avail
avail — 名詞
1. the practical benefit or positive effect that comes from doing something, almost
效用；助益
做某事所產生的實際好處
the practical benefit or positive effect that comes from doing something, almost always used in negative or near-negative phrases such as 'to no avail' or 'of little avail'.
Sven shouted for help, but his cries were of no avail in the empty parking lot.
Sven 在空蕩蕩的停車場大聲呼救，卻毫無效用。
fixed pattern: of no avail
The lawyer's clever arguments were of little avail against such clear evidence.
面對如此明確的證據，律師再聰明的論點也起不了什麼助益。
of little avail + against [obstacle]
Ilya pushed the heavy door with all her strength, but her efforts were to no avail.
Ilya 用盡全力推那扇沉重的門，努力卻全無效用。
Grandma Rosa's old umbrella was of little avail against the heavy rain on the way to the market.
Rosa 奶奶那把舊雨傘在前往市場的路上，對擋大雨幾乎起不了什麼助益。
- success
the outcome 'to no avail' fails to deliver.
文法句型
of avail
to no avail
of little avail
用法筆記
Almost always appears in fixed negative phrases ('to no avail', 'of little avail', 'of no avail'). A bare positive use such as 'the medicine was of great avail' sounds archaic and is generally avoided in modern English.
常見錯誤
avail — 動詞
1. to bring real help or a useful result to a person or situation, usually appearin
助益；幫上忙
對某人或情況產生實際幫助
to bring real help or a useful result to a person or situation, usually appearing in negative sentences that say the help was not enough.
All her careful planning availed her nothing when the storm flooded the basement.
暴雨淹了地下室時，她所有的細心規劃都幫不上忙。
pattern: avail somebody nothing
It availed Sven little to argue with the referee after the final whistle.
終場哨聲響起後，Sven 再去和裁判爭辯也沒什麼用。
it avails somebody little + to-infinitive
All her training did not avail Wairimu when the new judges introduced an unfamiliar floor routine.
當新任評審推出陌生的地板動作時，Wairimu 平日所有的訓練都幫不上忙。
The old map availed the hikers nothing once the trail markers had been removed.
登山客的舊地圖在路標被拔掉之後一點忙也幫不上。
- fail
as a verb of result; pairs with 'fail somebody' versus 'avail somebody nothing'.
文法句型
avail + somebody/something
it avails somebody (nothing/little)
用法筆記
Almost always negative or near-negative ('availed nothing', 'availed little', 'will not avail'). A flat positive such as 'his speech availed the team' is theoretically possible but sounds stiff; speakers prefer 'helped' instead.
常見錯誤
2. to take an opportunity, service, or right that is being offered to you and use i
利用；運用
把眼前的機會或服務拿來為自己使用
to take an opportunity, service, or right that is being offered to you and use it for your own benefit; nearly always reflexive in the form 'avail oneself of something'.
Guests are welcome to avail themselves of the hotel pool between seven and ten.
歡迎房客在七點到十點之間使用飯店的游泳池。
reflexive: avail oneself of [facility]
Dr. Xiomara availed herself of the free legal advice before signing the contract.
田中博士在簽約前利用了這項免費的法律諮詢。
avail oneself of [opportunity]
Few students availed themselves of the chance to study abroad last summer.
去年夏天很少有學生把握這個出國念書的機會。
Wren urged his neighbours to avail themselves of the new health screening at the clinic.
Wren 鼓勵鄰居們善加利用診所新推出的健康篩檢。
Stranded travellers may avail themselves of the embassy's emergency assistance after a natural disaster.
受困的旅客在天災過後可以利用大使館提供的緊急協助。
- use
much more common and neutral; 'use the offer' replaces 'avail oneself of the offer' in everyday speech.
- take advantage of
very close in meaning; slightly less formal and can suggest cleverness or even unfairness.
- make use of
neutral register; the closest plain-English equivalent of this sense.
文法句型
avail oneself of + noun
用法筆記
Almost always reflexive: subject and object are the same person ('avail myself / yourself / herself / themselves of …'). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense always has a thing being used after 'of'; sense 1 has no 'of' phrase and means 'be helpful to'.