問:讀香港法律,見到liable to imprisonment of six months / imprisonment for six years(可判監禁六個月/六年)兩個說法。Imprisonment之後,應用of還是for?
答:名詞之後,可用「of+數量詞」,說該名詞的數量,例如a boy of seven(=a seven-year-old boy七歲的男孩)、a team of 30 people(=a thirty-person team三十人的隊伍)、a stay of two days(=a two-day stay兩天的逗留)等。那「of+數量詞」作形容詞用,修飾前面的名詞。Imprisonment of six months就是用這個寫法。
For則是用來帶出時間有多長的介系詞(preposition),例如:(1)He was in a coma for two days(他昏迷了兩天)。(2)He has waited for more than eleven hours(他等候了十一小時以上)。Imprisonment for six years用的,就是這個寫法。總之,of、for都可以帶出一段時間,但兩字不一定可以互易,要看句子的結構、意思而定。請比較以下兩句:(1)He has followed a legal career for thirty years(他從事法律事業已有三十年)。(2)After a distinguished legal career of thirty years, he retired(他從事法律事業共三十年,成就不凡,其後退休)。第一句用for,表示從事法律行業至今有多久,並可能繼續下去;第二句用of,表示他的法律事業前後共有多久。至於liable to imprisonment of / for six months,則用of、for都可以。句法不同,不可一概而論。