Ask & Learn聞問切英語口語:Luxury or Luxuries?
讀者 Anthony 讀報(bào)時(shí)看到下面兩句:
1. Daily baths were a luxury that most families could not afford.
2. It is revealing to realise that some so-called necessities in modern life - showers, changes of clothes, keeping up our looks, and many others - may be luxuries that can be done without.
Anthony 問為什么在第一句 daily baths 這個(gè)眾數(shù)的主語后面是一個(gè)單數(shù)的補(bǔ)語 luxury,而第二句中 so-called necessities 也是眾數(shù),后面的補(bǔ)語 luxuries 卻用了眾數(shù)?
我們先看看比較簡單的第二句。句中的necessities 是指showers、changes of clothes、keeping up our looks 一類的日?;顒樱覀兛梢院芮宄匾?、二、三……一項(xiàng)一項(xiàng)數(shù)出來,所以后面的賓語luxuries,也是以眾數(shù)出現(xiàn),這不難明白。
我們再看回第一句。表面上daily baths 也不是眾數(shù)嗎?其實(shí)我們應(yīng)該這樣去理解:這里的daily baths 指的不是洗了多少個(gè)澡,而是每天可以洗澡這事,因此也就應(yīng)該把它看成是單數(shù)了。
換句話說,這里的daily baths,或者應(yīng)該看成 "taking daily baths"。
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