A Cup of Coffee、a Piece of Advice、a Slice of Cake:英文嘅量詞
喺咖啡店嘅櫃枱,有個學英文嘅人講:「I want two coffees and a bread, please。」咖啡師明,但只係啱啱明到。Native speaker 會講:「Two coffees and a slice of bread」—— 又或者 two pieces、a roll、a baguette。欠咗嘅就係嗰個負責計數嘅細細個字:一個 量詞(measure word)。
點解呢樣嘢重要
好多日常英文名詞都唔可以直接數。你唔可以講 three breads 或者 two advices。要將呢啲質量名詞變成可以數嘅嘢,英文就用一個幫手字嚟點出一個自然單位 —— a cup、a slice、a piece、a sheet。同一個技巧亦處理咗啲永遠成雙嘅嘢,例如 jeans 同 scissors。一旦你識咗最常用嘅量詞,叫嘢食、描述傢俬同列出工具,全部都會順暢好多。
規律
基本結構係 a [量詞] of [名詞],或者複數係 two [量詞] of [名詞]。係量詞攞複數 -s,唔係個名詞本身。
- A slice of bread、two slices of bread —— 唔係 two breads。
- A piece of advice、three pieces of advice —— 唔係 three advices。
- A pair of jeans、two pairs of jeans —— 唔係 two jeans。
量詞嘅揀法通常跟自然單位。Cup 用嚟講熱飲。Glass 用嚟講凍飲。Bottle 用嚟講瓶裝嘅嘢。Slice 用嚟講由一條或者一個圓嘢切出嚟嘅嘢。Piece 喺冇更明確嘅字啱用嗰陣用。啱嘅字亦都可以有少少慣用 —— 你會講 a loaf of bread、a head of lettuce、a bunch of grapes,即使 loaf、head 同 bunch 喺其他地方會好怪。
錯誤 / 自然 / 點解
| 錯誤 | 自然 | 點解 |
|---|---|---|
| I drank three coffees this morning. | I drank three cups of coffee this morning. | 口語講 three coffees 係冇問題,但喺書面或者要強調數量嗰陣,用 cups of。 |
| Can I have a bread? | Can I have a slice of bread? / a roll? | Bread 係不可數;你需要一個單位例如 slice、piece、loaf 或者 roll。 |
| She wore a jeans to work. | She wore a pair of jeans to work. | Jeans 永遠成雙;冇單數 a jean。 |
| He ate two cakes. | He ate two slices of cake. / two pieces of cake. | Two cakes 即係兩個成個嘅蛋糕;通常你係指 slices。 |
| Buy me a paper, please. | Buy me a sheet of paper. / a piece of paper. | A paper 可以解報紙或者文章;講嗰種材料本身,就用 sheet 或者 piece。 |
| I need a new scissor. | I need a new pair of scissors. | Scissors 只有複數;佢永遠配 a pair of。 |
| She poured me a milk. | She poured me a glass of milk. | Milk 係不可數;數嗰個 glass、cup 或者 bottle。 |
| He bought three furnitures. | He bought three pieces of furniture. | 冇啱用嘅明確單位嗰陣,安全嘅預設係 piece of。 |
常見情境
喺咖啡店叫嘢。 你可以對咖啡師講 two coffees(佢被廣泛接受為 two cups of coffee 嘅簡稱)。但講茶、湯,或者任何你想講得精確嘅嘢,長啲嘅形式較穩陣:a cup of green tea、two bowls of tomato soup、a glass of orange juice。
喺麵包店。 你幾乎唔會叫 a bread。你會要 a loaf of sourdough、two slices of rye、a baguette,或者 three rolls。Loaf 係成個焗起嘅單位;slice 係由刀切落嚟嘅嘢。
喺雜貨店。 你會買 a bunch of bananas、a head of lettuce、a carton of eggs、a jar of peanut butter、a can of soup、a bottle of water,同 a roll of paper towels。每個食物類別都有自己嘅自然容器或者分組,用啱嗰個會令你聽落地道好多。
買衫。 Jeans、pants、trousers、shorts、leggings、tights、glasses 同 scissors 全部只有複數。你永遠係買 a pair。係 I need a new pair of jeans,唔係 a new jean。Glasses(眼鏡)跟同一條規則:a pair of glasses。
喺公司攞文具。 你會要 a sheet of paper、a roll of tape、a set of markers、a stack of folders,或者 a box of pens。A paper 聽落似一篇文章或者一份報紙,所以講空白嘅材料,sheet 更清晰。
喺屋企講嘢食。 A slice of pizza、a bowl of cereal、a piece of chocolate、a bunch of grapes、a stick of butter、a clove of garlic。呢啲配搭大部分都係固定嘅,值得當作單位嚟學。
常犯嘅錯誤
- 將 -s 放咗喺名詞而唔係量詞上面:two slice of breads 應該係 two slices of bread。係單位攞複數;個物質唔變。
- 喺不可數名詞上面完全跳過量詞:a bread、a paper、a milk、a luggage。每一個都需要一個幫手字。
- 有更明確嘅字嗰陣用咗 piece。A piece of bread 係啱,但 a slice of bread 更利落。Native speaker 喺有明確單位嗰陣會揀嗰個。
- 將只有複數嘅名詞當作單數:a jean、a trouser、a scissor、a glass(眼鏡)。基本形式已經係複數;你要用 a pair of。
- 講咗 a pair of pants 然後轉用 it:個動詞維持複數 —— These pants are too long、They fit well。
- 唔記得 fish 同 sheep 喺複數維持同一個形式。喺大部分情況下,你會講 three fish,唔係 three fishes。
- 喺正式書寫入面濫用 a bunch of。佢喺口語入面好好用(a bunch of emails),但喺正式英文入面就揀 several、a number of 或者 many。
迷你練習
改寫每句,用一個自然嘅量詞。
- He poured me a coffee and gave me a bread with butter.
- She bought a new jean at the mall.
- Can I have a paper to write a note?
- We ordered three pizzas, but only ate two slice.
- The teacher gave us an advice before the exam.
總結
當一個名詞唔可以直接數嗰陣,英文就會搵一個量詞嚟點出一個自然單位 —— slice、cup、piece、pair、loaf、sheet、bunch。量詞攞複數 -s,而 of 之後嘅名詞維持基本形式。將最常用嘅配搭當作細細嘅組塊嚟學,你就會喺咖啡店、雜貨店同會議入面都講得更從容。
想喺真實嘅試題句子入面練習數字、量詞同單位?喺 ExamRift 開始練習。