"on occasion"是一个介词短语,意为“偶尔;有时;间或”(= sometimes / from time to time / now and then),强调动作或事件不是经常发生,而是“偶尔出现”。
作为频度状语,它可以灵活出现在句子的开头、中间或结尾,修饰整个句子或谓语动词。
强调“偶尔”的情况,引起注意:
On occasion, I skip breakfast if I'm in a hurry.(偶尔赶时间的话,我会不吃早饭。)
On occasion, she writes poems to express her feelings.(她偶尔会写诗表达情绪。)
He on occasion helps his neighbor with gardening.(他偶尔帮邻居做园艺。)
The boss is strict, but on occasion she's quite friendly.(老板很严格,但偶尔也很友善。)
最常见的位置,自然流畅:
I still play the piano on occasion.(我仍然偶尔弹钢琴。)
We go to the cinema on occasion, but mostly we watch movies at home.(我们偶尔去电影院,但大多时候在家看电影。)
不要混淆"on occasion"和"on the occasion of"——后者意为“在…之际;值…之时”(强调某个特定事件的时刻),例如:
They held a party on the occasion of their 20th wedding anniversary.(他们在结婚20周年之际举办了派对。)
occasionally(副词,更简洁,= on occasion)
now and then
from time to time
at times
"on occasion"是中性、口语/书面都适用的短语,用来描述“不频繁的行为”,关键是记住它的频度状语功能和灵活的位置。通过例子多练习就能熟练使用啦!