“bring up children”是一个常用的英语动词短语,核心含义是“抚养孩子;养育子女”,强调对孩子从童年到成年的照顾、教育和人格培养(不仅是提供物质生活,更包含价值观、行为习惯的引导)。
“bring up”本身是“养育、抚养”的意思,结合宾语“children”后,特指“将孩子养大成人,并给予必要的教育和引导”。例如:
It takes a lot of patience to bring up children.(抚养孩子需要很大的耐心。)
“bring up children”是及物动词短语(必须带宾语),使用时需注意以下几点:
Her grandparents brought up her after her parents died.(她父母去世后,祖父母抚养了她。)
Single parents often struggle to bring up children alone.(单亲父母往往难以独自抚养孩子。)
可通过添加方式状语、目的状语等,补充“抚养的方式或目标”:
“bring up sb. with sth.”:用…(方式/价值观)抚养某人
例:They brought up their children with a love of nature.(他们培养孩子对自然的热爱。)
She was brought up with strict rules about manners.(她在严格的礼仪规范下长大。)
“bring up sb. to do sth.”:养育某人(形成某种习惯/品质)
例:My parents brought me up to respect elderly people.(父母教育我要尊重老人。)
He was brought up to work hard and never give up.(他从小被教导要努力工作、永不放弃。)
当强调“孩子被抚养”时,可用被动结构“be brought up”:
Many orphans are brought up in orphanages.(许多孤儿在孤儿院长大。)
The singer was brought up in a small town.(这位歌手在一个小镇长大。)
“bring up children”与“raise children”意思接近,但略有侧重:
bring up:更强调“教育和培养”(侧重精神层面的引导);
raise:更侧重“提供生活所需”(侧重物质层面的养育)。
例:She raised three kids by working two jobs.(她打两份工养活三个孩子。)(侧重物质)
She brought up three kids to be kind and responsible.(她把三个孩子培养成善良、负责的人。)(侧重教育)
“bring up”还有“提出(话题/问题)”的意思,但结合“children”时,仅表示“抚养”:
He brought up the issue of school fees at the meeting.(他在会议上提出了学费问题。)(此处与“抚养”无关)
综上,“bring up children”是描述“养育子女”的常用表达,重点在于“教育+照顾”的综合过程,适用于讨论亲子教育、家庭责任等场景。