Can't put my finger on something 說不清某件事或某種感覺的原因

內容簡介

有時，我們雖然會感覺到某件事情 “不對勁”，卻說不出具體原因。再遇到這種情況時，我們就可以用 “I can’t put my finger on something” 來表達 “我說不清某事或某種感覺的原因”。聽節目，跟主持人 Georgie 和菲菲學習表達 “can’t put my finger on something”。

文字稿

（關於臺詞的備註: 請註意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）

Feifei
Hello and welcome to Authentic Real English, where we explain expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them, too! I’m Feifei, and I’m joined by Georgie. How are you?

Georgie
I’m fine, thank you. But Feifei, you look quite different today. Is it the hair? The makeup? New skincare routine? I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Feifei
Yes, Georgie. I got a haircut at the weekend. Thanks for noticing!

Georgie
Ah, yes. Well, it looks great – really suits you. Anyway, I said, “I can’t put my finger on it”, and that is the phrase we’re looking at in this programme.

Feifei
Yes, we are. If you can’t put your finger on something, it means you can’t identify the cause of something. So, you knew I looked different, but you didn’t know why – you couldn’t put your finger on it.

Georgie
It can also be used when you can’t remember something or someone. For example, I walked past a man in the street this morning and I knew I recognised him, but I just couldn’t put my finger on where I knew him from. I’m still thinking about it!

Feifei
Right. So, both meanings are about not being able to recall information from your brain – either you can’t remember something, or you can’t work out the cause of something.

Georgie
Right, and because of that, it’s mostly used in the negative – I can’t put my finger on something. It can be used in the affirmative form, but it’s rarer. For example, I was finally able to put my finger on why I don’t like nuts – it’s the texture!

Feifei
Let’s hear some more examples.

Examples
There’s a really strange smell in the studio. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.

This cake tastes weird. I can’t really put my finger on why, but I think I followed the recipe wrong – put the wrong ingredient in.

I really feel like I’ve left something behind at home today, but I can’t put my finger on what it is.

Feifei
你正在收聽的是 AYYBLOG 英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。剛剛我們一起學習瞭表達 “can’t put my finger on something” 的用法。這個表達通常用來表達我們自己的感覺，所以通常搭配第一人稱，“I can’t put my finger on it”，意思就是 “我說不出來某件事或某種感覺的原因”。這個表達通常暗示 “說話的人認為某件事情很奇怪、不合常理，但找不到具體的緣由”。

Georgie
One last thing to say about it is that we often say it with the word ‘quite’ – ‘I can’t quite put my finger on it’. It means you feel like you’re close to knowing or remembering that thing, but not yet.

Feifei
是的。在使用過程中我們通常會搭配副詞 “quite”，“I can’t quite put my finger on it”，意思就是 “我可能快要想明白瞭，但是還沒有”。

Georgie
OK. Let’s recap. We learnt the phrase ‘can’t put my finger on something’ which means you can’t figure out the reason for something, or you can’t remember something. Thanks for joining us.

Feifei
Goodbye.

Georgie
Bye!