現代英語評註-2

alright

alright 這個字該怎麼用?

"all right" 有時寫成 alright：

The cooking was alright, but far more ambitious than it need have been. (飲食專欄文章)
Palmer may be a bit deaf, but he got the message alright. (高球比賽報導)

以往這種拼法被認為是不對的；那麼它現在變得可以接受了?

證據：

在一本英文詞庫中，"alright" 出現 884 次 (包括歌曲、電影和電視節目名稱的 101次)，而 "all right" 出現 20,000 次。

建議：

"alright" 的拼法已經相當普遍，但仍有許多人反對這種拼法，所以最好還是寫成 all right：

I spotted the family all right, and very nice they looked. (報紙的文章)
Although convinced that they would not like the product, they decided once they had tasted it that it was all right after all. (有關進口食品的文章)

research/researches

research 這個字根據字典的說法，可以用做不可數名詞及複數型名詞 (如下例)。

...his researches into which kinds of flowers bees get their best honey from.

這裡的 researches 並未具有真正複數的意思 -- 它未必是指諸多不同的研究工作或計畫。事實上，它可以用單數、不可數的 research 來取代，意思完全一樣。

那麼，若有的話，不可數的 research 和複數型的 researches 在意思上有何不同呢? 根據我們查閱英英字典的結果，research 比 researches 常用太多了，為逾 200 比 1。就意思而言，它們絕大部分都相同；然而，它們之間仍有少數有趣的不同之處。在可比較的例子中，research 第一個字母大寫以及置於另一名詞前面的情況比 researches 多很多。這可由官方機構名稱、職位名稱等等都是使用 research (而非researches) 得到證明：

...the Medical Research Council.
...the managing director of Psychometric Research and Development, of St Albans, Hertfordshire.
...a former senior research fellow at Manchester University.

這顯示 research 通常是指一種嚴肅、高度組織化的研究或研究工作，如下例所示：

NASA and the European Union are now funding research on subsonic aircraft emissions.

在這種句子中使用 researches 是很奇怪的事情。

相反地，researches 是指較不嚴謹、較業餘 (這個用語最能表達 researches 的意思了) 的研究，或強調研究工作的輔助性質：

The young poet's researches into folklore and occultism were voluminous.
To the motorsport fan, he was Sopwith the pioneer racing driver, although researches reveal that he did very little racing.
The profound connection between sex and food was the subject of our researches last Wednesday night.
...her belief that many readers in the British Library could undertake their researches in a lesser library.

join or join together?

你應該說 "join" 還是 "join together" 呢?

當你把兩物或零組件連接、接合、結合時，你是說它們被 joined 還是 joined together?

In order to cover a double bed, you'll need to join two widths of fabric. (雜誌的文章)
He could join two pieces of wood together so perfectly that you could hardly see the join. (有關帆船的書籍)
When assembling the pie, wet the edges where the two crusts join , to form a seal. (食譜)
This attractive Victorian Herb Garden comes in six sections which join together to make a hexagon. (目錄)

當一些人聯合起來做某事時，你是說 "they join to do it." 還是 "they join together to do it."?

Leading musicians and environmentalists joined to announce the launch of "Music for the World". (電台報導)
The owners can now join together to remedy the situation. (雜誌的文章)
Last week Britain and ASEAN joined in making their first formal diplomatic approach to Hanoi. (電台報導)
He urged rich and poor to join together in a common cause. (電台報導)

有些人認為 "join" 和 "together" 不可用在一起，因為 "together" 已含有 "join" 的部分意思，因此如果說物被 "joined together" 或人 "join together" 就變成重複了。

證據：

在一本英英字典中，物的接合、結合 "join" 或 being "joined" 被提到 450 次，而 "join together" 或 being "joined together" 被提到 142 次。人的聯合 "join" to do something 被提到 139 次，而 "join together" to do something 被提到 384 次。

建議：

物的接合、結合，你可以使用 join things 或 join things together，但 join 比較常見：

Those different structures make it hard to join the two materials in a circuit. (雜誌的文章)
Leave sufficient area to join the two sides together with glue and screws. (雜誌的文章)

如果說 people "join" to do something. 可能引起誤解，因為它可能指這些人要加入某個團體或組織。people join together to do something. 意思上比較清楚而且比較常見：

Dr Calman urged smaller companies to join together to provide workplace health care. (報紙的報導)

accompanied by or accompanied with?

你應該說 "accompanied by" 還是 "accompanied with" 呢?

"accompanied" 的後面應接那個介系詞才正確呢? 是 by 還是 with ?

He was accompanied by his wife, a French linguist. (報紙的文章)
He came by car, accompanied with a volunteer driver. (電台專訪)
The chargrilled beef was accompanied by a wonderful mushroom sauce. (報紙的文章)
Sprinkle the fennel over the dish and serve, accompanied with lemon wedges and a generous grinding of black pepper. (烹飪專欄)

過去，一般都認為我們應該說 a person was accompanied by another person 由 (某人) 陪同，由 (某人) 陪著同行，亦即 accompanied by 後面接的是人，如 a musician or dancer was accompanied by a pianist or guitarist (歌手或舞者由鋼琴師或吉他手伴奏)；但我們應該說 one thing was accompanied with another thing 附隨，附加 (某物)，亦即 accompanied with 後面接的是事物，如 that food was accompanied with a particular wine (那食物還附加一瓶獨特的酒) 或 a person's speech was accompanied with certain gestures (某人以手勢來補充或輔助他所說的話)

證據：

根據字典，"accompanied" 有數種不同的用法，但不管是哪一種，其後接 by 的情況都比接 with 的情況來得常見。例如，在談論食物附加酒或其他食物時，使用 accompanied by 比使用 accompanied with 還常見 10 倍；而在談論某一動作輔以或伴隨以手勢或其他動作時，使用 accompanied by 比使用 accompanied with 還常見 15 倍。

建議：

在現代英語中，accompanied by 的後面可以接人或事物，但主詞必須為相對應的人或事物，即 someone or something is accompanied by someone or something else，而 accompanied with 的後面只能接事物，即 a thing is accompanied with another thing；但 accompanied with 的後面不可以接人，你不可以說 a person is "accompanied with" another person。

inside, inside of , or within?

你應該說 "inside"， "inside of" 還是 "within" 呢?

有些人有時以 inside 或 inside of 來表示 (某事發生) 在 (某時間) 之內：

The Board will be wound up inside two weeks. (報紙的報導)
Inside of four years the yield from Ice Cold had fallen so low that he was practically dependent on timber for his whole income. (小說)

有人認為這些用法是錯誤的。他們認為應使用 within 來取代 "inside" 或 "inside of"：

Under the new law, claims must be made within six months. (報紙的報導)
The Prokofiev recording was completed within a week. (報紙的文章)

有些人有時以 inside 或 inside of 來表示在內心 (有某種情緒)：

All her repressed fury surged up inside her. (小說)
The emotions were bottled up deep inside of him. (心裡學書籍)

inside 用在這類句子中被認為是可以接受的，但 "inside of" 則不行。有時你會聽到 inside of 被用來替換 "inside" 的情況：

Right now groups are trying to make vaccines that will kill the parasite when it's developing inside of the liver. (電台的報導)

在標準英語中，inside of 的這項用法不被接受。

證據：

根據一本有關英式英語的專書和相關的字典，(某事發生) 在 (某時間) 之內的 "inside" 用法出現逾 500 次之多，而 "inside of" 僅出現 10 次；至於使用 "within" 來表達相同意思的情況則約有 8,000 次。在內心 (有某種情緒) 的 "inside" 用法出現 1,600 次，而 "inside of" 僅出現 74 次。至於在 "inside" 和 "inside of" 可以互換的情況，"inside" 出現多達 16,000 次，而 "inside of" 僅出現 124 次。

建議：

在現代英語中，使用 inside 來表示 (某事發生) 在 (某時間) 之內的意思，已被廣泛接受，但在正式英語中使用 within 可能比較好：

The results of analyses should be available within 10 days. (報紙的報導)
The City Council said the project should be finished within two years. (報紙的報導)

最後，使用 inside 一定比使用 inside of 來得好。

advertise or advertize?

你應該說 "advertise" 還是 "advertize" 呢?

有時你會見到 "advertise" 被拼成 advertize：

We now feel ready to advertize in the local press. (有關福音傳播的書)
Holidays advertized in this brochure will operate from 1st April to 31st October. (度假小冊子)

這種拼法普遍被視為是錯誤的。

證據：

在一項相關研究中，在英式英語方面，"advertise" 出現逾 12,000 次，而 "advertize" 出現 46 次。在美式英語方面，"advertise" 出現約 5,000 次，而 "advertize" 一次也沒有。

建議：

對於這個字，你應該拼成 advertise，而非 advertize。

each side or either side?

你應該說 "each side" 還是 "either side" 呢?

如果有東西或人位在你的左右兩邊，你是說 they are on each side of you 還是 they are on either side of you 呢?

George took a photograph with me in the centre and Joe and Ken on each side of me.
We took our places on either side of the referee.
The rain had turned the ditches on each side of the lane into muddy little rivers.
Widely separated houses straggled on either side of the road.

過去，一般都認為人或東西位在某人或某物的兩邊時，正確的用法是 on each side of someone or something，而不應使用 on either side。

證據：

證據顯示，在這類句子中，使用 "either" 的次數是使用 "each" 的兩倍。在一本英英字典中，"either" side 用來表示人或東西位在某人或某物的兩邊的次數有 1,012 次，而 "each" side 為 453 次。

建議：

在現代英語中，你可以說 people or things are on each side or either side of someone or something。

The gunmen ran up on each side of their vehicle.
Tractors on either bank drag the platform back and forth across the water.

following or after?

你應該說 "following" 還是 "after" 呢?

following 經常被 (尤其是被新聞記者和新聞播報人員) 用做介系詞：

Following newspaper reports about the doctor's illness, 4000 people telephoned a helpline set up by the authority. (報紙的報導)
The League moved to Tunis in 1979 following Egypt's peace treaty with Israel. (電台的報導)

過去，這種用法被視為錯誤。一般認為在這類句子中應使用 after 而非 "following"。但這似乎遺漏了一項重點，即 "following" 通常被用在兩件事之間有某種關連的情況，而非用在一件事只是繼另一件事之後發生的情況。

建議：

following 被當做介系詞使用的情況在新聞業和新聞廣播中早已被廣泛地接受，且不再被視為錯誤。然而，在其他寫作或一般口語中，它似乎不適當：

Following an inquiry into the Risley disturbances, the Home Secretary announced that the men's remand section was to close down. (報紙的報導)
The man was arrested this year following a tip-off from a Russian defector. (報紙的報導)

即使在新聞英語中，若在表示一件事只是繼另一件事之後發生，而兩件事之間沒有任何實質關連的情況中使用 following，也會令人感到奇怪和突兀。在這類情況中，最好使用 after：

He always took a walk after lunch. (訃文)
There was a reception after the concert. (報紙的文章)

firstly or first?

你應該說 "firstly" 還是 "first" 呢?

firstly 最常用在下列的文句中：

The attraction of foreign currency loans is twofold. Firstly, applicants are not tied to the interest rate in one country . Secondly, profits are to be made from dealing in currencies. (報紙的文章)
I try to ask myself three questions every year. Firstly, am I learning anything? Then, will the bank manager still lend me money? And, finally, is it fun? (報紙的文章)

在這些句子中，firstly 係做為句子副詞，亦即它是修飾整個句子，而非只是修飾句中某一動詞或形容詞。過去，像這種 firstly 用法被視為是錯誤的；一般認為應該使用 first。現今，firstly 已被接受。

有時 firstly 被用做一般副詞，而非句子副詞：

The money goes firstly to the landowner, but is soon spread around. (報紙文章引述一名地主的話)
I will react to that in some detail before Tuesday, but I wish to listen firstly to what my colleagues have to say. (電台專訪)

一般的看法是，在這種句子中應使用 first，而非 "firstly"。

建議：

要修飾整個句子或子句時，應該只用 firstly：

The concern is two-fold: firstly, that there's a shortage of credit , and secondly that there's a general slowdown in the economy. (電台的報導)
He believes that repossessions will continue to rise until Christmas, firstly because interest rates do not have immediate effect, and secondly because the recession has reduced the earnings of many homeowners. (電台的報導)

僅修飾動詞時不可使用 "firstly"。例如，你不可以說 "He spoke firstly to the Prime Minister."。在這種句子中，你應使用 first：

She went first to Frankfurt, where she spoke to our correspondent Matt Frei. (電台的報導)
Easter Island was first settled around AD400 by Polynesians. (書評)

just because

"just because" 該怎麼用呢?

just because 有時出現在下列等句子中：

Just because it's a radio station for women doesn't mean it will be good for expressing women's views. (報紙的文章)
Just because I go to church, it doesn't mean that I don't get tempted to do things that I shouldn't. (雜誌的文章)

這種用法通常被視為不合文法。一般認為應使用 the fact that 而非 "just because"：(the fact 與 that 這個連接詞所引導的名詞主句係同位格，當句子的主詞。)

The fact that there are no reported incidents does not mean there are no problems. (雜誌的文章)
The fact that something is technically possible does not necessarily mean it will become a commonplace feature of day-to-day life. (報紙的文章)

證據：

在一項研究調查中，"just because" 後面接 "doesn't mean" 的情況出現 352 次，大多是在口語中，而 "the fact that" 後面接 "doesn't mean" 的情況出現 89 次，也大多是在口語中。

建議：

在會話或非正式寫作中，我們可以將 just because 與 "doesn't mean" 連用，但在正式文章中，最好避免這種用法，而應使用 the fact that：

The fact that some ethnic conflicts now seem insoluble does not mean that all are. (雜誌的文章)
Lord Wakeham emphasised that the fact that a complainant had previously sought publicity did not mean that the press was entitled to publish articles on any subject involving that person. (報紙的報導)

glance or glimpse?

你應該說 "glance" 還是 "glimpse" 呢?

這兩個字都是匆匆一瞥的意思，所以有時會搞混。

glance at 的意思是短暫、迅速的 "look at"，而 "look at" 是指刻意而有目的地用心去看：

I glanced at the poster and saw that they were performing something called Il Trittico. (報紙的文章)

你也可以使用 give (人事物) a glance 或 take a glance at (人事物)：

She gave him a quick glance . (小說)
He took one glance at the paintings, then hurried away. (小說)

而 at first glance 意為「乍看之下」，用來形容對某人或某物迅速看一眼所留下的第一印象：

At first glance he looks the typical North Queensland farmer. (報紙的報導)

glimpse 的意思是短暫、迅速的 "see"，而 "see" 強調的是「看到」的意思：

Through open windows I glimpsed veiled women, and men in white robes. (報紙的文章)

你也可以使用 catch a glimpse of (人事物)：

He may have caught a glimpse of the gunman before he was shot. (電台的報導)

建議：

記住：glance at 是短暫、迅速的 "look at"，而 glimpse 是短暫、迅速的 "see"。所以你可以 glance at something，但不能 "glimpse at" something；你可以 take a glance at something，但不能 "take a glimpse at" something：

Dr Thomas glanced at the wrist-watch he was wearing. (報紙的文章)
He took a quick glance back towards the shipping lane. (小說)

你可以 catch a glimpse of something，但不能 "catch a glance of" something：

I caught my first glimpse of Yosemite's spectacular valley from behind a badly scratched coach window. (旅遊文章)

使用 at first glance 比 "at first glimpse" 來得好：

Both lenses appear at first glance to be very conventional. (雜誌的文章)

licence or license?

你應該說 "licence" 還是 "license" 呢?

你何時要使用 licence，又何時要使用 license 呢?

Paolo had left his identity card and driving licence at home. (報紙的報導)
Ask to see a taxi driver's license before you get in the car. (雜誌的文章)
She objected to a decision to licence the new sauna which Mr Haig wished to open near her home. (報紙的報導)
The company has decided to license its operating system to other manufacturers. (報紙的報導)
148 licenced landfill sites are situated within areas of carboniferous limestone. (有關洞穴的書籍)
The firm saves £46,000 a year by recycling oil instead of sending it to a licensed landfill site. (報紙的報導)

在英式英語中，一般認為名詞拼成 licence，動詞拼成 license 是正確的。一般咸認形容詞係衍生自動詞，所以應拼成 licensed。(然而，我們無法證明這一點。許多相似的形容詞係衍生自名詞，如 "helmeted", "canopied" 和 "skilled"。)

證據：

在一本英英字典有關英式英語的部分，"licence" 做名詞使用的情況出現約 8,500 次，而做動詞使用的情況出現 78 次。 "license" 做動詞使用的情況出現約 2,000 次，而做名詞使用的情況出現 326 次。"licensed" 和 "licenced" 做形容詞使用的情況分別出現 800 次和 57 次。

在美式英語的部分，"license" 做名詞使用的情況出現約 1,600 次，而做動詞使用的情況出現 630 次。"licence" 做名詞使用的情況出現 63 次，而做動詞使用的情況出現 126 次。形容詞都是使用 "licensed"。

建議：

licence 應僅用做名詞：

He is accused of fraudulently practising engineering without a licence. (報紙的報導)
He was subsequently released on licence. (報紙的報導)

在英式英語中，license 應只用做動詞：

Kobe Kogyo was the first Japanese company to license the transistor. (雜誌的文章)

形容詞可以是 licensed 或 licenced，但 licensed 比較常見：

Other forms of gambling are banned on licensed premises. (報紙的文章)
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association. (組織名稱)

identical with or identical to?

你應該說 "identical with" 還是 "identical to" 呢?

identical with 和 identical to 的意思都是 "完全相同的"，"一模一樣的"。

They emerged from the six-storey apartment block, identical with some twenty others around. (小說)
They bought a terminal identical to the ones used by the bank. (報紙的報導)
The Bolsheviks came to regard the interests of Russia as identical with those of Communism. (歷史書籍)
Of course national interest is not identical to the interests of the top 100 companies. (報紙的文章)

過去，一般認為 "something is identical with something else." 這種說法是正確的。

證據：

證據顯示，現今 "identical to" 比 "identical with" 還要常用很多。在一本英英字典中，identical 後面接 to 的情況出現 746 次，而接 with 的情況出現 163 次。

建議：

在現代英語中，你可以說 "something is identical to or identical with something else."，但 identical to 比較常用。

a whole 'nother

有人問我下面這個問題，我原本是想將它放在「文法問題解答」中回答，但後來決定在「現代英語評註」中加以詳述。

Q：我聽到 "a whole 'nother" 的次數越來越多，它似乎是對 another 這個字的一種潤飾!?

在一本英英字典中，我發現英式和美式英語使用 "a whole 'nother" 的情況有 10 次。正如問題中所指出的，它似乎是在加強 "another" 的語氣。以下為兩個例句：

That will require a whole nother round of taxes and a whole nother round of spending cuts later in the year, if he can get that far. (英國全國公共電台)
It was, as the kids say, a walk into a whole 'nother world. (英國書籍)

"another" 也可以拆開來插入其他字詞，如下面這句英式口語：

So it's a kind of nother discipline whichever astronomy which is kind of you know getting more involved in...

"whole" 在通俗英語 (口語和文章) 中被用在 "new" 和其他形容詞的前面來加強語氣：

It was as if a whole new world opened up for me. (英國雜誌)
Who is going to instruct the instructors who're going to instruct the trainee pilots? It's a whole new ball-game. (英國書籍)
Your choice of tree shape can give a whole different look to the garden. (英國雜誌)
To meet the demands of the new marketplace, firms need to have a whole different attitude toward workers and the entire work process. (英國全國公共電台)

同樣地，"whole" 也可以出現在 "other" 的前面：

She's introduced me to a whole other world. (英國雜誌)
There is a whole other debate on whether it is necessary to detonate these weapons to test them. (英國全國公共電台)

這項用法可能是 "another" 拆開後加入 "whole" 而變成 "a whole 'nother" 的原因。

schoolmate

在英式英語中，your mates 就是 your friends。

但 schoolmates 和 schoolfriends 這兩個字的意思並非完全相同。schoolfriends 是指彼此之間要好的朋友：(以下為從一本英國出版的英英字典中找出的例句。)

His school friends all live in Rye and he has to stay overnight with them if he wants to see them out of school.
Patrick has become even more mischievous since he started school, especially when his schoolfriends come to play.
She was going to see a movie with a schoolfriend.

但 schoolmates 則未必有這種「要好」的意思，請看下面的例句：

I hated my schoolmates.
She found lessons boring and her schoolmates cruel.
He had been forced by his school-mates to eat grass.

我在這裡所舉的例子頗為極端，目的在凸顯 schoolmates 和 schoolfriends 之間的不同；schoolmates 只是指同校或同班的同學，不管他們是不是朋友。schoolfriends 也是 schoolmates，但反之則不然。

然而，這兩個字經常被用來指過去曾在同一所學校的校友 -- 即使他們現在已經長大離開學校：

He is very loyal to old school friends.
...Dr Maurice Morton, a former schoolfriend of Mr Jameson.
He left home at 22, bought a ramshackle maisonette in West Norwood, south London, with John Irwin, a school friend with whom he still writes comedy material.
...Doris Parry, another old schoolmate, though not as close as Mary and Susan had been.
He started the magazine with an unemployed former schoolmate.
Some of his schoolmates were businessmen.

在這些例句中，有的使用了 old 和 former，但並非全部，因此不能視為特定的用法。