類似ten-year-old的7個用法要點

本文說的ten-year-old的意思是“五歲大的”，其中的ten只是我們隨意舉的一個例子，它也可換成one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, eleven, twelve等；同時，其中的year也可根據情況改用month, day等詞。本文擬這類結構的用法作一小結，同時也對其相關用法作一歸納。

一、基本用法

1.用作形容詞

My four-year-old daughter was asleep on the sofa. 我四歲的女兒在沙發上睡著了。

Mary drove. Her ten-year-old daughter sat behind. 瑪麗開車，她十歲的女兒坐在后面。

Their five-year-old son is able to use the calendar to count how many days it is until his birthday. 他們五歲的兒子能用日歷數出離他的生日還有多少天。

In the car accident the mother was killed, but her two-year-old son was found alive. 在這次車禍中，母親死了，但是她兩歲的兒子卻還活著。

2.用作名詞

A seven-year-old should be able to read. 七歲的兒童應當識字了。

She’s quite clever for a ten-year-old. 對一個10歲的孩子來說，她算相當聰明了。

Tim has an average vocabulary for a 3-year-old. 蒂姆掌握了相當于3歲孩子的平均詞匯(量)。

二、用法聯想

1. five-year-old中的year可用復數嗎?

不可以。five-year-old這類結構中的year只能用單數，不能用復數。如：

她的兩歲的兒子搖搖擺擺地走進屋里。

誤：Her two-years-old son toddled into the room.

正：Her two-year-old son toddled into the room.

2. five-year-old中的連字符可以去掉嗎?

不可以。若去掉，則要轉換表達方式。如：

She has a ten-year-old son. 她有個10歲的兒子。

She has a son ten years old. 她有個10歲的兒子。

Her son is ten years old. 她兒子10歲。

3. five-year-old可用作表語嗎？

不可以。若要用作表語，可考慮改用five years old之類的表達。如：

她20歲，但卻嫁了一個50歲的丈夫。

誤：She was twenty-year-old, but married a man of fifty.

正：She was twenty years old, but married a man of fifty.

4. five-year-old前用a還是an？

five-year-old前若需要用不定冠詞，要用a，不能用an。但是，若將其中的five改為eight, eleven, eighteen, eighty等，則其前要用an，不用a——尤其是當它們以8, 11, 18, 80這樣的數字出現時更要引起注意。如：

He has an 11-year-old daughter. 他有一個11歲大的女兒。

He married an 18-year-old American girl. 他娶了一個18歲的美國女孩。

5. five-year-old用作名詞時可以有復數形式嗎？

可以。five-year-old這類結構用作名詞時，若語法上需要用復數，可以在詞尾加-s。如：

Eighteen-year-olds qualify to vote. 年滿十八歲者有選舉權。

The report attacks the idea of exams for 7- and 8-year-olds. 這份報道抨擊了對七八歲孩子進行考試的設想。

Even ten-year-olds have started wearing lipstick and make-up in imitation of the older girls. 甚至連10來歲的女孩子們也開始模仿年齡大一點的女孩子開始抹口紅和化妝。