问
My sister has ____. A. a piece of jewelry B. a jewelry C. a little of jewels D. a bit jewelry 答案为 A。为什么不可以选 B 呢？
答
jewelry 是集合名词,属不可数名词之列,其意义为“珠宝类”“宝石类”“珠宝总称”。因此,不能直接与 a 连用,如同汉语的“书籍”(集合名词)不能与“一”连用一样。如要说“一件珠宝”,只能说 a piece of jewelry 或 a jewel。下面是类似的情况:machine→machinary(总称),poem→poetry(总称),scene→scenery(总称),weapon→weaponry(总称)(参见 collective nouns)。
练习
Her husband bought her ____ jewels and her jewelry ____ worth one million dollars.
问
He accepted the job of Professor of Physics, but asked for very little money. 为什么不说 the job of a professor, 而说 the job of Professor? 难道 professor 不是可数名词吗？
答
见 position, a(an) 。