pass sb by

英 /pɑːs ˈsʌm baɪ/美 /pæs ˈsʌm baɪ/

v. 动词(短语)

(机会等)错过某人;忽视某人;对某人无影响

含义详解

该短语的核心含义是“从某人旁边经过”,但引申义更常用。本义指物理上经过某人身边,如“He passed me by without a word.”(他一言不发地从我身边走过。)由此引申出两个主要义项:一是“(机会、事件等)错过某人”,即机会或好事没有降临到某人头上,如“The promotion passed me by.”(晋升没轮到我。)二是“故意忽视、不理会某人”,如“She felt that her colleagues passed her by at the meeting.”(她觉得会议上同事们忽视了她。)此外,还有“对某人无影响”的义项,如“The whole episode passed me by – I was too tired to notice.”(整个事情我都没注意到——我太累了。)这些义项都基于“经过而未停留”的本义。

词根溯源

该短语由动词“pass”(源自拉丁语“passare”,意为“步、跨”)和副词“by”(古英语“bi”,意为“在旁边”)构成。字面意思为“从旁边经过”,后逐渐引申出“不理会、错过”等比喻义。记忆时可联想“机会像列车一样从身边驶过,没有停靠”。

常见语境

该短语常用于日常口语和文学作品,表示机会错失或人的忽视,语气通常带有遗憾或无奈。在新闻报道中,也用于描述社会事件或政策对某群体“无影响”或“未惠及”,如“The economic boom has passed many rural communities by.”(经济繁荣并未惠及许多农村社区。)在商务邮件中较少使用,但偶尔出现于委婉表达“未获晋升”或“未被选中”的场合。学术写作中较少见,但可在社会学或心理学文献中描述“忽视”现象。

语法要点

该短语是及物动词短语,宾语为人称代词时需放在“pass”和“by”之间,如“pass me by”而不是“pass by me”(后者也可接受,但语气不同,更强调“经过”)。常见句型为“pass somebody by”或“pass by somebody”,但前者更常用。易错点:不要与“pass by”作不及物用法混淆,如“The parade passed by.”(游行队伍经过。)此时“by”是副词,不带宾语。另外,被动语态常见,如“I was passed by for promotion.”(我未被提拔。)

同义词区别

与“pass sb by”近义的短语有“overlook sb”(忽视某人)、“ignore sb”(不理睬)、“disregard sb”(漠视)以及“miss out on sth”(错过某事)。“overlook”强调无意中忽视,而“pass sb by”更强调机会或事件“从某人身边经过”的比喻,带有被动意味。“ignore”更主动,指故意不理。“miss out on”则侧重错过机会,主语常为人,如“I missed out on the opportunity.”(我错过了机会。)而“pass sb by”的主语常是机会或事件,如“The opportunity passed me by.”

常见误区

该短语语域中性,口语和书面语均可使用。褒贬色彩取决于语境,通常带有遗憾、无奈或批评的意味,但无明显贬义。常见误用包括:将宾语置于“by”之后(“pass by sb”),虽然语法上有时可接受,但不如“pass sb by”地道;或将“by”误作介词,导致结构错误。另外,注意区分“pass by”表示“经过”的用法。

高频搭配

let an opportunity pass sb by让机会从某人身边溜走
pass sb by without a word一言不发地从某人身边走过
be passed by for promotion晋升时被忽略
pass sb by unnoticed未被某人注意到地经过
feel passed by感到被忽视
pass the time by消磨时间(注意:此搭配中“by”为副词,与“pass sb by”不同)

句子示例

Life has a way of passing you by if you don't grab it.如果你不抓住生活,它就会从你身边溜走。
The opportunity to study abroad passed me by because I was too afraid to apply.出国留学的机会错过了我,因为我太害怕申请。
She felt that the award passed her by, though she had worked the hardest.她觉得奖项与她擦肩而过,尽管她工作最努力。
The teacher passed me by when choosing a partner for the project.老师选项目搭档时忽略了我。
The new policy may pass many small businesses by, leaving them struggling.新政策可能不会惠及许多小企业,使它们陷入困境。
I waved at him, but he just passed me by without a glance.我向他挥手,但他连看都不看一眼就从我身边走过。