Readers often send me e-mails asking for advice on how to improve their grammar. I always reply that acquiring perfect grammar is an uphill struggle (an expression that means "very difficult") for people whose first language is not English. Even people whose first language is English often make grammar mistakes. The best way to improve your grammar is to read a lot of newspapers and books, watch English-language TV, and listen to English-language radio, such as the BBC. But if you want to improve your English, you must also speak it all the time.
I
have said many times before that grammar is not the most important part of English. The most important part is to be able to communicate in English, even with imperfect grammar. It's no big deal if people make minor grammatical mistakes. But I think it is important not to make mistakes when using English expressions and idioms. Legislative Councillor Ronny Tong Ka-wah speaks fluent English although, like many other people, he sometimes makes grammatical mistakes. But last week he made a mistake when he used a well-known English expression while being interviewed on radio.
He said his proposal for political reform would encourage a wider public discussion. This is what he said: "There should be a wider discussion basis so that every stone will be unturned." He got the idiom wrong. The correct expression is "Leave no stone unturned". This means to try everything possible to achieve something, or to look everywhere possible to find something. But in another radio interview last week he correctly used another expression. He said his proposal was not "etched in stone". When something is "etched in stone" such as a rule or regulation, it means it cannot be changed. Other ways of saying this are "set in stone" and "carved in stone". Two years ago I pointed out that Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah used this expression wrongly. He said "set in tablets". The correct expression is "set in tablets of stone". But this is seldom used nowadays. Most people prefer to say "set in stone" or "carved in stone". You can also say "cast in stone".
＊ ＊ ＊
讀者常常傳電郵問我意見，如何可以改善文法。我通常的回覆是，母語不是英語的人要掌握完美的文法，真比登天還難（uphill struggle）。即使母語是英語的人，也不時犯下文法錯誤。要改善文法，最好的方法是讀許多報章和書、看英語頻道的電視、聽英文電台，例如BBC。但要是你想改善英語，你就得常常說英語。
我以往亦曾多次表明，文法並非英語最重要的部份。最重要是，可以用英語交流，即使用不完善的文法。人們犯下一些文法小錯誤，是沒相干的。但我認為，不犯英文習語和諺語的錯誤，就很重要。立法會議員湯家驊操流利英語，只是，一如許多人，他有時也會犯些文法錯誤。如他上星期接受電台訪問，用一個眾所周知的英文習語時卻犯了錯。
他說，他對政改的建議將會激發更廣闊的公眾討論。他是這樣說的：「我們應該有一個更闊的討論基礎，才算是竭盡全力（every stone will be unturned）。」但他把諺語弄錯了。正確的說法是leave no stone unturned，即是竭盡所能或千方百計去做某事，或尋遍每一個角落去找東西。但上星期在另一次電台訪問中，他倒用對了另一個習語。他說他的提議並非金科玉律（etched in stone）。說某事例如規則或條例etched in stone，即是指它不能改變。其他的說法有set in stone和carved in stone。
兩年前，我指出財政司司長曾俊華用錯了這個習語，他說了set in tablets，正確說法是set in tablets of stone，但現在已很少人這樣說了。大多數人會說set in stone或carved in stone，你也可以說cast in stone。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=259756§ion_name=wtt&kw=126
