"in and out"是一个常用的英语短语,核心含义围绕“进出”或“交替变化”,具体用法可分为字面义、引申义和固定搭配三类,以下是详细解析:
最常见的是描述物理上的“进进出出”“来回穿梭”,强调动作的反复性或流动性,常与表示移动的动词(如go、come、move、walk等)搭配。
例句:People were going in and out of the café all afternoon.(整个下午人们都在咖啡馆里进进出出。)
The dog kept running in and out of the garden to chase squirrels.(狗不停地跑进跑出花园追松鼠。)
A breeze made the curtains flutter in and out of the open window.(微风让窗帘从开着的窗户里飘进飘出。)
通过“进出”的逻辑延伸,表示“频繁陷入或脱离某种状态”(常搭配介词of),强调状态的不稳定性或反复性。
常见搭配:in and out of + 抽象名词(如trouble、hospital、work等) 例句:He’s been in and out of trouble since he dropped out of school.(他辍学后就频繁惹麻烦。)
My grandma was in and out of the hospital last year due to her heart problem.(我奶奶去年因心脏病频繁住院出院。)
She’s in and out of jobs—she never stays at one place for long.(她频繁换工作——从不在一个地方待太久。)
最常用的比喻义是“对…了如指掌/彻底熟悉”,仅用于搭配动词know,结构为know sth./sb. in and out。
例句:She’s lived here for 20 years—she knows the city in and out.(她在这儿住了20年,对这个城市了如指掌。)
My dad knows cars in and out—he can fix any problem.(我爸爸对汽车了如指掌——什么问题都能修。)
If you know the rules in and out, you won’t make mistakes.(如果你彻底熟悉规则,就不会出错。)
在一些特定语境中,"in and out"还可表示:
快速完成(强调效率):I need to get this done in and out—I’m in a hurry.(我得快速做完这个——我赶时间。)
(声音、光线等)忽明忽暗/时断时续:The radio signal was going in and out during the storm.(暴风雨时收音机信号时断时续。)
"in and out"的核心逻辑是“双向流动”:
物理上的“进-出”反复;
状态上的“陷入-脱离”反复;
认知上的“全面覆盖”(从内到外都了解)。
掌握其搭配和语境,就能灵活运用啦!