God Bless You
2006-8-1 22:40:00
据西方传说,打喷嚏会把灵魂都喷出来,为免恶魔来犯,在旁的人会对打喷嚏者说：Bless you.或 God bless you.（上帝保佑你 ）,而打喷嚏者会回答：Thank you.
God是单数名词,为什么God bless you.的bless不改为blesses?原来这一句和God save him.（上帝保佑他）、God forbid.（上帝禁止这样的事发生）、God give you joy.（上帝给你幸福）等常用语,句前全部其实都有一个略去了的may字.May有‘但愿’的意思,一般用来起句,例如：May you always be happy.（祝你永远快乐）、May peace return to our motherland.（愿祖国重享和平）等.所以God bless you.不可改作God blesses you.假如没有‘但愿’含义,则God之后的现在式动式当然也要加s或es,例如God knows,I don't.（天晓得,我可不知道）、Man proposes,God disposes.（谋事在人,成事在天）等.
最后说bless一字.Bless一般解作‘保佑’、‘祝福’或‘赐福’,例如：(1) He is blessed with great intelligence.（他天赋聪明过人）.(2) God blessed him with a dutiful son.（上天赐给他一个孝顺的儿子）等.但在俗语中,bless却往往有‘诅咒’、‘使倒霉’的意思,和原意完全相反,颇为有趣,例如：I'll be blessed if he isn't trying to trick us.（假如他不是要骗我们,我就是浑蛋）,Oh Gad,I've missed the blessed train again.（哎呀,我又没赶上搭那班天杀的火车了）.