trouble in paradise關係出了裂痕

把婚姻比作長篇小說，一句裝進時間、起伏和耐性；not a short story 否定的不是感情，而是想速戰速決的期待。

X is a novel, not a short story.

形容長久關係需要耐心與篇幅時用，帶文學比喻，不適合輕佻玩笑。

Marriage is a long book; don't judge it by one chapter. ／ This isn't a short story, it's a life's work.

literary

You don't need me to tell you 輕帶，marriage is a novel 放慢，not a short story 加重收。

Parenting is a novel, not a short story. 養育孩子是一部長篇小說，不是短篇。

用 Suppose 把斷言軟化成假設，再一路收到 whether or not you love him，把複雜心事剝成一個是非題。

Suppose it comes down to whether or not you do X.

把複雜處境歸結為一個核心問題時用，口語、留餘地，別在追問時顯得咄咄逼人。

Maybe it's really about whether you still care. ／ In the end, it may just be a question of love.

中性

Suppose 輕起，comes down to 停頓，whether or not you love him 放慢收。

Suppose it comes down to whether or not you trust them. 歸根結底，恐怕還是你信不信他們。

四個並列成分像碑文一樣羅列品質，一個動詞都沒有，do his bit 尤其樸素，把英雄主義收進日常責任。

Moral, strong, full of X, determined to do one's bit.

用並列短語為某人畫像時用，書面、帶紀念碑式的莊重，日常閒聊別用。

Honest, brave, and always ready to serve. ／ A man of dreams who never shirked his share.

literary

Moral 停頓，strong 停頓，full of dreams 輕帶，determined to do his bit 放慢收。

Quiet, steady, full of plans, determined to see it through. 沉靜、穩重、滿懷計劃，一心要把事情做完。

用虛擬語氣談一個不可能的人生，把懷念寫成追問：問的不是他做了什麼，而是生活要把他塑造成誰。

I wonder what life would've made of X if they'd lived.

懷念逝者、設想另一種人生時用，書面、帶哲思，喜慶場合別說。

What would he have become, had he lived? ／ I can't help imagining the man he might have grown into.

literary

Although 輕起，I sometimes wonder 放慢，what life would've made of him 連讀收。

I sometimes wonder what life would've made of her if she'd stayed. 我有時會想，如果她留了下來，生活會把她變成什麼樣。

用童話做比方的最高階誇法，as ... as 的對稱節奏輕快，把回憶裡的愛人定格成不會老去的形象。

As X as Y in a fairy tale.

想用童話式比喻夸人時用，溫情、稍誇張，對不熟的人顯得輕浮。

As kind as a grandmother in a storybook. ／ As brave as a knight in an old tale.

literary

As handsome as 連讀，a prince 停頓，in a fairy tale 放慢收。

As gentle as a nurse in a bedtime story. 溫柔得像睡前故事裡的護士。