上一期谈到了带“s”和不带“s”的字,并举了“beside”和“ besides”说明两个字不同之处。
这里再举出另外两个容易混淆的常用字,以进一步说明有“s” 和没有“s”字眼的差异。
这两个字是“sometime”和“sometimes”。
“Sometime”是个时间副词,意思是“在某时期”。这个字通常和“日期”或“时间”连用,出现在句子后半部, 用来固定本来不肯定的时间或日期。例如:
① The accident happened sometime last month.
② Let us discuss the matter sometime next week.
“Sometimes”是个频率副词(adverb of frequency),意思和 “occasionally”,或“from time to time”甚接近,就是“有时候”或“偶尔”之意。
“Sometimes”和“sometime”不但意思不同, 所处的位置也不一样。
“Sometimes”可以在下列三处出现:
⒈句首,如:
③ Sometimes, I didn’t feel like working.
⒉接系动词“be”之后,如:
④ The new manager was sometimes very hot-tempered.
⒊动词前,如:
⑤ They sometimes stayed up until 2 o’clock.
从这三个例子看,“sometime”和“sometimes”不但意思不同, 所处的位置也大相径庭。
就用途来说, “sometime”的用途广些。除了表示“在某时期 ”这意思之外,它也含有“任何时候”的意义,如:
⑥ Come over and see me sometime.
这里的“sometime”,可以用“anytime”代替,即:
⑦ Come over and see me anytime.
此外,“sometime”可以当形容词用,意思是“以前的”,如:
⑧ Dr Chen, a sometime lecturer of chemistry, is now a big company director.
这里的“sometime”不妨以另外一个形容词“former”或前缀“ ex-”来取代:
⑨ Dr Chen, a former lecturer of chemistry, is now a big company director.
⑩ Dr Chen, an ex-lecturer of chemistry, is now a big company director.
在结束本文之前,必须指出一点,就是“sometime”和“some time”的意思不同。“Sometime”是“在某时期”:“some time” 是“一段时间”,如:
11. All of us have studied English for some time.
12. Betty has been grumbling for some time.
13. Please give me some time to think over your proposal.
14. Do you have some time now? I want to talk to you.
由于 sometimes, sometime和 some time 各有不同的意思,在同句里出现可以和平共处、相安无事:
15. Sometimes, I spent some time reading a sometime English lecturer’s novel written sometime in 1996. (有时,我花了些时间阅读前英语讲师在 1996 年某时期所撰写的一本小说)