【英文文法】英文中’s的用法大整理


圖片來源:PhilippT

編輯/陳佩祺

英文在右上方的一撇到底有什麼功用呢?小小的一撇其實有不同意思喔,一起跟著Lucy來看看吧!

1. Possessive case 所有格

singular nouns 單數名詞: + ’s
ex: Lucy’s car is orange. / I ate dinner at Will’s house.

singular nouns ending in –s 以S結尾的單數名詞: + ’s (有爭議,但多數人接受) / + ’ (只加一撇)
ex: The actress’s role was difficult. 那位女演員的角色很難詮釋。

*不論你選擇用哪一種,整篇文章都用同一種形式就好

regular plural nouns 規律複數名詞: 字尾已經有S,所以加 ’ 就好
ex: My grandparents’ house is cozy. 我祖父母的房子很舒適。

irregular plural nouns 不規則複數名詞: + s
ex: The children’s clothing is to your left. 小孩的衣服在你的左手邊。

*注意: 有時第2個名詞可以省略
ex: My house is smaller than my parents’ (house).

如果是2個人或更多人共同擁有的東西,例如Lucy跟Aly一起養了一隻貓,會變成: Lucy and Aly’s cat.

如果兩人各養一隻貓,會變成: Lucy’s and Aly’s cats.

2. Verb Contractions 動詞的合併縮寫

verbs + not 動詞的否定:
do not = don’t / cannot = can’t / could not = couldn’t

pronouns + will 代名詞 + will:
I will = I’ll / she will = she’ll

pronouns/nouns + to be 代名詞/名詞 + be動詞:
I am = I’m / you are = you’re / Will is = Will’s
*以Will’s來說,可以有2種解釋: 1. Will’s watching TV Will在看電視 / It is Will’s TV. 那是Will的電視
*who的特殊用法: who’s = who is / whose =所有格

pronouns + to have 代名詞+to have:
I have = I’ve / she has = she’s
*以she’s來說,可能表示she is或she has,它的所有格是her’s

pronouns + would / had 代名詞+would/had:
I had = I’d: I’d better go. / I would = I’d: I’d do that.

3. Other Contractions 其他用法

years 表示年:
The summer of ’69 = The summer of 1969 通常用來表示1900年代

省略of或the:
12 o’clock

表示英文發音:
come on = c’mon