英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

英语语法:196 Threw, Through, Thru

时间:2010-07-05 02:23来源:互联网 提供网友:harryyang   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Grammar girl here. For this show, Twilight1 from the Twilight and Thebes Show called in with a question about homophones:


              Now, here's Twilight:

I'm confused with the word through, [as in] "I looked through this pile of papers." It can't be threw because I'm not throwing the papers. So is it thru? But then whenever I type thru it looks grammatically incorrect for some reason. If you could enlighten me I would much appreciate it.

Homophones
 
Twilight, thanks for your question. You're getting at something that I imagine is difficult for a lot of people and especially for people who are just learning English: homophones. These are words that sound the same, but mean different things. Homophones can be spelled differently--such as threw (t-h-r-e-w) and through (t-h-r-o-u-g-h)--or they can be spelled the same but mean different things--such as fair (f-a-i-r) which can be a noun as in "We went to the state fair" or an adjective as in "He got a fair trial."
 
First of all, you're right to think that threw (t-h-r-e-w) isn't the right word, because it is the past tense of the verb throw, as in, "Let's throw the bums2 out."
 
 
Through Versus3 Thru
 
It gets a little more dicey when trying to decide between through (t-h-r-o-u-g-h) and thru (t-h-r-u). I actually didn't think t-h-r-u was a word when I first heard your question, but I looked it up just to be sure and was really surprised to find it in the dictionary, where it is listed as an informal, simplified spelling of the word t-h-r-o-u-g-h.

Wow. So in some informal instances it appears that it is OK to use thru; but I think I'd be remiss4 if I actually told you to go ahead and use it. My impression is that using the spelling t-h-r-u is kind of equivalent to dotting your i's with little hearts: people will know what you mean, but they'll think you aren't a very serious person. I would definitely stick with the more formal and widely accepted spelling: t-h-r-o-u-g-h.
 
Many people are surprised to learn that finding a word in the dictionary doesn't automatically mean that word is widely accepted by society. You'll find the words thru (t-h-r-u), irregardless, and ain't in many dictionaries, but that doesn't mean you should use them in your cover letters. It just means they are in wide enough use that dictionary makers5 believe the words must be acknowledged and defined.

There are just a couple of instances I could think of where it might be acceptable to use thru (t-h-r-u). One is in a text message to a friend because, like it or not, the expectations for grammar and spelling in text messages between friends are lower than in other forms of writing. Also, people are probably more likely to accept the informal spelling in places where space is extremely tight, such as on road signs, advertisements, or again, in text messaging.
 
Simplified Spelling Society
 
You Americans out there who are cringing6 should remember that one of the reasons we have American spellings of words such as theater, honor, and catalog is that luminaries7 including Noah Webster, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Carnegie, and Theodore Roosevelt advocated for simplified spelling, and many of them also supported simplified spellings of words such as though (tho), through (thru), and night (nite), which of course haven't taken on the cloak of wide acceptability. Roosevelt even tried to mandate8 that government documents use the simple spellings during his presidency9. His proposal was ahead of its time and rejected by Congress, but some of his suggested simplifications have become the current standard spellings (1, 2, 3, 4). The British Simplified Spelling Society, which was founded in 1908--two years after Roosevelt's failed attempt to change spelling in America-- still exists, and they often make the news when they protest at the Scripps National Spelling Bee (5).
 
Administrative10
 
Thanks again for the question, Twilight, and everyone else remember: if you want to call in with a question, the number is 206-338-GIRL (206-338-4475).
 
That's all. Thanks for listening.
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 twilight gKizf     
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期
参考例句:
  • Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
  • Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
2 bums bums     
n. 游荡者,流浪汉,懒鬼,闹饮,屁股 adj. 没有价值的,不灵光的,不合理的 vt. 令人失望,乞讨 vi. 混日子,以乞讨为生
参考例句:
  • The other guys are considered'sick" or "bums". 其他的人则被看成是“病态”或“废物”。
  • You'll never amount to anything, you good-for-nothing bums! 这班没出息的东西,一辈子也不会成器。
3 versus wi7wU     
prep.以…为对手,对;与…相比之下
参考例句:
  • The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
  • The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。
4 remiss 0VZx3     
adj.不小心的,马虎
参考例句:
  • It was remiss of him to forget her birthday.他竟忘了她的生日,实在是糊涂。
  • I would be remiss if I did not do something about it.如果我对此不做点儿什么就是不负责任。
5 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 cringing Pvbz1O     
adj.谄媚,奉承
参考例句:
  • He had a cringing manner but a very harsh voice.他有卑屈谄媚的神情,但是声音却十分粗沙。
  • She stepped towards him with a movement that was horribly cringing.她冲他走了一步,做出一个低三下四,令人作呕的动作。
7 luminaries be8d22de6c5bd0e82c77d9c04758673e     
n.杰出人物,名人(luminary的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 亚14:6那日、必没有光.三光必退缩。 来自互联网
  • Includes household filament light bulbs & luminaries. 包括家用的白炙灯泡和光源。 来自互联网
8 mandate sj9yz     
n.托管地;命令,指示
参考例句:
  • The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
  • The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。
9 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
10 administrative fzDzkc     
adj.行政的,管理的
参考例句:
  • The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
  • He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
TAG标签:   英语语法  Threw  Through  Thru  英语语法  Threw  Through  Thru
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴