[詞彙區別] 同學們,在寫學術文章的時候是不是很難區分thus, therefore, hence?
雖然這幾個字都是副詞,字義上也大致被認為是「所以」,可是用法卻有細膩的區別。
★★★★Thus★★★★
1. Thus 的意思是「以這樣的方式」或「藉由如此」。
“Thus” means “in this/that way.” It relates to “HOW” - the manner in which - how something happens or comes about.
E.g. The university has drastically lowered its tuition, thus (in this way) allowing many more people the chance of higher education.
2. Thus 另外一個意思是「因此」或「於是」。
“Thus” also means as a result of something just mentioned. It, when used as a conjunctive adverb, is similar in meaning to “therefore.”
E.g. It has been discovered that using scents can trigger the sensations of love, comfort, and happiness. Thus, the sense of smell can be used as strategy to invoke new responses in consumers.
3. Thus far 的意思則是「到目前為止 」或「迄今」。
E.g. He has invested $ 12 million thus far. He will most likely invest more in the future.
★★★★Therefore★★★★
1. Therefore的意思是「出於某個原因」、「因為某個因素」或「建立在某個基礎上」。
Therefore 前面的句子提供了證據支持某個結論,而該結論將出現在下一個含有 therefore的句子中。Therefore在數學證明中是常見的。
“Therefore” means “for this reason,” or “because of this or that” - it relates to deductive reasoning, it tells WHY this or that is so, or happened.
E.g. He was late and therefore (for this reason) missed the bus.
E.g. There are frequent rock slides in that area. Therefore, no one is allowed to enter.
★★★★Hence★★★★
1. Hence意思是「 因此」或「 導致」,字義是跟therefore相同,但用法不同。
We suspect that the agency is trying to hide something, hence the need for an independent inquiry.
在這邊hence後面並非連接子句,而是接名詞片語!
2. Hence 在正式(科學)的文章可以當轉折詞,意思仍然是「 因此」。
The cost of transport is a major expense for an industry. Hence(,) factory location is an important consideration.
這邊逗號在正式寫作常省略掉。
★★★★★★★★★★★★
這三個字都有共同點,所以同學自然在使用時容易混淆,而且大部分母語者也分不太清楚這三者間的差異。但是同學在學術寫作時還是必須選擇適當的詞彙,才能精準表達自己的想法及觀點。若用字上不夠明確,很容易誤導讀者而失去原先欲傳遞的訊息。
建議同學還是要分清楚這三字細微的區別才能更精準、有效、流暢地呈現文章的要點間的連貫。
詞彙區別:http://goo.gl/xnhtQg
★★★★★★★★★★★★
Sources:
https://painintheenglish.com/case/4452/
https://goo.gl/s5VRv7
https://www.ldoceonline.com/
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
https://corpus.byu.edu/coca/
https://jakubmarian.com/so-thus-therefore-and-hence-in-english/
how important it is 用法 在 蕭叔叔英式英文學會 Uncle Siu's British English Club Facebook 的最佳貼文
《流利英文的秘密》
叔叔:由今個星期開始,蕭叔叔的明報專欄由biweekly改為weekly,逢星期一刊出,今次大檸樂。
【明報專訊】蕭叔叔成日同學生講:Conquer the small words, and you’ll conquer the language. 學英文,最難學的,係 is am are was were,of for in at with 這類小字,而不是望落去高深,又長又難讀的字。小字通常有連接意念的作用。好多人學講英文,唔係識字唔夠多,而係唔識將意念串連起來,流暢地表達。
譬如我想講:今日要同大家講我最鍾意嘅課題-正確學習 small words 的重要性。英文唔流利嘅人,可能重點字眼都講得足,就係聽落去唔流利,broken,disjointed。錯誤示範:
Today I talk about something I love. It is important to learn small words
這句就是怪,而且不像說英文的人說話。這句蕭叔叔會怎樣說?假如不怕長氣,場合又唔太formal的話(說話不同書寫,說話假如太少廢字,聽落去反而唔自然)。蕭叔叔示範:
Today it’s a bit of a lovely one for me in that I’m talking about the importance of learning small words, and how it’s gonna contribute to your fluency. It’s something that I’ve been obsessed with since I started teaching English.
唔係話咁樣講先叫做好,因為好多人會認為廢話太多,語氣又不夠肯定(如 a bit of a),and this is only one of the countless number of ways to say the same thing,BUT,咁樣講,的確是正常,自然,流利嘅 informal 英文口語。要聽蕭叔叔開口示範,請 follow the link below:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hP4FNDKO6hI&feature=youtu.be
分析一下。A bit of a 是日常口語常用 expression,尤其英國人愛用。In that 意思大概就是「因為」。留意 how it’s gonna contribute to your fluency,這是個 noun phrase,通常用正常詞序,而不用問句的詞序(how is it going to)。留意其中 it’s,a,bit,of,a,one,for, in,that,I’m,about,the,and, how,gonna,to,something,with,since,就是我所謂的 small words。要英文說得流利自然,一定要 conquer 這些小字的用法,反而長字,深字,content字,不難學。
再給大家一個例子。英國首相,保守黨的 David Cameron 最近拍了段短片,講英國新的稅務政策。一開首佢咁講:
Today is called Money Back Monday, and the reason for that is that some of the most important tax and pension changes come into place today in the new financial year. And there’re two that I think are particularly important.
又係時候學 small words。大家知道要留意的字啦?is called,and the reasons for that is that,some of the most,come into place,in the,and there’re,that I think are particularly。這些,才是學習的重點。Again,要聽蕭叔叔示範,follow the link below:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hP4FNDKO6hI&feature=youtu.be
那,small words 怎樣學?多聽多講就可以了嗎?錯。假如身不在全英文的環境,只靠多聽多講,不會進步。聽之餘還要動動腦筋,用腦分析,思考,點解呢句說話要咁講,點解呢度要放呢個字。唔好再只看深字長字啦,remember:Conquer the small words, and you’ll conquer the language。蕭叔叔話嘅。
文︰蕭愷一
作者簡介
蕭愷一,aka蕭叔叔。夢想做男神、現實是大叔的英文教學狂熱分子,law grad,哲學碩士dropout,語言學愛好者,以speak English like an educated native為教與學的終極目標。
蕭叔叔的Facebook專頁《蕭叔叔的英文學會》 :https://www.facebook.com/unclesiu
how important it is 用法 在 美國在台協會 AIT Facebook 的最讚貼文
American English at State
來和ShareAmerica一起練習的英語 #English 日常對話吧!今天的要練習的對話是:"你想家了嗎?"。請聽這個網頁的錄音檔(內有英文全文): https://goo.gl/BWZH7c
讓我們來學習一些詞語:
Long time no see:好久不見。這是一種英語口語表達方式,用在與很長時間未見面的人相遇的時候。
What've you been up to? :是英語口語的一種非正式問話,意思為“你近來在幹什麼?”
To seem or be a little down 的意思是,好像有點低沉/情緒不高。
Homesick:想家,思鄉。前面通常用“是”動詞be或者動詞feel(感覺)。例如: She is homesick. (她想家了。)I feel homesick.(我想家。)
形容詞multilingual用來指熟練掌握兩種以上語言的人。
形容詞multicultural的意思是多種文化的,可以形容融合多種文化的環境或者有多種文化背景的群體。
To acclimate: 指適應一個新地方或新環境。常見的用法是acclimate+to+地點或環境。例如:She is acclimating to the new city. (她正在適應她的新城市。)He quickly acclimates to the cultures of other countries.(他對其他國家的文化適應很快。)
在這個對話裡, nonsense表示說話人認為前面的說法完全不對。
會話逐字文:
Peter: Hi Jana. Long time no see. What’ve you been up to?
Jana: Just studying a lot.
Peter: You seem a little down. Is everything okay?
Jana: Yeah, everything is okay. Thanks for asking. Sometimes I get a little homesick and miss my family and my language. I didn’t realize how important my home language is to me. It’s really part of who I am.
Peter: I definitely understand that. Even though my parents and sisters are multilingual, we usually only speak our first language with one another.
Jana: But you don’t seem to ever miss your home language.
Peter: Of course I do! But this is a very multicultural campus and city. There are people here who speak your home language. It has helped me to find people who speak my first language. We get together every couple of weeks to talk.
Jana: I’m glad you understand. Part of me thinks I am a failure or I’m not acclimating to the U.S. if I don’t speak English all the time.
Peter: Nonsense! All of our languages are part of who we are and part of our identities. We can’t ignore that.
Practice your #English with ShareAmerica's Everyday Conversations! Today's dialogue: Are you homesick? @AmericanEnglishatState