2013年1月10日星期四

古德明: 與其;用不用and?




問:「與其……不如」的英文說法是甚麼?

答:英文有幾個說法,可以表達「與其……不如」的意思,例如may / might as well...asnot so much... asmore... thanwould rather... thanprefer... to / rather than,謹各舉一例:(1You might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb(成語:與其因偷小羊而受絞刑,不如偷大羊)。(2The Chinese Communist Party is not so much a political organisation as a criminal gang / The CCP is more a criminal gang than a political organisation(中國共產黨與其說是政治組織,不如說是犯罪集團)。(3I would rather do it today than tomorrow / I prefer to do it today rather than tomorrow(與其明天才做,我不如今天做)。

問:以下一句,應不應用and字?──You can enjoy superior service and at a low cost(你可以低價獲得優良服務)。

答:一般而言,and接連的單字、片語(phrase)等,即使刪去其一,句子文法仍然正確,例如You will have a wife and children(你會有妻子兒女)這一句,縮減作You will have a wifeYou will have children,文法都正確。

讀者示下那一句,縮減作You can enjoy superior service是正確的,縮減作You can enjoy at a low cost就不正確了:enjoy之後應用名詞,不用介系詞。所以,那一句不應加andAt a low cost用在名詞service之後,以說明service的性質,則是正確用法。