有無定冠詞，意義各不同

彭現省

在英語中有很多常見短語有the和沒有the時表達的含義各不相同，如果稍不注意，很容易因混淆而導致錯誤，因此同學們務必要弄清楚它們的不同。

1. at the hands of 在某人手中；at hand在手邊，在跟前，即將到來。如：

His mother died at the hands of the enemy.

他的母親死在敵人的手中。

When he writes，he always keeps a dictionary at hand.

他寫作時，手邊總是放著一本字典。

2. at the table在桌子旁；at table在吃飯，在用餐。如：

At the moment the Greens are playing cards at the table.

現在格林一家正圍在桌旁打牌。

Children must learn to behave at table.

小孩吃飯要守規矩。

3. at the school在學校里；at school在上學。如：

I think the policemen are at the school now.

我想現在警察在學校里。

Is your elder sister at school？

你姐姐在上學嗎？

4. by the day 按天（計）；by day 在白天。如：

Your salary will be paid by the day.

你的薪水將會按天支付。

She usually goes to work by day.

她通常上白班。

5. in the case of就……來說；in case of 如果，萬一。如：

In the case of Russian grammar，it is much more difficult than the English grammar.

就俄語語法來說，它比英語語法難得多。

In case of fire， ring the alarm bell.

如遇火警，請按警鈴。

6. in the charge of由……管；in charge of 負責（某事）。如：

The whole factory will be in the charge of me next week when the directors away.

下周廠長外出時整個工廠將由我管理。

Ill be in charge of the whole factory next week when the directors away.

下周廠長外出時我將負責整個工廠。

7. in the hospital在醫院里；in hospital住院。如：

My sister works in the hospital.

我姐姐在醫院工作。

He has been in hospital for several days.

他已經住院好幾天了。

8. in the front of 在……（內部的）前面；in front of 在……（外部的）前面。如：

There is a blackboard in the front of our classroom.

在我們教室前面有塊黑板（黑板在教室內）。

There is a tall tree in front of our classroom.

在我們教室前面有棵大樹（大樹在教室外）。

9. in the future將來；in future 今后。如：

Who can tell what will happen in the future？

誰能斷定將來會發生什么事情？

You should be more careful with your work in future.

從今以后，你對工作應再仔細些。

10. in the hands of 由……照管（負責、掌握、控制、決定）；in hand 手上（的），在掌握中的。如：

The situation is well in the hands of the police.

警方很好地控制著形勢。

I still have 10 pounds in hand after paying the bill.

付了賬單后，我手上還有10英鎊。

11. in the office在辦公室里；in office執政，當權。如：

Miss Annie is talking with the manager in the office now.

現在安妮小姐正在辦公室里與經理談話。

Which political party is in office in your country？

貴國是哪一個政黨執政？

12. in the possession of在……手中，由……掌握；in possession of 占有，擁有。如：

A large quantity of stolen property was in the possession of the chief.

大量偷來的錢財掌握在這個頭目手中。

The chief was in possession of a large quantity of stolen property.

這個頭目占有大量偷來的錢財。

13. in the sight of在……看來；in sight of 可以看見（某物）。如：

Blacks and whites in America are equal in the sight of the law.

從法律上來看，美國的黑人與白人是平等的。

Are you in sight of the red flag on the top of the mountain？

你能看見山頂上的那面紅旗嗎？

14. in the view of據某人看來；in view of 鑒于，考慮到，由于。如：

In the view of the headmaster，we are right in doing this experiment.

據校長看來，我們做這個實驗是對的。

In view of the facts， it seems useless to continue.

考慮到這些實際情況，繼續干下去似乎是無用的。

15. on the earth在地球上；on earth究竟，到底。如：

There are many kinds of animals living on the earth.

地球上生活著多種動物。

What on earth do you mean？

你到底什么意思？

16. out of the question不可能的；out of question 毫無疑問，沒有問題。如：

Some of my classmates think Mary will get full marks in the English exam，but I think that is out of the question.

一些同學認為瑪麗將在這次英語考試中取得滿分，但我認為那是不可能的事。

He will fail in the examination again， which is out of question.

他考試又要不及格，這是毫無疑問的。

17. take the air 呼吸新鮮空氣；take air傳開。如：

Lets go out and take the air.

我們到戶外去呼吸新鮮空氣吧。

The story has taken air.

這個故事已經傳開了。

18. the two of them他們倆；two of them他們中的兩個。如：

The two of them have failed in the examination.

他們倆考試都不及格。

Two of them have failed in the examination.

他們中有兩個人考試不及格。

19. the two of us我們倆；two of us我們之中的兩個。如：

The two of us are from England.

我們倆來自英格蘭。

Two of us are good at dancing.

我們中有兩個人擅長跳舞。

（責任編校？筑彭益）