---
# System prepended metadata

title: 英文中的 one's way 現象
tags: [英文寫作, 句型]

---

# 簡介
本文作者藉由自身語言學習和教學經驗，在上半段整理出
在後半段則回顧以前的 way constuction 文獻。

# 第一部分：個人觀察

某天我在聽英語學習播客時，聽到主持人解釋說 “Did you make it home okay yesterday?” 可以用來詢問對方是否安全到家，當下我沒想太多，便動手整理起筆記：

> make it home **safe (and sound)**
> make it home **okay**
> make it home **safely**
> make it home **in one piece**

整理到一半，我突然想起高中課本裡曾出現過的用法：make one’s way onto the stage。這讓我產生了一個疑問：make 本身並沒有移動的語意，所以才需要加上 one’s way 來補足；那麼 make it home 中的 it，結構角色是否與 one’s way 類似呢？

以下是我從網路上找到的一句話，讀者可以猜猜[原文](https://www.haskell.com/insights/leading-with-curiosity-tina-sanchez-receives-2024-engdahl-award/)是用 make one’s way through college 還是 make it through college：

> I knew that if I wanted something, I’d have to put in the time and work for it. That’s how I got my first guitar, how I could afford my first car and how I **made my way through college**.
> 
> I knew that if I wanted something, I’d have to put in the time and work for it. That’s how I got my first guitar, how I could afford my first car and how I **made it through college**.

如果讀者拿這個問題去問 ChatGPT，很可能會得到「make one’s way through college 強調過程，make it through college 強調目標」的回覆，但我這邊側重的是「結構上的合法性 (grammaticality)」，兩個選項間沒有競合或誰對誰錯的問題。

就我的觀察，在 make it through college 中，每個字看似蜻蜓點水，但真正建構路徑 (path) 的角色，是最後的方向元素 through college，讓整個片語的路徑的建構完整呈現（i.e. one’s way 和 it 依賴後面的路徑）。

我想了一輪了其他動詞，幾乎找不到其它可以複製 make 語意效果的動詞。不過，如果把 it 用 one’s way 來解釋，語法與語意上就說得通，甚至還可以用其他帶有移動想法的動詞替換，例如：

> He made it to the mountaintop.
> He made/fought his way to the mountaintop.

同時間，大多辭典將 make it 定義成 “to be very successful (Cambridge)” 。中文母語者可能翻成「成功（做到某事）」，但若讀者去仔細比對例句會發現，make it 後面往往接 through, to the top 等路徑 (path) 。筆者認為，比較好的解釋是 「成功到達（某處、某身份）」因為按上面的解釋，非英文母語的中文學習者可能會誤會成是 make it to do something，殊不知後面該一個路徑。

回到最初的觀察，筆者認為 one’s way 的使用頻率之高，已經值得像反身代名詞(oneself)單獨拿出來研究，於是便寫下這則筆記。

## 從動詞解釋
我先嘗試從動詞分類切入，並借用財務理論中的用語（強式、半強式、弱式） 來描述觀察到的用法差異。整體來看，可以分成兩大類：

- 具有移動成分的動詞（第一組與第二組）
- 不具有移動成分的動詞（第三組）
### 第一組：強式移動動詞
`Vi + (one’s way) + 路徑`
此處 one's way 省略大於出現

> **GO**
> He went to the classroom.
> He went his way to the classroom.

> **RUN**
> He ran out of the kitchen
> He ran his way to the kitchen.

> **TRAVEL**
> We traveled down the south.
> We traveled our way down the south.

### 第二組：半強式移動動詞
`Vi + (one’s way) + 路徑`
此處 one's way 出現大於省略

> **WRIGGLE, WEASEL, WANGLE**
> He wriggled/weaseled his way out of working the graveyard shifts.
> He wriggled/weaseled out of working the graveyard shifts.

> **WORK, PAY**
> He worked/paid his way through college.
> He worked/paid through college.

> **JOSTLE, SQUEEZE, INCH, THREAD**
> She jostled/squeezed/inched/threaded her way through the crowded market.
> She jostled/squeezed/inched/threaded through the crowded market.

### 第三組：弱式移動動詞
`Vi + one’s way + 路徑`
此處動詞本身無「移動」想法 不能省略 one's way

> **WORK**
> I worked my way out of working the graveyard shifts.
> \* I worked out of working the graveyard shifts.

> **TALK, BABBLE, BLARNEY**
> He talked/babbled/blarneyed his way out of trouble.
> \* He talked/babbled/blarneyed out of trouble.

> **BRIBE, FAKE**
> She bribed/faked her way to a senior position.
> \* She bribed/faked to a senior position.

> **CHARM, SWEETTALK**
> He charmed/sweettalked his way into her heart/good graces.
> \* He charmed/sweettalked into her heart/good graces.

> **PUSH, ELBOW, MUSCLE**
> She pushed/elbowed/muscled her way onto the bus.
> \* She pushed/elbowed/muscled onto the bus. 

> **FAIL, FUMBLE**
> I failed/fumbled my way through school.
> \* I failed/fumbled through school.


### 其他觀察

**one's way 可以改成 all the way**
> I worked my way through college.
> I worked all the way through college.

**不能轉換成被動式**
> I worked my way through college.
> \* My way is worked (by me) through college.

**對於 VP 提問**
> She giggled her way onto the bus.
> Who giggled her way onto the bus?
> ?Where did she giggle her way?
> ?How did she *get* on the bus?
> ?In what way did she get on the bus?

**動詞扮演的角色**
> She giggled her way onto the bus.
> 
> **補上動詞 get**
> She got onto the bus giggling.
> Giggling, she got onto the bus.
> She got onto the bus gigglingly. 
> She gigglingly got onto the bus.
> Gigglingly, she got onto the bus.
> She got onto the bus in a giggling way/manner/fashion.
> 
> **補上 on one's way**
> She giggled on her way onto the bus.
> On her way onto the bus, she giggled.


## 寫作上的應用
筆者會整理是因為覺得這是一個 highly idiomatic 的句型，坊間參考書卻幾乎不收錄。使用 one’s way 的最大目的，是傳達 「主詞到某處 (Subject get somewhere)」 的意圖。

如果想實際拼出類似的表達，我們可以先挑出一個與「移動」無直接關係的不及物動詞（即第三類動詞），然後在其後加上 one’s way 和明確的方向成分，便能讓動作本身承載路徑。

下面我們用歌手唱歌來舉例：

* 歌手唱上媒體版面
歌手 sing his way into the headlines.
* 歌手唱進總決賽
歌手 sing his way to the finals. 
* 歌手唱進人們的心中
歌手 sing his way into people’s hearts. 

如果讀者仔細回頭想一下上面「主詞去到某處 (Subject get somewhere)」的說法，可以發現 sing his way into… 其實就是把「唱歌」這個動作融入到「達到」的想法中（小標下方第一行），比單純的搭配詞（小標下方第二行）更為緊湊。

* 歌手唱上媒體版面
歌手 [sing his way (≈ get)] into the headlines.
歌手 [grab/hit/make/dominate (≈ get into)] the headlines.
* 歌手唱進總決賽
歌手 [sing his way (≈ get)] to the finals.
歌手 [reach/make it to/qualify for (≈ get to)] the finals.
* 歌手唱進人們心中
歌手 [sing his way (≈ get)] into people’s hearts.
歌手 [win/steal (≈ get into)] people’s hearts.

從這個例子，讀者可以理解 one's way 句型，並結合適當的動詞。如此就能建構出緊湊、語意豐富 (lexically rich)，且帶有強烈母語感 (highly idiomatic) 的英文句子。這種結構不僅能為文章增添動態與畫面感，更能成為你在寫作中靈活變換的句型武器。

讀者實際操作時，可以先自己嘗試拼出句子，再用 [Google Advanced Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22*+his+way+into+people%27s+hearts%22&sca_esv=8e7d4448f7cb0c9e&sxsrf=AE3TifNfzU5oKdXEvJ9t111PiNgrYi6knw%3A1755438694037&ei=Zd6haLGbOvydvr0P_Zi_4QE&ved=0ahUKEwjx4Zze_pGPAxX8jq8BHX3MLxwQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=%22*+his+way+into+people%27s+hearts%22&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiICIqIGhpcyB3YXkgaW50byBwZW9wbGUncyBoZWFydHMiMgUQABjvBTIIEAAYgAQYogQyBRAAGO8FMgUQABjvBUi8EVDjAVipEHACeACQAQCYAcsCoAGiEKoBBzAuNC4zLjK4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgagAq0FwgIIEAAYsAMY7wXCAgsQABiABBiwAxiiBMICCBAAGKIEGIkFmAMAiAYBkAYFkgcDMi40oAeQILIHAzAuNLgHqAXCBwUwLjMuM8gHDg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) 或 [YouGlish](https://youglish.com/) 搜尋完整短語（前後加上引號），檢查是否真有母語者使用過。經過多次測試，筆者發現越是這種創意性的拼裝，越是容易搜尋到新聞報導，而不是字典條目。這樣表示這個句型多少呼應到了母語人士建構語言的方式。

## 有趣案例分享
**文章標題**
* [Fail your way to success](https://www.tonygareri.com/blog/fail-your-way-to-success)
* [He drank his way to a Nobel Prize](https://www.myatlantichealthsolutions.com/acid-reflux-gerd-heartburn-resources-for-patients/2016/9/20/he-drank-his-way-to-a-nobel-prize)
* [Justin Sun pays $30M to buy his way into Trump’s good books](https://coingeek.com/justin-sun-pays-30m-to-buy-his-way-into-trump-good-books/)

**得到四個評審的燈 (America's Got Talent)**
* She sang her way to four yeses with her beautiful voice.
* 類似 She got/won four yeses with her beautiful voice.
* 類似 Her beautiful voice got/won/earned her four yeses.

**靠自己脫離貧困**
* He worked/fought his way out of poverty
* 類似 He worked/lifted/pulled himself out of poverty.
> 呼應到一開始說的 one’s way 與 oneself 的關係

**棒球用語**
* The batter played his way into the regular lineup. 打進先發打線
* He pitched his way into the rotation. 投進輪值名單
* He might have pitched his way out of the rotation. 投出輪值名單
* He blasted his way into Dodger’s history/record books. 轟破道奇隊史
* He is playing his way into the Hall of Fame. 打進名人堂
* He worked/pitched his way out of the bases-loaded jam 渡過滿壘危機


# 第二部分：文獻回顧

## 前言
以上分類屬於我基於語感與語料的主觀歸納，而學界對 way-construction 的經典討論可追溯至 Jackendoff 著名的 Twisting the Night Away，後來在 Construction Grammar（CxG） 的路線上被廣泛發展。

不過，生成句法其實也提供了可操作的分析工具（如 possessor raising、conflation），兩路並行，各有亮點。

## Jackendoff (1990s)

![Screenshot 2025-09-28 at 5.06.11 PM](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1gqquL2gl.png)
Source: http://ling50.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/Jackendoff-handout.pdf

Jackendoff 在 Twisting the night away 中，將 way-construction 定義為一個特殊的語法現象。他的觀點主要可以整理為以下三點：

* 核心語意為路徑（path）：即便動詞不帶「移動」，one’s way + Path 仍強制「到達／穿越」解讀。
* 與結果構式類比：像 hammer…flat 將「方式」導向「結果」，way 則把「方式」導向「到達／路徑」。
* 動詞—構式互補：動詞供給 manner，構式保證 motion/path。

然而話說回來，這些多由構式語法（CxG）框定，我們能否使用生成語法描述同一事實？




# 參考資料
* https://ocw.nycu.edu.tw/?course_page=all-course%2Fcollege-of-humanities-and-social-sciences%2F%E8%A9%9E%E5%BD%99%E8%AA%9E%E6%84%8F%E5%AD%B8-lexical-semantics-103%E5%AD%B8%E5%B9%B4%E5%BA%A6-%E5%A4%96%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%9E%E6%96%87%E5%AD%B8%E7%B3%BB-%E5%8A%89%E7%BE%8E%E5%90%9B%E8%80%81%E5%B8%AB%2Flex031_141029
* https://clt.uab.cat/publicacions_clt/reports/pdf/GGT-00-1.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
