出门化妆、整理、收拾
总会有需要别人等一等的情况
本身你就耽误了别人的时间了
让别人等等这句话还是要客气礼貌地说出来的
Wait a moment 咋不礼貌了?
本身单独使用wait a moment
它是一个祈使句
省略了主语you
就好像在命令别人
“你等一下”
如果你是下级或者小辈
礼貌地让领导、长辈"等等"可以这么说
↓
Could you please wait for me?
能请你等我一下吗?
更多地使用“我”如何如何,而不是“你”
同时,moment这个词更经常在正式场合使用
在日常英语会话中,
听起来就会有点生硬而不自然。
那想说“请稍等”,应该怎么表达呢?
01
Professional
Just a moment (please)
Bear with me
I won’t be long
02
Casual
Just a second
Just a sec
Just a minute
Just a tick (Australia)
03
Slang
Hold on!
Hang on!
Gimme a minute
Hold your horses (idiom)
例:
Colleague: Hey, have you got a minute to go over the Henderson Report?
你有时间看一下亨德森报告吗?
You: Sure, just a minute. I just need to backup this file in case my computer crashes again.
当然,稍等一下。我需要把这个文件备份一下,以防我的电脑再次死机。
Notice that in the example, you give your colleague a reason for the delay. Needing to wait can feel inconvenient for the person who wants your attention. Giving someone a reason for inconveniencing them is a way to “soften the blow” in polite English.
不知道大家注意到了没有,在例句中,除了稍等一下之外你还给了你的同事一个稍等的原因。需要等待的人会因为你让他等一下而感到不方便。所以,在礼貌的英语中,给某人一个不方便的理由是一种减轻冲击的方式。
Of course, in face-to-face situations the other person will often be able to see why you need a little bit of time, so you don t have to give the reason. Your friendly tone of voice and body language will be polite enough.
当然,在面对面的情况下,对方通常会明白为什么你需要一点时间,所以你不必给出理由。你友好的语气和肢体语言就足够有礼貌了。
However, if you are using these phrases on the phone, where the other person can't see what you re doing, it s more important to give a reason for the inconvenience.
For example
但是,如果你在电话里这么说,而对方却不知道你在做什么,那么给对方一个不方便的理由就更重要了。
例如
- Hey, could we meet up this week to go over the Henderson report?
嘿,我们这周能不能见面看看亨德森报告?
- Sure! Just a sec, let me pull up my calendar.
当然!等一下,让我打开日程表看一下。