有人問了個無辜的問題——「你怎麼會落腳在這座城市？」——但誠實的答案牽涉到前任。小小的恐慌瞬間湧上：要說多少、哪些詞聽起來輕鬆、哪些詞會讓大家盯著手裡的飲料？以下教你如何用英文談論過去的感情，又不會把對話凍住。
快速解答
「My ex」是日常用詞。正式場合用「my former partner」；若曾結婚則用「my ex-husband / ex-wife」；想拉開距離可用「someone I used to date」這類較柔和的說法。重點不是用哪個詞，而是語氣：就事論事、簡短、不帶怨氣。
母語人士實際會說的話
| 情境 | 自然說法 | 備註 |
|---|---|---|
| 隨口提到 | "My ex used to live here." | 簡短、中性、非常常見。 |
| 特別指前配偶 | "My ex-husband / ex-wife." | 補充脈絡又不戲劇化。 |
| 很久以前的事 | "Someone I used to date." | 溫和、模糊、禮貌。 |
| 正式／法律語感 | "My former partner." | 辦公室語氣，不帶評判。 |
| 最近分手 | "We recently split up." | 過去式 + 柔和的動詞。 |
| 友善的說法 | "An old boyfriend of mine." | 帶著溫度地拉開距離。 |
| 已經走出來 | "I'm in a different place now." | 情緒上的收尾，非八卦。 |
| 收束話題 | "Anyway — long story." | 萬用的安全出口。 |
常見錯誤
- "My old wife lives in Toronto." → "My ex-wife lives in Toronto." · 「Old wife」聽起來像她年紀很大；「ex-」才是標準前綴。
- "I have an X-boyfriend." → "I have an ex-boyfriend." · 前綴是「ex-」（拉丁文），不是字母 X。
- "My before-girlfriend was a teacher." → "My ex-girlfriend was a teacher." · 「Before-girlfriend」不是英文；「ex-」涵蓋所有「前一段」的關係詞。
- "We are broken up." → "We broke up." or "We've broken up." · 「Are broken up」聽起來怪；母語人士偏好主動過去式或現在完成式。
- "He is my ex husband actual." → "He's actually my ex-husband." · 副詞位置很重要；「actually」放在名詞短語之前。
迷你對話
Dialogue 1 — Coffee with a new friend A: Wait, so you lived in Lisbon? B: For two years, yeah. My ex was Portuguese. A: Ohh — and you stayed after? B: A little while. Then I moved back. Long story. A: Got it.
Dialogue 2 — At a party A: I love your jacket — where's it from? B: Honestly? My ex bought it for my birthday three years ago. A: Ha — well, he had taste. B: He really did. That might be the only nice thing I say about him.
語氣筆記
談前任的鐵則是「簡短、語氣平穩」。兩秒鐘帶過讀起來健康；五分鐘的獨白讀起來像還沒走出來。母語人士常用「back when」、「at the time」、「years ago」這類框架詞讓話題變柔和。在與不熟的人對話時，避免「crazy ex」、「psycho ex」、「evil ex」這類充滿情緒的形容詞——就算當笑話講也是警訊。如果對話變得太私人，「long story」是公認的收尾方式。好友之間語氣可以轉成黑色幽默；面對同事，保持中性或乾脆跳過。
練習：選出最自然的句子
解釋你為什麼有某間公寓的鑰匙：
- A. "It was my before-boyfriend's place."
- B. "It was my ex-boyfriend's place."
公司聚餐時，老闆問你週末過得如何：
- A. "My crazy ex showed up uninvited. It was a whole thing."
- B. "Something came up with someone I used to know. All fine now."
提到你多年前造訪過某座外國城市：
- A. "I went there with an old boyfriend of mine, way back."
- B. "I went there with X-boyfriend long time."
解答
- B — 「ex-」是標準前綴；「before-boyfriend」不存在。
- B — 工作場合語氣要柔和；「crazy ex」既過度分享又帶評判。
- A — 流暢、道地，冠詞用得對。
小結
「Ex」這個字很短、很道地，搭配平穩語氣會顯得情緒中性。沉重的措辭留給信任的朋友；正式場合用「former partner」；最後記住聊前任最有力的「句子」：短短一頓，然後換話題。