“complain about”是英语中常用的动词短语,核心含义是“抱怨;投诉;对……发牢骚”,用于表达对某人、某事或某种情况的不满情绪。
“complain about”是“动词+介词”结构,介词“about”后必须接名词、代词或动名词(-ing形式),作“抱怨的对象/内容”。
常见搭配:
complain about + 名词/代词:抱怨某人/某事
complain about + 动名词:抱怨做某事
若要表达“向某人抱怨某事”,需加上间接宾语“to sb”,形成:
1、 介词“about”后不能接从句,需将从句转化为名词性结构(如动名词复合结构)。
❌ 错误:He complained about that the food was cold.
✅ 正确:He complained about the food being cold.(他抱怨食物凉了。)
或用“complain that...”(直接接宾语从句):He complained that the food was cold.
2、 “complain about”侧重“日常的、具体的不满”;而“complain of”更正式,常指“抱怨疾病、痛苦或抽象的困扰”(如:She complained of a headache. 她抱怨头疼。)
1、 抱怨事物:
She always complains about the traffic in the morning.(她总是抱怨早上的交通。)
Don’t complain about the weather—we can’t change it.(别抱怨天气了,我们改变不了它。)
2、 抱怨某人:
He complained about his roommate’s loud music.(他抱怨室友的音乐太吵。)
Did you complain about the waiter to the manager?(你向经理投诉那个服务员了吗?)
3、 抱怨做某事(动名词):
I’m tired of complaining about working overtime.(我厌倦了抱怨加班。)
She complained about having to get up early every day.(她抱怨每天得早起。)
4、 向某人抱怨某事:
My friend complained to me about her stressful job.(我朋友向我抱怨她压力大的工作。)
The customer complained to the shop assistant about the broken product.(顾客向店员投诉损坏的商品。)
“complain about”是表达“不满”的高频短语,关键是记住介词后接名词性成分,并可通过“to sb”扩展为“向某人抱怨某事”。多结合日常场景练习(如天气、工作、生活细节),就能熟练使用啦!