中式英語之鑑:特點
373. 這是莎士比亞十四行詩的主要特點之一。
[誤] This is one of the main characters of Shakespeare's sonnets.
[正] This is one of the main characteristics of Sharkespeare's sonnets.
注：character 是表示某一事物的總體特徵（the combination of qualities which make a thing different from others），而 characteristic 則表示事物的具體特徵。由此說來，一個事物只有一個 character，但卻可以有多個 characteristic。所以在上面的例句中，one of the main characters 是錯誤的，應該改成 one of the main characteristics。又如：A person's character is always formed in his early years（一個人的性格通常在小時候養成）；Carelessness is one of his characteristics（粗心是他的一個特點）。
