汉译英常见错误 | 他白天玩得太多,不得不熬夜做家庭作业

[译] 他白天玩得太多,不得不熬夜做家庭作业。
[误] He played too much in the daytime and must burn the mid-night oil to do his homework.

[正] He played too much in the daytime and had to burn the midnight oil to do his homework.
[注] must 和 have to 都可以表示某种义务,但两者的意思不尽相同。当指某种由谈话的人或听话的人而定的义务时,通常多用 must。have to 一般用于指某种来自外界的义务,它可能是一条法律、一项规定、一项协议,或诸如此类的东西要求某人必须去做,有不这样做不行的意思。