Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Where are you going ?

Where are you going ? What is it for ?

蘋果日報 - 介系詞和連字號的省略
2007-05-30 名采論壇 E10 征服英語 古德明

Where are you going to?(你要去哪裏?)How long did Amy cheer for her classmates for?(愛美為同學歡呼了多久?)When will the cruise start at?(遊船什麼時候起航?)What did they use the chopsticks for?(他們用筷子來幹什麼?)這四句末尾的介系詞(preposition)可不可以略去?第一句的to可以略去。以where(哪裏)開始的問句,往往略去to字,例如:Where have you been (to)?(你去過哪裏?)第二句的for也可略去。以how long(有多久)開始的問句,for往往也會省略,例如:How long have you been waiting (for)?(你等了多久?)第三句的at必須刪去。When(什麼時候)是不和at連用的,但和when同義的at what time則一般略去at字,例如:When / (At) What time did he arrive?(他是什麼時候來到的?)第四句的for不可以略去。What ...for(為什麼、用來作什麼)那個for字,假如略去了,句子意思可能不同,例如:(1)What is it?(那是什麼?)(2)What is it for?(那是用來作什麼的?)

Winter-time和wintertime(冬天)有什麼分別?Wintertime寫作winter time或winter-time都可以,意思沒有分別。複合字(compound word)一般都是先用連字號(hyphen)把兩個字連在一起,漸漸合成一字,例如week-end(週末)、tea-pot(茶壺)、break-through(突破)、health-food(健康食品)、word-processor(文字處理機)等,現在往往寫作weekend、teapot、breakthrough、healthfood、wordprocessor。

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