alive,living
這兩個詞都表示活着的、有生命的'(having life)意思,詞義相同,但用法有所不同。
Alive是表語形容詞,放在verbto be之後,不能放在它所說明的名詞之前。例如我們只可以說 The old man is still alive.
Living既可用作表語形容詞,又可用作定語形容詞,故可放在它所修飾的名詞之前。
我們既可以說:
English is a living language.
也可以說:
Is his father still living?
就使用場合而言,alive大都用於人,有時用作比喻或強調時也用於物。例如:
Given the chance to sing on stage,he is very much alive.
有機會在臺上唱歌,他顯得很活躍。
The bazaar was all alive by the time we arrived.
我們到達時,墟市非常熱鬧。
Living則人物共用(請參閱上面兩例)。
就詞性而言,alive只能用作形容詞,不能作名詞;living既可作形容詞,又可作名詞。例:
Many people were burnt alive in the conflagration that happened in a multi-storeyed building.
在一幢多層大廈內發生的大火中,很多人被活活燒死。
Our living standards are rising steadily.