Everything U wanna know about the English language
Mr. Ng
Mr. Ng studied English language and literature as well as linguistics at the University of Hong Kong. He was on the Dean's List for three years and graduated with a first class honours degree and an R.K.M. Simpson Prize in English. He received his Post-graduate Diploma in Education from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Before teaching in secondary schools, he was a graduate student and a teaching assistant in the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science at the University of Delaware in the USA. He is currently an English teacher at Po Leung Kuk Vicwood K.T. Chong Sixth Form College but has taught in other local subsidized schools before. Externally, he has served the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority as a marker and an oral examiner for the HKCEE and the HKALE.
Posts by Mr. Ng
Stake(s) 賭注、賽馬
Jun 23rd
最近忙於改學生考試卷，以至遲遲未能寫新文章，還請見諒。今日想跟大家談談 stake 這個詞語的隱喻意義 (metaphorical meaning) 和用法。
當某人就一場賽馬、一項競爭或一個撲克遊戲進行賭博時，他的 stake 是他進行賭博的賭注，如果他所下注的馬、人或團隊不能取勝，他就會輸錢。stake 及其複數形式 stakes 用作隱喻，談論事物處於危險境地的情況。
解讀長句
Jun 9th
今日再同大家看一個長句，它同樣出自 UE 1997 Section C 的閱讀理解。句子是這樣寫的 (lines 46-52) ：
It [The West's failure] extends not just to the environment and physical infrastructure of modern Asian societies, which people are amazed to find leave British and many other European cities looking run down and dilapidated, but to the moral and social order they stand.
句子既用上 not just… but… 這個平行結構 (parallel structure) ，也用上兩個關係子句 (relative clause) 。而最令學生費解的，莫過於兩個動詞 find 和 leave 在 people are amazed to 之後連在一起。以下時間，我會替讀者拆解以上長句，並且講解動詞 find 和 leave 的一些特殊用法；與此同時，讀者可以順便複習一下關係子句這個語法問題。
Extraposition 移位大法
Jun 7th
同學生做 UE 1997 Section C 閱讀理解，文章標題為 "The Asian Challenge: British Member of Parliament David Howell contrasts East with West" ，文中 41 至 45 行這樣寫：
So, the prospect emerges not just of richer Asian countries with far better public amenities, but of states with a cleaner environment and more reliable power supplies than Western governments for decades to come.
有學生看不懂這個英語句子，不明白動詞 emerge 後為何會接介詞 of ，而非 from 。今日我就為讀者解讀這句子，並看看英語裡頭一種語法現象，從而解答以上疑問。
Alive, live, living — 英語的兩類形容詞
Jun 3rd
同學生做 proofreading 練習，其中有一題是這樣寫的：
Quick tests for the bird flu virus, conducted on other lively chickens at the farm, turned out negative.
那裡有錯呢？
Entertaining or entertainment programmes?
May 30th
最近要學生作文，題目為「論從互聯網下載娛樂節目之對與錯」。當學生提到「娛樂節目」一詞時，很多都在寫 entertaining material 、 entertaining programmes 之類。大家覺得有冇錯呢？
把「娛樂節目」寫成 entertaining programmes 不對！雖然 entertaining 是形容詞﹝嚴格來說，是現在分詞 (present participle)﹞，但用它來修飾 programmes ，整個名詞詞組會變成「有趣的節目」的意思。要說明節目的性質，英語要用另一個名詞去修飾 programmes ，那個名詞就是 entertainment 。
睇 SCMP 學英文 (二)
May 26th
今日再同大家分享 Peter Kammerer 於 SCMP 寫的，標題為 World City? Rubbish 的文章，繼續解釋一些有用的詞彙和句型，讓大家學習、模仿。時間關係，今日只能同大家分享第二段：
Part of the problem is that I am lazy. The nearest three-colour recycling bins are a 15-minute walk away1. That doesn't account for me being self-conscious [= 很在意] about pushing through [= 擠過去] the often jam-packed [= 擠擁的] pavements near my home with bags full of rubbish, that glass bottles and food scraps [= 剩下的食物] would not be accounted for or that my neighbours are unlikely to follow my lead [= 倣傚我的做法]2. I live in private housing, not one of those public estates where recycling programmes are under way3. If authorities truly cared about the environment, they would give me and all other citizens an edict [= 法令] to sort our rubbish or face a big, fat fine [= 巨額罰款]4.
Introductory ‘it’ in cleft sentences
May 23rd
今日講講代詞 (pronoun) 的一種特殊用法，它不作人稱代詞 (personal pronoun) ，而是作為一個虛義引導詞 (empty introductory word) ，在分裂句 (cleft sentence) 中用來引入要強調的部分。好，先睇片！
睇 SCMP 學英文 (一)
May 20th
同大家分享 SCMP 最近 (2010-04-27) 一篇由 Peter Kammerer 所寫的文章，題為 "World City? Rubbish" ，內裡有些有用的詞彙和句型，大家不妨學習、模仿一番。因時間關係，今日只同大家分享第一段：
Thanks to1 the government's plastic bag tax, I've learned to take a backpack (背包) when shopping. Without question2, I would also sort my rubbish into piles to make recycling easier were laws to that effect in place (制定)3. This is what is expected from people in socially and environmentally responsible societies the world over4. Authorities crow5 that Hong Kong is a globally plugged-in (與全球接通的) place and, while I would certainly wish this of the city I have chosen to call my home6, the fact that I feel guilty when I take out the rubbish makes a lie of their claim7.
Even, even though, even now/then, even so?
May 17th
改學生作文，發現以下句子，大家有否留意當中之語法有錯？
I reckon that such law-breaking activities will continue even people may risk being prosecuted.
其實，經常發現學生誤將 even though 寫作 even 。所以這裡，解釋一下兩詞用法上的分別及其他相關詞彙。
劍橋高階英語詞典
朗文當代英語詞典
牛津高階英語詞典