那些带有Stand的短语动词你会用吗?
The comment of a new U.S. resident tellingabout how he obtained residency got me thinking about the difficulties that ESLlearners must have with phrasal verbs built on stand:
A Vincentian priest at the parish stood infor me as a witness when I became a resident. With the help of several peoplein the church I got my work permit and became a citizen.”
The grammar is unexceptionable, but theexpression “stood in for me”conveys an unintended meaning. The new resident means that the priest “sponsored” or “testifiedfor” him, but the idiom “tostand in for” means “to takethe place of someone”:
Paul Walker’sbrothers stand in for actor’s final scenes for Fast& Furious 7 movie Cyril Ramaphosa to stand in for Zuma at briefing
To convey the sense of sponsorship ortestimony, one would say, “stand for witness,” “stand as witness,” or “stand up for”:
At their hurried marriage, only a littleboy stood for witness. I stand as witness for a sixteen-year-old boy I nevermet. My sister stood up for me at my wedding. “Stand up” can also mean, “fail to keep an appointment”: Her date stood her up at the last minute.
A person “standsfor” office. Countries and people “stand by,” “stand with,” or “stand up for”their friends: US says it will stand by allies against ChinaThestate of South Carolina is now offering drivers licenses that read: “South Carolina Stands with Israel”StudentsStand Up for Football Coach Banned From Praying With Team
As a verb, “standby” means “to wait inreadiness.” The noun stand-by means “a state of readiness:
Police asked to stand by in case of trouble.
Canteens on Stand-By to Respond to Tropical Storm Debby
Egypt celebrates anniversary as armyremains on stand-by
Emergency services on standby to treatfans in Manaus“Stand by” also means, “tolook on without intervening”:
Pakistani Woman Beaten To Death By HerFamily As Police Stand By:We simply cannot afford to standby while drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism devastate this alreadyvulnerable region.
As an imperative, “Stand by” means “wait for further developments”:
We’re Experiencing Technical Difficulties – Please Stand By…
Many of these phrasal verbs are used with aliteral meaning that is clear from the context:
Stand aside so I can stay on the sidewalk.
Stand up when the Queen enters the room.
Stand back so the water doesn’t hit you.
Here are a few morephrasal verbs built on stand:
stand on:maintain
“I stand on mydecision.”
stand aside/stand back: get out of the way
If you can’t dothe job as manager, stand aside/back and let me do it.
stand for:represent, tolerate
Superman stands for truth, justice, andthe American Way.
The boss won’tstand for repeated tardiness.
stand out:be noticeable
Wear something plain so you won’t stand out.
stand up to:defend against, challenge, refuse to submit
Next time George tries to take yourlunch money, stand up to him.
stand between: present a barrier
His mother claims she doesn’t want to stand between them, but every time they set a date, shegets sick.
stand down:leave the witness box; relax; withdraw.
The witness was told to stand down.
Police ordered to stand down as cityburned.
stand off:keep at distance
The patrol stood off the enemy for threehours.