Peter: Twenty people died in the car accident this morning. Mary: That is quite a tragic piece of news! My prayers go out to all of the families affected by this horrific accident.
從 Mary 的整個說話中,我們可以看出她所說的 "quite a tragic piece of news" 是指「一個非常悲慘的新聞」而不是「一個頗為悲慘的新聞」。
In "Catch-22", a novel written by Joseph Heller...
In "Catch-22," a novel written by Joseph Heller...
究竟那逗號 (comma) 應該放在引號 (quotation marks 或 inverted commas) 的外面還是裡面呢?
答案是:前者是英式寫法,也就是我們香港人比較熟悉的寫法;後者則是美式寫法。
在 "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" 裡就有以下的一句話:
In accordance with the "Master Plan," I was hired by a "Big 8" accounting firm...
"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" 的作者 Robert Kiyosaki 正正是一個美籍日本人。他所寫的是美式英語。留意逗號是在引號的裡面。
我們再看看課本 "Criminal Law" 裡的一句話:
In fact it is rare for the courts to have to consider the precise meaning of 'intention'.
作者 Jonathan Herring 是一個英國人,所用的自然是英式英語,所以他把句號放在引號的外面。小心的讀者可能會發現:為什麼在 "Master Plan",作者會用 double quotation marks,但在 'intention' 一字,作者用上 single quotation marks 呢?
那正是英美英語的另一個分別:美國人習慣用 double quotation marks ("..."),而英國人則習慣用 single quotation marks ('...')。
這句子:
In fact it is rare for the courts to have to consider the precise meaning of 'intention'.
如果是由美國人所寫,就會變成:
In fact it is rare for the courts to have to consider the precise meaning of "intention." (用上 double quotation marks,和 full stop 在引號裡面。)
昨天有學生問我「Peter 和我曾經是朋友」可不可以寫成 "I and Peter used to be friends."。文法上是可以的,但我們不會這麼說。西方人為了表現自己的謙遜 (self-effacement),會把自己放在最後:
Peter and I used to be friends.
假如有三個人:
Paul, Mary and I went fishing yesterday.
有一點值得留意:西方人的英文文法不一定就是對的。比方說,他們很多時候會把以上的話說成 "Me and Peter used to be friends."。這絕對是錯的,因為 "Peter" 和「我」同樣是句子中的主語 (subject),所以「我」必須以 "I" 帶出,而不是用作為 object 的 "me"。
根據他一直以來的言論,他不單是 "being rude",他更加是 "rude"。"You're rude." 和 "You're being rude." 的分別是什麼呢?
"You are rude." 的意思當然就是「你很無禮」或「你很粗魯」。這是人本質的問題。換句話說,"You always act / talk rudely."。
"You are being rude." 的意思就不同了。它的意思是「這一刻,你的言論或行為很無禮/粗魯」,相當於 "You are acting or talking rudely now."。你也可以把這句子理解為「你刻意作出無禮的行為/言論」, "You are deliberately talking/acting rudely."。這跟一個人的本質不一定有關。
跟人說 "You're stupid." 就是說「你很傻」,跟人說 "You're being stupid." 則是「你在裝傻」,意思非常不同。
"She's funny." 的意思是「她這個人很有趣」;"She's being funny." 的意思則是「她在開玩笑,不是認真的」。
那麼你覺得孔慶東是 "rude" 還是 "being rude" 呢?由於他已經不只一次說出瘋癲的言論,我相信他這個人本身就是 "rude"。In other words, he's not just being rude but he IS rude.