一日一词【55】excuse

excuse

excuse虽然常用，但是，使用时往往会出现种种偏差。

首先，excuse只用于请求原谅比较次要的错误，例如，书写不整齐或迟到几分钟等。但在请求原谅比较严重的错误时，用excuse就不妥，需用forgive。请看一个错句：He was sorry that he had lied to her and asked her to excuse him. 此句中的excuse用得不妥，撒谎是个严重问题，应改用forgive才行。

第二，excuse oneself并没有请求原谅自己的意义。因此，不可说：He excused himself and said that he would never make the same mistake, 而只能说，He apologized and promised never to make the same mistake again。事实上，excuse oneself有两个全然不同的意义：1. 为自己开脱，为自己（的错误）提出借口；2. 请求离席或不参加等。请看下例：

Jack excused himself for his low grades, saying that that’s because the teacher didn’t like him.
杰克为自己的低分辩护，说那是因为老师不喜欢他。

He excused himself form the table and went to bed.
他请求离开餐席去休息了。