1. free做形容词用 Example:Admission is free for children under 9.(9岁以下的儿童免门票。) 另外经常可以看到Free Wifi,Free Tea等,表示免费提供wifi,茶水等。 Buy Two Get One Free 买二送一,经常可以见到的一种商家的促销方式。
2. for free作状语
表达“免费做某事;义务做某事”
Example:Admission:Is downloading videos from Youku for free?(从优酷上下载视频免费吗?) 有意思的是free只能做形容词和副词,不能做名词, 所以严格上说 for free是语法错误的,虽然这种用法十分普遍 ( 仅限于informal,非正式场合使用)。
Example: You can’t expect people to work for free (= without payment). 你不能指望别人白给你干活。
以下摘自国外语论坛对该词组的注释:
Strict grammarians will tell you that for free is grammatically incorrect because free is not a noun, and this means it cannot be preceded by for (a preposition).
In their view, something is sold for nothing or is sold free.
However, through common usage, for free has become acceptable.
3. free of charge
charge为名词形式,表示“费用”。 Example:All these services are available to the public free of charge.(所有这些服务均可供免费享用。)
Example: We will send you our booklet free of charge. 我们会把我们的小册子寄给您,且不收取费用。
表示“免费”。这个也很常用
Example: Advertisers discovered years ago that all of us love to get something for nothing.做广告的人们多年前就发现我们大家都喜欢免费得到东西。(新概念3课文例句)
Example: Google’s services have famously been built on the principle of offering something for nothing. 谷歌服务有个著名的基本原则:免费提供服务。
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