stay home 與stay at home 中文意思, 用法和區別

home 用法和意思

問：在中央電視臺由王姬為孔府酒所做的廣告中有一句英語: I should go back my home. (我一定要回我的家) 。請問這句英文是否正確?

答：這個句子犯了文法錯誤。在be home, go home, come home, get home, arrive home, return home 這些片語中, home 是副詞, 因此, 在home 之前不能用物所有代名詞my 來修飾(只有在名詞之前才可以使用物所有代名詞來修飾), 也不能使用介係詞。
當home 有修飾語(如名詞所有格或所有代名詞) 時, home 被看作是名詞, 因此, 在N’s + home結構之前必須加介係詞(例如to), 才能與go, return, get 等連用:

1. She returned (went) to her parent’s home.
   她回到了父母家。
2. We could get to your home by five o’clock, if that would be convenient.
   如果方便的話, 我們可以5 點以前到你家。

比較下面的句子:

1. I’m not going back home tonight.
   今晚我不回家。
2. He arranged to go home on Thursday.
   他準備星期四回家。
3. If he had come straight home, he must be in!
   如果他直接回家了, 那他就一定在家。
4. At a quarter after ten he returned home.
   十點一刻他回了家。

小練習：請選出正確的答案。（留言作答）
When did you get _________?
A. home
B. to home
C. at home
D. the home

at home 的正確意思

問：Benjamin Franklin would seem right at home among us if he were live alive today. In fact, he did a lot to shape our way of life.
[原譯] 如果本傑明· 弗蘭克林今天還活著的話, 他就在我們家裡和我們在一起。(教參)
請問這個有關at home 中文的譯文是否符合原意?

答：at home 這一成語在這裡是指“舒適”、“習慣”、“自如”、“應付自如”、“不生疏”。這句話的意思是說: Franklin 懂得科學知識, 即使他活在今天也不會落後, 他對我們現在的生活方式是不會驚訝得目瞪口呆的。下面再舉幾個實例:

1. The boy did not feel at home in such a splendid house.
   那孩子在這樣富麗堂皇的房子裡並不感到舒服。
2. If George Washington were able to travel back and forth in time, he would feel much more at home in ancient Babylon, than in our modern age.
   如果喬治· 華盛頓能夠穿越時空的話, 那麼他在古代的巴比倫要比在我們現代的世紀裡顯得習慣自如得多。

home 與 at home 的區別

問：Is he (home/at home)? 這兩個句子的意思相同嗎? 又I’m going to home tonight.為什麼是個病句?

答：Is he at home? 是指“他在家嗎?”例如, Is Master Bobby at home? I heard his cough. 有時候則是指“會客”, 例如, He is in, but is not at home.(他在家, 但是不會客。) If he telephones, say I’m not at home to visitors till 10. (如果他來電話, 告訴他我10 點以前不會客。)
Is he home? 則是表示“他(下班後或外出後) 回家了嗎?”。在be home, go home, come home, get home, return home, arrive home 這些片語中, home 是副詞, 它表示方向或目的地(destination), 而不是表示位置。

1. I’m only just home from Oxford. 我剛從牛津大學回家。
2. I shall be home around five o’clock. 我大約5 點鐘回家。
3. Ruth and her family were home again. 露絲和她全家人又回家來了。

因此不難看出, I’m going to home tonight.應改為I’m going home tonight. (參見上面home 用法和意思)
但是, 在美式英語中, 有時也用home 來表達at home (在家) 的意思, 即用來表示位置, 而不是表示方向(回家), 儘管有人反對這種用法:

1. Is anybody home? 有人在家嗎?
2. Is Henry home? 亨利在家嗎?

小練習：請選出正確的答案。（留言作答）
1. Kim and Fred ________ home.
A. are at
B. are in
C. they are in
D. they are at
2. Tomorrow my sister will come ________ late.
A. home
B. at home
C. to home
D. to the home

bring home 有特別意思

問：Now the pointlessness of merely accumulating facts about China was brought home to me a few days ago when I listened to a talk by a very eminent American China expert…
[原譯] 幾天前我遇到一件帶回國內的不得要領的僅僅積累中國實情的事情⋯ ⋯

答：常用片語bring sth. home to 的真正意義是“ 使深刻認識到”(caue sb. to realize fully) 。例如:

1. His comrades’ sincere criticism brought home to him the seriousness of the mistakes he had made.
   同志們的誠懇批評使他深刻認識到自己所犯錯誤的嚴重性。
2. A parent or teacher should bring home to children the value and pleasure of reading.
   父母或教師應該使孩子認識到讀書的價值和樂趣。

[試譯] 幾天以前我聽了一位美國著名的中國問題專家的演講, 使我深切認識到, 僅僅積累有關中國的資料是多麼沒有意義⋯ ⋯

stay home 與 stay at home 中文意思

問：文法書上說, 副詞home 只能用來表示方向(回家), 而不能用來表示位置(在家) 。那麼, 如何來解釋stay home 呢?

答：關於home 的含義和用法, 我們已在上面home 意思和用法和home 與 at home 的區別條中解釋過了。現在來解釋stay home和stay at home 中文意思。在美式英語中, 人們有時使用副詞home 來表示位置(在家) 。而在英式英語中, 人們是用a home 來表達這層意思的。這樣, 我們在閱讀英文原著時就會遇到stay home 與stay at home 這樣兩種不同的表達方式:

1. I stayed at home all day yesterday.
   我昨天整天在家。
2. Whenever he stayed home in the evening he went to bed early.
   只要他晚上不外出, 他就早早睡覺。
3. A decision to stay home with a good book.
   決定呆在家裡讀本好書

小練習：請選出正確的答案。（留言作答）
1. “Would you like to stay home tonight?” “No, I _________.”
A. wouldn’t like
B. would
C. wouldn’t like to
D. would like not
2. “Did Barbara go to the movies last night?” “Yes, but she _________ have stayed home all evening and studied.”
A. may
B. must
C. will
D. should