本文是《英语词汇专题系列》第17篇。
在汉语里,有很多相近的字和词语咱们很容易搞错,比如《人民日报》就整理过450个高频易错的字/词,自认为高中语文学得还可以,高考语文也考了893分(满分900分)的我一眼看过去,光前20个我就觉得需要非常小心......
英语作为一种字母语言也是如此,有很多英语单词即使是英语是母语的人也会搞错,更不用提我们这些英语学习者了。本文就来看几个例子:
1. affect vs. effect
affect是动词,意思是“have an influence on”,比如:
His loud humming was affecting my ability to concentrate.
effect可以做名词,意思是“a result or the power to produce a result”,比如:
The sound of the falling rain had a calming effect, nearly putting me to sleep.
也可以做动词,意思是“bring about or execute”,比如:
The speaker's sombre tone effected a dampening in the general mood of the audience.
2. all right vs. alright
虽然很多人都会使用“alright”来代替“all right”,尤其在这个浮躁的互联网时代,大家更是随意乱用。但是根据字典,它不属于“标准英语”,请记住下面这句话:
It's not “all right” to use“alright.”
3. beside vs. besides
beside 是介词(preposition),意思是“next to”,比如:
Stand here beside me.
besides是副词(adverb),意思是“also”,比如:
Besides, I need to tell you about the new products my company offers.
4. capital vs. capitol
capital的意思是“The city or town that is the seat of government”,也就是“省会”“首府”,当然也可以指“an accumulation of wealth”(资本)或者是“大写字母”。
capitol则是“the building in which the legislative assembly meets”,大写的Capitol特指美国的国会山。
5. complement vs. compliment
complement 可作动词,可做名词,意思是“something that completes or makes up a whole”,比如:
The red sweater is a perfect complement to the outfit.
compliment 也是可做名词,可作动词,意思是“an expression of praise or admiration”,比如:
I received compliments about my new outfit.
在过去,很多时候表示“admiration”是给别人送礼物,所以渐渐延伸出来“complimentary”的“free of charge”的意思。
6. comprise vs. compose
这两个单词不太好区分,请记住“the whole comprises the parts, and the parts compose the whole”这个原则,比如:
The board comprises five members.
vs.
Five members compose (or make up) the board.
当然也可以说:The board is composed (not comprised) of five members.
同时,compose也有作曲的意思。composer就是作曲家。
未完待续。
知识奇妙如斯。
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