編輯/林以晨
though / although / even though / despite / in spite of 用法跟中文意思,你都懂了嗎?很多人寫英文的文件或是作文時,常犯的其中一種錯誤叫做「中式英文」,而這種問題通常源自於字義解釋上的模糊,而這種狀況就是有很多個英文單字,用中文翻譯起來是一樣的意思。
在這些字中,最讓人混淆的就是 though / although / even though / despite / in spite of,這五個的英文意思都是「雖然…」,但是其中還是有一些不同之處,因此,英文老師 Adam 在 Engvid 上介紹了如何分辨這一組相似字。
一般來說,我們會將 though / although / even though 放在同一類,而 despite / in spite of 則放在一起。
1. though / although / even though + 副詞子句(S + V)
though:這是一個相對不正式的用法,除了放在句首,也可以放在句末。
although:它和 though 是一樣的意思,也有近乎一模一樣的用法,但是要注意的是,although 不可以放在句末。
even though:可以看到這個詞組多了一個字「even」,特別強調所連接的副詞子句,語意上通常用在強調「(落空的)期待」。
2. despite / in spite of + 名詞
despite 與 in spite of 的用法與語意基本上完全一樣,這兩個可以互相代換。
e.g Although the exam was difficult, I think I did well.
= I think I did well although the exam was difficult.
although 可以放在句首或是句中,但是要注意放在句中實,前面不需要打上逗號。
e.g I think I did well though the exam was difficult.
= Though the exam was difficult, I think I did well.
= The exam was difficult. I think I did well, though.
though 與 although 用法一樣,但是 though 可以放在句尾,要注意的是,如果要把 though 放在句尾,前面主要子句以及副詞子句必須拆成兩個獨立的完整句子。
e.g Even though the exam was easy, I failed.
這裡可以看到使用 even though 時,特別強調「(落空的)期待」。
e.g Despite his best efforts, the man just couldn’t succeed.
= The man just couldn’t succeed despite his best efforts.
= In spite of his best efforts, the man just couldn’t succeed.
= The man just couldn’t succeed in spite of his best efforts.
despite 與 in spite of 用法一樣,可以放句首或句中,後面接上名詞。
e.g Despite being on time to the lecture, we were still not admitted.
因為 despite / in spite of 詞性是介係詞,後面只能接上名詞或是動名詞。