Learning English can be tricky
英文片語不NG 學英文真的有那麼困難嗎？
Let's look at some phrases that are confusing for English learners.
Have my hair cut
Think about the last time you had your hair cut. Did people notice your new look? If so, what did they say? Maybe they said, "You cut your hair!" But it's unlikely they meant that you cut your hair yourself. They know that someone else probably did the cutting. They should say, "You had your hair cut" instead.
When you say, "I cut my hair," you mean that you did it yourself. "I had my hair cut," means someone else did the cutting.
Turn off the lights
How do you ask someone to make a room dark? You might want to say, "Close the light." People might understand what you mean, but they may look at you in a peculiar way. The most common phrase is, "Turn off the light." It has nothing to do with turning because you flip a switch to make the light go off. But in English, people generally use "turn off" when they shut off a device.
Info Cloud
confuse about 對一件事情的理解相當混亂
Hello, friends. Welcome to Info Cloud. Today I want to talk about different ways to use the word "confuse."
The word "confuse" means to make something hard to understand. When a person is confused about something, it implies that they are having a difficult time understanding what's going on.
For example, I'm confused about the issue of inflation. That means I don't understand what inflation is and what kind of effect it brings to us.
Or another example would be: I'm confused about the point this politician is trying to make. He is not being clear about what he's trying to say sometimes on purpose, and I have no idea what he's talking about.
On the other hand, to confuse someone with another person means to identify a person as someone else.
When there are two people who look alike, especially twins, people will often confuse one with the other. The teacher is confusing me with my twin brother.
Whatever the case, the word confuse usually implies some kind of mistake or being unclear about something.
相信很多人都聽過 confuse 這個字，意思就是混淆。當你聽到 confuse about， 那就是對一件事情的理解相當混亂。I am confused about the issue of inflation. 我對通貨膨脹這個議題的理解完全是混亂的。另一方面，confuse someone with someone else 就代表把一個人誤認成另外一個長得很像的人。The teacher is confusing me with my twin brother. 老師把我誤認為我的雙胞胎哥哥。
Language Lab
confuse v. 搞糊塗、讓人感到困惑
to make (someone) uncertain or unable to understand something
- The supervisor’s instructions confused everybody because he did not explain things very well.
主管的吩咐把大家都搞混了，因為他沒有把話解釋清楚。
- Because the road signs were not clear, we got confused.
因為路標不清楚，把我們搞糊塗了。
confuse v. 誤以為兩個人、東西或是狀況是同一個
to mistakenly think that one person or thing is another person or thing : to mistake (one person or thing) for another
- Nadin often confuses that British actress with an Australian one.
Nadin 常常把那位英籍女演員，當成另外一位來自澳洲的女演員。
- Many students confuse the word ‘there’ with ‘their’.
很多學生會把英文字 there 當成另外一個英文字 their。
instead adv. 反而、替代
used to say that one thing is done or that one thing or person is chosen when another is not chosen, cannot be done, etc.
- Drinking too much juice is not very healthy. How about eating some fruit instead?
喝太多果汁不是很健康，多吃水果吧。
- Instead of doing homework at home, Reggie went to the beach.
Reggie 沒有在家做功課，反而去了海邊。
- I know you want to take a nap, but why don’t you go out for a walk instead?
我知道你很想睡個午覺，但是你何不出去走一走呢?
peculiar adj. 奇怪的
/pɪˈkjuːljɚ/
not usual or normal : strange
- The child saw something peculiar in the alley.
小朋友在巷子裡看到一個奇怪的東西。
- Alice called the police after she heard some peculiar noises in the middle of the night.
Alice 深夜裡聽到奇怪的聲音，所以報警。
peculiar adj. 歸某人或某族群所專屬的
of, relating to, or found in (only one person, thing, or place)
- The use of blue dye in the fabric is peculiar to that people group in the desert.
在布料裡用藍色的染色，是那個沙漠族群的專屬特色。
- That type of doorway is peculiar to this region of the country.
那種型式的門道是這一帶地區的特質。
switch n. 開關
a small device that starts or stops the flow of electricity to something (such as a lamp or a machine) when it is pressed or moved up and down
- Please tell your children not to play with the switch.
請告訴你的孩子不要玩開關。
switch v. 開(switch on) 或關 (switch off)
to make a change from one thing to another by turning or pushing a button or moving a switch, lever, etc.
- Please switch on the light.
請把燈打開。
- Please switch off the computer.
請關電腦。
switch n. 改變、調換
a sudden change from one thing to another — usually singular
- Things were going well, so I don’t understand why a switch was necessary.
事情當時都很順，所以我不瞭解為何需要來個大調動。
switch v. 調動、更換
to change or replace (something) with another thing
- May I switch seats with you?
我可以跟你換位子嗎?
