這就是、聲稱 - 古德明

這就是、聲稱 - 古德明

問:人家問May I borrow your pen?(可以借你的筆用用嗎?)同意借筆應說Here it is還是Here you are?
答:Here it is / Here they are可以表示「(要找的東西)在這裏」,也可表示「這就是(你要的東西)」,例如:(1)Where are my keys? Oh, here they are(我的鑰匙哪裏去了?啊,在這裏)。(2)"Can you pass me the sugar please?" "Here it is."(「把糖遞給我好嗎?」「好,給你,拿着。」)
Here you are則可以表示「(你要找的東西)在這裏」,也可表示「這就是(你要的東西)」,例如:(1)Here you are. This is the bunch of keys you were looking for(看,這就是你要找的那串鑰匙)。(2)"Can you pass me the sugar please?" "Here you are."
由此可見,Here it is和Here you are往往通用。要回答May I borrow your pen?以下兩個說法都正確:Yes, of course you may. Here it is / Here you are。
問:查字典,allege是「聲稱」,但這個字今天多解作「指控」,對嗎?
答:Allege是「聲稱但未有證實」,並沒有「指控」的意思,an alleged thief與其譯作「被指控的罪犯」,不如譯做「疑犯」。「他自稱見到火星人」英文可譯做He alleged that he had met a Martian,而「據說,他是無辜的」則可譯做It is alleged that he is innocent / He is alleged to be innocent。Allege是審案未決時常用的字,讀者也許因此覺得和「指控」有關。