長假日過後,堆積了許多電郵尚未回覆。遲覆電郵,英文可以說I am sorry for my tardiness in replying to your email.(我很抱歉遲覆你的電郵。)或者Apologies for my tardy reply.(我為遲覆道歉。)
形容詞tardy可以解「行動遲緩的」--doing something too slowly or late。例句︰My husband has been extremely tardy in paying his bills.(我丈夫付帳單非常遲緩。)There is no use complaining about the tardy government response.(抱怨政府遲緩的回應並沒有用。)
Tardy也可以解「遲到的」--arriving late。例如︰If a tardy arrival is due to a school bus issue, students will be excused.(如果由於校車問題而導致遲到,學生會被原諒。)He has been tardy more than five times this semester.(這個學期他已經遲到了五次以上。)
名詞tardiness可以後接介詞in,指出拖拉甚麼--tardiness in doing something。例句︰Tardiness in answering text from friends may make them think you are ignoring them.(遲覆朋友短信,可能會令他們認為你忽略他們。)
(本欄逢周一、三、五刊登)
撰文:
Ally
Dean's List級英文老師
欄名: WordDiscovery