请问下面这两个句子是否有误?
1. He usually ate fast food and no breakfast before.
ate 在此处这样用可以吗?用 had 比较好还是用 ate?有没有 eat breakfast?
2. What he does makes him like a father or uncle.
(http://ask.yygrammar.com/q-7237.html 陈根花老师的回答中有这句话)
如果是口语中,这个句子 uncle 可以不要 an 吗?如果是考试中呢?
▲表示“吃早餐”,用动词 have breakfast 或 eat breakfast 均可。用have的例子太多,自不用说。下面是用动词 eat 的例子:
Jane never eats breakfast. 简从来不吃早餐。(《剑桥高级英语词典》)
He had hunger pangs that went away after he ate breakfast. 吃过早饭之后他因饥饿感到的剧痛便消失了。(《当代美国英语学习词典》)
▲What he does makes him like a father or uncle.
关于这个句子,陈老师说得很清楚了,单独说 a father 没有问题,单独说 a uncle 是有问题的,但合起来说a father or uncle 就没问题了。这样的现象在英语中很普遍,除了陈老师举的例子 a short form of a word or expression(缩略语,缩写)外,再举几个词典上的例子,下面的例子是从《剑桥高阶英汉双解词典》上查来的:
(1)《剑桥高阶英汉双解词典》对 act 的一条释义为:to behave or speak in a false or artificial way 装模作样;装腔作势;做戏
(2)《剑桥高阶英汉双解词典》对用作动词的 address 的一条释义为:to write a name or address on an envelope or parcel 在(信封或包裹)上写上姓名(或地址)
(3)《剑桥高阶英汉双解词典》对用作动词的 adjudicate 的一条释义为:to act as judge in a competition or argument, or to make a formal decision about something 担任裁判;判决,裁定,裁决
(4)《剑桥高阶英汉双解词典》对用作动词的 adorable 的一条释义为:describes a person or animal that is easy to love because they are so attractive and often small 可爱的;讨人喜欢的
(5)《剑桥高阶英汉双解词典》对用作动词的 adult 的一条释义为:a person or animal that has grown to full size and strength 成年人;成年动物
▲当然,正如陈老师所说,比较谨慎的说法最好是分别使用冠词,比如 ...a father or an uncle / …a word or an expression / …a name or an address / a competition or an argument 等。所以,如果是在考试中,最好采用这种“谨慎”的说法。