2020年4月26日 星期日

電影學英文(1): American sniper



今次開始一個新的系列,叫電影學英文系列。很多人用過電影學英文這手法教和學英文。的確,看電影學英文有很多好處,例如可以學到真正地道的英文(在今日介紹的這套電影,尤其是粗口),又可吸收不同的詞彙,另外也學到寫英文的結構。今次介紹的這齣戲,我會從詞彙角度看教它供我們學到的英文知識。我會從IMDB上描寫的情節的先後次序提及出現的值得留意的10個詞彙。

IMDB這樣描述電影第一幕:"In the opening scene, US Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is perched on a rooftop, scoping out the path of a US military convoy through his sniper rifle."perched 作不及物動詞是解作「坐在」,例如: We perched on the rock. 但這句的perched是被動式,是及物動詞,有點它解作「使....位於高處」,he is perched on a rooftop是他被置身於屋頂上.scope out指「仔細觀察」。情節跟著是:. The man disappears from the rooftop and a few moments later, a woman and a young boy appear in the doorway of the same building and walk toward the convoy. 這句出現convoy這個字。原來convoy是車隊,尤指護衛車隊。

電影下一幕是男主角的少年故事。IMDB有一句: His father reprimands him for treating his gun cavalierly. repirmand是責備、訓斥,留意英國讀音是  /ˈrep.rɪ.mɑːnd/,美式是  /ˈrep.rə.mænd/,cavalierly是cavalier的副詞,是「漫不經心地」。然後是點題的對白:In the next scene, seated at the family's dinner table, Chris' father tells the boys that there are three kinds of people in the world - sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. Sheep don't believe that there is evil in the world, wolves are predators who commit evil, and sheepdogs are blessed with the aggression and bravery to protect the world from evil. The speech clearly makes an impact on Chris.這段對白沒有甚麼難字,但很有意思。值得一提是最後一句用了makes an impact on,The speech clearly makes an impact on Chris是解「那演講深深影響了Chris」。

電影下一幕是男主角長大了與弟弟的故事:Years later, Chris is competing in rodeos with his younger brother traveling alongside him. rodeo是北美的牛仔競技表演,很有美國地道色彩的名詞。男主角表演完與弟弟回家時發現自己被戴綠帽,其實這幕有點不太合邏輯,明明是女朋友自己不忠,卻去駡男友失敗:She complains that he abandons her every weekend to go to rodeos, believing himself to be a cowboy when he's just a failed farmer.她說男主角是failed farmer.

電影再講他接受海豹特擊隊的訓練: Kyle goes through the rigorous training process, which includes being blasted with a powerful hose while exercising。rigorous是嚴密的、嚴格的,另外blast是爆破,因為男主解被長官用水喉射住。

電影這個時候就接回第一幕他在戰場上的情況:The film cuts back to the opening scene and Kyle watches the woman hand the grenade off to the young boy.grenade(讀/ɡrəˈneɪd/)是手榴彈。戰場上有人交了美軍想找的名字給他們:Kyle has the name checked out, which turns out to be useful intelligence, so they prepare to bring the cash to the man.這句的intelligence不是智彗,雖然都是不可數名詞,但這裡解「情報」,所以美國的CIA是Central Intelligence Agency。

重溫今日介紹的較有機會在寫作中用到的十個生字:perched, scope out, convoy, reprimand, make an impact on, rodeo, failed, rigorous, blast, grenade, intelligence. 

2020年4月19日 星期日

從句前comma的使用

前天同事因為要修改四年級文法練習補充,留意到有一句有although的句子,建議although之前加comma。同事問我意見,我說although像其他的subordinate conjunction,例如when, because,如果是置於句子中間,不需加上逗號。我這個說法的根據來自哪裡呢?我自己也要找一找。

Michael Swan的在其Practical English Usage關於punctuation標點的欄目下說,當從句置於句首時,經常用逗號分開,例如:If you are ever in Hong Kong, come and see me.但當從句置於句中呢?Michael Swan沒說清楚,只是他的例句Come and see me if you are ever in London就不用逗號。這就是同事跟我的爭拗點:我認為例句顯示從句置於句中就不用逗號,但同事見到六年級的教科書關於although從句置於中間的例句有逗號。

這個問題的答案原來不是易找,反而我在趙振才編著的《英語常見問題解答大詞典》,在comma一欄舉出了一個例子:When George was fourteen he became his father's helper. 趙認為若狀語從句置於主句之前,通常用逗號與主句分開,但如狀語從句短,不用逗號也可,如When he comes I will tell him to fetch the police.

但同事之所以認為although置於句子中間應該要加逗號,是因為Cambridge字典的例句都有逗號:



我查過Cobuild的Usage書,也沒有談及這話題,其字典的例句也是在句中間的although前放逗號。或許,有沒有逗號也沒所謂吧!

2020年4月12日 星期日

英文用法之C篇


讀音:
cafe,mosque vs synagogue 
-mosque 讀/mɒsk/, synagogue讀/ˈsɪn.ə.ɡɒɡ/

compliment, complement 
-兩者意思不同,但都有名詞和動詞之分,讀音有少少唔同,名詞讀/ˈkɒm.plɪ.mənt/, 動詞讀/ˈkɒmpləment

confidant vs confident
-confidant是知心友, 讀/ˈkɒn.fɪ.dænt/, 有少少不同confident的讀法

counsel, council
-兩者都讀/ˈkaʊn.səl/ 

詞彙:
call to
-如說我大聲呼喊他,很多人會說I call him, 但也可以i call to him, 反而i call him比較似「我打電話給他」

in that case, in which case
-in that case不難用,但有時也可in which case, 便不用full-stop句子,例如: He did not finish his homework, in which case he will be punished.

sb is certain that vs sth/sb is certain/sure to vs sb is certain of 
-我肯定會落雨,可以是I am certain that it will rain, 或It will be certain to rain

a chance/ a good chance/ little chance/ no chance/the chance/by chance
-chance是可數名詞亦是不可數名詞殅, 可以說There is a good chance of finding her (可數). 也可以是There is little chance of finding her. 

got it cheap/ played it cheaply
-cheap如果指買賣, 可以作副詞用, 例如I got the pair of shoes cheap in the mall. 

the chemist/the chemist's/ drugstore/ pharmacy 
-都是解藥房

select vs choose-
-select比choose正式

clothes vs clothing
-前者是plural noun, 後者是uncountable

cool vs cold
-cold比cool寒冷

collaborate vs cooperate vs co-operate
-其實三者無分別

comic vs comical vs funny
-三者接近無分別

consult, consult with
-兩者也可用

make breakfast vs prepare breakfast 
-前者較生活化,後者較正式

client vs customer
-client是客人,但不是買東西的客人

文法:
that也是that's subordinating conjunction 
-留意 that也是subordinating conjunction, 所以I know that he is gay, that是連接詞

finite clause vs non finite clause
-finite 是有時態的,non-finite沒有時態,例如-ing clause, Knowing that the exam is coming

complement (adjectives as subject complements vs object complements ), noun as object complement 
-有些動詞後接形谷詞作補語, 例如I am kind, am是linking verb,另外一種動詞不是linking verb, 例如: He died young. 

complete有比較級嗎?
-complete 若解完整,可有比較級,若解十分, 沒有比解級.

yet,then是conjunction嗎?
-yet是,then不是



2020年4月5日 星期日

英文用法之b篇

The YUNiversity — What's up with starting a sentence with "because"?

英語用法除了與易混淆字有關,也與字的配對和字的文法有關。今篇談談b開頭的字。

首先也談易混淆字。

例如badly有兩個意思。badly一個意思是bad的副詞,比較級是worse及worst,badly另一個意思是十分,比較級是more badly及most badly. become有很多相似字,例如get, grow, come, go都可以取代become成為become+形容詞的用法,例如:get dark, grow hot, come true, go cold, go wrong, turn yellow; 

行李可以是suitcase或case, 但也可只是bag。

beach是沙灘,shore是海岸,coast是沿海地區。

bear解忍受有4個同義詞: endure, stand,tolerate, put up with.

beside與besides兩字有相似及不同的地方。相似是大家也是介詞,只是beside是在某物旁邊,besides是除此之外,而besides跟名詞也可以跟動名詞。而不同是,besides也可以是副詞,也是解除此以外,例如:He is naughty. Besides, he is poor.

between與among的分別很多人聽過,就是between是兩個人或物之間,among是三個或以上的人或物之間,但留意以上的between是指位置,但如果是抽像指兩或者以上的人或物之間,也用between,例如:You can choose between A, B and C. 

brand是品牌,但make是型號。如:What make is your car?

bring是帶來,take是拿去,而fetch是拿來。

bust是弄壞,是break較非正的講法。

第二種是字的collocation。

例如barely要跟when,如:They had barely sat down when the shop needed to close. 

believe是相信,believe in是相信某事之存在。

belong to是屬於,但單單belong是表示某事某人在適合的地方。例如I don't feel I belong.

第三種是特別的文法問題。

例如because: 究竟because究竟可否用於句子開頭?只要是回答why的問題,直接用because做開頭是可以的.例如: Why are you tire? Because I just went hiking.

除了because, 其實都有很多人不知究竟but可否作句子開首。非正式語氣上,是可以的。

究竟by與with有什麼分別?by 是表示某事的完成方式,例如:I went to school by bus. 但with是表示工具,例如:I cleaned the mirror with a yellow cloth. 留意當用by表示方式,後接的名詞是沒有determiner的。