昆明国际五金机电市场:father and mother与mother and father

来源:百度文库 编辑:中财网 时间:2024/04/29 09:45:19
虽然汉语习惯上只说“父母”,不说“母父”,但英语却既可以说father and mother,也可以说mother and father。如下面两句均引自权威词典:
His mother and father are both doctors. 他的父母都是医生。《朗文当代英语词典》
He had the clearest image in his mind of his mother and father. 他父母的模样他心里清清楚楚。《朗文当代英语词典》
My mother and father smoke. 我的父母都抽烟。《牛津英语用法指南》
The mother and father both gave away the bride. 母亲和父亲把新娘交到新郎手上。《当代美国英语学习词典》
类似地,汉语只说“兄妹”,不说“妹兄”,而英语虽然通常说 brother and sister,但有时也说 sister and brother,如 2001年春季上海高考英语的阅读理解题的A篇文章就有 his sister and brother 的用例;再如,汉语说“男女”,英语通常说成 man and woman,但有时也说 woman and man,如2001年全国高考英语的阅读理解的E篇文章就有 200 women and men 的用例;等等。
类似的还有,汉语只说“日夜”,不说“夜日”,但说成英语可以是day and night 或 night and day;汉语只说“老少”,不说“少老”,而说成英语可以是old and young 或 young and old;汉语只说“身心”,不说“心身”,但说成英语可以是mind and body 或 body and mind 身心;等等。
注意,这类表达往往有其习惯性,不要将此推而广之。比如以下表达英语与汉语的表达顺序在通常情下是一致的:
father and son 父与子
husband and wife 夫妻
pen and ink 笔墨
sun and moon 日月
而以下表达英汉两种语言的表达词序完全相反,且习惯上不宜倒过来说:
rich and poor 贫富
food and drink 饮食
land and water 水陆
north and south 南北
food and clothing 衣食
flesh and blood 血肉
backwards and forwards 来回地
总之,要在平时的学习中慢慢地积累。