「失陪一下」...聚餐、開會要暫時離開,除了"Excuse me"還能這樣說
吃飯吃到一半,聽見別人說了一句"May I be excused?",還等著他要講什麼藉口,結果對方就消失了。這是怎麼回事?
"May I be excused?"不是要什麼藉口,而是得短暫離開一下,可能是去上廁所、也可能是去接個私人電話。
想去洗手間,雖然也可以直接說"May I go to the bathroom?"但若是在一個正式場合,這句話聽起來像是學生在跟老師徵求同意,最得體的方式就是換一個正式一點、婉轉一點的方式說:
Excuse me please.(失陪一下)
May I be excused? / Can you excuse me, please?(可以離開一下嗎?)
讓自己的英文聽起來得體有三個方法:
1.Word choices用字遣詞
(O)May I be excused?(暫時失陪一下!)
(△)May I go to the bathroom?(可以去廁所嗎?)
(△)I really need to pee.(我真的得上廁所!)
2.Avoid negative words避免負面字句
(O)I'm not too fond of the layout in this design.(我沒有很喜歡這個設計的版面。)
(O)I'd prefer to use a different layout in this design.(我會傾向用不同的設計版面。)
(△)I don't like the layout in this design.(我不喜歡這個設計的版面。)
(O)I'm afraid I disagree.(我可能不太同意。)
(△)You're wrong.(你錯了。)
3.Use softeners 用軟性字
英文裡will/can/must都容易讓人有種命令的口吻,可以用軟性字/助動詞來轉換口吻:might, could, would, a little, a bit, a little bit, slight, slightly, small, one or two
(O)There might be a slight delay in the completion of the project.(這個案子可能會有一點點延遲。)
(△)There will be a delay in the completion of the project.(這個案子會延後完成。)
(O)We're having one or two problems with this project.(這個案子有遇到一兩個小困難。)
(△)We're having problems with this project. (這個案子我們有困難。)