有机会跟一些智者、聪明的人或老朋友聊天该是很快乐的事情,这时候你可以跟他们说:It's been nice talking to you(很高兴跟你聊天),所谓‘礼多人不怪’,外国人也很讲礼仪,例如Thanks for calling.(谢谢你的来电),初次见面会说Nice to meet you.(很高兴见到你),或者It's been nice knowing you.(很高兴认识你)如果你想恭维别人,可说:I've heard a lot about you.(久仰你的大名),相信别人听到一定很开心。
对话
A: So when can I expect to hear from you?
B: We'll keep you informed. If you don't receive a call by Friday, you can give me a call.
A: Alright, I'll wait to hear from you then. It's been nice talking to you.
B: You're welcome. Thanks for calling.
甲:我何时可收到你的消息?
乙:我们会联络你。如你在星期五前还未收到电话,请致电给我。
甲:好吧,我等着你的消息。很高兴跟你谈话。
乙:不用客气,谢谢来电。
和人家谈话,准备结束时,一般会说:It's been interesting / nice / fun / great talking to you.那就是说:‘和你谈话真畅快’,但句子既用现在完成时动词 (present perfect tense),明显表示谈话要告一段落。所以这句话之后,一般就是Goodbye,例如:It's been great talking to you, but I must go now. Goodbye.
结束谈话,往往是以‘时间所限’为理由。听见对方像是突然惊觉那样说Oh, look at the time!(啊,看看时间!)你几乎可以断定他跟着就会说:I'm going to have to run. / I must dash away now./ I'm afraid I must fly. / I've got to rush.(我得赶快走了)。
要说‘是时间要走了’,有一英文句法特别值得注意:It's time I was. / were going。这一句是说现在的事。但It's time. 之后的子句 (clause) 却必须用过去时动词 (past tense),现在不妨再举一例:It is about / high time we went home.(现在(差不多)是回家的时候了)。It is about time. 即‘差不多是时候’,It is high time. 则是It is time. 的强调说法。
为什么It's time之后的子句要用过去时动词,而I甚至可配动词were?原来这类子句要用假设句法,表示‘我们早应这样做,现在却还未做’。 留意It's time we went home. 之类句子可以改写作It's time for us to go home.,意思没有分别。