詢 問 - 古德明

詢 問 - 古德明

問:寫會議紀錄,要說「主席問李先生新產品何時可以上市」,英文是不是The chairman inquired Mr Lee about when the new product could be marketed?
答:要說「詢問」,最好改用較inquire(或enquire)平易的ask一字,即The chairman asked Mr Lee when the new product could be marketed。假如要用inquire,則可說The chairman inquired of Mr Lee when the new product could be marketed。
Inquire之後,可直接受詞(object),但那受詞應指所問的事情,卻不可指被詢問者,例如不可說I inquire him(我問他),但可說I inquired his name(我問他的名字)。又inquire之後,可直接when子句(clause),例如:I inquired when he would arrive(我問他什麼時候會到達)。
Inquire之後,也可用of或about:用of帶出被詢問者,用about帶出所問的事情,例如:I inquired of the commissioner of police about the cooperation agreement between the police and triad societies(我問警務處長警方和三合會合作協議的詳情)。
說所問的事情,inquire之後什麼時候用about,什麼時候不用?按所問的假如是一些明確問題,不用about;是一些籠統問題,則用about,例如:(1)I inquired about the man(我問及那人的詳情)。(2)I inquired the man's name, address, and telephone number(我問那人的姓名、住址、電話號碼)。