respectful(ly)
1.respectable是“可敬的”,不是“恭敬的”,respectably是“可敬地”,不是“恭敬地”,respectful是“恭敬的”,respectfully是“恭敬地”。比较下面各句:
- He is a respectable authority on English phonetics.
- All the children are respectful to their teachers.
- He conducts himself respectably at all times.
- The man bowed respectfully to the old lady.
2.关于respectable有下面三点该注意:
(1)respectable直译作“可敬的”,当然不错。但在阶级社会里往往把财产、地位、门第等作为受人尊敬的条件,所以respectable往往作“上流社会的”或“高尚的”解。
(2)respectable从“可敬的”转作“还算好的”或“说得过去的”解,有时竟然有“不过如此的”的意思。
(3)用讥讽的口吻说别人respectable往往有“高雅得俗不可耐”的意思。
3.He is our respectable leader和She is our respectable teacher等句子里的respectable用得不妥当,该改作respected。
4.信函里的信尾客套语Yours respectfully决不可改作Yours respectably。Yours respectfully现在比较少用。