九張圖示範英文介詞的用法

九張圖示範英文介詞的用法

介詞 at, on, in

介詞 at, on, in

到底是in my office還是at my office？一次搞懂介詞 從此不再說錯！

01你到底“在”哪裡

At是一個點。

假如你說某個人“at某個地方”，你一定找得到他，因為他就在那一點上。坐在桌子前，叫做sit at the table;和你約在某咖啡廳碰面，是meet you at the coffee shop;當然在某一個門牌號碼前面，看著某人，很自然地也都是用at。

On是一個面。

我住在二樓，用I live on the second floor;在某條街上，想像站在那裡、抬頭挺胸，是一種平面概念，用on the street;在火車、捷運的車箱上，你不是擠在一個空間里，可以伸直腰，站在平面上，這是on。那在飛機上呢?

想想這個規則，on an airplane。

In是一個空間。

空間可以大到是宇宙、山川、國家、城市，也可以小到一個車子、杯子、眼睛，所以是in the mountains、in the river、in Taiwan、in Taipei、in a car……。

好，問題來了，有學生問，在辦公室是in還是at?in和at都對，意思有些微差別：

I’ll meet you at the office.

(我們在辦公室見。)指地點。

I’m in my office.

(我正在工作。)

In不只是在辦公室，而是做著在那個空間里應該發生的事;好比in school是求學，in class是上課，in the office是辦公。

有時候in和at用錯了會讓人會錯意。我們經常講的一句話，“請打電話到我辦公室給我”。這句話要怎麼說呢?in還是at?

Please call me___ the office.

(請打電話到我辦公室給我。)

Please call me at the office是正確的;當然也有比較直接的說法Please call my office，不要說please call me in the office，既像“你在辦公室打給我”或“打電話到我的辦公室”，又像“請你在辦公室叫我一聲”(兩人可能在同一個辦公室)。call也有“呼叫、喊叫”的意思。

02 at< on< in介系詞的時間感

At表示特定的時間點。

想像時間是一條線，at就是線上的某個時間點，強調事情發生的那一刻，例如：

I got up at7:00 this morning.(我今天早上7點起床。)

The miracle happened at that moment.(奇蹟在那一刻發生了。)

另外，表示一天中的某個時刻，不需加冠詞，如at dawn、at midnight、at night。

On表示特定的日子或日期。

像是：Let’s have dinner on Friday.(我們禮拜五一起吃晚餐吧。)

His birthday is on the fourth of August.(他的生日在8月4日)

We are going to the party on Halloween.(萬聖節當天我們會去參加派對。)

那為什麼會有at Halloween呢?on Halloween是指萬聖節當天，而at Halloween則是指在萬聖節的期間。

In表示特定較長的時間。

如月份、年份、季節、時代、世紀，或一段時間。例如：

My uncle is going to retire in2015.(我舅舅2015就要退休了。)

She started the job in August.(她在8月的時候就開始做這工作了。)

用in表示一段時間，如in my lifetime(在我的人生中);或是I will go to England in2 weeks.(在2個禮拜內我就要去英國了。)

但in the night和at night又有什麼不同?in the night指的是夜間，從日落到日出這個時段，at night則是指晚上，一天的某個時間點。

03培養對介系詞的感覺

為什麼房間的門用the door of the room，門的鑰匙卻是the key to the door?究竟有沒有個道理可循?

道理在“感覺”，不在“文法”。每一種語言都有一種自然演進的規律，這種規律，與其記規則，不如感受它;比方說，在車上，如果是汽車是in a car，公車是on a bus;記住這種感覺，如果你在交通工具里要彎腰，就用in，in是包在裡頭的感覺，如果是挺著身體走得進去，就是on。依此類推，在飛機上是in還是 on?自然是on an airplane了。

現在一起來看看幾個介系詞給人的感覺：

(1) to/for

To是“朝著目標去”的感覺，目標明確，一定會到);for是“朝著一個方向去”的感覺，是一個大方向，並沒有說一定會到。例如：Give the proposal to me.(將那計劃書交給我。)“給(give)”這個動作必須要作用在"me"身上才算完成，所以用to。

I’ll buy it for you.(我會幫你買。) for指一個方向，不管有沒有交給you，“買(buy)”的動作都已經完成，所以用for。

(2) with/by

With是“伴隨著/在旁邊”的感覺，by則是“靠…過去”的感覺。例如：

I will go with May.(我會和May一起去。)

因為with給人的感覺是“伴隨著”，也就是“在旁邊/拿在在手上”的意思，所以with可以解釋作“利用…工具”，像是

I opened the door with a key.(我“用”一把鑰匙開那扇門。)或者

I am satisfied with the gift.(我很滿意那個禮物。)有這個gift，滿足感隨之而來。

I went there by train.(我搭火車到那裡。)

“靠…過去”是透過train這種交通工具抵達，不能用I went there"with" train，這樣會變成“使用(手拿著)”train到那兒。

(3) of

是從屬、包含、分離的概念。例如：

The table is made of glass.(桌子是由玻璃製成。)桌子是從玻璃中“分離出來的”。

如果說It is made"with" glass.表示你拿glass當工具(伴隨著/拿著)，不合理。如果說It is made by wood.表示wood是某個人，桌子是他做的，這也不合理。

回到最原始的問題：

這間房間的門the door of the room(O)

房門是房間的一部份，可以用of。

這扇門的鑰匙the key of the door(X)

鑰匙不是門的一部份，不能用of。

這扇門的鑰匙the key to the door(O)

鑰匙用來開門，是朝某目標而去的概念，用to就對了。

以這概念來說，這句話也對

通往房間的那扇門the door to the room(O)

也是朝著目標(房間)而去。

04 Up讓句子更有力

介系詞是句子中的精靈，它和動片語在一起，會增加動詞的強度、亮度，使動詞更具動感，像speak up就比單單speak有力。

我們一起來看以下的句子比較at、behind、by、on、with，這些小小的介系詞真的起了“畫龍點睛”的作用。

(1)當我聽到這事時，我簡直不敢相信我的耳朵。

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard this.

=> I couldn’t believe my ears at this.

(2)她死後留下6個孩子。

She left six children after she died.

=> She left six children behind her.

(3)如果需要幫助，打給我，號碼是2721-5033。

If you need help, just ring me. My telephone number is2721-5033.

=> If you need help, just call me at2721-5033.

(4)我們舉杯慶祝他的成功。

We raise a toast to congratulate him on his great success.

=> We raise a toast to his great success.

(5)這段文章生詞太多，我要理解真是太難了。

There are so many new words in this passage, so it is hard for me to understand.

=> With so many new words, this passage is beyond me.

(6)他因為30票之差輸了競選。

He lost the election because of30 votes.

=> He lost the election by30 votes.

(7)證據對他不利。

The evidence is not good for him.

=> The evidence is against him.

(8)我可以幫你完成這個專案。

I can help you finish the project.

=> I can help you with the project.

(9)我買單。

I’ll pay the bill.

=> It’s on me.

Emma Watson Gives Emotional, Powerful Speech at U.N. About Gender Inequality

Emma Watson Gives Emotional, Powerful Speech at U.N. About Gender Inequality	在哈利波特(Harry Potter) 電影中飾演妙麗一角的英國女星Emma Watson被委任為聯合國婦女署之親善大使。她去年在聯合國兩性平權運動 ‪#‎heforshe 活動中發表了激動人心的演說。 艾瑪華森聯合國 #heforshe 活動演說全文翻譯 2014年9月23日
"Today, we are launching a campaign called HeForShe. I am reaching out to you before we need your help. We want to end gender inequality and to do this, we need everyone involved. This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN. We want to try to galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for change and we don't just want to talk about it. We want to try and make sure that it's tangible."	今天，我們發起這項名為「HeForShe」的活動。我向你們伸出求援的手，因為這項行動需要你的幫助。我們希望能終結性別不平等，而要能成功，我們需要所有人的參與。這是聯合國第一次發起這類活動，我們希望能帶動男人們和男孩們，成為這項改變的推手，越多人越好；而我們不打算只是空口白話，我們希望能有實質的行動。
"I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for U.N. Women six months ago and the more I've spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop."	六個月前我被聯合國任命為女性親善大使，每每談論起女性主義時，我發現爭取女權常常成為「厭男」的同義詞。而我非常確定，我們必須停止這樣定義女性平等。
"For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago."	女權主義，是相信男人和女人應該享有同等權利與機會，兩性在政治、經濟和社會地位上都平等。我從很久以前就開始質疑，以性別為準對人做出的論斷。
"When I was 8, I was confused about being called 'bossy' because I wanted to direct the plays that we would put on for our parents. But the boys were not. When at 14, I started to be sexualized by certain elements of the media, when at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams, because they didn't want to appear 'muscle-y,' when at 18, my male friends were unable to express their feelings, I decided that I was a feminist. And this seems uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word."	八歲時，我不懂為什麼想要導演學校裡呈現給家長看的舞台劇，會讓我被認為「專橫」，但男孩們卻不會被如此認為。十四歲時，媒體開始戴上有色眼鏡看待我部分的特質；十五歲時，我的女生好友們開始停止參加她們熱愛的運動，因為她們不想要變得「滿身肌肉」；十八歲時，我的男性友人們無法表達他們的真實感覺。因為這些事情，我決定要做一個女性主義者，對我來說這非常單純，但最近我發現女性主義成為了一個不受歡迎的字眼。
"Women are choosing not to identify as feminists. Apparently, I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, 'too aggressive,' isolating and anti-men, unattractive, even. Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one?"	許多女性自認不是女性主義者，而身為女性的一分子，我所表達的立場被認為太過強烈、太激進、孤立女性而且厭男，甚至被認為不具有吸引力（此處有一些雙關，同時指立場和她本身）。為什麼女性主義這個字成為讓人如此不舒服的一個字呢？
"I am from Britain and I think it is right that I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body, I think [applause break] ... I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and the decisions that affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men."	我來自英國，我認為我和男性應該同工同酬，我認為我有權為自己的身體做決定，我認為在會影響我的政策被制定時，應該有女性在場代表我，我認為在社會上，我和男性應該受到同等尊重。
"But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights. No country in the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality. These rights, I consider to be human rights but I am one of the lucky ones, my life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn't love me less because I was born a daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn't assume that I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These influencers are the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today."	然而，這個世界上目前沒有一個國家，能讓所有女性得到前述這些平等權利。沒有一個國家能夠自承已經做到性別平等。這些權利，我相信屬於人權，但我是少數能享有它們的幸運兒，而我目前所經歷的人生，仍是一種「特權」：我的父母並不因為我是女兒就愛我比較少，我的學校並沒有因為我是女孩而侷限我的發展，帶領我成長的人們，也沒有因為某天我會生兒育女，而認為我的成就會比較差。這些對我影響深遠的人們，正是我人生中的性別平權大使，也才造就今天的我。
"They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing the world today. We need more of those and if you still hate the word, it is not the word that is important. It's the idea and the ambition behind it. Because not all women have received the same rights that I have. In fact, statistically, very few have been."	他們或許不自知，但他們正是無意間改變這個世界的女權主義者，而我們需要更多這樣的人。如果你終究還是不喜歡女權主義這個字，請記得重要的不是這個字本身，是它所蘊含的意義和宏願；因為並不是所有女性都和我一樣享有平等權力，事實上，根據統計，只有很少的女性享有平權。
"In 1997, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women's rights. Sadly, many of the things that she wanted to change are still true today. But what stood out for me the most was that less than 30 percent of the audience were male. How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?"	1997年時，希拉蕊在北京發表了一篇有關女權的著名演說，但令人難過的是，許多她期望能改變的事情，至今依然存在。關於那場演說，有一件事情特別引起了我的注意：當時在場的聽眾只有30%為男性。我們如何能改變世界，如果只有其中一半的人覺得受到邀請來參與行動或對話呢？
"Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation." [Applause break] "Gender equality is your issue too. Because to date, I've seen my father's role as a parent being valued les by society despite my needing his presence, as a child, as much as my mother's. I've seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help, for fear it would make them less of a men—or less of a man. In fact, in the U.K., suicide is the biggest killer of men, between 20 to 49, eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I've seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don't have the benefits of equality, either."	男性同胞們，我想要利用這個機會告訴你們，你們都正式受到這場行動的邀請。性別平等也是屬於你們的議題，因為即使在現代，我知道我的父親 - 即便作為孩子的我需要他的陪伴如同需要我母親的陪伴 - 他身為雙親之一的角色，被社會認為比較不重要。我認識年輕的男性為精神疾病所苦，但無法尋求幫助，因為害怕會被認為不是正常人，或者「不是男人」。事實上，自殺是20至49歲英國男性頭號殺手，比車禍、癌症或心血管疾病都奪走更多生命。也有男性變得脆弱、感到不安全，因為他們所認知的「成功男性的典範」是扭曲的。男性也沒有獲得平權理當帶來的益處。
"We don't want to talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes but I can see that they are. When they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence. If men don't have to be aggressive, women won't be compelled to be submissive. If men don't need to control, women won't have to be controlled."	我們不討論男性遭到性別刻板印象禁錮，但他們確實身受其害。如果他們能脫離這樣的束縛，那麼女性的處境也會自然而然的改變。如果男性不再需要具有侵略性，女性也就無需屈服。如果男性不再需要立於掌控的位置，那麼女性也無需被控制。
"It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals. We should stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by who we are. We can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It's about freedom. I want men to take up this mantle so their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human, too and in doing so, be a more true and complete version of themselves."	從現在開始，我們應該將性別視為多元的光譜，而不是對立的兩套價值觀。我們應該停止用「我們不是什麼」來評斷他人，開始用「我們是什麼」來定義自己。我們都可以更加自由，而這就是 HeForShe 的目的：自由。我希望男性們站出來，讓他們的女兒、姐妹和母親可以不再為偏見所困，同時也讓他們的兒子可以露出脆弱、人性的一面，並由此成為更加真實而完整的自己。
"You might think, 'Who is this Harry Potter girl? What is she doing at the U.N.?' And it's a really good question—I've been asking myself at the same thing. All I know is that I care about this problem and I want to make it better. And having seen what I've seen and given the chance, I feel my responsibility to say something. Statesman Edmund Burke said all that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing."	你可能在想：這個哈利波特電影裡的女孩是誰？她跑來聯合國幹嘛？這是個很好的問題，我也一直在問我自己。我只知道，我重視這個問題，而且我希望問題能有所改善。從我自己的經驗，到被給予了這個機會，我認為我有責任說些話。政治家 Edmund Burke 曾經說過，只要善良的男人和女人什麼都不做，邪惡就會獲勝。
"In my nervousness for this speech and my moments of doubt, I've told myself firmly, 'If not me, who? If not now, when?' If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you, I hope that those words will be helpful because the reality is, if we do nothing, it will take 75 years or for me, to be nearly 100, before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work—15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children and at current rates, it won't be until 2086 before all rural African girls can have a secondary education."	在我為準備這場演說感到緊張、或者自我懷疑時，我堅定的告訴自己：「捨我其誰？更待何時？」如果你在有機會為平權發聲時感到猶豫，我希望這些字句能幫助你堅定信心。因為事實是，如果我們什麼都不做，將要花上七十五年時間 - 對我來說就是將近百年 - 女性才能期望得到同工同酬；而一億五千五百萬名女孩，將在未來十六年間，在她們仍是孩子的時候，被嫁入其他家庭；而蠻荒非洲的女孩們，直到2086年，才有可能都受到中學教育。
"If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier and for this, I applaud you. We are struggling for a uniting word but the good news is that we have a uniting movement. It is called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward to be seen and to ask yourself, 'If not me, who? If not now, when?' Thank you very, very much."	如果你相信平權，你可能就是我先前提過的，那些不自覺的女性主義者，我為你們喝彩。雖然我們無法對一個字有同樣的見解，但我們的行動是一致的，也就是 HeForShe 這場行動。我邀請你們挺身而出，並且問自己：「捨我其誰？更待何時？」 謝謝。