# 我曾經試過兩次英文科全班考第二



## HongKonger

請問怎樣用日常,簡潔的英語說 "我曾經試過兩次英文科全班考第二"?
我這樣說是否正確 I've been in the second place in my class in the English exam twice?

如果換成是全級或全校, 即:
我曾經試過兩次英文科全級考第二
我曾經試過兩次英文科全校考第二
那又可以怎樣說?  是否用 in my grade/level 和 in the school English exam 就可以了?

謝謝各位


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## Kevin70s

I came second in my class in two English exams.


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## EmileD

I've been the runner-up of English exams twice in my class. 

Works?


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## cabbagetyf

but if you want to say 我曾經試過兩次英文科全班考第二
we'd like to say : I have tried(試過) twice
however, i find the Chinese sentence isn't written in a correct way. If someone has become the second, it was the reality so that it's not necessary for him to try.


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## Jhyun

cabbagetyf said:


> but if you want to say 我曾經試過兩次英文科全班考第二
> we'd like to say : I have tried(試過) twice
> however, i find the Chinese sentence isn't written in a correct way. If someone has become the second, it was the reality so that it's not necessary for him to try.



i think that's the difference between Chinese and English.
in this case 試過 doesn't mean 'tried',it's just a word commonly used after 曾經,and is used to express 'once/before',though 曾經 does mean 'once/before'.it might be some kinda saying,i guess.曾經 and 曾經試過 both means 'once/before',but they are different in usage.

not sure if i've got it right 
(i'm not an expert of Chinese and i'm just a beginner in English,so i hope i did express my opinion clearly.)


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## kareno999

Jhyun said:


> i think that's the difference between Chinese and English.
> in this case 試過 doesn't mean 'tried',it's just a word commonly used after 曾經,and is used to express 'once/before',though 曾經 does mean 'once/before'.it might be some kinda saying,i guess.曾經 and 曾經試過 both means 'once/before',but they are different in usage.
> 
> not sure if i've got it right
> (i'm not an expert of Chinese and i'm just a beginner in English,so i hope i did express my opinion clearly.)



曾經試過 for "once" is incorrect in Mandarin. Must be a Cantonese usage.


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## avlee

I vote for Jhyun. 曾经试过 is used to indicate something was accomplished with extra efforts or energy. 
kareno999's comment might be a bit assertive.


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## Kevin70s

avlee said:


> I vote for Jhyun. 曾经试过 is used to indicate something was accomplished with extra efforts or energy.
> kareno999's comment might be a bit assertive.



Come on, guys! You might want to expand your knowledge of Chinese language, including common usages of Cantonese that have made their way into "General Chinese". Kareno999 is right on about “试过” being a Cantonese usage, which means "had the experience before".


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## cabbagetyf

Kevin70s said:


> Come on, guys! You might want to expand your knowledge of Chinese language, including common usages of Cantonese that have made their way into "General Chinese". Kareno999 is right on about “试过” being a Cantonese usage, which means "had the experience before".



I'd like to say "我曾经有過兩次英文科全班考第二（的经历）。"


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## Kevin70s

大陆普通话：我英语考过两次全班第二 （“考过”也可以改用“拿过”）。


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## Jhyun

i agreed that it might not be "General Chinese" but i still think 试过 is being used in Mandarin though many of you said it's a Cantonese usage.
for example,
1.他曾经试过把瓶子打翻。
2.他曾经把瓶子打翻。
（in "General Chinese" the sentence might be 他曾经把瓶子打翻过。）
but still,1. sounds more correct to me.


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## xiaolijie

> 1.他曾经试过把瓶子打翻。


I think _in Mandarin_, this sounds like the action of "打翻" is delibrate, like trying out the action just to see the effect. I don't think you mean to say this, do you, Jhyun?


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## greattong1

cabbagetyf said:


> but if you want to say 我曾經試過兩次英文科全班考第二
> we'd like to say : I have tried(試過) twice
> however, i find the Chinese sentence isn't written in a correct way. If someone has become the second, it was the reality so that it's not necessary for him to try.



I am for this opinion. It seems the sentence is literally translated from English. My guess is I've tried twice to earn the second place in English exams in my class.


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