在稿件中看見 go to the doctor，很自然地便在 doctor 後面加上 's。無它，因為從前給上司改正過，所以印象特別深刻。
誰知跟同事提起，她卻說 go to the doctor 沒有問題，還搬出權威詞典來助陣。栗子妹甚少懷疑詞典的，不過我總覺得，go to 後面應該跟一處地方而不是一個人。如果想說去看醫生，英文不是 (go to) see the doctor 嗎？
~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~‧~
望著 go to the doctor 在發呆之際，驀地想起 sunburn 一字。記得從前寫 You will get sunburn，給上司在旁劃了一個大交叉。她說句子應改為 You will get sunburnt 或 You will get a sunburn。忘了是甚麼原因，栗子妹最後選了 You will get a sunburn，但近日翻詞典，竟發現 sunburn 是不可數名詞 (uncountable noun)，前面不能加 a 或 an 的！
看著這兩個例子，栗子妹是否該嘆一句「覺今是而昨非」呢？
咁夠竟係邊個才是呢?
回覆刪除[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:38:00]私情：我到現在還搞不清啊！
你上司似你老師多0的喎!不過佢都幾好人,肯同你改字。我最近係clinic 揀case入program。點知串錯幾個字,個醫生居然掟筆呀!
回覆刪除[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:40:00]南爾：那個醫生怎如此沒教養？可想而知，有些人讀幾多書都是白讀
雲兒不懂分辨呀
回覆刪除栗妹如知真正答案, 請告知.
I have found this from Cambridge dictionary:
回覆刪除" He went to the doctor 's this morning for a checkup."
[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:41:00]雲兒：謝謝例子！但我問另一個朋友，她說有s 沒s 都可以，唉，好混亂
Your colleague is full of it. It is "go to the doctor's", meaning to the doctor's office, or clinic.
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Your boss is full of it too. Sunburn is not countable.
[版主回覆11/12/2008 21:20:00]Dear Teach:
1) I was pretty sure I am right until I read the sentence '... take you to the doctor (no 's)' in James Patterson's book.
2) I feel so bad about 'to get a sunburn'. I should have checked the dictionary.
記得讀書時有次英文朗讀, 因為緊張我讀成 I'm going to the page xxx......後來老師說, 正確應該是 I'm going to read the page xxx ~~
回覆刪除 我一直的概念是: go to 的 to 後面, 應接動詞 ~~
[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:43:00]給暖暖抓包了 。
對，go to 後面可跟動詞，如 go to see the doctor。
Fortunately, we still have Teacher here and make us all clear!
回覆刪除[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:44:00]Nicole: That's why I'm 'madly in love' with him!
栗子妹：慧行總覺得“今是而昨非”呢句說話好有問題！既然昨非，又點會今是呢？因為今是便會成為明天的昨非，如此說來，今是還是今非才對呢？ 所以 ~~~ 是和非不應該是時間的問題，而應該是事件本身的問題！ 是嗎？
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慧行講吓咋！栗子妹咪過嚟找晦氣呀
[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:46:00]慧行先生：情景不同呀。問題從來都是同一個，但之前的老板說沒錯，現在的老板說有問題......
睇得栗子妹咁小氣呀
哈哈, 學中文吧~大家~, 中文可沒這麼煩
回覆刪除[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:47:00]無蹟：中文 ... 其實仲麻煩
長學長有.
回覆刪除[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:47:00]祈櫻子：還要愈學愈亂
不只英文文法, 有時中文文法也容易搞混!
回覆刪除[版主回覆11/16/2008 16:49:00]芝芝這句正說到栗的心坎裡去。中文的文法往往看得栗頭昏腦脹
Something in your reply below bothered me but at my age, it took 2 weeks for the lightbulb to turn on.
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The novel's line about taking someone to the doctor has a different meaning from "taking someone to the doctor's". The latter means taking the person to the doctor's clinic. The former, if you fish out that Patterson book and check the passage, I am certain you'll see by context that the person is being taken "to the doctor", wherever the doctor may be, and not necessarily his clinic. Maybe the situation is that it's late at night and the clinic is closed and they have to track the doctor down in person.
So, "the doctor's" refers to the clinic, and "the doctor" refers to the doctor in person. In our mundane everyday life, going to the doctor's clinic is almost always what we mean.
[版主回覆11/30/2008 17:48:00]THANKS, Teach! Now I can tell the difference!
I was really angry when my colleague told me that she refused to change her sentence because there is an example in OALD using 'go to the doctor'.
Upon re-reading your blog, one more thing: Go to can have both a person and a place, or even an event as an object.
回覆刪除[版主回覆11/30/2008 17:48:00]Got it, Teach. Thanks again!
〝Go to the doctor〞 is perfectly fine, pls see Longman or Macmillan. I guess it is a fixed expression.
回覆刪除[版主回覆12/14/2010 20:11:00]我當日之所以會覺得是錯，是因為之前有人把我寫的 go to the dentist 改成 go to the dentist's。弄了一大輪，才明白那個 's 代表甚麼，之後便接受了，還以為是單一版本。