a chronic and habitual liar撒謊成性的人

一個 then 一個 now，把證人鎖死在兩難裡，越掙扎越像騙子。

were you ... then, are you ... now?

對方前後說法不一時用；對朋友這樣質問等於攤牌，語氣非常重。

Were you lying to me then, or are you lying to me now? ／ Which is it: the old story or the new one?

正式

then 與 now 各停一拍，形成對稱重音。

Were you unaware of it then, or are you unaware of it now? 是你當時不知道，還是你現在也不知道？

兩個近義形容詞疊加，一句反問把侮辱和法律指控同時砸下。

Or are you not, in fact, a ...?

當面否定對方人格時用，殺傷力極大；任何正式關係裡都別輕易說。

Or are you simply a practised liar? ／ Or is lying just a habit with you?

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chronic 與 habitual 並重，liar 收在重音上。

Or are you not, in fact, a repeat offender? 還是說，你根本就是個慣犯？

不直接罵人，用一句體面的國情評論就把對方釘在輕浮的位置上。

take a rather more serious view of ...

委婉批評某人態度不認真時用；跨文化場合說會顯得傲慢。

We tend to treat marriage more seriously here. ／ People here take these matters rather seriously.

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inclined to 連讀，serious 放重音。

We take a rather more serious view of deadlines here. 在這裡，我們對截止日期看得要嚴肅得多。

不當面罵人，而是請法官叫停，用“my learned friend”體面地開火，是法庭英語的典範。

Is my learned friend to be allowed to ...?

在正式場合對第三方抱怨對方越界時用，借規則壓人；私下或對朋友別用這種迂迴官腔。

Is counsel to be allowed to treat the witness this way? ／ May I ask the court to stop this line of questioning?

正式

My lord 輕提，learned friend 連讀，bully and insult 兩詞加重。

Is my colleague to be allowed to interrupt every time I speak? 難道要任由我同事在我每次發言時都打斷嗎？