what is what, which is which與who is who

這三個表達(dá)在口語中非常常用，由于其結(jié)構(gòu)相同，用法相似，所以經(jīng)常被弄混。本文擬對其用法區(qū)別作一歸納。

一、what is what

what’s what在口語中通常與動詞know, learn, show, tell, perceive等連用，其主要用法有：

1. 表示“哪個是哪個”。如：

The weeds and the flowers are coming up together, and we can’t tell what is what. 雜草和花長在一起，我們都沒法區(qū)別哪是草哪是花。

It will take you a few weeks to learn what’s what in the job. 你要花幾個星期的工夫才能熟悉這項工作。

2. 表示“好東西與壞東西”“有用的東西與無用的東西”“青紅皂白”。如：

He can’t tell what’s what. 他好丑不分(from www.hz123456.com)。

You’re old enough now to know what’s what. 你已經(jīng)不小了，應(yīng)該知道好歹了。

3. 表示“什么事情有用”“什么事情重要”。如：

She certainly knows what’s what. 她當(dāng)然知道輕重緩急。

4. 表示“事情的真相”“事情的究竟”。如：

I keep my ears open and I know what’s what around the office. 我一直在注意聽，知道辦公室發(fā)生的情況。

If he gets angry enough, he’ll tell you what’s what. 假如他生氣到一定的程度，他會告訴你到底是怎么一回事。

5. 表示“事情的訣竅”。如(from www.hz123456.com)：

When it comes to cooking, Jenny knows what’s what. 談到烹飪，詹妮是內(nèi)行。

Linda’s been in the business for thirty years—she knows what’s what. 琳達(dá)在這一行當(dāng)里干了30年，很老練了。

二、which is which

which is which的意思“哪個是哪個”，通常用于區(qū)分兩個十分相似的人或事物，一般與動詞tell, know等連用。如：

You don’t know which is which, do you? 你不知道哪個是哪個，對嗎？

These kittens look exactly alike—how can you tell which is which? 這些小貓看上去一模一樣，你怎么能分出哪個是哪個?

The twins are so much alike that I can’t tell which is which. 這對雙胞胎長得可真像，我都分不出誰是誰了。

Tag the bottles now or we’ll forget which is which. 把這些瓶子加上標(biāo)簽，否則的話，我們就忘了哪個是哪個了。

注：有時可用which…is which這樣的形式。如(from www.hz123456.com)：

It took three months before we knew which end of the ship was which. 我們花了三個月時間才弄清楚哪是船頭哪是船尾。

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