■ (as a) matter of fact

字面上的意思骤然看来是“的确”、“真的”，但是实际上的语气没有这样重。它的用法，既可以是转折语气（对前面自己或他人说过的内容加以纠正），也可以是加强语气（对前面自己或他人说过的内容再进一步加强或具体化）。

前者例如：

• But, as a matter of fact, it was hardly fair to blame the doctor.(Joseph Conrad, The Shadow Line)但是，其实责怪医生，未免有失公平。
• It seemed to him when he left the little bar that he had been there for hours, as a matter of fact barely five minutes had passed since he had left Ernestine. (E. Phillips Oppenheim, A Millionaire of Yesterday, Chapter XXXIV)他觉得自己离开那家小酒吧时在那里已经停留了好几个钟头，而其实他离开埃尔斯蒂娜只还不到五分钟。

后者例如：

• I spoke to Madam Wu Yi today, as a matter of fact, had her into the Oval Office; wanted to thank her for bringing her delegation in... (George W. Bush, Press Conference, May 24, 2007)我今天同吴仪女士交谈过，当时是请她进入椭圆形办公室谈的；我感谢她率团前来…