讀者Patricia來信:「不知道怎樣恰當地運用 "at which","in which","of which","to which"。由於多數在學術性書本見到這一類的句子,所以感覺非常複雜及混淆。另外希望自己也懂得以這一些詞彙寫作。」
事實上,這類常見句式也可以在日常文藝閱讀當中遇到。在著名德國作家文藝理論家,Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(歌德)的一句:
Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. 「行為是每個人展示自己形象的一面鏡子。」大家有沒有疑問為什麼是「in which」 而不是用「to which」:或是「at which」?
Prepositions「介詞」本質是用來表達及連繫句子當中不同詞類之間的關係。介詞前後加上不同的詞彙(可以是動詞,形容詞或名詞等等)也會組成modifiers,一般我們稱它為prepositional phrase。
「which」作為一個Pronoun「代詞」是介詞的object「賓語 」。而「which」是可以帶出relative clause。
這些prepositional phrase「介詞短語」實在非常有用。可以將兩個句子二合為一,而每一組介詞短語只是應該用於上文已經提到的內容。
Miss Carol喜歡把複雜問題簡單化,就在這裏以簡單的解釋及例句解答Patricia的疑惑。
「In which」是指一個主題的位置(the placement of a subject)
例句:
I watched a classical music concert. In this concert, the audience made annoying noise.
I watched a classical music concert in which the audience made annoying noise.
「of which」一般作詳細解釋主題(provides a more specific explanation to the subject)
例句:
There were ten local bakeries in Wanchai. Six of them were closed.
There were ten local bakeries in Wanchai, six of which were closed.
「at which」一般描述與主題相關的時間或事情(describes certain time or an incident related to a subject)
例句:
The Halloween party was held in Central. Everyone turned up as superheroes.
The Halloween party, at which everyone turned up as superheroes, was held in Central.
「to which」一般解釋與主題連繫起來的動作。(describes the subject to an action)
例句:
I was referring to the book. This is the book.
This is the book to which I was referring.
著名美國作家Felice Leonardo Buscaglia,俗稱Dr. Love曾經有這一句名言:
「我們往往低估了人與人之間的接觸、微笑、友善的話語、聆聽別人、誠實的讚美或微不足道的關懷行為,所有這些其實也可能改變一個人的生命。」
「Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.」
希望在世界上不同的的社會,大家也能付出多一點關懷,多一點包容,多一點愛。每個人也需要的。
Miss Carol 資深英語老師、國際英文考試主考官;前大專院校導師及企業培訓導師。