reference. 第四章 常被误用的词与短语（P–Z）[eos-0007]

Partially。并不总是能与partly互换。最好用于"to a certain degree"（在某种程度上）的意义，谈论某种状况或状态时："I'm partially resigned to it."Partly带有部分与整体相区别的意思——通常指实物。

• 误：The log was partially submerged.
• 正：The log was partly submerged.

• 误：She was partially in and partially out.
• 正：She was partly in and partly out.

也可写作：She was part in, part out.

Participle for verbal noun（用分词代替动词性名词）。

• 误：There was little prospect of the Senate accepting even this compromise.
• 正：There was little prospect of the Senate's accepting even this compromise.

左栏中，accepting是现在分词；右栏中，它是动词性名词（动名词）。左栏所示的构造偶尔可见，也有其辩护者。然而不难看出，第二句讲的不是参议院的前景，而是接受的前景。

当然，凡是使用所有格显得别扭或不可能的地方，都应当改写。

• 误：In the event of a reconsideration of the whole matter's becoming necessary
• 正：If it should become necessary to reconsider the whole matter

• 误：There was great dissatisfaction with the decision of the arbitrators being favorable to the company.
• 正：There was great dissatisfaction with the arbitrators' decision in favor of the company.

People。一个含义众多的词。（《美国传统词典》第三版列出九种含义。）The people是政治术语，不要与the public混淆。政治上的支持或反对来自the people；艺术上的欣赏或商业上的赞助来自the public。

people一词最好不与数量词连用，也不要用它代替persons。如果在"six people"中有五个走了，还剩多少people？答案：one people。

Personalize。一个矫饰的词，往往带来糟糕的建议。不要personalize你的文章；只要把它写好、写得干净就行。参见提醒1。

• 误：a highly personalized affair
• 正：a highly personal affair

• 误：Personalize your stationery.
• 正：Design a letterhead.

Personally。往往不必要。

• 误：Personally, I thought it was a good book.
• 正：I thought it a good book.

Possess。常用它，是因为在作者听来，它比have或own更显得有分量。这种用法并不错，但须提防。

• 误：She possessed great courage.
• 正：She had great courage (was very brave).

• 误：He was the fortunate possessor of
• 正：He was lucky enough to own

Presently。有两个含义："in a short while"（过一会儿）和"currently"（目前）。由于这种歧义，最好只限于第一个含义："She'll be here presently"（"soon"，或"in a short time"，很快、过不久）。

Prestigious。常是万不得已才用的形容词。词典里固然收了它，但这并不意味着你必须用它。

Refer。参见allude条。

Regretful。有时被粗心误用为regrettable："The mixup was due to a regretful breakdown in communications."

Relate。不得作不及物动词用来表示融洽关系（rapport）。

• 误：I relate well to Janet.
• 正：Janet and I see things the same way.

也可写作：Janet and I have a lot in common.

Respective、Respectively。这两个词通常略去更好。

• 误：Works of fiction are listed under the names of their respective authors.
• 正：Works of fiction are listed under the names of their authors.

• 误：The mile run and the two-mile run were won by Jones and Cummings respectively.
• 正：The mile run was won by Jones, the two-mile run by Cummings.

Secondly、thirdly等。除非你打算以with firstly开头并为之辩护（那会很难），否则不要用-ly来给数字"梳妆打扮"。现代用法更喜欢second、third等。

Shall、Will。在正式写作中，将来时要求第一人称用shall，第二和第三人称用will。表达说话者关于未来动作或状态的看法，其公式是I shall；I will表示决心或同意。一个溺水挣扎的游泳者喊道："I shall drown; no one will save me!"一个自杀者则反过来说："I will drown; no one shall save me!"然而，在随意的言谈中，shall和will很少用得精确；我们的耳朵或引导我们，或不引导我们，视情形而定，而我们很可能会在本想活命时溺死，而在本想溺死时活下来。

So。写作中避免把so用作强调词："so good"、"so warm"、"so delightful"。

Sort of。参见kind of条。

Split infinitive（分裂不定式）。自十四世纪以降，就有在to与其所支配的不定式之间插入副词的前例，但除非作者想对该副词施加不寻常的强调，否则应当避免这种构造。

• 误：to diligently inquire
• 正：to inquire diligently

关于分裂不定式的另一面，参见提醒14。

State。不要仅仅把它当作say、remark的替代词。把它限于"express fully or clearly"（充分或清楚地表达）这一含义："He refused to state his objections."

Student body。十有八九是个多余而别扭的说法，意思不过就是简单的students一词。

• 误：a member of the student body
• 正：a student

• 误：popular with the student body
• 正：liked by the students

Than。凡含than（表比较）的句子都应细察，确保没有遗漏必不可少的词。

I'm probably closer to my mother than my father.

这句有歧义（Ambiguous.）。可分别写作：

• 正：I'm probably closer to my mother than to my father.
• 正：I'm probably closer to my mother than my father is.

• 误：It looked more like a cormorant than a heron.
• 正：It looked more like a cormorant than like a heron.

Thanking you in advance。这听起来像是作者在说："It will not be worth my while to write to you again."（不值得我再给你写信了。）提出请求时，写"Will you please"或"I shall be obliged"。然后，若你日后有意，或情况需要，再写一封致谢的信。

That、Which。That是限定性的，即限制性代词；which是非限定性的，即非限制性代词。（参见规则3。）

• 误：The lawn mower that is broken is in the garage.（说明是哪一台。）
• 正：The lawn mower, which is broken, is in the garage.（就所讨论的唯一一台割草机补充一个事实。）

用of which代替that，在书面语和口语中都很常见（"Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass."）。有时which似乎比that更可取，如上面出自《圣经》的句子。但若这两个代词都能用得精确，对所有人都是一种便利。细心的作者，留意小小的便利，会去"猎捕which"，删掉限定性的which，从而改进自己的作品。

The foreseeable future。一个陈词滥调，而且含义模糊。未来有多少是可预见的？十分钟？十年？有任何部分吗？由谁来预见？先知？专家？所有人？

The truth is...、The fact is...。这是句子的糟糕开头。如果你觉得自己掌握了真相，或掌握了事实，直接说出来就是。不要为它做预告宣传。

They、He or She。当先行词是each、each one、everybody、every one、many a man这类分配性表达时，不要用they。要用单数代词。

• 误：Every one of us knows they are fallible.
• 正：Every one of us knows he is fallible.

• 误：Everyone in the community, whether they are a member of the Association or not, is invited to attend.
• 正：Everyone in the community, whether he is a member of the Association or not, is invited to attend.

类似的毛病是把复数代词与先行词anybody、somebody、someone连用，其意图要么是避免别扭的he or she，要么是避免把自己归于两者中的哪一个。有些羞怯的说话者甚至说："A friend of mine told me that they…"

用he作为涵盖两性的名词的代词，是一种简单而实用的约定，植根于英语的起源。然而如今，许多作者认为用泛指的he或his来指代不确定的先行词，有局限或令人反感。用he or she来替代它，如果行得通，是合乎逻辑的做法。但它往往行不通，哪怕只是因为这重复听起来乏味或愚蠢。

考虑以下策略，以避免别扭地过度使用he or she，或无意中强调阳性：

用复数而非单数。

• 误：The writer must address his readers' concerns.
• 正：Writers must address their readers' concerns.

彻底删去代词。

• 误：The writer must address his readers' concerns.
• 正：The writer must address readers' concerns.

用第二人称代替第三人称。

• 误：The writer must address his readers' concerns.
• 正：As a writer, you must address your readers' concerns.

只要常识支持，谁都不必害怕使用he。如果你觉得she是替代he的顺手选择，不妨试试，看看会怎样。另一种做法是，把所有有争议的名词都变成复数，从而完全避开性别的选择，尽管你可能会发现，这样一来文章听起来笼统而松散。

This。代词this若指代前一句或子句的完整意思，未必总能承担这一重负，因而可能产生不精确的表述。

• 误：Visiting dignitaries watched yesterday as ground was broken for the new high-energy physics laboratory with a blowout safety wall. This is the first visible evidence of the university's plans for modernization and expansion.
• 正：Visiting dignitaries watched yesterday as ground was broken for the new high-energy physics laboratory with a blowout safety wall. The ceremony afforded the first visible evidence of the university's plans for modernization and expansion.

在上面左栏的例子中，this并不能立即说明什么是"第一项可见的证据"。

Thrust。这个招摇的名词，暗示着权力，暗指性，是主管、政客和演讲稿撰写人的宠儿。要少用它。把它留给具体的用法。

• 误：Our reorganization plan has a tremendous thrust.
• 正：The piston has a five-inch thrust.

• 误：The thrust of his letter was that he was working more hours than he'd bargained for.
• 正：The point he made in his letter was that he was working more hours than he'd bargained for.

Tortuous、Torturous。蜿蜒的道路是tortuous，痛苦的磨难是torturous。两个词都带有"twist"（扭曲）的意思，而扭曲曾是torture（酷刑）的一种形式。

Transpire。不得用于"happen"、"come to pass"（发生、降临）的意义。许多作者这样用（通常是在摸索想象中的优雅时），但他们的用法在拉丁语"breathe across or through"（透出、渗出）中几乎找不到依据。不过，在"become known"（为人所知）的意义上，它是正确的。"Eventually, the grim account of his villainy transpired"（字面意思是"leaked through or out"，泄漏出来）。

Try。接不定式："try to mend it"，而非"try and mend it"。研究语言的人会争辩说，try and已经流行开来，成了习语。诚然如此，它随意而可接受。但try to更精确，当你写正式文章时，试着写try to。

Type。不是kind of的同义词。以下例子都是常见的粗俗用法。

• 误：that type employee
• 正：that kind of employee

• 误：I dislike that type publicity.
• 正：I dislike that kind of publicity.

• 误：small, home-type hotels
• 正：small, homelike hotels

• 误：a new type plane
• 正：a plane of a new design (new kind)

Unique。意为"without like or equal"（无与伦比、独一无二）。因此，unique没有程度之分。

• 误：It was the most unique coffee maker on the market.
• 正：It was a unique coffee maker.

• 误：The balancing act was very unique.
• 正：The balancing act was unique.

• 误：Of all the spiders, the one that lives in a bubble under water is the most unique.
• 正：Among spiders, the one that lives in a bubble under water is unique.

Utilize。宁可说use。

• 误：I utilized the facilities.
• 正：I used the toilet.

• 误：He utilized the dishwasher.
• 正：He used the dishwasher.

Verbal。有时意为"word for word"（逐字），在这个意义上可以指以书面形式表达的东西。Oral（源自拉丁语os，"嘴"）把含义限于靠言语传递的内容。oral agreement比verbal agreement更精确。

Very。少用这个词。需要强调时，就用本身有力的词。

While。避免不加区别地用这个词来代替and、but和although。许多作者频繁用它来替代and或but，要么只是想让连词有些变化，要么是不确定这两个连词哪个更合适。在这种用法中，最好用分号代替它。

• 误：The office and salesrooms are on the ground floor, while the rest of the building is used for manufacturing.
• 正：The office and salesrooms are on the ground floor; the rest of the building is used for manufacturing.

在不会导致歧义或荒谬的句子里，把它当作although的近乎对等的词使用是允许的。

While I admire his energy, I wish it were employed in a better cause.

这完全正确，如下面的改写所示：

I admire his energy; at the same time, I wish it were employed in a better cause.

比较：

While the temperature reaches 90 or 95 degrees in the daytime, the nights are often chilly.

下面的改写表明，为什么这里的while用得不正确：

The temperature reaches 90 or 95 degrees in the daytime; at the same time the nights are often chilly.

总的来说，作者最好只在严格的字面意义上使用while，即"during the time that"（在……这段时间里）。

-wise。不要不加区分地把它当作伪后缀来用：taxwise、pricewise、marriagewise、prosewise、saltwater taffy wise。它主要是在意为"in the manner of"（以……的方式）时有用：clockwise。只要一时兴起，英语里没有一个名词是不能加上-wise的。清醒的作者会戒绝使用这个放荡不羁的附加成分。

Worth while。作为表达含糊赞许的词（与not连用时表示不赞许），用得过滥。严格来说只适用于行为："Is it worth while to telegraph?"

• 误：His books are not worth while.
• 正：His books are not worth reading (are not worth one's while to read; do not repay reading).

形容词worthwhile（一个词）可以接受，但苍白无力。用一个更有力的词吧。

• 误：a worthwhile project
• 正：a promising (useful, valuable, exciting) project

Would。常用于表达习惯性或重复的动作。（"He would get up early and prepare his own breakfast before he went to work."）但当习惯或重复的意思已由once a year、every day,、each Sunday这类短语表达出来时，不用would的过去时通常就够了，而且由于简短，更有力。

• 误：Once a year he would visit the old mansion.
• 正：Once a year he visited the old mansion.

在叙事写作中，务必标出从一般到个别的过渡——也就是从仅仅陈述一般习惯的句子，过渡到表达某个特定日子或时期行动的句子。不标出这种变化会造成混乱。

Townsend would get up early and prepare his own breakfast. If the day was cold, he filled the stove and had a warm fire burning before he left the house. On his way out to the garage, he noticed that there were footprints in the new-fallen snow on the porch.

读者会迷失，因为他没有收到任何信号，表明Townsend已经从仅仅是个有习惯的人，变成了在某一天看到某件特定事物的人。

Townsend would get up early and prepare his own breakfast. If the day was cold, he filled the stove and had a warm fire burning before he left the house. One morning in January, on his way out to the garage, he noticed footprints in the new-fallen snow on the porch.