fifty dollars in notes,a fifty-dollar note
Fifty dollars in notes的意思是“鈔票數張,共計五十元”。dollars是可數名詞,故在詞尾加-s.a fifty-dollar note 是“一張五十元的鈔票”,這里的dollar作定語用,故其后不加-s.
通過下列句子的比較,可以進一步看出它們的差別:
I gave him a twenty-dollar note.
我給他一張二十元的鈔票。
I gave him twenty dollars in notes.
我給他鈔票若干張,共計二十元。
There are ten fifty-dollar notes on the desk.
桌上有十張五十元的鈔票。
There are five hundred dollars in notes on the desk.
桌上有共值五百元的鈔票若干張。
請注意,“He has changed his note.”的意思是“他已改變語調”,不是“他已換了鈔票”,如要表達此意,應該說:
He has changed the banknotes.
在“change one’s note”中,note作“態度”或“口氣”解;在“change one’s banknotes”中,note作“鈔票”解。在下面一語中,我們也要注意note的涵義:to compare notes是“交換意見”,不是“對比鈔票”或“核對筆記”。