寫文章時,你也許不經意寫出這樣的句子:
He will be discharged from the hospital two days later. 他兩天後即將出院。
I will leave for Japan two days later. 我兩天後即將前往日本。
許多人不知道「two days later, three days later, two years later, three years later」在英文中是用來表達過去的時間。
He had a headache initially and turned drowsy two days later.
他剛開始頭痛,兩天後變得嗜睡。
Five years later, scars from Katrina are still visible on the Gulf Coast's delicate ecosystems.
五年過後,卡崔娜颶風對墨西哥灣的生態影響依舊可見。(五年指的是過去的五年)
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未來式中的「兩天後」應該這樣寫:
the day after tomorrow 後天
two days from now
two days after today
「三天後」就是 three days from now, three days after today
1) I will leave for Japan three days from now.
2) I will leave for Japan three days after today.
我三天後即將前往日本。
第二句有時省略 today,就變成:
I will leave for Japan three days after.
第一次看到 three years after、three days after 以為是錯誤的用法,原來美國人竟是這樣用的。"Ten Years After" 是英國一個老樂團的名字,"Twenty Years After" 是大仲馬的小說,也是一部名為 "浩劫後" 電影的名稱 。
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three years after 可以用來指 "過去的三年到現在" 或 "現在以後的三年",要看上下文。
Thirty years after (its invention), PCR becomes a bench-top technique in modern labs.
三十年的發展 (指 PCR 發明後三十年),PCR 成了實驗桌上的常備技術。
(PCR: polymerase chain reaction, 聚合酶鍊鎖反應. )
Twenty years after (now), target therapy will become the major tool to combat cancer.
二十年以後,標靶治療將成為對抗癌症的主要工具。
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