Sandy的電腦出問題,她一臉無助,站在電腦前面。坐在隔壁的外籍同事對她說:John is really next to computers. He can fix any problem you have.

Sandy看了看四周,沒有看見John,不是說他next to computer嗎?怎麼不見人影?沒想到吧,原來next to還有「在行、熟悉」的意思。來看看next的道地用法。

John is really next to computers. He can fix any problem you have.

(X)John剛好在電腦旁,他能解決你所有電腦問題。
)John對電腦很在行,他能解決你所有電腦問題。

大家最熟悉的next to,是指「在旁邊、緊臨著」,例如:

Can I sit next to you?
(我可以坐在你旁邊嗎?)

經常處在一件事物旁,久了就變熟悉,因此next to可以比喻對特定領域的熟悉或精通,而非實際的位置關係。通常用於口語交流場合。

Sarah is next to cooking. Her dishes are always delicious.
(Sarah很擅長烹飪。她做的菜總是非常美味。)

有時也會用next on,意思一樣:

Sure, he’s next on the game.
(當然,他對這個遊戲很在行。)

You're next in line to speak at the meeting.

(X)你是下一個在Line上發言的人。
)輪到你發言了。

next in line意思是「接下來的」、「輪到的」,line指「排隊的隊伍」。next in line常用在工作升遷、預約預訂、排隊等。常用的片語,多看幾個例子。

After John retires, I'll be next in line for the manager position.
(John退休後,我就會擔任下一任經理。)

The bus just left, but the next in line should arrive in about 15 minutes.
(剛剛有班公車開走了,但下一班應該會在15分鐘後到達。)

The next thing I know…

(X)我知道的下一件事⋯⋯
)(沒想到)接下來,之後⋯⋯

The next thing I know…指「然後、接著⋯⋯」,屬於易懂難用,大家不太會搞錯意思,但不見得會朗朗上口。這是用來描述一個意外或令人驚訝的事情,有「沒想到、居然就⋯⋯」這般的口吻。例句:

I was just walking down the street, and the next thing I know, a bird flew right into my face!
(我只是在街上走著,沒想到下一刻,一隻鳥突然撞到了我的臉!)

I was sitting in class, and the next thing I know, the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate the building.
(我當時坐在教室裡,接著下一刻,火警鈴響起,我們不得不撤離大樓。)

也有the next thing you know的用法:

I was just browsing online, and the next thing you know, I'd spent hours shopping.
(我只是在網上隨便看看,接下來你知道的事情就是,我花了好幾個小時購物。)

責任編輯:倪旻勤
核稿編輯:陳瑋鴻