我老覺得很多人英文一輩子都學不好的重點原因是因為老師教得很無聊。回想起在國中跟高職上課時,英文老師教到倍數的話,就是教公式:twice as + 可數是用many/不可數是用much這種教法。我根本不能理解這東西到底要怎麼用。不能理解,我就學不會東西。我想其實人大多都是這樣的。
所以,到底要怎麼把倍數教得出神入化?我幫同學找到這篇文章,包準一定會吸引你。男人一天說謊六次,是女人的兩倍,英文怎麼說?
先不管你認不認同男人愛說謊,若不認同也可以改成女人更愛說謊,好玩就好咩。文章中有很多可愛的佳句:
- Men tell twice as many lies as women. 男人說的謊是女人的兩倍多。
- Researchers found they tell six fibs a day on average to their partner, boss and work colleagues, but women come out with just three. 男人平均一天跟他們的伴侶、老闆跟同事撒六個謊,但女人只會講三個。
同學們可以模仿,自己練習造句:
twice as many + 可數名詞 + as
- You ate twice as many biscuits as me/I did! 你吃的餅乾是我吃的兩倍
- British people read twice as many books as Taiwanese people (do可省略也通常省略). 英國人念的書是台灣人的兩倍
twice as much + 不可數名詞 + as
- Europeans earn twice as much as Taiwanese people (do). 歐洲人的收入是台灣人的兩倍
- Cats sleep twice as much as humans (do). 貓咪睡覺的時間是人類的兩倍
另外,超過兩倍以上要用哪個字呢? 答案是 數量 + times:
three times as many + 可數名詞 + as
- There are three times as many boys as girls. 男生的數量是女生的三倍
ten times as much + 不可數名詞 + as
- He makes ten times as much (money) as I do. 他賺的錢是我賺的十倍
以下是文中說的男女各最常講的十大謊言,你覺得有沒有準啊?
Top ten lies men tell:
- Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine 沒什麼,我沒事
- This will be my last pint 這是最後一杯了
- No, your bum doesn’t look big in that 不不,你穿那件屁股看起來不大
- I had no signal 我沒有收訊
- My battery died 我手機沒電了
- Sorry, I missed your call 抱歉沒接到你電話
- I didn’t have that much to drink 我沒喝那麼多啊
- I’m on my way 我在路上了
- It wasn’t that expensive 沒有那麼貴啦
- I’m stuck in traffic 我塞在路上
Top ten lies women tell:
- Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine 沒什麼,我沒事
- Oh, this isn’t new, I’ve had it ages 噢這不是新的,我已經買幾百年了
- It wasn’t that expensive 沒有那麼貴啦
- It was in the sale 啊就在拍賣啊
- I’m on my way 我在路上了
- I don’t know where it is, I haven’t touched it 我不知道放哪裹,我沒有碰過喔!
- I didn’t have that much to drink 我沒喝那麼多啊
- I’ve got a headache 我頭痛
- No, I didn’t throw it away 沒有啊,我沒有把它丟掉啊
- Sorry, I missed your call 抱歉沒接到你電話
我覺得很準耶哈哈~
另外,-fold 也是個很好用的倍數用法。只要在 -fold 前面加數字,例如 twofold、threefold 或 tenfold(但是千萬不能把 fold 加 S!-fold 是複詞,不可以加 S)。
但是 -fold 只能用在簡單的「自己比自己」的情況下,也就是像「台北的房價比十年前漲了十倍」的句子。如果你想比較兩件事(例如男人跟女人),像這種「英國人的收入是台灣人的收入的三倍」,就不可以用 -fold 這個字,要用上面示範的男女比較用法。
還有,-fold 可以當形容詞:
- There is a twofold increase in demand this month. 這個月的需求量上升了兩倍
也可以當副詞,但請不要去幫它加 ly,它是形複同體:
- Her original investment has increased twofold. 他的初始投資已經增加了兩倍
在用這些比較級字眼時,大忌就是亂放 as 的位置或又加 than 或把兩種不同比較法加在一起,像這樣的錯誤要避免:
- He ate twice many as biscuits as me. (X)
- He earns twice more money than me. (X)
- His income is double than hers. (X)
- He earns double than what she does. (X)
這些英文相當難,學的時候要聚精會神。一般學生都不太了解就急著想要用,造成語意錯誤嚴重而無法看懂。所以,s通常我會建議初學者先不要用倍數或分數。有很多方法可以替換掉分數,比較級就是個很好的例子:
- You make (much) more money than me/I do. 他賺的錢比我多
- You ate (much) more biscuits than me/I did. 他吃的餅乾比我吃的還多
- I make (much) less money than Mr. 連. 我賺的錢比連先生還少(得多)
上面三句的 much 可被 a lot、a little、a great deal、significantly(較學術才會用)給替代。
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