字神帝國英語天地

○ What's wrong?
School解作「上學」、「讀書」時不帶冠詞，指具體某間學校時必須帶冠詞：
‧ My son began school at the age of 6. 我兒子六歲開始上學。

‧This child is not old enough for school. 這孩子還年幼，未夠年齡入學讀書。

‧Many foreign friends visited the school that day. 那天許多外籍朋友探訪那間學校。

‧The school is well-known in this region. 這間學校在本區很著名。

● Usage
Church、prison、court、hospital與school用法相同，看以下兩組例子：

◆The criminal was thrown to prison.罪犯給關進牢獄。

◆I have never seen a prison before.我以前從未見過一所監獄。

◇The family go to church every week.這家人每周都去教會崇拜。

◇The church stands at the foot of the hill. 那教堂聳立在山腳下。

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

2. 以輔音字母h開頭的字該用a嗎？
傑克是個誠實的農夫。
×Jack is a honest farmer.
ˊJack is an honest farmer.

○ What's wrong?
雖然honest以輔音字母h開頭，但h不發音。它的發音以元音 /?/ 開頭。元音之前的不定冠詞要用an。同樣h開頭的house卻說a house。

※ Grammar Rules
正確使用a及an，不但要看後面名詞、形容詞等的拼寫，還要看其發音。European、university、one、uniform、UN等貌似元音開頭，卻用a。例如：
‧They are planning to set up a university. 他們計劃建立一所大學。

‧Yours is only a one-sided view. 你的只是一個片面看法。

※ Grammar Tips
FBI、MP等貌似輔音開頭，卻用an。例如：
‧An FBI man discovered the secret. 一名聯邦調查人員發現了那個秘密。

文章來源：英語文法學堂：冠詞常見錯誤