問:以下一句,應用is還是are?敝校英文科主任說are,英文母語教師(NET)卻說is──Where is / are the man and the boy?(那男人和男孩在那裏?)
答:據來信的那位英文小學教師說,那英文母語教師認為原句其實是兩個問題,即Where is the man? Where is the boy?兩個問題合起來,自然也應用is。這解釋完全無稽。從前香港小學英文文法書 A Concise English Grammar for Foreign Students ,朗文出版社出版,作者是 C E Eckersley,第四章說:Two or more subjects connected by "and" take a plural verb(主詞如不止一個,用and接連,配複數名詞)。例句如下:The boy and his dog are here(那男孩和他的狗在這裏)。這一句可改寫為Here are the boy and his dog;改為問句,則是Where are the boy and his dog?
口頭英語有時會說:Here is the boy and the dog、There is three people there(那裏有三個人)、Where is the men?(那些男人在那裏?)但這都是隨便的說法,不算正規英文。正規英文會用are取代這三句的is。
香港的英文母語教師計劃,是怎樣評審師資的,我不知道。但以英文為母語者,對英文文法或一知半解,這樣的例子我見過不少。
問:The data will be processed / handled in accordance with the personal data ordinance(資料會按個人資料條例處理)這一句,應用processed還是handled?
答:要說「處理」data,用handle或process兩字都正確。另一個可用的動詞是manage。