問:On / at / in the farm(在農場)這說法,三個介系詞是不是都可以用?
答:Longman Dictionary of Common Errors說:You live / work / stay "on" a farm, NOT
"in"(在農場居住、工作、留宿,都應說on a farm,不可用in字)。不過,日本著名的《英和活用大辭典》farm字條下卻有many animals in the farm(農場上不少動物)這說法,英美書籍說in
the farm的也多不勝數,所以我只能說:in the farm的in字,或被視為錯誤,最好用on取代。名作家奧威爾(George Orwell)也會用on,例如他在Animal Farm裏說:Hitherto the animals on the farm had had a rather foolish
custom(農場上的動物,向來有個愚昧習慣)。
至於at a farm,英語學者Frederick
Wood認為和on a farm有別:A
farm-worker works "on" a farm, but someone who is doing work not
connected with farming, but on the farm premises, works "at" a farm(在農場上從事農業,叫做work on a farm;在農場上從事農業以外工作,叫做work
at a farm)。此外:Even for farm-workers, "at" is
used if a particular farm is specified(指明是某個農場,則即使從事農業,也應用at字),例如:(1)He works at Blackmoor Farm(他在布萊穆爾農場工作)。(2)That is the farm at
which I used to work(我從前在這農場工作)。這at、on的分別;我們可以遵從,但以上所引例句的at,也會有人用on:奧威爾就常說on Animal Farm,不說at。