「值得學習 」(“Worth Learning”)的知識 😉
幾星期前,我寫了介紹形容詞「worth」的這篇通訊,之後也在社交媒體上傳了相關的短片。
我在通訊和短片中都提到,「worth」在表達「值甚麼」的意思時,會直接連接一個名詞組。例如「worth $100」意思就是「值一百元」。
有觀眾留言,說「worth」也可以連接 gerund(動名詞),例如「worth doing」(值得做)。
這當然是對的,因為 gerund 詞組在文法功能上就屬於名詞組,我在另一篇通訊中也解釋過。
藉此,我想再次強調建立系統性框架來理解英文結構的重要性。
有了框架,我們便可以從任何的例句中「推論」出知識,並將知識有系統地應用到其他語境中。
如果你已經建立了一定的結構知識,如「gerund詞組就是名詞組」(像我的這篇通訊),以及「worth」其實是形容詞,直接連接名詞組時會表達「值甚麼」的意思,那麼你也應該自然就能了解,「worth」在直接連接gerund詞組時會表達「值得做甚麼」。
也就是說,我們不應想成「worth」可以連接名詞組,「亦可」連接 gerund 詞組,而是,由於gerund詞組就是名詞組,因此可以直接出現在「worth」後面。
明白像「doing」這樣的gerund詞組就是名詞組,你也會知道「worth」當然是可以配合 gerund 詞組來表達意思的。
我們再多參考幾個「worth」連接 gerund 詞組的例子:
That book is worth reading if you are interested in history.
如果你對歷史感興趣,那本書很值得讀
The movie was definitely worth watching again.
那部電影絕對值得再看一次。
It is worth considering all the options before making a decision.
在做決定之前,值得考慮所有的選項
以上三個例句,「reading」、「watching again」和「considering all the options」都是 gerund 名詞組。我在上一篇通訊中已介紹過它的組合方法,就是在基本字形的動詞「read」、「watch」和「consider」上加「-ing」字尾,然後加入該動詞組本身具有的賓語和修飾語,例如這裡的「again」和「all the options」。
我也提到,gerund 名詞組所表達的意思是「那個動詞的動作的實行」,所以當我們在它前面放一個「worth」,意思便會是「值得做那動作」。
只要我們有系統地建立了文法框架的相關知識,便會明白為何「worth $100」和「worth reading」兩者都是正確(並在文法結構上是一樣)的 。這比把它們視為兩個毫無關聯的例子更加有效。
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小練習:
請用「worth」來完成下列句子,表達出中文版本的意思。
The exhibition is ________________________ (visit).
這展覽值得去看
His suggestion is ________________________ (discuss) further.
他的建議值得進一步討論
___________________
Something “Worth Learning” 😉
After I wrote about the adjective “worth” in this newsletter from a few weeks ago, I also made a short reel about it on social media.
As in the newsletter, I also mentioned in the short reel that “worth” is used with a noun phrase directly after it to express the meaning of “值甚麼” – for example, “worth $100” is “值一百元.”
A viewer commented on this reel that the adjective “worth” can also be followed by a gerund, for example, “worth doing” (值得做).
This is of course true, because gerund phrases are noun phrases in their grammatical function, as I explained, serendipitously, in another newsletter recently.
Now, these are the moments when I would like to stress, again, the importance of building a systematic framework of understanding English structure.
Such a framework allows you to “extrapolate” knowledge from something specific, like a specific example sentence, and apply this knowledge systematically to other contexts as well.
If you have built up the systematic knowledge that gerund phrases are noun phrases – like from my newsletter – and that the word “worth” is an adjective which expresses the meaning of “值甚麼" with a noun phrase directly after it, then you would naturally also know that “worth” can express the meaning of “值得做甚麼" with a gerund noun phrase directly after it.
In other words, it is not that “worth” can be followed by a noun phrase and also by a gerund phrase – it is that gerund phrases are noun phrases, so “worth” can be followed by them.]
If you systematically understand that gerund phrases, like “doing,” are noun phrases, you would also understand that “worth” can express meaning with gerund phrases as well.
Let’s use this opportunity to look at some examples of “worth” with gerund noun phrases:
That book is worth reading if you are interested in history.
如果你對歷史感興趣,那本書很值得讀
The movie was definitely worth watching again.
那部電影絕對值得再看一次。
It is worth considering all the options before making a decision.
在做決定之前,值得考慮所有的選項
In these examples, “reading,” “watching again,” “considering all the options” are all gerund noun phrases. They are formed, as I explained last week, by adding the ending “-ing” to the base form of the verbs “read,” “watch,” and “consider,” and they contain all the objects and modifiers that the original verb phrases have, such as “again” and “all the options” here.
Like I mentioned last time, a gerund noun phrase expresses the meaning “那個動詞的動作的實行,” so when we have “worth” with a gerund noun phrase after it, the meaning is “值得做那動作.”
When we build up knowledge about grammar systematically, we would understand why “worth $100” and “worth reading” are both correct and both involve “worth” and a noun phrase. This is a much more efficient way of learning than seeing these as two unconnected examples.
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Mini Exercise:
Finish the following sentences with the word “worth” and express the meanings in Chinese.
The exhibition is ________________________ (visit).
這展覽值得去看
His suggestion is ________________________ (discuss) further.
他的建議值得進一步討論
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