Careful

开篇：润墨网以专业的文秘视角，为您筛选了一篇Careful范文，如需获取更多写作素材，在线客服老师一对一协助。欢迎您的阅读与分享！

Gas Station

Common Errors

In this issue of careful we have pointed out some of the most common errors that students of English make. All of these errors involve confusion about the meaning and usage of two words or phrases. Mistakes like these are committed by beginners and advanced learners alike. Sometimes even native speakers will slip up with these ones.

在本期《CAREFUL》中，我们列出了英语学习者最常犯的一些错误。所有这些错误均与混用两个单词或短语的意思及用法有关。而初学者和高水平学习者都会犯此类错误。有时，即便是本族语使用者也会在这些错误上栽跟头。

Affect/Effect

When "affect" is accented on the final syllable (a-FECT), it is a verb meaning "have an influence on":

The million-dollar donation from the industrialist did not affect my vote against the Clean Air Act.

A much rarer meaning is indicated when the word is accented on the first syllable (AFF-ect), meaning "emotion". In this case the word is used mostly by psychiatrists and social scientists.

The real problem arises when people confuse the first spelling with the second: "effect". This too can be two different words. The more common one is a noun:

When I left the oven on, the effect was that the kitchen filled with smoke.

When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it.

The less common is a verb meaning"to create":

I'm trying to effect a change in the way we purchase material.

Note that the proper expression is not "take affect" but "take effect" - i.e. become effective.

For Sale/On Sale

If something is for sale, it means that it is available to be purchased:

Pete is going to move to Dseldorf so his house is for sale.

If something is on sale, it means that the price has been reduced:

This coat is on sale. It was $140 but is now being sold for $100.

Hanged/Hung

This is one that native speakers get confused by. Originally these words were pretty much interchangeable, but "hanged" eventually came to be used pretty exclusively to mean "killed or died by hanging". People did not want to use the same word that is associated with capital punishment and suicide in other contexts:

Lady Wrothley saw to it that her ancestors' portraits were properly hung.

Therefore, "hung" is correct except when someone dies from being suspended by a rope around the neck!

Less/Fewer

This problem arises from a confusion regarding two categories of words relating to number and amount. The number category is used for objects which can be counted, such as cookies. Words like "few" and "many" can be used to quantify these objects.

In future you should eat fewer cookies.

The amount category is used for things that cannot be counted, like milk. These objects are quantified by words such as little, less and much:

Why don't you drink less alcohol?

Remember that you can eat "fewer" cookies but drink "less" milk!

If the thing being measured is being considered in countable units, then use number words. Even a substance which is considered in bulk can also be measured by number of units. For instance, you shouldn't drink too much wine, but you should also avoid drinking too many glasses of wine. Note that here you are counting glasses. They can be numbered.

Exceptions to the less/fewer pattern are references to units of time and money, which are usually treated as amounts: less than an hour, less than five dollars. Only when you are referring to specific coins or bills would you use "fewer":

I have fewer than five state quarters to go to make my collection complete.

当“affect”的重音落在尾音节（a-FECT）上时，它就是一个动词，意为“对……有影响”：

来自那位工业家的百万美元捐款并没有影响我投票反对《净化空气法案》。

当该单词的重音落在首音节（AFF-ect）上时，则表示一个较少用到的意思，即“感情”。这种情况下，使用这个词的主要是精神病学家和社会学家。

真正的问题的出现，在于人们将第一个词的拼写混同于第二个词――“effect”。而该词也可以被当作两个不同的词使用。更常见的是名词形式：

我没有关烤箱，结果厨房里全都是烟。

当你对局势施加影响时，你对它就有一种影响力。

不太常见的是意为“引起”的动词形式：

我试图促成我们在购买材料方式上有所变化。

注意：固定短语不是“take affect”而是“take effect”，即“生效”的意思。

如果有东西是“for sale”，那么就意味着它可供选购：

皮特即将移居到杜塞尔多夫，所以他的房子待售。

如果有东西是“on sale”，那么就意味着价格下调了：

这件外套正在打折。它的原价是140美元，但现在100美元就卖了。

这是本族语使用者会混用的一组词。最初，这两个单词几乎可以通用，但“hanged”的用法最终变得相对固定，意为“被绞刑处死或上吊而亡”。人们不希望在其它语境中使用会联想到死刑和自杀的同一个词。

在若斯蕾小姐的监督下，其先人的肖像被挂好了。

因此，除了在某人被用绳勒颈吊死的情况下，用“hung”是没错的！

出现这类问题在于对与数字和数量有关的两类词语没有搞清楚。数词类用于可数的物体，比如饼干。“few”和“many”之类的词语可以将这些物体进行量化。

以后你应该少吃些饼干。

量词类用于不可数的东西，比如牛奶。这类物体由“little”、“less”和“much”之类的词语进行量化。

你为什么不少喝点儿酒？

记住：你少吃饼干要用“fewer”，而少喝牛奶要用“less”！

如果被测量的东西被认为数量可数，那么就用数词。即使被认为是散装的物质也同样可以用数量单位来进行测量。例如，你不能喝太多（too much）的葡萄酒，但你也应该避免喝太多杯（too many glasses）的葡萄酒。注意：在这里，你是在计算杯数。而它们是可以计量的。

“less/fewer”的用法是有例外情况的，即在涉及时间和金钱的单位（常常被当作是数量）时：less than an hour（不到1小时）、less than five dollars（不到5美元）。而只有当你是指具体的硬币或者钞票时，你才会用到“fewer”：

我的两毛五分硬币，还有不到五个州的，就全收藏齐了。