Dialogue A: What are your plans this weekend? (A:这个周末你有什么打算?)
B: I'm going to spend my whole weekend studying. I need to finish this assignment. I never get round to finishing on time. I'm looking forward to chilling out next weekend. (B:我打算整个周末都用来学习。我需要完成这个作业。我总是不能按时完成作业。不过我希望下周末能好好放松一下。)
A: Sounds great. There's an autobiography I want to read actually, so if I feel up to starting that, I might join you! (A:你安排得不错。其实,有一本自传我特别想读一读,如果我这周末有精力开始的话,我也会像你一样读书学习。 )
Beth In English, when two verbs are put together, the first one determines whether the second verb starts with the infinitive and 'to' or an -ing form.
Examples I'm going to spend my whole weekend studying.
I need to finish this assignment.
There's an autobiography I want to read actually.
Beth When we follow 'go', 'need' or 'want' with another verb, the second verb must be an infinitive with 'to'.
Jiaying That's right. 除了 “go、need、want” 的后面跟 “to do” 以外,动词 “plan、choose” 和 “agree” 等等的后面也可以跟不定式 “to do”:plan to do something 计划做某事、choose to do something 选择做某事、agree to do something 同意做某事。我们来听三个例句。
Examples I plan to finish my dissertation this week. (我计划本周完成我的论文。)
I chose to study maths instead of physics. (我选择了学习数学而不是物理。)
I agreed to wash up, even though I didn't want to. (我还是同意了洗碗,尽管我不想洗。)
Beth Now, let's look at some phrasal verbs which end in 'to'.
So, if I feel up to starting that, I might join you!
Jiaying “Get round to doing something” 的意思是 “设法找到足够的时间做某事”;“look forward to doing something” 的意思是 “期待将要做的事情”;“feel up to doing something” 的意思是 “感到自己有能力、精力或心情做某事”。
Beth Yes. And all of these end in 'to' and are followed by a verb ending in -ing. There are more examples of phrasal verbs that have the preposition 'to', like 'face up to' and 'stick to'.
Jiaying “Face up to doing something 面对、正视做某件事情”。“Stick to doing something 坚持或继续做某件事情”。来听两个例句。
Examples I have to face up to working longer hours than I used to. I need the money. (我不得不接受工作时间比过去更长的现实。因为我需要钱。)
You should stick to studying Spanish. You're good at it. (你应该坚持学习西班牙语。你很擅长这门语言。)
Beth There are other phrases that use 'to', like 'think back to' and 'refer to'. These have the preposition 'to' and are followed by an -ing verb.
Jiaying That's right. “Think back to doing something 回想做过某件事情”。“Refer to doing something 提到做过某件事情”。听两个例句。
Examples Think back to being a teenager. Did you stay up late at night? (回想一下十几岁的时候。那会儿你晚上熬夜吗?)
She never referred to meeting him in person. She said it was a phone call. (她从来没有提到亲自与他见过面。她说只是和他打了一通电话。)
Beth Alright. The best way to learn these is to practise saying them out loud with ‘to’ and the infinitive or -ing. Start by practising with the examples in this episode.
Beth Remember, if you have a question about the English language you'd like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk