Учимся уклончиво отвечать на вопросы.
HOW MANY/MUCH?
Around, about и approximately – не единственные слова, которые нам могут пригодиться.
ROUGHLY – примерно («грубо говоря»)
• It takes ROUGHLY a year to start speaking a new language.
SOME – примерно
• SOME 50 students showed up for the lecture.
IN THE REGION OF – в районе
• It’s going to cost you IN THE REGION OF ten thousand.
IN ROUND FIGURES – округленно
• IN ROUND FIGURES, we spent a hundred hours on this project.
IN SINGLE/DOUBLE/THREE ETC FIGURES – однозначное/двузначное/трехзначное число
• His salary is now IN SIX FIGURES.
WHEN?
THE OTHER DAY – на днях (применимо только к прошлому)
• I saw her THE OTHER DAY and she seemed fine.
THE OTHER WEEK – на днях (применимо только к прошлому, чуть раньше, чем the other day)
• We moved into a new flat THE OTHER WEEK.
IN DUE COURSE – вежливый вариант «когда надо»
• You will be notified IN DUE COURSE.
SOMEDAY, SOMETIME – когда-нибудь
• Let’s get coffee SOMEDAY.
WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT – когда придет время
• We might get back together WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT. Meanwhile, learn how to stop lying.
HOW LONG?
TILL THE COWS COME HOME/TILL HELL FREEZES OVER – пока рак на горе свистнет
• I’m prepared to wait TILL HELL FREEZES OVER.
A WHILE – какое-то время
• It takes A WHILE to get back to your normal life after a long holiday.
FOREVER – целую вечность
• She spent FOREVER trying to wake up the next day.
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE – во мгновение ока
• I all happened IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.
WHERE?
SOMEWHERE, SOMEPLACE – где-нибудь
• Let's find SOMEWHERE to eat.
IN/FROM/TO YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS – в ваших краях
• I take it, you aren’t FROM OUR NECK OF THE WOODS?
ON THE PREMISES – на территории
• He isn’t in his office but he should be ON THE PREMISES, I think.
HOW?
SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY – как-то
• He SOMEHOW managed to catch his plane despite going to the wrong terminal first.
ANY OLD WAY, ANY OLD HOW – кое-как, как попало
• What do you expect if you do your homework ANY OLD HOW?
IN A BIG WAY, BIG TIME – с размахом
• Now you’ve screwed up BIG TIME!
PROPERLY – как надо, должным образом
• How does he manage to pass his tests without studying PROPERLY?
HOW OFTEN?
(EVERY) NOW AND THEN – время от времени (= from time to time)
• We still see him NOW AND THEN, but not as often as we used to.
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT – чаще всего
• MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, you can’t just blame the circumstances.
WHY?
JUST BECAUSE – патамушта
• Why would you do that? – JUST BECAUSE.
JUST/ONLY BECAUSE HE CAN – потому что может (кстати, это прямая калька с английского)
• She ONLY yells at you BECAUSE SHE CAN.
JUST FOR FUN/JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT – просто так
• He got himself a motorbike JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT.
FOR NO (PARTICULAR) REASON – без (определенной) причины
• He used her and lied to her for years and then she left FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON.
FOR SOME REASON – почему-то
• He should have left at 5 but FOR SOME REASON, he's still here.
FOR A REASON – неспроста
• I guess, he's here FOR A REASON. Let’s go ask him.
Ну и главный ответ почти на любой вопрос – ‘It depends’ («зависит от обстоятельств», «бывает по-разному»).
How much do you make? – IT DEPENDS.
Are you careful with money? – IT DEPENDS.
Do you drink alcohol? – IT DEPENDS.
How often do you run up a 100,000-ruble check? – IT DEPENDS.
Where do you spend most of your time? – IT DEPENDS.
How religious are you? – IT DEPENDS.
How much TV do you watch? – IT DEPENDS.
Are you any good at hockey? – IT DEPENDS.
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battle4britain.com
23.01.2020
