「give」不一定慷慨：Away、Up、In、Out

「give」不一定慷慨：Away、Up、In、Out

「give」聽起來像英文裡最善良的動詞之一。你 give a gift、give advice、give someone a ride，非常慷慨。然後英文加上一個小小的介副詞，「give」就突然開始洩漏祕密、放棄專案、在爭論中投降、發放文件，還讓機器在最糟糕的時刻罷工。這個動詞講的仍然是「轉移」，但被轉移的東西可以是資訊、努力、控制權、壓力或能量。

快速解答

give 的核心概念是「讓某物離開自己」。在 phrasal verbs 裡，那個「某物」不一定是實體物品。Give away 可以表示洩漏祕密。Give up 可以表示停止嘗試或戒掉習慣。Give in 表示停止抵抗。Give out 可以表示發放、公開，或因為力竭而停止運作。只要感覺到「被釋放的是什麼」，這個家族就好掌握得多。

核心概念

單純的 give 通常有三個要素：給的人、收的人，和易手的東西。"She gave me a key."、"The teacher gave the class homework." 加上介副詞之後，英文把這個轉移概念拉得更開。

Away 把某物推出你的掌握，或推到公開之處。Up 常暗示放棄努力或交出控制。In 指向在壓力下讓步。Out 把某物從中心散布給許多人，或描述能量離開一具身體、一台機器或一批存量。

所以這個家族並不隨機。它只問一個有用的問題：被放走的是什麼？

Give Away

give away：洩漏某事

當你 give away 一個祕密，你就是讓隱藏的資訊溜了出去。

  • "Don't tell me the ending. You'll give away the whole movie."
  • "Her smile gave away the surprise."
  • "The muddy shoes gave him away."

注意最後一個例句。人可以 "give something away"，但一條線索也可以 "give someone away"。沾滿泥巴的鞋子，揭穿了他想隱藏的事。

這和單純的 give 不同。"She gave me the answer." 表示她直接告訴我。"Her face gave away the answer." 表示我從她的表情上看出了答案。

give away：捐出或免費送出

這個意思比較接近字面上的給予。

  • "We're giving away old office chairs after the move."
  • "The shop gave away free samples at the door."
  • "He gave most of his books away before moving abroad."

這個用法是可分的。可以說 "give away the books" 或 "give the books away."。遇到代名詞要拆開："give them away."，不能說 "give away them."

Give Up

give up：停止嘗試

這是經典的意思：你鬆開了那份努力。

  • "This puzzle is impossible. I give up."
  • "She almost gave up after the third rejection."
  • "Don't give up on the project just because the first version failed."

要點出你可能放棄的人、計畫或目標時，用 give up on："He never gave up on his students." 這比 "He gave up his students." 溫暖得多——後者聽起來像他交出了學生，或不再擁有他們。

give up：戒掉習慣或活動

這裡你是把某樣東西從生活中放掉。

  • "He gave up coffee for a month."
  • "I tried to give up scrolling in bed."
  • "She gave up smoking years ago."

對於活動，英文常在 give up 後接名詞或動名詞："give up sugar"、"give up driving"、"give up complaining."。受詞是代名詞時放中間："I gave it up."

give up：交出某物

這有時事關重大：一項權利、一個機會、一個座位、一個位置。

  • "He gave up his seat to an older passenger."
  • "The team gave up a two-goal lead."
  • "She refused to give up control of the company."

情緒色彩由情境決定。讓座是體貼，讓掉領先是糟糕，交出控制權可能是明智的、被迫的，或令人痛苦的。

Give In

give in：停止抵抗

Give in 講的是壓力。有人想要某樣東西，情勢不斷施壓，最後抵抗瓦解了。

  • "The kids begged for a dog until their parents gave in."
  • "After two hours of negotiation, the company gave in."
  • "I said I wouldn't order dessert, but I gave in."

你可以 give in to 一個人、一項要求、一種誘惑或一股壓力。

  • "Don't give in to panic."
  • "The manager gave in to the customer's request."
  • "He gave in to the temptation to check his phone."

平和對話中的單純同意，不要用 give in。"I gave in to your point." 聽起來像剛剛打過一架。如果你是禮貌地改變了想法，請說 "You convinced me." 或 "I agree."

Give Out

give out：發放

這個意思實用，常見於教室、會議和活動。

  • "The teacher gave out the worksheets."
  • "Volunteers gave out water after the race."
  • "They gave out name tags at the entrance."

它是可分的："gave the worksheets out" 也可以。遇到代名詞要拆開："gave them out."

give out：公布或對外提供

這個用法接近發放，只是被發出去的是資訊。

  • "The school gave out the exam schedule."
  • "Please don't give out my phone number."
  • "The hotel doesn't give out guest information."

這裡的 give out 和 give away 有重疊，但感覺不同。Give away 常暗示不小心或不該洩漏。Give out 比較是把資訊分享給別人。

give out：停止運作、力竭

這是最不慷慨的意思：能量離開了。

  • "My legs gave out near the end of the hike."
  • "The old printer finally gave out."
  • "His voice gave out after three hours of teaching."

這個用法通常是不及物的：主詞自己失靈。在這個意思下，你不會 "give out the printer"，而是 the printer gives out。

常見錯誤

  • "Don't give up the secret." → "Don't give away the secret." · 祕密通常是 give away，不是 give up。
  • "She gave in smoking." → "She gave up smoking." · 戒掉習慣用 give up。
  • "He gave up to pressure." → "He gave in to pressure." · 在壓力下屈服是 give in to。
  • "The teacher gave out them." → "The teacher gave them out." · Give out 可分，代名詞放中間。
  • "My battery gave away." → "My battery gave out." · 存量或機器停止運作是 give out。

小練習

  1. Her nervous laugh _____ _____ the surprise.
  2. I need to _____ _____ eating snacks after midnight.
  3. The director refused to _____ _____ to public pressure.
  4. Please _____ these forms _____ before the meeting starts.
  5. The microphone _____ _____ halfway through the speech.

解答

  1. gave away — 她的笑聲洩漏了驚喜。
  2. give up — 戒掉習慣用 give up。
  3. give in — 向壓力屈服是 give in。
  4. give / out — 發放表單用 give out，而且可以拆開。
  5. gave out — 裝置停止運作是 give out。

小結

片語 核心意思
give away 洩漏／免費送出
give up 戒掉／停止嘗試／交出
give in 停止抵抗
give out 發放／公布／停止運作

當 give 接上介副詞，問問是什麼正在離開：一個祕密、一份努力、一股抵抗、一筆資訊，還是一股能量。這一個問題，就能讓整個家族乖乖就範。

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