这个词非常重要，一定要掌握其用法：
owe /əʊ/ vt.欠(情);归功于;归因于;（对位高权重者）忠诚，服从;起源于
1. owe sth (to sb) (for sth) | owe (sb) sth (for sth) 欠（债）；欠（账）
She still owes her father £3 000.
她还欠她父亲3 000英镑。
She still owes £3 000 to her father.
她还欠她父亲3 000英镑。
The country owes billions of dollars to foreign creditors.
这个国家欠外国债权人数十亿元。
The company owes money to more than 60 banks.
这家公司欠下60多家银行的债。
You owe me 27 dollars? Make it 30, that's a good round number.
你欠我27元？凑到30吧，讨个整数好记。
How much do I owe you for the groceries?
买这些杂货我得给你多少钱？
2. owe sth to sb | owe sb sth欠（情）
I owe a debt of gratitude to all my family.
我很感激我的全家人。
I owe you a great debt of gratitude.
我对你感激不尽。
As a professional composer I owe much to Radio 3.
作为一名职业作曲家，我十分感激第三电台。
Thanks for sticking up for me ─ I owe you one.
谢谢你支持我——我欠你一个情。
I think you owe us an explanation.
我认为你应当给我们一个解释。
I think you owe me an apology, young lady!
小姐，我认为你应该向我道歉！
You owe him an apology for what you said.
你要为你所说的话向他道歉。
You owe me an apology.
你欠我一个道歉。
You owe it to your staff to be honest with them.
与下属坦诚相待，这是你对他们应有的态度。
I think we're owed an apology.
我认为得有人向我们道歉。
除了以人作主语外，这一义项不用被动语态。不作An apology is owed to us.
3. owe sth to sb/sth | owe sb sth
归因于；归功于；起源于
可以是人也可以是物充当主语，只用于主动句，大都与含有褒义的词连用。
He owes his success to hard work.
他的成功是靠勤奋工作。
The play owes much to French tragedy.
这部戏颇受法国悲剧的影响。
I owe everything to him.
我的一切都归功于他。
I owe him everything.
我的一切都归功于他。
I always suspected she owed her first job to her friendship with Roger.
我一直怀疑她仗着自己是罗杰的朋友才得到第一份工作。
Champagne houses owe their success to brand image.
香槟公司的成功在于他们的品牌形象。
注意：attribute……to和owe……to作：把……归因于解时区别：owe……to的主语可以是人，也可以是物，只用于主动句，大都与含有褒义的词连用。而attribute……to的主语只能是人。
Some of the most important concepts in physics owe their success to these mathematical systems.
一些最重要的物理概念的成功归因于这些数学系统。
We owe/attribute Edison’s success to his intelligence and hard work.
我们把爱迪生的成功归功于他的智慧和勤奋。
4.owe allegiance/loyalty/obedience (to sb)
owe sb sth
应该给予（某人感激、尊重、忠诚等）
Perhaps we owe these people more respect...
也许我们应该给予这些人更多的尊重。
5.介词短语：owing to由于；因为
He was out of work owing to a physical injury...
他因为受伤而失业了。
He was late owing to/ due to the storm.
由于暴风雨，他迟到了。
The game was cancelled owing to torrential rain.
比赛因大雨取消了。
The progress of negotiation between the two sides has slowed down owing to their absence.
双方的谈判因为他们的缺席而迟缓下来。
The project was running late owing to unforeseen circumstances.
这个项目因意外情况而拖延了。
Owing to staff shortages, there was no restaurant car on the train.
由于缺人手，这趟火车上没有餐车。
Production has come to a halt owing to the lack of raw materials.
由于缺少原料，生产已陷入停顿。
Owing to the help from his comrades, he has made rapid progress.
由于同志们的帮助，他进步很快。
Owing to graft, the manager of this company was discharged from his post and prosecuted.
由于贪污，这个公司的经理已被撤职查办。
Some impatience was exhibited owing to the non-arrival of the speaker.
由于讲演人未到，听众显得有些不耐烦。