客戶打電話來找總監Kevin,但他一直在開會無法抽空回電。客戶第三次來電,祕書Nancy想安撫客戶,便說:「He is busy now. I'll make him call you back.」不料對方聞言大怒,丟了句「Don't bother!」(不用打擾他了!)就掛斷電話。

以下三組例句僅有一字之差,但傳達的態度大不相同,請比較看看:

I'll make him call you back.(我會逼他回電給你。)
I'll have him call you back.(我會請他回電給你。)

說明:make、have都可作「使役動詞」,表示使某人去做某事,但 這句話用make較有當事人並不想回電 ,需要你強迫他的意味,對方聽了心裡當然不太舒服。

例:Kevin is at a meeting. I'll have him call you back as soon as possible.(凱文在開會,我會請他盡快回電給您。)

Do you have any time?(你能抽一點時間嗎?)
Do you have some time?(你有多一些空檔嗎?)

說明:some通常用於肯定句,any則用於否定句或疑問句,但口語上卻不一定這麼區分。 問人家有沒有any time,是希望對方盡量擠出時間,some time的態度就很中性,只是問有沒有空檔。

例:Do you have some time later? How about having a cup of coffee with me?(你待會有空嗎?要不要一起喝杯咖啡?)

Could you teach me?(你可以仔細教我嗎?)
Could you show me? (你可以示範一下嗎?)

說明:請人家指導自己,若是 期望對方花一段時間仔細教導,應該用teach,但若只是示範一下操作步驟,精準的用字是show 。

例:Could you show me how to use this color copier? (可以請您示範怎麼操作這台彩色影印機給我看嗎?)

文章轉自{經理人}
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