| 人花了多少錢在…東西上： | 人 spend $ on 東西 |
| 人花了多少時間在做…事： | 人 spend 時間 (in) Ving ( in 為介係詞，所以後方需搭配動名詞 Ving。 |
| 某事/物花了某人多少時間： | 事/物 take 人 時間 |
| 某事/物花了某人多少時間： | It takes 人 時間 + to V原 (不定詞補充說明虛主詞 it ) |
| 某事/物花了某人多少錢： | 事 / 物 cost 人 $ |
| 某事/物花了某人多少錢： | It costs 人 $ + to V原 (不定詞補充說明虛主詞 it ) |
| 某人為了某物付了多少錢： | 人 pay $ for 物 |
例句：Ted 昨天花 300 元買一本書。
Ted paid three hundred dollars for a book yesterday.
Ted spent three hundred dollars on a book yesterday.
The book cost Ted three hundred dollars yesterday.
It cost Ted three hundred dollars to buy a book yesterday.
例句：買書花了 Ted 一小時。
Ted spent one hour (in) buying a book.
Buying a book took Ted one hour.
It took Ted one hour to buy a book.
請選出正確句子：
A.How long do you take to commute to school?
B.It could cost scientists several years to work out the myth.
C.I spent five minutes to explain what happened to Liz.
D.Who do you think should pay for dinner on the first date?
解答： D
A 選項，通勤上學花你多少時間？
由於主詞為人(you)，故應搭配 spend 時間 (in) Ving。正確寫法為：
How long do you spend commuting
to school? 或
How long does it take
you to commute
to school?
虛主詞 it 代替「通勤上學」這件事，補充說明虛主詞得用 to V原。事情「花」時間，需搭配動詞 take (花)。
B 選項，科學家得花上數年才能解開這個謎。
事「花」時間得用 take。所以 B 選項應改成：
It
could take
scientists several years to work
out the myth. 或
Scientists have to spend
several years working
out the myth.
C 選項，我花了五分鐘向麗茲解發生了甚麼事。
人「花」時間做…得用spend 時間 (in) Ving。正確寫法為：
I spent
five minutes explaining
what happened to Liz. 或
It
took
me five minutes to explain
what happened to Liz.
D 選項，你認為第一次約會時，誰該付晚餐錢？
“do you think” 為插入語，可刪除成為： Who
should pay for
dinner on the first date? 動詞 pay 的用法為：人 pay $ for 物。
