問:以下一句下半截兩個寫法,文法都正確嗎?──For the guests who order additional food, the relevant costs should be directly paid to the restaurant / they should pay the relevant costs to the restaurant directly(客人如額外點菜,所需費用請直接付與餐廳)。
答:英文有以下兩句成語:(1)People who live in glass houses should not throw stones(住在玻璃屋裏的人,不要擲石頭──其身不正者,不要正人)。(2)People who know themselves best are ashamed of themselves(有自知之明者,會自慚不足)。這兩句的people who...,都是泛指某一種人,不冠以the;讀者示下那一句,guests之前,也不宜用the。
至於句子下半截的兩個寫法,文法都正確,但relevant(有關的)改為extra(額外的),會好一點。
問:以下兩句,哪個選擇正確?──You should learn more about Hong Kong's economic market / the Hong Kong economic market(你須多了解香港的經濟市場)。
答:兩個選擇都正確。Hong Kong's economic market的Hong Kong是名詞,所以不用冠詞the,但須加's;the Hong Kong economic market的Hong Kong則是形容詞,所以不加's,而the則是economic market的冠詞。請再看以下兩句:(1)I went to the university's library(我上那家大學的圖書館)。(2)I went to the university library(我上大學圖書館)。第一句的the,是名詞university的冠詞;第二句的the,是名詞library的冠詞,中間的university則作形容詞。