“do sb. a favor”是英语中非常常用的短语,核心含义是“帮某人一个忙”,用于请求或描述“为他人提供帮助”的场景。
直接对应中文的“帮某人忙”,强调“临时性、具体的协助”,比如递东西、带消息、解决小问题等。
1、 结构要点:
“sb.”需用宾格代词(me/you/him/her/it/us/them)或名词短语(如“the teacher”“my neighbor”)。
同义表达:do a favor for sb.(介词换为for,意思完全相同)。
2、 常见场景:请求帮忙
最常用的是疑问句(用“Could/Would/Can”开头,表礼貌请求):
Could you do me a favor? (你能帮我个忙吗?)—— 通用请求。
Would you do her a favor and open the door? (你能帮她开个门吗?)—— 加具体动作(and连接)。
Can you do the team a favor by bringing snacks? (你能帮团队带点零食吗?)—— 用“by doing”说明帮忙的方式。
3、 描述“已经提供的帮助”
用于陈述句,说明“某人帮了谁的忙”:
He did me a big favor by lending me his laptop. (他借我笔记本电脑,帮了我大忙。)—— “big favor”强调“大忙”。
She often does her grandma a favor by shopping for her. (她经常帮奶奶买东西。)—— 日常性的帮忙。
4、 拒绝或无法帮忙
用否定句说明“不能帮忙”:
I’m sorry, I can’t do you a favor right now—I’m in a meeting. (抱歉,我现在没法帮你,我在开会。)
He said he couldn’t do us a favor because he was busy. (他说因为忙,没法帮我们。)
ask sb. to do a favor:请求某人帮忙(= ask sb. for a favor)
I asked my friend to do me a favor—pick up my package. (我请朋友帮我个忙——取我的包裹。)
owe sb. a favor:欠某人一个人情(因为对方之前帮过忙)
He helped me move last month, so I owe him a favor. (他上个月帮我搬家,所以我欠他个人情。)
“do sb. a favor”是口语化、礼貌的请求/描述帮助的短语,核心是“为他人提供具体协助”。记住用宾格、结合礼貌疑问句(Could/Would),并通过“and/by doing”补充具体帮忙的内容,就能灵活运用啦!