從日常生活中學習#2: 「Nibble」有及物版本,也有不及物版本

 


今年2月發布第一篇此系列的newsletter中,我提出了大家應透過日常生活中的正確英文例子學習,尤其當我們已對這套語言的文法結構有了系統性的理解。


我們要做的,不過是將日常中活中發現的例子,放進我們理解的那個文法框架(就如我們課程所教授的框架!)中進行分析。


如果我們已經認識例子中的所有單字、表達方式和文法元素,可以當這是在鞏固我們的已有知識;如果發現例子中有任何我們不確定的情況,便可以該例子為出發點去進一步澄清。關鍵是,所有對知識的鞏固和澄清都是有系統的。


近期的幾篇newsletter,我們討論了許多關於及物和不及物的動詞。


因此,當我在女兒的一本故事書中看到這樣的句子,便想到可以用它作為簡單的例子,示範我們如何從日常生活中取材學習:




我圈出的句子如下:

 

A capybara with bright eyes is nibbling plants.” 

(一隻眼睛明亮的水豚正在小口小口吃植物)


我選這一句,因為當中的動詞「nibble」並非一個很常用的單字,但在日常溝通上還是會偶然出現的。它的意思是「一點一點地吃/咬」,有時亦會是一個「可愛」或「有格調」地表達「吃東西」的方式。


如果你本來不懂「nibble」一詞,當看到這句子時,你會如何有系統地學習它?


首先,由於這裡的「nibble」是以限定動詞字形(現在式、進行體貌)「is nibbling」出現的,因此你要先找它的 infinitive 基本字形 –「nibble」。


然後,你要了解「nibble」的準確含義是甚麼。


接下來,須概要但有系統地檢視句子的結構。


當我們嘗試有系統地學習動詞,並希望把這些動詞轉化成自己懂得使用的「生產性」知識,我們就必須知道它們具有哪些文法特徵 – 而當中最重要的是:


這動詞有沒有直接賓詞/間接賓語?


這動詞有沒有特定的修飾語來完整其意思?


在我們的例句中,動詞「nibble」後面直接連接了名詞「plants」,說明它是有直接賓語的。直接賓語「plants」就是那個被吃或被小口地咬的食物。


因此我們透過這例子認識到,這個意思為「一點一點地吃」的動詞「nibble」,需要一個直接賓語才能真正表達出「一點一點地吃」。


這就是我們可以透過此例句有系統地學到的知識 – 至少在這樣的語境中,動詞「nibble」具有如上的特徵。


那麼,當你日後又在其他例子中看到這一個動詞,便可以拿它跟自己在從前的例子中學到的知識對比一下:


She nibbled on the edge of the sandwich.

她輕輕咬了一口三明治的邊緣

 

從這新例子我們能分析出,動詞「nibble」的後面沒有直接賓詞,而是連接了帶有「on」的介詞組「on the edge of the sandwich」。


大家不必為前後兩個例子間的差異而困惑,反而應有系統地看待這問題 – 動詞「nibble」在這語境中表達這層意義時,具有另一組不同的文法特徵。


一個動詞在表達不同意思時,很經常會有不一樣的文法特徵。就算這些意思只是差別很小,文法結構上也有時會有不同的。


如果你認真分析這些例子的意思,可能會得出類似的結論:帶有直接賓語的「nibble」更強調「吃」,而帶有「on」介詞組的「nibble」則更強調「咬」。


可能你未能即時為兩個「版本」的「nibble」之間的差異作出明確結論,但這沒關係。因為重點只是透過分析這些真實例子,讓我們理解這兩個版本都是存在的,而且都是在表達各自的意思(雖然這兩個意思剛好在這情況差別很小)。


從這兩個真實例子分析了這動詞後,對它有了理解,往後看到任何有它的新例子時,便可以再透過這些例子來鞏固認知 – 例如更加深刻地理解「nibble + 直接賓語」及「nibble + on 的 preposition phrase」版本的微細意思差別,或者它們通常會出現的語境等。


________________________________


小練習:


如果你往後遇到以下包含「nibble」一詞的句子,你能從中學到些什麼?


"He took a nibble of the cheese."

________________________________



Learning from Daily Life #2:

“Nibble” can be Transitive or Intransitive


In the first newsletter of this series, back in February this year, I introduced the idea that we can always learn something from real-life examples of correct English, as long as we have a systematic understanding of the grammatical structure of the language. 


All we need to do is to put the real-life example within our framework of grammatical understanding (like the one from our course!) and analyze it. 


If we already know all the words, expressions, and grammatical elements in the example, we can consolidate our knowledge; or if we find anything that we are unsure about, we can use the example itself as a jumping-off point for clarification. The key is that all of this consolidation and clarification of knowledge is systematic


In some recent newsletters, we have been talking a lot about transitive and intransitive verbs, so when I came across this sentence from one of my daughter’s books today, I thought I could use it as another simple example of how to learn from daily examples:



The sentence I circled says:

 

A capybara with bright eyes is nibbling plants.” 

(一隻眼睛明亮的水豚正在小口小口吃植物)


I chose this example because the verb “nibble” is not a very common word but still comes up quite often in real-life usage. It means “to eat something with small bites” – or is sometimes just used casually as a “cute” or stylized way of saying “eat.”


If you don’t know the word “nibble,” and you come across this sentence, how can you learn from it systematically?


First, since “nibble” is in the finite verb form (present tense, progressive aspect) “is nibbling” here, you would need to find or deduce its infinitive form – “nibble.”


Then, you would need to find out what “nibble” means precisely.


After that, you would look at the structure of the sentence briefly but systematically. 


When we try to learn verbs systematically, and we want to turn those verbs into “productive” knowledge that we can use in our own sentences, we have to know what grammatical characteristics they have – the most important of which are:


Do the verbs have direct and/or indirect objects? 

Do the verbs have specific modifiers that complete their meaning? 


In our example sentence, the verb “nibble” is followed directly by the noun “plants” – which means that it has a direct object. This direct object – “plants” – appears to be the food that is “eaten” or “nibbled.” 


So, from this example, you learn that the verb “nibble,” which means “eat with small bites,” has a direct object when expressing “eating something with small bites.”


This is what you can learn systematically from this example. We know that the verb “nibble,” at least in this context, has this characteristic.


Now, if you see another example with the verb in the future, you can compare it to your existing knowledge from the previous example:


She nibbled on the edge of the sandwich.

她輕輕咬了一口三明治的邊緣

 

From this next example, you analyze that the verb “nibble” does not have a direct object after it, but rather a preposition phrase with “on” – “on the edge of the sandwich.” 


Don’t be baffled by the discrepancy between this and the previous example. The systematic way of looking at this is rather: The verb “nibble,” when expressing this meaning in this context, has a different set of grammatical characteristics.


Often, verbs express different meanings with different grammatical characteristics, even when these meanings are very often related, and the differences are subtle.


If you analyze the meanings of these examples, you might conclude that, for example, “nibble” with a direct object emphasizes the action of “eating” more, whereas “nibble” with a preposition phrase with “on” emphasizes the action of “biting” more.


It doesn’t matter if you don’t arrive at a very clear conclusion about the difference between the two “versions” of “nibble” right away.

The key here is to understand, through analyzing these examples, that these two versions of grammatical characteristics both exist.


Once you have this knowledge about this verb, you can use every future example you see to consolidate your understanding even more of the difference in meaning between these two versions, and of the contexts in which they usually appear, etc.


______________________


Mini Exercise:


You encounter this other sentence with the word “nibble” – what can you learn from it?


"He took a nibble of the cheese."


____________________

Answer:


There is also a noun version of the word “nibble,” which means “a small bite.” 


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