Easy to 易於

This is a common expression in Chinese, but when directly translated to English, it becomes Chinglish. Below are some simple ways to express this idea in English.

這是中文常見的用語，但是若直接譯成英文就會變成中式英文。以下是用英文表達「易於…」的簡單方式。

Chinglish	Much Better
easy to angry	gets angry easily bad-tempered
easy to break	breakable breaks easily fragile--handle with care
easy to change	ever-changing easily changeable
easy to irritate	easily irritated irritable

Examples of proper usage:

適當用法的例句如下：

1.This glass breaks easily, so please put a “Fragile--Handle with Care” sticker on the box before you mail it.

2.We live in an ever-changing world, so we must always be flexible and willing to learn new skills.

3.“My Dad gets angry really easily,” Jack said, “so I don’t like to spend much time at home.”

4.Without enough sleep, it is easy to feel very irritable.

Ever 曾經

This is a fine English word, used for past tense, but it is normally used in questions only!

這是個很好的英文字，通常用於過去式，而且只用在問句中。

Chinglish: I have ever been to California.

Instead, use “ever” + past participle in questions and “before” in statements.

要表達「曾經…」的概念時，在問句時要用ever + 過去分詞，在陳述句時要用before。例如：

1.Have you ever been to California?

2.Have you ever been very depressed?

3.Have you ever taken swimming lessons?

Here are some ways to express past tense in statements. Note the use of “before.”

以下是在陳述句中表達過去時態，注意before的用法。

1.I have been to California before.

2.I have been depressed before.

3.I have taken swimming lessons before.

In general/Generally speaking 一般而言

This is a very useful tool. Few things in this life are 100%. (Benjamin Franklin said the only things we can be sure of in this life are “death and taxes.”) So this is a helpful “hedge” phrase when you are making generalities but are not 100% sure. But just choose one phrase or the other. Do not say, “In generally speaking….”

這是個很好用的片語。人生中很少有百分之百確定的事情（班哲明．富蘭克林說人生可以確定的事只有「死亡和繳稅」）。當你作普遍性推論，但又不是百分之百肯定時，這類「避險」的片語就很好用。但只能選擇其中一個片語來用，不能說In generally speaking…。

In general, you hear more Taiwanese in South Taiwan than in the northern parts.

Generally speaking, the harder you work, the more successful you will be.

Old People 老人

Whereas the Chinese is simply lao ren（老人）, you normally do not want to translate this directly. “Old man” does not sound any better, and you certainly do not want to write: “My grandmother is an old man,” unless you really want to confuse the reader! It is better to say “older people,” “senior citizens,” or just “seniors.” (Yes, “seniors” can cause confusion with people about to leave high school or college, but the context usually makes it clear.)

中文可以說「老人」，但你可不要直接翻譯成old man，這實在不怎麼好聽，當然你也不要寫出My grandmother is an old man. 這種句子，除非你是存心讓讀者搞糊塗。比較好的用法是older people, senior citizens或seniors（當然seniors也可能會讓人誤會成是高三或大四的高年級學生，但是上下文通常可以讓人釐清意義）。

1.With the advances in medical technology, many older people are living longer nowadays.

2.Senior citizens are as a group a big voting bloc in the U.S. and politicians who want to keep their jobs better not make them angry!

3.Seniors are living more active lives now than ever before. Former President Bush jumped out of an airplane with a parachute on his 80th birthday--just for fun!

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