介系詞

介系詞 (prepositions) 的用途

我們通常使用介系詞 (簡稱「介詞」) 來表示空間或時間的關係或表示兩個或多個人物、地點或事物之間的邏輯關係。介系詞後面最常見的受詞是名詞 (片語) 和代名詞。例如：

• Men whistle at them when the girls are just walking down the street. (即便那些女孩只是從街上走過，男人們也會向她們吹口哨) (介系詞：At, down)
• I’ll meet you in the cafe opposite the restaurant. (我會在餐廳對面的咖啡館見你) (介系詞：In, opposite)
• John was my roommate during our first year at university. (約翰是我大學第一年的室友) (介系詞：During, at)
• It was the worst earthquake since the 1970s. (這是 1970 年代以來最嚴重的地震) (介系詞：Since)
• I told that to Allen and he just laughed. (我把那件事告訴了艾倫，他笑了) (介系詞：To)

英文的介系詞超過 100 個。最常見的單字 (一個字) 介系詞為：

About, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, opposite, out, outside, over, past, round, since, than, through, to, towards, under, underneath, unlike, until, up, upon, via, with, within, without

儘管大多數介系詞都是一個字，但某些單字的配對和組合所形成的多字介系詞，其作用有如單字介系詞。例如：

• The flight was delayed because of bad weather. (這個航班因天氣惡劣而延誤了) (介系詞：Because of)
• You can use margarine in place of butter in some recipes. (在某些食譜中，你可以使用人造奶油代替奶油) (介系詞：In place of)
• In addition to his apartment in Taipei, he has a villa in Kaohsiung. (除了在台北有一間公寓外，他在高雄還有一座鄉間別墅) (介系詞：In addition to)
• Bridget always gets nervous when she has to speak in front of an audience. (當布莉姬必須在觀眾面前演講時，她總是會緊張) (介系詞：In front of)
• We estimate that there’ll be up to 20,000 people at the concert. (我們估計將會有多達 20,000 人參加音樂會) (介系詞：Up to)

最常見的多字介系詞為：

Ahead of, apart from, as for, as well as, because of, due to, except for, in addition to, in front of, in place of, in spite of, inside of, instead of, near to, on account of, on top of, out of, outside of, owing to, such as, thanks to, up to

介系詞還是連接詞呢？

有些介系詞亦可當連接詞用。當它們後面接子句時，它們就是當連接詞用；如果後面接名詞片語，那麼它們還是介系詞。在這些亦可用作連接詞的介系詞當中，最常見的是 after, as, before, since, until。例如：

• After I’d met Paul the other night, I texted his mother at once. (那天晚上我見到保羅之後，我立即傳了簡訊給他媽媽) (連接詞)
  After the meeting the other night, I texted his mother at once. (那天晚上見面後，我立即傳了簡訊給他媽媽) (介系詞)
• Since she arrived in Taipei, Cindy has had over 30 job interviews. (自從來台北之後，辛蒂已經面試了超過 30 次) (連接詞)
  Since arriving in Taipei, Cindy has had over 30 job interviews. (自從來台北之後，辛蒂已經面試了超過 30 次) (介系詞)
• Shouldn’t we wait until Jack’s here? (我們是不是該等到傑克來呢？) (連接詞)
  She was up until three o’clock trying to get it finished! (為了完成工作，她一直熬夜做到三點！) (介系詞)

介系詞還是副詞呢？

有些介系詞亦可當副詞用。這些亦可用作副詞的介系詞包括 about, across, around, before, beyond, in, inside, near, opposite, outside, past, round, through, under, up, within。例如：

• We walked across the field/street. (我們穿過田野/橫過街道) (介系詞)
  She came across to talk with me. (她走過來跟我交談) (副詞)
• There’s a chair just outside the room opposite. (對面房間外面有一張椅子) (介系詞)
  Come indoors, it’s cold outside. (到室內來吧，外面很冷) (副詞)

表示空間關係的常見介系詞通常兼具抽象與具體的意思。例如：

• I hung my jacket behind the door. (我把夾克掛在門後)
  － behind 意為「在 (…的) 後面」，這是表示空間或位置的具體意思。
• Everyone is behind the government. (每個人都支持政府)
  － behind 意為「支持」，這是抽象意思。
• In the distance, beyond the river were beautiful mountains. (在河對岸的遠處是美麗的山脈)
  － beyond 意為「更遠；遠於」，這是表示空間或位置的具體意思。
• Physics is completely beyond them all. (他們根本都學不會物理)
  － beyond 意為「非…所能及；令…無法理解」，這是抽象意思。

At, in 和 on 等常見介系詞亦有抽象的意思。例如：

• Thousands of people are seriously injured at work every year. (每年都有數以千計的人在工作中受重傷)
  You can take the documents home and study them at leisure. (你可以把這些文件帶回家，有空時再好好看一看)
  － at 意為「(表示狀態、狀況或連續的活動) 處於；從事於；忙於」，這是抽象意思。
• Could I have a word with you in private? (我能私下和你談談嗎？)
  － in 意為「處於…中；處於…狀態」，這是抽象意思。
  Both singers were dressed in green. (兩位歌手都穿著綠色衣服)
  － in 意為「穿著」，這是抽象意思。
• You always have to be on guard against pickpockets. (你要時時提防扒手)
  － on 意為「處於…狀況 (或過程) 中」，這是抽象意思。

介系詞的位置與懸空

傳統的文法規則規定，子句或句子的末尾不應有介系詞。然而，我們有時確實要將介系詞與其後的受詞分開。這稱為介系詞懸空 (preposition stranding)，在非正式文體中很常見。例如：

• She was someone to whom you could talk. (她是一個你可以交談的人) (正式)
  She was someone who you could talk to. (非正式)
• In which room are they having lunch? (他們在哪個房間吃午餐？) (正式)
  Which room are they having lunch in? (非正式)

我們可以省略上下文中顯而易見的字詞，而使 wh 問句僅剩「wh 字 + 懸空的介系詞」。例如：

• A: The office is moving next month. (A：辦公室下個月要搬遷)
  B: Really, where to? (B：真的，搬去哪裡？)
• A: I’m going to buy some flowers online. (A：我要上網買一些花)
  B: Who for? (B：為誰買？)
  A: My mother. (A：我母親)