在英語里，介詞短語（prepositional phrases）數量之多，可以和片語動詞（phrasal verbs）互相比擬，不與它們親近也難。

　　下面是些由at引導的介詞短語，你都見過嗎？

　　1. At bay：（經常和keep或hold連用）使不能接近

　　One of the gangsters kept the police at bay until the rest escaped.

　　2. At bottom：實際上

　　Judy said she was not jealous of her friends success, but at bottom, she was.

　　3. At close quarters：逼近地

　　The two rivals grappled at close quarters.

　　4. At cross purposes：互相誤解

　　I think we are at cross purposes. When I said J.C., I meant Jason Chen, not John Chen.

　　5. At daggers drawn：勢不兩立

　　Dan and Bob have been at daggers drawn for years. There is no evidence that they will make up.

　　6. At every turn：處處

　　When you go downtown, you will see shops, big and small, at every turn.

　　7. At one fell swoop：一舉

　　Which country can invade another country and conquer it at one fell swoop?

　　8. At issue：在討論中的

　　The question asked was not relevant to the matter at issue .

　　9. At large：一般的；逍遙法外的。

　　a. The people at large support the governments various policies.

　　b. Some illegal immigrants were caught, but some others are still at large.

　　10. At length：詳細地

　　Time did not allow the speaker to talk about the financial turmoil at length.

　　11. At loggerheads with：經常和爭吵

　　Mr and Mrs Thang are often at loggerheads with each other. Why cant they get along well?

　　12. At a loss for words：不知說什么好

　　The news came so surprisingly that she was at a loss for words.

　　13. At a low ebb：處于低潮

　　Henrys mood seems to be at a low ebb now; lets cheer him up a bit.

　　14. At a price：付高代價

　　Some people became successful at a price; their health and family life were adversely affected.

　　15. At random：隨意地

　　One may choose things at random, but not the prospective life partner.

　　16. At the ready：處在準備狀態中

　　At the news conference, news reporters gathered around, pens and notebooks at the ready.

　　17. At sea：茫然

　　Those not interested in politics will be at sea when people discuss political issues.

　　18. At a stretch：連續地

　　In order to earn money, some workers do overtime works for a few days at a stretch.

　　19. At will：任意地

　　In a society like ours, one has to be law-abiding and not to do things at will.

　　20. At ones wits end：不知所措

　　Chased by the enemy to an abyss, the man could not advance any more, nor could he retreat; he was at his wits end.

　　21. At heart：在內心里；本質上

　　a. A good leader often has the peoples interests at heart.

　　b. Though Xiao Gan works in a city, he is a country boy at heart.

　　22. At sixes and sevens：亂七八糟

　　When the maid returned to work after three days leave, she found all the rooms at sixes and sevens.

　　在英語里，介詞短語（prepositional phrases）數量之多，可以和片語動詞（phrasal verbs）互相比擬，不與它們親近也難。

　　下面是些由at引導的介詞短語，你都見過嗎？

　　1. At bay：（經常和keep或hold連用）使不能接近

　　One of the gangsters kept the police at bay until the rest escaped.

　　2. At bottom：實際上

　　Judy said she was not jealous of her friends success, but at bottom, she was.

　　3. At close quarters：逼近地

　　The two rivals grappled at close quarters.

　　4. At cross purposes：互相誤解

　　I think we are at cross purposes. When I said J.C., I meant Jason Chen, not John Chen.

　　5. At daggers drawn：勢不兩立

　　Dan and Bob have been at daggers drawn for years. There is no evidence that they will make up.

　　6. At every turn：處處

　　When you go downtown, you will see shops, big and small, at every turn.

　　7. At one fell swoop：一舉

　　Which country can invade another country and conquer it at one fell swoop?

　　8. At issue：在討論中的

　　The question asked was not relevant to the matter at issue .

　　9. At large：一般的；逍遙法外的。

　　a. The people at large support the governments various policies.

　　b. Some illegal immigrants were caught, but some others are still at large.

　　10. At length：詳細地

　　Time did not allow the speaker to talk about the financial turmoil at length.

　　11. At loggerheads with：經常和爭吵

　　Mr and Mrs Thang are often at loggerheads with each other. Why cant they get along well?

　　12. At a loss for words：不知說什么好

　　The news came so surprisingly that she was at a loss for words.

　　13. At a low ebb：處于低潮

　　Henrys mood seems to be at a low ebb now; lets cheer him up a bit.

　　14. At a price：付高代價

　　Some people became successful at a price; their health and family life were adversely affected.

　　15. At random：隨意地

　　One may choose things at random, but not the prospective life partner.

　　16. At the ready：處在準備狀態中

　　At the news conference, news reporters gathered around, pens and notebooks at the ready.

　　17. At sea：茫然

　　Those not interested in politics will be at sea when people discuss political issues.

　　18. At a stretch：連續地

　　In order to earn money, some workers do overtime works for a few days at a stretch.

　　19. At will：任意地

　　In a society like ours, one has to be law-abiding and not to do things at will.

　　20. At ones wits end：不知所措

　　Chased by the enemy to an abyss, the man could not advance any more, nor could he retreat; he was at his wits end.

　　21. At heart：在內心里；本質上

　　a. A good leader often has the peoples interests at heart.

　　b. Though Xiao Gan works in a city, he is a country boy at heart.

　　22. At sixes and sevens：亂七八糟

　　When the maid returned to work after three days leave, she found all the rooms at sixes and sevens.