“out of turn”是一个常用的英语介词短语,核心含义是“不符合常规顺序、时机或权限”,通常作副词短语修饰动词,强调行为“不合时宜”“不按规则”或“超出范围”。以下是具体解析:
“out of turn”的语义可分为四大类,需结合语境理解:
指违背“轮流、依次”的规则,提前或跳过步骤行动。
Please don’t speak out of turn during the meeting—wait for your name to be called.(会议上别抢着发言,等叫到你再说。)
He got angry when someone cut in line out of turn.(有人插队时,他生气了。)
The kids were told not to grab snacks out of turn—they had to wait for their turn.(孩子们被告知不要乱拿零食,必须按顺序来。)
指言行违背场合的“适当性”,比如问隐私、提敏感话题或在错误的时间行动。
Asking about her divorce at a party was totally out of turn—she’s still upset about it.(在派对上问她的离婚事太冒失了,她还没缓过来。)
You shouldn’t have criticized him in front of his family out of turn.(你不该贸然在他家人面前批评他。)
Bringing up work stress at a birthday dinner is out of turn—let’s keep it light!(生日宴上提工作压力很不合时宜,咱们说点轻松的!)
指在他人讲话时未经允许插话,破坏对话的连贯性。
I’m sorry I spoke out of turn—I didn’t mean to interrupt your story.(对不起,我抢话了——我不是故意打断你讲故事的。)
She always cuts in out of turn during group discussions, which annoys everyone.(她小组讨论时总抢话,大家都很烦。)
指做了不属于自己权限或职责内的事(常见于工作场景)。
It’s out of turn for an intern to approve expense reports—only managers can do that.(实习生批准报销是越权的,只有经理能做。)
The secretary made a mistake by signing the contract out of turn—she should have asked the director first.(秘书越权签合同犯了错,她应该先问主任的。)
“out of turn”常与动作类动词搭配,强调“行为的不当性”:
speak out of turn(抢话/乱发言)
act out of turn(贸然行动)
ask (a question) out of turn(贸然提问)
interrupt out of turn(打断别人)
do something out of turn(做不合时宜的事)
反义词:in turn(依次;轮流),如:“We answered the questions in turn.”(我们依次回答问题。)
易混淆短语:out of order(故障;无序;违规),强调“功能失常”或“彻底混乱”,如:“The elevator is out of order.”(电梯坏了。);“His behavior was out of order.”(他的行为违规了。)
“out of turn”的核心是“偏离了‘正常的顺序/时机/权限’”,需根据语境判断具体是“不按顺序”“不合时宜”“抢话”还是“越权”。使用时注意:它通常修饰具体的动作(如speak/act/ask),突出行为的“不当性”。
通过以上解析和例子,相信你能灵活运用这个短语啦!