問:要說汽車可以載我去我要去的地方,以下兩個說法哪個正確?──It gets me where / to where I want to go。
答:Where有to the place that(去……的地方)含義,所以,Where之前一般不會再用to,例如:You are free to go where you like(你可以隨意去你喜歡的地方)。
不過,也有人說You are free to go to where you like。韋氏英文用法詞典 Webster's Dictionary of English Usage 談到這用法:Another use of "where" is to introduce clauses that are the objects of prepositions(Where的另一用法,是帶出子句,作介系詞的受詞)。該詞典又說,這用法早在十八世紀初的英國已見於文獻,但歷來頗受到一些文法家批評。詞典的結論是:This use is typically found in less formal kinds of writing(這用法一般見於較隨便的寫作)。
讀者示下那一句,用to和不用to都可以,但不用會好一點。
問:以下一句,介系詞應用on還是in?又foreman之前要不要加a?──He works as foreman on / in the project(他擔任工程的工頭)。
答:工頭假如只有一個,foreman之前不用冠詞(article),否則宜加a。He works as foreman of the project應是最好的說法。但說He works as foreman on the project也可以:那on和works連用,to work on the project即「致力做這工程」。