定句中都需要 the。但形容詞 all-time (空前的，創紀錄的) 也沒有定冠詞，如 Our company’s sales have reached an all-time high this year. (本公司今年的銷售額達到歷來最高)。

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blurt out; bog down; bog in; bog into; bog off; boil down; boil down to; boil over; boil up; bone up on

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blurt * out +
脫口而出；說溜嘴
I was really angry when he blurted out the secret.

bog down
(使) 陷入泥沼；(使) 陷入困難；(使) 不能前進
Richard got bogged down in his research and didn’t finish the project in time.

bog in
熱烈地吃
We were starving and bogged in when the food was served.

bog into +
熱烈地吃某食物
They bogged into the lunch.

bog off
(英口語) (粗魯說法) 滾開
Bog off! Get out of here!

boil * down +
縮短，濃縮 (文章)
The report’s so long, I boiled it down into a two-page summary.

boil down to +
歸結為；癥結在於；取決於；事實上意味著
It’s difficult to choose which appliance to buy, but in the end it usually boils down to cost.

boil over
煮沸溢出
I left the milk on the cooker and it boiled over.

boil over
(局勢) 失去控制；爆發；發怒
The tension had been building up and it boiled over in the meeting.

boil up
(形勢) 惡化；(怒火) 升高
The anger boiled up in me when I saw what they had done.

boil * up +
煮沸 (食物)
I boiled up some water for a cup of coffee.

bone up on +
努力鑽研；用功讀書
I need to bone up on my English grammar for the test.

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

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Q：我們不能說 I have met him five years ago.，而必須說 I have met him before.。為什麼 before 可以跟現在完成式連用，而 ago 卻不行呢?

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A：before 和 ago 皆意為「以前」，但前者指的是「現在之前的任何時間」(亦即指過去某個不確定的時間)，而後者是指「現在之前的某個確定的時間」。所以，before 可以跟現在完成式連用，而 ago 只能用於簡單過去式。例如：

  • I know that guy. I’ve met him somewhere before. (我知道那個人。我以前在某個地方見過他)
  • Have you been here before? (你以前有來過這裡嗎?)
    No, I’ve never been here before. This is my first time. (沒有，我以前從未來過這裡。這是第一次。)
  • Your mother phoned five minutes ago. Can you phone her back? (你母親 5 分鐘前來電。你可以給她回電嗎?)
  • I saw her for the first time at the National Palace Museum some twenty years ago. (我約 20 年前在國立故宮博物院首次見到她)

before 通常跟現在完成式連用，但也可用於簡單過去式。

  • I know that guy. I met him somewhere before.
  • Were you here before?
    No, I was never here before. This is my first time.
  • We were all students before. (我們以前都是學生)

ago 所指的時間都是從現在開始往以前推算，但 before 所指的時間除了上述也是從現在開始往以前推算之外，還可指從過去某個時間點往更早之前推算的時間。所以，當我們要表示比 ago 更早的時間時，我們只能用 before (that) 或 earlier 或 previously，而不能用 ago。在這種句子中，ago 用簡單過去式，而 before 用過去完成式。例如：

  • My grandfather died five years ago; my grandmother had already died three years before (that)/previously/earlier. (我祖父 5 年前過世，而我祖母在那之前 3 年就已經過世了 — 亦即祖母是在 8 年前過世)
  • I met my ex-girlfriend at a hotel in Bangkok in December 2006 when she told me that she had got married four years before. (2006 年 12 月我在曼谷一家飯店遇見我前女友，當時她告訴我，她在那之前 4 年就已結婚了 — 亦即她在 2002 年結婚)
  • Last year I went back to my hometown that I had left ten years before. (去年我回到暌違 10 年的故鄉 — 亦即我在 11 年前離開故鄉)
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若要人不知，除非己莫為

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英譯：
murder will out

例句：
Your extramarital affairs can’t be kept secret forever, because murder will out. (你的婚外情不可能永遠保密，因為若要人不知，除非己莫為)

The President thought no one would ever discover his crime, but murder will out. (總統以為沒有人會發現他的罪行，但若要人不知，除非己莫為)

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

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Above, over (preps.)

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這兩個字皆可當介系詞、副詞和形容詞用，其中 above 還可當名詞用。就介系詞用法而言，除了幾個不同的意思外，它們均意為「(指位置) 在…的上面，在…之上」。因此，在許多上下文中，它們經常可互換使用，如 Our bedroom is above/over the kitchen. (我們的臥室在廚房上面)；Let’s hang the oil painting above/over the fireplace. (讓我們把油畫掛在壁爐上方)。然而，在其他情況中，它們「在…的上方」的含意還是有所區別，本文將探討它們之間細微的差異。

Above (反義詞為 below) 僅表示某物處於另一物上方的位置，如 The moon is now above the trees. (月亮現在位於樹梢上)；There’s a row of houses on the hillside above the river. (河邊山坡上有一排房子)；Raise your hands above your head. (把你的手舉到頭上)。

Over (反義詞為 under) 是表示某物處於另一物正上方的位置，但往往用來表示上面的物體從一邊移動到另一邊的情況；事實上，當上面的物體有動作時，over 是這兩個介系詞當中唯一的用字，如 A plane flew over the house. (一架飛機飛過了房子)；The sheep jumped over the wall. (羊跳過牆)。此外，當表示某物遮蔽、覆蓋另一物時也要使用 over，如 She put a scarf over her hair. (她把圍巾戴在頭上)；We spread a carpet over the floor. (我們在地板鋪上了地毯)；He pulled the blanket over his head and fell asleep. (他把毯子拉上來遮著頭睡著了)；They built a roof over the courtyard. (他們給庭院蓋了個頂棚)。