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Indefinitely

發佈時間: 2020/08/05

Indefinitely

新冠肺炎的確診人數尚未回落,教育局宣布全港學校可以如期開展新學年,但是只可以網上授課,即是學生返校無期(indefinitely)。

Definite和indefinite是反義詞,前者解「明確的、肯定的」,後者解「不確定的;不清楚的」。例如,I am afraid there is no definite answer to this question.(我恐怕對此問題沒有確切的答案。)I don't have any definite plans for the weekend.(周末我沒有明確的計劃。)

The number of users affected by this security flaw every day is indefinite.(每天受此安全漏洞影響的用戶數量是不確定的。)

The definition is indefinite and inadequate.(那定義不明確而且不充分。)

Indefinite又可以專門用來形容時間,指「無限期的」。形容詞indefinite加上字尾-ly,可以變成副詞indefinitely,解「無限期地」。例句︰Many events have been postponed for an indefinite period.(許多活動已經被無限期推遲。)

The Education Bureau has announced that face-to-face classes will be suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19.(教育局宣布由於新冠肺炎疫情,將無限期暫停面授課堂。)

(本欄逢周三、五刊登)

撰文: Ally Dean's List級英文老師
欄名: WordDiscovery