Josh是一個在臺北的沙發客主人,時常透過接待世界各地的朋友,有次他的沙發客們要離開了,對方說了句"Why don't you pay us a visit next time when you come to the States?" Josh還以為他們說下次要他幫忙出旅費,趕緊說"no, no, no, I don't have money."結果是Josh把人家的善意完全搞錯了。"Pay someone a visit"就是拜訪某人(visit someone)的意思。
學英文的人都曾經有過每個字明明都聽得懂,可是就是不明白為什麼湊在一起是什麼意思,甚至因此而會錯意,其實這是因為不熟悉「搭配語」(Collocations),就像中文說「吃藥」,英文卻是說Take medicine。以下來看看幾組實用的搭配語。
- Pay sb. a visit 拜訪某人
Why don't you pay us a visit when you're in town next time?(下次你來城裡的時候,不妨來拜訪我們一下。)
- Bring in 賺進
Ted's startup brought in more than $ 4 million.(Ted的新創公司賺進超過4百萬美元。)
- Go bankrupt 破產
Unless sales improve, the company will go bankrupt.(除非業績有提高,不然這公司會破產。)
- Make an appointment 預約(看診、會議)
Do you want to make an appointment with Mr. Burka?(你想要和Burka先生約時間嗎?)
- Pay in(by) installments 分期付款
We paid for the house in monthly installments over ten years.(我們每月為這間房子繳分期超過10年了。)
- Pay in(by) full 一次付清
I always pay credit cards in full.(我都是一次付清信用卡費。)