生活英语对话 Episode 71: Paul confesses

本单元是关于保罗坦露真相的对话。

Alice: Look Paul, we've been seeing each other for quite a while, and I think we've been getting on well together...
Paul: I think so too!
Alice: Paul, there's something I want to ask you, and even though I'm afraid of the answer, I really need to know the truth. Paul, are you seeing anybody else?
Paul: No! Alice, there's no-one else, at least not in the way you think.
Alice: Not in the way I think? What does that mean? Just tell me Paul, what's going on?
Paul: Alice, I've been trying to tell you this for weeks now, but I've been afraid of your reaction. The truth is...the truth is that I was married for several years, but my wife left me eighteen months ago.


Vocabulary 字汇

to confess 1: 坦白，招供
to tell somebody that you have done something that you think is bad, or that you feel guilty 2 about

to be seeing somebody: 与某人谈恋爱，约会，交往
to be having a romantic 3 relationship

what's going on? 怎么啦？
what's happening?

本单元的语言点是关于不定代词的用法，请看下面关于常见的不定代词 Somebody, anybody, nobody, everybody Every, some, any, no 等用法。

Somebody, anybody, nobody, everybody

Every, some, any, no 每一，一些，任何，无

'Every', 'some', 'any' and 'no' can be used with 'one', 'body' and 'thing' to form compound 4 pronouns 5, such as everyone, somebody, anything and nothing.
'Every', 'some', 'any' and 'no' can also be used with 'where' to form adverbs such as everywhere, somewhere and anywhere.

Pronouns such as somebody, nothing and everything usually take a singular 7 verb 6, even though they may seem to refer to more than one thing.

Don't touch that computer: somebody is using it. Don't worry. Nothing has happened.
Is everything ready for the party?
Everybody has arrived.

However, after everyone/everybody, we use they/their/them, even though the verb is singular.

Everyone has to take their shoes off before they come in.
Could everybody please put their names on the list?
Everybody enjoyed themselves at the party.


Somebody, someone, something, somewhere 某些人，某些东西，某处

These words refer to a person, thing or place, without identifying which person, thing or place.

somebody / someone: an unidentified person
something: an unidentified thing
somewhere: an unidentified place

Alice says 'there's something I want to ask you.' She is saying that she has a question, but she hasn't yet identified the topic of the question.

When she says: 'There's somebody else, isn't there?' this is a positive statement 8, followed by a question tag 9. Alice is saying that she believes that Paul is seeing another woman, but she doesn't know who.

More examples:

Somebody called yesterday, but I don't know who it was.
He had something to eat before he went home.
Have you seen my phone? I put it down somewhere and now I can't find it.


Anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere 任何人，任何事，任何地点

These words are used in questions and negative sentences, to refer to a person, thing or place, without identifying which person, thing or place.

anybody / anyone: an unidentified person
anything: an unidentified thing
anywhere: an unidentified place

Are you seeing anybody else?
I've just moved to a new town, and I don't know anyone.
I haven't had anything to eat since I arrived.

'any-' words are also used to express conditions:
'You can park anywhere' = 'if you need a place to park, use some of this space.'
'It's easy to find. Ask anyone' = 'if you can't find it, ask someone: everybody knows where it is.'


Nobody, no-one, nothing, nowhere 没有人，没有事物，没有地点 （表示否定）

These words are used in positive sentences, but they have negative meanings: they refer to an absence of people, things or place.
No-one is written with a hyphen between the two 'o's.

Nobody knows where it is.
No-one came to the party.
He says he knows nothing about the crime 10.
They are homeless. They have nowhere to live.


Everybody, everyone, everything, everywhere 所有的人，每个人，每件事，每个地方
These words are used to refer to all people, things or places. Everybody and everyone have the same meaning.

Everybody likes chocolate.
Everything closes at the end of the holiday season.
We need to tidy up. There's rubbish everywhere.