2013年4月9日星期二

古德明: 安排事務




問:「我安排了她照顧嬰兒」、「我安排了今晚和她見面」這兩句,英文可不可寫作 I have arranged her to look after the baby / She has been arranged to look after the baby 以及 I have arranged seeing her tonight

答:Arrange一字,可用於四個句式:to arrange somethingto arrange to do somethingto arrange for someone to do somethingto arrangethat 子句(clause),例如:(1I have arranged everything(一切我都安排好了)。(2We have arranged to meet at the restaurant(我們安排了在餐廳見面)。(3I have arranged for him to handle the matter(我安排了他處理這件事)。(4God has arranged that he should die there(上天安排了他要死在那裏)。

根據上述句式,讀者示下的第二句應作I have arranged to see her tonight,第一句則應作I have arranged for her to look after the baby:留意這一句的arranged是不及物動詞(intransitive verb),沒有受詞(object),所以不能改為被動語態,即不能說She has been arranged to look after the baby,要表達這個意思,須改用其他寫法,例如:Arrangements have been made for her to look after the baby。當然,你也可以說I have arranged for the baby to be looked after by herIt has been arranged that she will look after the baby

She has been arranged to look after the baby這類句子,偶然也會見於英語國家的人筆下,但文法其實不對,不宜仿效。