"attend upon" 是一个正式且书面化的短语,主要有两层意思:
强调对他人(通常是需要照顾的人,如病人、长辈或地位高的人)的贴身照料或服务。
指某事物必然或自然地伴随另一事物发生(常含“附带、随之而来”的意味)。
结构:attend upon sb.
She quit her job to attend upon her elderly father full-time.(她辞掉工作,全职照料年迈的父亲。)
In the old days, maids were hired to attend upon the lady of the house.(过去,女仆被雇来侍候家庭主妇。)
The nurse attended upon the injured soldier day and night.(护士日夜照料受伤的士兵。)
结构:attend upon sth.
Great opportunities often attend upon great risks.(大机遇往往伴随着大风险。)
The responsibilities that attend upon leadership are not easy to bear.(领导职位带来的责任并不容易承担。)
Certain dangers attend upon living in a big city, like traffic jams and high crime rates.(住在大城市会伴随一些危险,比如交通拥堵和高犯罪率。)
两者容易混淆,但含义不同:
attend upon:侧重“侍候/伴随”(针对人或事物的“跟随、照料”);
attend to:侧重“处理;注意;专心于”(如 attend to a task 处理任务,attend to someone’s needs 关注某人的需求)。
"attend upon" 更常用于正式语境(如文学作品、书面语、传统场景),口语中更常用 look after(照料)或 go with(伴随)替代。
总结:"attend upon" 要么表示“贴心照料某人”,要么表示“某事物伴随另一事物”,关键看宾语是人还是物~