教你正确用（二十一）.docVIP

教你正确用（二十一） 　　Correspondence with Xiaoge 　　 　　I would like to thank many of our readers for sharing with me their thoughts and experiences in studying English. Each time I learn something when I try to answer their letters. I picked two letters out of many to share with you today. Chen Lan had two questions on, who else, Shakespeare! Shi Tou was eager to improve his English. Maybe you had the same questions... 　　 　　A Letter from Chen Lan 　　莎翁也有错的时候? 　　Hello! Please say “hello” to your DD for me! I saw him in Overseas English, and he is so handsome! I have got stuck with a problem; could you help me? 　　In the play, The Merchant of Venice (威尼斯商人), in Senior English, Book 2B, for Chinese students, there is a sentence:“you might as well go stand upon the beach and argue with sea.”I don’t understand why the words “go” and “stand” are put together, and what is the meaning of the whole sentence?There is another sentence in the play, that is, “if you offered me six times what you have just offered, I would still take my pound of flesh.” What is the meaning of the word “if”? 　　I know you must be busy, but I’d appreciate your reply. Thanks! 　　 　　Best wishes to you and your DD! 　　 　　Reply from Xiaoge 　　莎翁没错, 但你是对的 　　Thanks for your compliment. DD and I appreciate it. You got two very good questions, and they are from Shakespeare too! Your questions touched on two general idiomatic usages in English. I would think our readers should benefit(受益) from the discussions of these questions. Now let’s take a look at your first question. 　　 　　Go Doingvs.Go Do 　　“Go” may be followed by a direct verb or by an 搃ng?verb (present participle). Your teacher may have already talked to you about the usage of 揼o doing.?For example: go swimming, go fishing, and gry go hiking. While “go doing” may be used in many situations, they are most often used with verbs associated with sports, which don’t need to take an object. 　　On the other hand, “go do” has a sense of asking or orderin