不同“衣服”:
英语中表示衣服的词有clothes, clothing, dress和suit等,它们的主要区别如下:
1. clothes是“衣服”的总称,包括上衣、裤子、内衣,而不单指某一件衣服。它只有复数形式,通常不能和数词连用,说“一套衣服”应用a suit of clothes。例如:
Where do you usually get your clothes made?
你的衣服通常是在什么地方做的?
2. clothing也是“衣服”的总称,但它是不可数的集体名词,没有复数形式。clothing不仅包括衣裤,而且包括帽、袜、手套之类。汉语的“衣、食、住”译为英语常用“food, clothing and shelter”。“一件衣服”用an article of clothing或a piece of clothing表示。例如:
In winter children need warm clothing. 冬天孩子需要穿暖和的衣服。
3. dress常指“外衣”,特别是社交场合所穿的衣服,有时专指女服或童装。例如:
My brother is in full dress. 我的弟弟穿上了西服。(dress这里指服式)
My sister has bought a new dress. 我的妹妹买了一件新衣服。
4. suit的意思是“一套衣服”,如a mans suit (男子的一套衣服,包括外套、背心和裤子),a womans suit (女子的一套衣服,包括上衣和裙子),我们平时所说的“西服”就用这个词。有时专指男子穿的衣服。例如:
He was wearing a gray suit. 他穿上一套灰色西服。
suit还指专门用途的服装,如:a bathing suit (游泳衣),a space suit (宇航服)。
不同“穿”法:
英語中表示“穿(衣服)”的词和短语有dress, wear, put on, have on, be in, be/ get dressed in, pull on, throw on等,但含义和用法不同:
1. dress穿,指动作。后面不能跟“衣服”类的词作宾语,宾语只能是人,不能是衣服,dress sb./ oneself。例如:
(误)My little son can dress his clothes now.
(正)My little son can dress himself now. 我的小儿子现在能自己穿衣服了。
如果要跟“衣服”类的词,可用句型be/ get dressed in +衣服或表示颜色的词,表示习惯或状态。例如:
He is not dressed in his uniform. = He is not wearing his uniform. 他没穿军装。
但是,be dressed in和get dressed in 也有所区别,不能完全替换。get dressed等于dress oneself,以下两句中的get与be就不宜替换:
After I get dressed, I wash my face. 我穿好衣服后就去洗脸了。
He is dressed in a brown jacket. 他穿了一件棕色的夹克。
2. (1) wear与have on同义,用作及物动词,表示状态;但wear可以用进行时,可以加always, 而have on不能用于进行时。
(2) have on的宾语是代词时,代词只能放在on前;宾语是名词时,名词可以在on前,也可以在on后。
(3) put on也用作及物动词,表示一时的动作,不能加副词always, 其反义词是take off。“请穿上衣服”应该用put on,例如:
(误)Wear your clothes, please.
(正)Put on your clothes, please.
“他今天穿了一件夹克”则用wear或have on:
(误)He is putting on a jacket today.
(正)He is wearing a jacket today. 或He has a jacket on today.
(4) wear, have on, put on不但可指“穿衣”,还可以指“穿”或“戴”鞋、袜、帽、手套,甚至眼镜、手表、首饰等;而dress只能指“穿衣”,并且作及物动词时宾语只能是人,不能是衣服。例如:
My boy always wears his cap. 我的儿子常戴着帽子。
3. be in 穿着,指状态,宾语既可以是衣服、帽子,也可以是颜色。例如:
He is in black. 他身着一身黑。
4. pull on指的是随便穿上,指穿的动作,侧重“拉拽”,宾语常为袜子、手套等。throw on指“匆匆穿上”,指动作。
离事故有多远
A carpenter was giving evidence about an accident he had witnessed.
The judge asked him how far away he was from the accident.
The carpenter replied "twenty seven feet, six-and-one-half- inches".
“What? How come you are so sure of that distance?” asked the judge.
“Well, I knew some idiot would ask me. So I measured it!” replied the carpenter.
一位木匠正在为他目击的一起事故作证。
法官问他当时离事发现场有多远。
木匠回答,“27英尺,6.5英寸”。
法官问:“什么?你怎么能这样确定?”
木匠回答,“是啊,我知道一定会有傻瓜问我这个问题,所以我事先测量了一下。”