After 和 behind 的用法差異

After 主要當介系詞、副詞和連接詞用,而 behind 則主要當介系詞和副詞用。這兩個字的用法可謂「小同大異」,除了有個地方可以互換之外,其他用法皆大異其趣、截然不同。

After 用作介系詞時意為「在 … 之後,在 … 以後;在 … 後面;隨 … 之後」,是指時間的先後順序。例如:

  • After graduation Allen is going to study abroad. (艾倫畢業後要出國留學)
  • We’re planning to meet at half after ten. (我們打算十點半見面)
  • After you, please. (您先請)
  • After you with the computer, please. (請您用完電腦後給我用)
  • Mary came in after John. (瑪麗在約翰之後進來)
  • Paul slammed the door after him. (保羅砰的一聲隨手關上了門)

After 用作副詞時意為「之後,以後」,也是指時間的先後順序。在此用法中,after 通常與其他字構成副詞片語。例如:
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Below 還是 under 呢?

在「Below, beneath, under, underneath (preps.)」一文中,筆者已就這幾個介系詞在指位置時它們意思的細微差異,做了詳細的解說。本文將就 below 和 under 與測量單位和數字連用來表示「低於;少於;小於」(less than) 的意思時常見的錯誤,做一說明。

年齡

在指年齡時要用 under,不用 below。然而,有些字典亦使用 below,讓人感到困惑,殊不知「未成年」的英文是 underage 而不是 belowage (沒這個字)。例如:

  • We have three children under the age of six. (我們有三個不到六歲的孩子) (正)
  • The nursery is open for children under 4. (這家托兒所收 4歲以下的兒童) (正)

測量單位

在指時間和重量時要用 under,不用 below。例如:

  • The sports car can get from standstill up to 100 kilometers per hour in under five seconds. (這部跑車從靜止加速到時速 100 公里還不到五秒) (正)
    The sports car can get from standstill up to 100 kilometers per hour in below six seconds. (誤)
  • A visa is not required for a stay of under six months. (停留六個月以內不需要簽證) (正)
    A visa is not required for a stay of below six months. (誤)
  • This type of schoolbag was just under two kilos, so they could not hinder development in schoolchildren. (這款書包重量不到兩公斤,所以它們不會妨礙學童的發育) (正)
    This type of schoolbag was just below two kilos, so they could not hinder development in schoolchildren. (誤)
  • The newborn baby weighed under three kilos. (這個新生兒重量不到三公斤) (正)
    The newborn baby weighed below three kilos. (誤)

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Nearby 的用法

Nearby 可當形容詞和副詞用,前者意為「附近的」,後者意為「在附近」。例如:

  • My father lives in a nearby village. (我父親住在附近的村莊) (nearby 為形容詞)
  • The gymnasium nearby can seat 50, 000 people. (附近那座體育館可容納五萬人) (nearby 為形容詞)
  • My father lives nearby. (我父親住在附近) (nearby 為副詞)

從上面的例句可知,當形容詞用的 nearby 可放在其所修飾的名詞之前或之後,但放在名詞之後的情況比較少見。

Nearby 不能用作介系詞,在需要用到介系詞的場合,我們必須使用 near。例如:

  • John has been working in a restaurant near the park. (約翰一直在公園附近的一家餐廳工作) (正)
  • John has been working in a restaurant nearby the park. (誤)

Luck 和 lucky 的用法

Luck 是名詞,意為「運氣;幸運,好運」,其後往往接介系詞 in 或 with 再接人事物來表示在某人事物上或對某人事物的運氣;lucky 是形容詞,意為「幸運的,運氣好的」。例如:

  • Bruce always wears a charm that he thinks brings him good luck. (布魯斯總是戴著一個他認為會給他帶來好運的護身符)
  • John seems to have had a lot of bad luck in finding a job. (約翰找工作時似乎碰到許多倒楣的事情)
  • My luck held/lasted and I found a gas station just in time. (好運與我常相左右 / 好運一直伴隨著我,我即時找到一處加油站)
  • A lucky person won the first prize in the competition. (一位幸運兒贏得了這項比賽的首獎)
  • You’re lucky to work for such a nice company. (你能在這麽好的一家公司工作真是幸運)
  • A: I got promoted yesterday. (A:我昨天升官了)
    B: Lucky you! (B:你真是幸運!)

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Age 的名詞用法

Age 用作名詞時主要意為「年齡」。例如:

  • Robert looks a lot older but he is actually the same age as me. (羅伯特看起來老很多,但他其實跟我同齡)
  • The average age of the students was under 20. (這些學生的平均年齡不到 20 歲)

At the age of 意為「(某人) 幾歲時」,是個常用的片語。例如:

  • His daughter started to learn the piano at the age of four. (他女兒四歲開始學鋼琴)
  • The two brothers became professional tennis players at the ages of twenty-four and twenty-seven. (這兩個兄弟在 24 和 27 歲時成為職業網球選手)

At the age of 為固定用語,所以在指人的年齡時不可使用 in the age of。例如:
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-ish, -y

在非正式的上下文中或講話時,我們可以在一些字的後面加上 -ish 和 -y 這兩個字尾來故意「含糊其辭」,表示「大約,大概」的意思。-ish 通常加在數字、時間或數量的後面,例如:

  • A: How old do you think our manager is? (A:你認為我們經理幾歲?)
    B: Fortyish. Possibly younger. (B:四十歲左右。可能更年輕)
  • I’ll call you at sevenish and then we can discuss that matter. (我會在大概七點左右打電話給你,到時候我們可以討論那件事)

-ish 可以加到形容詞、副詞和介系詞後面。例如:

  • A: Is he tall, Amy’s new boyfriend? (A:他,艾美的新男友,個子高不高?)
    B: Well, tallish. (B:嗯,還算高)
  • A: Is it far from the shopping mall? (A:它離購物商場遠不遠?)
    B: No, but it’s near the MRT station, well, nearish to the MRT station. (B:不遠,但靠近捷運站,嗯,蠻靠近捷運站的)

必須注意的是,-ish 和 -y 通常不能互換。-ish 比 -y 來得常用,-y 大多跟顏色連用,但 black 和 white 除外,亦即不可將 -y 加到 black 或 white 的後面。例如:

  • What color tie do you think goes with this shirt? The blue one? Or should it be the greeny one? (你認為什麼顏色的領帶跟這件襯衫搭配呢?藍色的這條嗎?還是應該是略帶綠色的這一條呢?)

使用 abroad 時常見的錯誤

Abroad 與 go, live, study 等動詞連用時一定用作副詞,此時它意為「在國外;到國外」。例如:

  • We intend to go abroad at least once a year from now on. (我們打算從現在起一年至少出國一次) (正)
    We intend to go to abroad at least once a year from now on. (誤)
  • My brother is still living abroad. (我哥哥仍住在國外) (正)
    My brother is still living in abroad. (誤)
  • Blanche would like to study abroad. (布蘭琪想要出國留學) (正)
    Blanche would like to study in abroad. (誤)
  • We’re planning our first trip abroad/overseas. (我們正在規劃我們的首次出國旅遊) (正)
    We’re planning our first trip to abroad/overseas. (誤)

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Wait 還是 wait for 呢?

Wait 意為「等,等候」,可當及物和不及物動詞用,若受詞為時間,其後可接或不接介系詞 for。例如:

  • They waited hours to get the tickets for the exhibition. (他們等了好幾個小時才買到展覽會入場券) (正)
    They waited for hours to get the tickets for the exhibition. (正)
  • I waited 30 minutes for the bus. (我等了三十分鐘公車) (正)
    I waited for 30 minutes for the bus. (正)

然而,當受詞為人事物時,wait 的後面須有 for。例如:
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According to me, on my opinion, in my point of view

這幾個片語都是在表達「根據我的看法」、「依我看」、「在我看來」的意思,但它們的用字或寫法都錯了。正確版本敘述如下:

According to 後面只能接別人的意見、看法或說法。若要表示我或我們的意見,則必須使用 “in my opinion/view” 或 “in our opinion/view”。例如:

  • According to the students, Mary’s a good teacher. (根據學生的說法,瑪麗是個好老師) (正)
  • In my opinion/view, Mary’s a good teacher. (依我看,瑪麗是個好老師) (正)
  • According to me, Mary’s a good teacher. (誤)

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使用 without 時常見的錯誤

Without 為介系詞,意為「無,沒有,不」。例如:

  • Money in not everything but nothing can be done without money. (錢不是萬能,但沒有錢卻萬萬不能)
  • I like to drink coffee without sugar. (我喜歡喝不加糖的咖啡)

在上面的例句中,without 後面都是接不可數名詞。若 without 後接單數可數名詞,則該名詞前面一定要有不定冠詞 a/an。例如:

  • Henry left us without a word. (亨利一句話也沒說就離開我們了) (正)
    Henry left us without word. (誤)
  • He can do mathematics without a calculator. (他不用計算機就能做數學計算) (正)
    He can do mathematics without calculator. (誤)
  • Don’t go out without an umbrella. It’s raining cats and dogs. (沒帶傘不要外出。外面正下著傾盆大雨) (正)
    Don’t go out without umbrella. It’s raining cats and dogs. (誤)

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