英语学习(持续增加)

小米

在英语词类中，连接词可说是最容易掌握的一种。

　　从结构上说，英语连接词分两大类：并列连词（coordinating conjunctions）和从属连词（subordinating conjunctions）。

　　并列连词连接两个或两个以上地位平等的字、词组或分句。例如：（1） Air and water are indispensable to me.

　　（2） She likes going out with friends or playing outdoor games.

　　（3） Most workers have a good income, so they look very happy.

　　从属连词连接两个或两个以上的分句，形成复杂句中的从属分句。例如：

　　（4） He said that he did not want to go .

　　（5） Many things have happened since I last saw him.

　　（6） You may come if you want to.

　　上述连词的用法，看起来不难，但错误也难免。下面是些好例子：

　　（1） This book may be used both as a text as well as a reference book.

　　这里的“as well as”和“both”不能搭配，应该将“as well ”改为“and”，使“both……and……”变成关联连词（ correlative conjunction）

　　（2） He not only speaks Mandarin but also English.

　　这里的“not only”应该移到“speaks”后面，使这个动词兼顾两个等立宾语：“Mandarin”和“English”。

　　（3） Although he is fat, but he is very weak.

　　英语里的“although”和“but”是不见面的 ，因此这句里的“ but”要去掉，不然“although”就要出来。

　　（4） Jim is not so strong like you.

　　这里的“not so”必须和“as”连成一体；介词“like”是不适宜的。

　　（5） No sooner had we reached our destination, they left.

　　"No sooner"必须和"than" 配成关联连词，把"than" 省掉是不对的，应该补上：

　　No sooner had we reached our destination than they left.

　　这句子的意思也可透过“as soon as”反映出来：

　　“As soon as we reached our destination, they left.”

　　（6） I took a taxi and which took me to the station.

　　这里的并列连词“and”是多余的，必须去掉。如果要保留“and ”也可，但是形容词分句里的关系代词“Which”要改成主语“it” ，使整个句子变成并列分句如下：

　　I took a taxi and it took me to the station.

　　（7） My friend came up to me and held my hand, said good-bye excitedly.

　　这里的“and”应该用来连接最后两个谓语才对：

　　My friend came up to me, held my hand, and said good-bye excitedly.

　　不然，就要把“said”改成“saying”。

　　My friend came up to me and held my hand, saying good-bye excitedly.

小米

　主动语态比被动语态直接而有力，多用主动语态，可以使文章充满朝气，呈现活力。在下列两组句子中， （b）比（a）有力：

　　（1） a.My first visit to New Zealand will always be remembered by me.
　　　　　b. I will always remember my first visit to New Zealand.

　　（2） a.The crowing of cocks could be heard at dawn.
　　　　　b. The cocks' crow came with dawn.

　　虽然如此，在某些情况下，非用被动语态不可。前此已提过这事，这里不再重述。这里只有指出其中一点，就是有些动词，如 "base, schedule, expect, suppose" 等，通常以被动语态形式出现。

　　例如：

　　（1）This survey was based on facts.
　　（2）The last train is scheduled to leave at 9pm.
　　（3）You are expected to come on time.
　　（4）All are supposed to work hard.

　　除了上述这些动词之外，还有十种，几乎都以被动式出现。

　　（一）有关“疾病”的动词，如：
　　（1）Helen's left lung is infected.
　　（2）He is confined to the house by illness.
　　（3）The old man was seized with sudden chest pains.

　　（二）有关“疲乏”的动词，如：
　　（4） I am completely exhausted after the game.
　　（5）Tom was done up after the race.

　　（三）有关“喜乐”的动词，如：
　　（6）The children were fascinated by the toys.
　　（7）We were delighted to hear the good news.
　　（8） I am very pleased to see you here.

　　（四）有关“延迟”或“障碍”的动词，如：
　　（9）The workers were held up by the heavy rain.
　　（10）The road was blocked by ice.
　　（11）The train was delayed by 30 minutes.

　　（五）有关“惯性动作”的动词，如：
　　（12）Tom is addicted to smoking.
　　（13）Foreign workers are quite used to hard work.

　　（六）有关“烦恼”或“焦急”的动词，如：
　　（14）Who was upset by John?
　　（15）Mother was annoyed to know this.

　　（七）有关“惊奇”或“震惊”的动词，如：
　　（16） I was surprised to see him here.
　　（17）All were shocked to hear the bad news.

　　（八）有关“包围”的动词，如：
　　（18）The troops were surrounded.
　　（19）Troy was besieged.

　　（九）有关“沾污”或“污化”的动词，如：
　　（20）Judy's reputation is tarnished.
　　（21）The water was contaminated with oil.

　　（十）有关“害怕”或“混乱”的动词，如：
　　（22）All were frightened out of their wits.
　　（23）He was puzzled about what to do next.

　　要注意的一点是，上面这十类动词有些已渐渐失去了动词力量，转化为惯用语。

小米

下面是一句从一张餐馆广告中看到的话：

　　“If you have few years of experience in managing a fine dining restaurant and possess the capability to organize and operate banquet functions, you are the person we are looking for.”

　　这句话很清楚，但是否有不妥之处？有！看起来是芝麻绿豆事，但却是关系到数目和数量的问题。

　　英语里的数目词包括“many, a few, few, a large number of ”等。数量词是“much, a little, little, a great deal of”等。前者和可数复数名词连用，如例①-③；后者则和不可数名词连用，如例④-⑥：

　　① Jason has written many books.

　　② David has a few good friends.

　　③ There are a large number of people in the cinema.

　　④ How much money do you need?

　　⑤ I need only a little sugar for my coffee.

　　⑥ One can get a great deal of knowledge from reading.

　　在数目词中，有“few”和“a few”两个。看似相同，其实差别甚大，一不小心，可能有错。例如：

　　⑦ The minister is leaving Singapore for few days.

　　⑧ Many students here can speak English quite fluently, but a few can write well.

　　显然，⑦里的“few”和⑧里的“a few”要对换，才符合全句的意思。

　　“Few”的意思是“not many”（ 不多；少）；反义词是“many ”。“A few”的意思是“some”（一些）；反义词里“none”（没有）。例如：

　　⑨ Though Jason is not sociable, he has a few bosom friends.

　　⑩ Mary is very extroverted, but she has few intimate friends.

　　11. The teacher has spotted a few grammatical errors in her essay.

　　12. There are few errors in Betty's report; it is excellent.

　　从上面例子看，“a few”和“few”的意思有些相似，但在句中整体的含义有差别。“A few”出现之处，“few”不适合，反之亦然。

　　“Few”约等于“little”：“a few”和“a little”相近。但 “little”和“a little”只和不可数名词连用，例如：

　　13. As we have little money left, we should spend carefully.

　　14. There is still a little hope, so don't give up.

　　13里的“little”和14里的“a little”语意分明，各得其所。如果两个对调，便牛头不对马嘴，格格不入。

　　餐馆广告中的“few”对吗？是不是应该改为“a few”呢？

小米

　在英语里，我们可以用两种方法转述人的话语。第一种是直接引语（The Direct 　　Speech）；第二种是间接引语（The Indirect Speech），也可叫“The Reported Speech”）。

　　从直接引语转变为间接引语是一种表达行式的改变，不影响原意。例如：

　　① a. He said, "I am working now."

　　　b. He said that he was working then.

　　② a. She asked me, "Do you like to sing?"

　　　b. She asked me if I liked to sing.

　　③ a. "Go out!" the man said to the boy.

　　　b. The man ordered the boy to go out.

　　①b, ②b, ③b是间接引语，其形式和①a, ②a, ③a不同。

　　间接引语是种常见的句法，用得很多。正因为用得多，出错的机会也多。下面便是些例子：

　　④ He said that he would come tomorrow.

　　这里的副词“tomorrow”要变成“the next day”。理由是：间接引语里的时间副词或短语， 一般上要把其中的时间向前推，如： tomorrow: the next day; today: that day; last night: the night before; now: then; ago: before that time 等。

　　⑤ I asked what is wrong with him.

　　这里的“is”要变成“was”。须知：主句“I asked”和分句 “what is wrong with him”的动词时态必须配合。既然主句的动词 “asked”是过去时态，分句的动词也要过去时态“was”。此外，动词时态一般上也要推前，因此简单过去时态（Simple Past Tense）要变成过去完成时态（Past Perfect Tense），如：went : had gone; left : had left.

　　⑥ John told her don't do that again.

　　这里的“don't do”要变成“not to do”才对。理由是：祈使句变成间接引语时的形式是不定式动词：“to + verb / not to + verb”，如：to come / not to come; to do / not to do.

　　⑦ She asked me where was I going.

　　这里的“was I”词序不对， 要变成“I was”才是，因为间接疑问句（indirect question）里的词序和叙述句一样，是正常词序，不是倒装法，如：

　　⑧ He wanted to know who that girl was.

　　⑨ John asked Helen if she was free.

　　⑩ She asked me whether I could help her.

　　如果词序是倒装形式，就错了：

　　*……who was that girl.

　　*……if was she free.

　　*……whether could I help her.

　　关于间接疑问句，还有一点必须注意的是，直接疑问句里的疑问词要照用， 如例⑧的“who”。如果没有疑问词，就要借重连接词“ if”或“ whether”之助，如例⑨和⑩便是。

　　在结束本文之前，顺便提一提怎样把表示惊叹或愿望的直接引语转成间接引语。

　　11. He said, "Alas! I am undone."

　　12. "Bravo! You have done a good job, Mary," said the teacher.

　　13. "Good Heaven!' Tom cried, "I'll never lie again."

　　把11-13，转变为14-16时， 可以用恰当的动词把深层的意思反映出来，甚至加些原文没有的字眼，也无所谓：

　　14. He exclaimed that he was undone.

　　15. The teacher praised Mary, saying that she had done a good job.

　　16. Tom called upon Heaven to witness his determination not to lie again.

[ 本帖最后由 米魯格 于 2008-3-28 19:49 编辑 ]

小米

我们常常听人家说：不要把介词（prepositions）放在句尾，以免削弱句子的气势。

　　实际上，英语的介词是可以在句尾出现的；有时还是非在句尾不可。请看这句：

　　“I may give you financial aid. But it all depends on what the money is for .”

　　这句话的介词“for”在句尾出现。如果把“for”移到宾语之前，就不合句法了：

　　*“……But it all depends on for what the money is.”

　　这么看来，英语介词是可以放在句尾的。既然如此，在什么情况下，英语介词才可以放在句尾呢？

　　常见的情况有下面 4 种：

　　㈠当疑问代词或疑问副词作为介词的宾语时，理论上要在介词后面出现，但在实际用法上，它被转移到疑问句前头，介词则留在句尾。例如：

　　① What are you dreaming of?

　　② Where are you from?

　　①不能改为“Are you dreaming of what?”也不能是“Of what are you dreaming?”②不是“Are you from where?”，更不是“ From where are you?”

　　㈡介词不能移到限定性形容词分句中的关系代词（the relative pronoun in the restricted adjective clause）之前；因此，我们可以③表示心意，但不能用④这样的句子：

　　③ Is this the book that you asked me for?

　　*④ Is this the book for that you asked me?

　　同样的，⑤是对的，⑥是错的：

　　⑤ This is the goal that we are striving towards.

　　*⑥ This is the goal towards that we are striving.

　　㈢在不可分开的片语动词（the inseparable phrasal verb）里，如果介词在句尾，也只好随遇而安，不便移动。例如：

　　⑦ This is something which I refuse to put up with.

　　⑧ Such a matter should be immediately dealt with.

　　⑨ An 8% increase in salary is not to be sniffed at.

　　⑩ The rising cost is really a thing to be reckoned with.

　　㈣当带介词的不定式动词修饰名词而又出现在句尾时，这介词只好保留在原位。例如：

　　11. David is a nice person to work with.

　　12. I like to have someone to talk to.

　　13. This is not a comfortable place to live in.

　　14. Give me a good pen to write with.

　　15. Is this a box to put coins in?

　　16. There is some useful information for you to refer to.

　　综上所述，英语介词不但可以在句尾出现，有时还非在句尾不可！

　　除了所举的情况之外，尽量避免把介词放在句尾。例如17－19虽没有什么问题，但不如20－22好和自然：

　　17. Can you tell me whom do you share your office with?

　　18. This is the last way which the idea can be pushed through.

　　19. What reason have you chosen this scheme for?

　　20. Can you tell me with whom do you share your office?

　　21. This is the best way through which the idea can be pushed.

　　22. For what reason have you chosen this scheme?

小米

　S是个简单的英文字母，可以加在可数复数名词后面，也可以用在简单现在时态动词的后面，以表示主语是单数第三人称。例如：

　　① He walks to school every day.
　　② Mary gets up early every morning.
　　③ That woman often talks loudly.

　　除了把单数名词变成复数名词以及表示单数第三人称之外，“s ”还出现在某些单字上，使它和没有“s”的字呈现出两个不同语义：“beside”和“besides”便是个好例子。

　　“Beside”是“在……旁边”的意思：“besides”是“除此之外”的意思。两者都是介词，但后者也是个副词。有些人把这两个字等同起来，互相对换，这是大错特错的；因此，④和⑤不对，要改为 ⑥和⑦。

　　④ Susan is sitting besides me.
　　⑤ Beside dancing, the children also sang.
　　⑥ Susan is sitting beside me.
　　⑦ Besides dancing, the children also sang.

　　一般上说，“beside”在句子后半部出现，如：

　　⑧ Some people prefer living beside the sea.
　　⑨ The small boy is standing beside his mother.

　　“Besides”的位置不一；可以在句前，也可在句尾，如：

　　⑩ Besides being a diligent student, Peter is also a good athlete.
　　11. I have written some other books on language learning besides this one.

　　上述两个例子中的“besides”是介词；它也可以当副词，如：

　　12. I like reading; besides, I also like writing.
　　13. He sings pop songs. Besides, he also listens to classical music.

　　注意：当副词的“besides”要用句号（.）或分号（;）隔开。

　　为了使句子多样化，12和13两个句子可以联合起来变成一个较长的句子，但意思不变。因此，例12可以连接成⑿（a）-（e）；例13也可以重新构成⒀（a）-（e）.

　　⑿（a） I like reading and writing.
　　（b） I like reading as well as writing.
　　（c） I like both reading and writing.
　　（d） I like not only reading but also writing.
　　（e） Besides reading, I also like writing.

　　⒀（a） He sings pop songs and listens to classical music.
　　（b） He sings pop songs as well as listening to classical music.
　　（c） He not only sings pop songs but also listens to classical music.
　　（d） Besides singing pop songs, he also listens to classical music.
　　（e） He listens to classical music in addition to singing pop songs.

小米

　　上一期谈到了带“s”和不带“s”的字，并举了“beside”和“ besides”说明两个字不同之处。

　　这里再举出另外两个容易混淆的常用字，以进一步说明有“s” 和没有“s”字眼的差异。

　　这两个字是“sometime”和“sometimes”。

　　“Sometime”是个时间副词，意思是“在某时期”。这个字通常和“日期”或“时间”连用，出现在句子后半部， 用来固定本来不肯定的时间或日期。例如：

　　① The accident happened sometime last month.
　　② Let us discuss the matter sometime next week.

　　“Sometimes”是个频率副词（adverb of frequency），意思和 “occasionally”，或“from time to time”甚接近，就是“有时候”或“偶尔”之意。

　　“Sometimes”和“sometime”不但意思不同， 所处的位置也不一样。

　　“Sometimes”可以在下列三处出现：

　　⒈句首，如：

　　③ Sometimes, I didn't feel like working.

　　⒉接系动词“be”之后，如：

　　④ The new manager was sometimes very hot-tempered.

　　⒊动词前，如：

　　⑤ They sometimes stayed up until 2 o'clock.

　　从这三个例子看，“sometime”和“sometimes”不但意思不同， 所处的位置也大相径庭。

　　就用途来说， “sometime”的用途广些。除了表示“在某时期 ”这意思之外，它也含有“任何时候”的意义，如：

　　⑥ Come over and see me sometime.

　　这里的“sometime”，可以用“anytime”代替，即：

　　⑦ Come over and see me anytime.

　　此外，“sometime”可以当形容词用，意思是“以前的”，如：

　　⑧ Dr Chen, a sometime lecturer of chemistry, is now a big company director.

　　这里的“sometime”不妨以另外一个形容词“former”或前缀“ ex-”来取代：

　　⑨ Dr Chen, a former lecturer of chemistry, is now a big company director.
　　⑩ Dr Chen, an ex-lecturer of chemistry, is now a big company director.

　　在结束本文之前，必须指出一点，就是“sometime”和“some time”的意思不同。“Sometime”是“在某时期”：“some time” 是“一段时间”，如：

　　11. All of us have studied English for some time.
　　12. Betty has been grumbling for some time.
　　13. Please give me some time to think over your proposal.
　　14. Do you have some time now? I want to talk to you.

　　由于 sometimes, sometime和 some time 各有不同的意思，在同句里出现可以和平共处、相安无事：

　　15. Sometimes, I spent some time reading a sometime English lecturer's novel written sometime in 1996. （有时，我花了些时间阅读前英语讲师在 1996 年某时期所撰写的一本小说）

小米

　英语中的人称代词（Personal Pronouns）有主格、宾格和所有格之 分，如：

　　I, me, my ; he, him, his ; they, them,their等。

　　顾名思义，主格（The nominative case）用作主语，宾格（The objective case）用作宾语，所有格（The possessive case）则表示所有之物。

　　在实际运用中，主格和宾格代词有时会混淆。下面是常见的问题：

　　⒈在复合结构里，人称代词的主格和宾格在单独使用时，没有问题，如很少人会犯下这样的错误：

　　*（1）Wilcox spoke to I.
　　*（2）Her knew what had happened.

　　但在复合结构中，错误就难免了，如：

　　*（3）Wilcox spoke to my friend and I.
　　*（4）He and her knew what had happened.
　　*（5）This is between you and he.

　　这种错误是可避免的。第一，在有介词的复合结构中，特别要注意，第二个人称代词，必须用宾语，如："for you and me"和 "between Maria and him".第二，试把复合结构中的另一部分暂时用括号围起来，那么该用的格就容易辨别了，如：

　　（6）This message is for （My father and） I or me.
　　（7）（Marry and） he or him went downtown together.

　　显然的，（5）里的代词是宾格的"me", （6）里的代词是主格的"he".

　　⒉在比较结构里，连接词"as"或"than"后面，按理用主格式，但在口语中，人们常用宾格形式，学美式英语者，更是如此：

　　（8）a. You did as well as she.
　　　　b. You did as well as her.

　　（9）a. I am older than he.
　　　　b. I am older than him.

　　（a）和（b）两种说法，都可接受。但如果"as"和"than"后头分句的主语和词动都要完整出现的话，这时的人称代词，就必须是主格，如下：

　　（10）You did as well as she did.
　　（11）I am older than he is .

　　此外，还有一点要注意，就是"as"和"than"后面虽然在语法上用主格好，用宾格也可，但是有时意思会有所不同。试比较（a）和（b）：

　　（12）a. Jason praised Maria more highly than I.
　　　　　b. Jason praised Maria more highly than me.

　　（12）a和b都被接受，但（12）a等于（13）a，而（12）b等于（13）B：
　　（13）a. Jason praised Maria more highly than I did （= I praised Maria）.

　　b. Jason praised Maria more highly than he praised me.

　　显然，这两句的深层意思大有差别。遇到这种情形，为了避免误解，不妨根据要表达的意思用完整的句式表达出来。换句话说，必要的话，要用（13）这句子。

　　不然，把（13）a变成（14）, （13）b变成（15）也可：

　　（14）I did not praise Maria as highly as Jason did.
　　（15）Jason did not praise me as highly as he praised Maria.

小米

　“They are wasting resources, for example, time, energy and money.”

　　上面这句话不错，只是转折词“for example”不妥当；应该这样：

　　“They are wasting resources. For example, they use too much time, energy and money.”

　　不然就要换一换转折词，改用“such as”或“like”：

　　“They are wasting resources, such as （or like） time, energy and money.”

　　不管任何语言，转折词（transitional words）都扮演着一个重要角色，就是：承先启后，使句子紧凑，段落相吸，对文章结构，有良性作用。但是有些人几乎没有采用转折词的习惯，结果文句松散，上下文七零八乱，应该避免。

　　现在把主要转折词，分类列下，供大家参考。

　　Ⅰ表示“尤有进者”的意思：

　　Again, also, then, besides, further, furthermore, moreover, next, in addition等，如：

　　① Jason teaches diligently. Besides, he writes a lot.

　　② English is a useful language. For one thing, it is an official language in the UN. Then, it is widely used in business, science and technology.

　　Ⅱ表示“反意见”：

　　But, however, still, yet, after all, for all that, in spite of, on the contrary, on the other hand等，如：

　　③ Jim is intelligent but lazy.

　　④ Singapore is not a big country.On the contrary, it is very small.

　　Ⅲ表示“困果关系”：

　　Therefore, so, hence, thus, accordingly, consequently, as a result 等，如：

　　⑤ Some people are over-ambitious. As a result, they are usually unhappy.

　　⑥ Tom did not work hard; hence, he failed.

　　Ⅳ表示“比较关系”：

　　Likewise, similarly, in a like manner 等，如：

　　⑦ You cannot writes without a pen. Likewise, you cannot cook without rice.

　　⑧ No one is allowed to speak Mandarin in an English class. Similarly, no one is allowed to speak English in a Mandarin class.

　　Ⅴ表示“举例示范”：

　　For example, in other words, for instance, that is 等，如：

　　⑨ There are some common errors in his composition. For instance, it is wrong to use "he" to replace "the queen".

　　Ⅵ表示“结束”：

　　To sum up, in brief, in short, on the whole, to conclude 等，如：

　　⑩ Some say Singapore is a nice place to live in. Others say it is not so nice. It is too competitive. In short, some like Singapore; some do not.

小米

　“Everything on our menu is prepared fresh daily and they are delivered to you from our kitchen outlet along Jurong.”

　　从信箱里的一张小食店广告信息中发现上述句子中一个常见的语法错误。你是否也观察出来呢？

　　这错误在第二等立分句的主语上：they.

　　大家知道，they 是句中的代名词（pronoun）。在这里，它是代替第一等立分句中的主语 everything.Everything 是个单数代名词；they 是复数的，两个怎么可以相通呢？

　　在语法上，代名词在取代名词或当名词的词时，必须在人称（ person）、数目（number）、性别（gender）和格（case）这几方面相称才行。例如：

　　① The man plucked out a grey hair from his head.
　　② They need funds, but they are running out of them now.
　　③ Jason said that he did not like the woman.
　　④ A person must restrict himself to doing what is right and useful.

　　如果脑子里没有这些语法概念，便会犯上误用代名词的错误。本文上面所指的 they 便是最好的例子。

　　除了 everything 之外，anything, nothing, everyone, someone, no one, somebody, nobody, anybody, anyone 和 each 等代名词也都是单数的。如果要用其他代名词取代它们，也必须是单数的才可以，而且后面的谓语动词也要搭配。就此而论，文中的 they 是不对的，必须改为单数代名词 it；同时后头的谓语动词也要变成单数的 is.这样一来，两个等立分句就很相称了。

　　同样的道理，刚刚举出的那些代名词应该这样用：

　　⑤ Nothing is difficult if it is properly done.
　　⑥ Nobody here has objected to the new proposal.
　　⑦ Each was annoyed by her strange idea.
　　⑧ Somebody wants to see you.
　　⑨ No one really knows the answer.

　　除了单数代名词，英文中也有复数代名词“many, both, several, few”等；其用法和复数名词一样，跟着的也是复数动词，如：

　　⑩ Many were absent yesterday.
　　11. Few are welcome here.

　　此外，有些代名词，如“some, all, none, any”等，既可当单数，也可当复数，一切视上下文而定。例如：

　　12a. Please look at the old office equipment. Some is to be replaced.
　　　b. Some of them have agreed to come.

　　13a. All is well that ends well.
　　　b. There are twenty in the bus. All have arrived on time.

　　14a. None of the news was good.
　　　b. None of her friends phone her now.

　　在英文词类中，代名词是简单容易的一种，但是也好像容易犯错；希望大家不要掉以轻心，以免犯下同样的错误。