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Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Orlando in Brazil.
大家好! 本周《名师答疑》，我们回答来自巴西的奥兰多的一个问题。
He writes, Could you please tell me the difference between these phrases when talking about directions?
他写道，当谈论方向时，你能告诉我这几个短语的区别吗？
We can turn left to go there; and We can make left to go there.
我们可以左转去那里。我们可以向左去那里。
Which one is considered correct?
哪一个是正确的？
Thanks. Orlando, Brazil.
谢谢。奥兰多，巴西。
Dear Orlando, thank you for writing to us.
亲爱的奥兰多，感谢你的来信。
Please note that the word “left” serves as two different parts of speech in these two sentences.
请注意，在这两个句子中，left是两种不同的词性。
In the first one, “left” is an adverb.
在第一个句子中，left是副词。
It shows the direction of a turn.
它表示转弯的方向。
Here is a similar example: At the next intersection, I turned left and then right onto Main Street.
这里有一个类似的例句：在下一个十字路口，我左转，然后右转进入主街。
In that statement, both “left” and “right” show a movement in a certain direction.
在这句话中，left和right都表示朝某一方向移动。
They are both adverbs, which means they affect the meaning of a verb.
它们都是副词，这意味着它们会影响动词的意思。
A person or a vehicle can turn, as we have in this example,
一个人或一辆车可以转弯，就像这个例句，
The car ran the stop right there, and it turned left.
汽车在那里停了下来，然后向左转。
But we would not talk about a vehicle “making a turn.”
但我们不会说汽车make a turn(转弯)。
Generally speaking, only people can "make a turn."
一般来说，只有人才能make a turn。
Your second statement is missing an important word, the determiner “a.”
你的第二个句子遗漏了一个重要的词，限定词“a”。
It should be: We can make a left to go there.
应该是：We can make a left to go there(我们可以左转去那里)。
It also leaves out a word that a listener understands but is not said, “turn.”
句子还省略了一个听者听得懂但没有说出的单词turn。
We can make a left [turn] to go there.
我们可以左转去那里。
When we give directions with the word “make” we have to use “a” because here, “left” serves as an adjective.
当我们用make这个词来表示方向时，必须用a，因为这里left是形容词。
It modifies the noun “turn.”
它修饰名词turn。
Here are other examples from the Corpus of Contemporary American English, or COCA:
以下是《当代美国英语语料库》中的其他例子：
He made a left turn on a red light. Horns protested.
他在红灯时左转。其他车于是按喇叭表示不满。
Officials said the driver in front was waiting to make a left turn.
官员们说，前面的司机正在等着左转。
In looking at the results in COCA, I found that “to make a turn” is much less common than simply using the verb “turn.”
在查看语料库时，我发现to make a turn比直接使用动词turn要少见得多。
Some writers think it is a North American way of speaking.
一些人认为这是美式英语的用法。
There is one more way to give directions.
还有一种给人指路的方法。
You can ask someone to “take a turn.”
你可以让某人take a turn(转弯)。
Take the second right turn after the bank.
过了银行后，在第二个路口右拐。
And that’s Ask a Teacher. I’m Jill Robbins.
以上就是《名师答疑》。我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
