书城外语英文疑难详解续篇
6717300000010

第10章 代名词(3)

Calhy,beside herself,gave the chair a violent push——E.Bronte(凯西发狂地把椅子用力一推。)

(5)to oneself私自,窃,心中。inwardly.例如:

I had kept the belief to myself.——L.Bromfield(我把那个信念藏在自己心中。)

I chuckled to myself.——Stevenson(我暗自发笑。)

He was chuckling to himself over what he was reading.(他对所读的书觉得有趣而不免私自好笑。)

I must write as though I were a person of importance;and indeed,I am——to myself,to myself I am the most important person in the world.——Maugham(我一定要把我写成一个伟大的人;对我自己来说,我诚然是一个伟大的人呀。对我自已来说,我是这世界上最伟大的人了。)

下例中用的to oneself=by oneself;alone(独自),和上面的意思又有所不同了。

Life's a wonderful thing,Kate,a thing one can't live all to oneself,a thing one shares with everybody.——Galsworthy(人生是奇妙的,凯特,是不能完全独自过活的,是要和大家分享的。)

Read that letter to yourself.——Hornby(默读那信吧。)(to yourself=silently)

Left to himself,Mr.Hutton got up and began to wander round the room.——A.Huxley(留下他一个人的时候,赫顿先生就站起身来,开始在室内走来走去。)

But,this,he acknowledged to himself,was a thing he had never done before.——Lawrence(但是他自认这件事,是以前他从来没做过的。)

(6)in oneself其本身,本来,不靠外力。Independently of extraneous influence;apart from what is not essential to it.例如:

Lack of confidence in himself made him hesltate.(缺乏自信使他犹豫不决。)

A fine courtesy is a fortune in itself.(好的礼貌其本身就是一笔财产。)

These substances are not poisonous in themselves.(这些物质本身无毒。)

The charity in itself is admirable.(慈善本身就是可赞赏的。)

Diamond is hard in itself.(钻石本来是硬的。)

Our very existence is a miracle in itself.(我们的生存本身就是一个奇迹。)

19.关系代名词的省略

There's many people want to do the same.(很多人都想要做同样的事情。)在这句话中,为什么用了动词is,又用动词want,岂不是一句中用上两个动词了吗?

【解答】依照文法的规则,一句中只能有一个主语(Subject)和一个述语(Predicate)。述语就是动词,如果一句中要用两个动词的话,就要用连词的and或or连起来,再不然就让第二个动词变成不定词(Infinitive)。前者如He comes and goes.(他来来去去),后者如He come to see me.(他来看我)。但问题中提出的句子却不是这样,因为那原来是两个句子构成的,省去了一个关系代名词吧了。那句话本来应作There's many people who want to do the same.

这是一种古老的说法,莎翁时代是很普通的,一直流传下来,在今日的口语中仍很通用。使我们感到一句中有两个动词的;是主格关系代名词省略的结果,至于宾格关系代名词也常省略,但我们不会觉得有什么异样,只认为更加简明,例如The book(that或which)I bought yesterday is very interestins.(我昨天买的那本书非常有趣。)Buy it back from the man(whom或that)you sold it to.(从你卖给他的那人手里再买回来。)

不管是主格或宾格的关系代名词,只有在限定用法的时候才能省略。兹将主格关系代名词各种省略的形式,分别举例说明如下:

(1)关系代名词为补语时:

She is not the cheerful woman〔that〕she was before she married.(她已不是结婚前那样快乐的女人了。)

I'm not the fool〔that)you thought me(to be).(我并不是如你所想的那种傻子。)

(2)以There's,Here's开始的文句。

There's a man at the door〔who〕wants to see you.(门口有人要见你。)

There's a gentleman〔who has〕come to talk to you.(有位先生来跟你谈谈。)

Here's a lady〔who〕called about a cat.(有位太太为着猫的事来访。)

There's lots of people〔who〕would give a bit to know that.(很多人都极想知道那个。)(在口语中常以there is代there are用,本句中的a bit原为a little之意,但现作反语用,意为very much。正式用there are的当然不错,如There are many surprising things〔that〕happen in this wold.)

There's a lot〔that〕goes on abroad this ship that I don't like.(在这船上有很多事我不喜欢。)

(3)加强语气的It is......that的句形:

It's not everybody〔that〕knows the right way to test perfume.(并不是人人都知道正当的试验香水的方法。)

It was I〔that〕bought these flowers for Miss A.(为A小姐买了这些花的人是我呀。)

(4)在关系代名词后出现there is(are)时:

She taught me the difference〔that〕there is between what is right and what is wrong.(她教了我好坏的区别。)

The number of mistakes〔that〕there are in this homework is simply astounding.(在这份课外作业中错误多得惊人。)

I have seen all〔that〕there is left to see in the city.(在市内未看完的东西我全部看了。)

(5)有插入句I know,we think等时:

She is just the type〔that〕I always knew wouldattract him.(她确是能吸引他的那种典型的女性。)

Many of those qualities〔that〕we think are typical of Americans in general were the result of this frontier life.(可认为是美国人一般的特征的许多那样的性质,是从边疆拓荒生活而产生出来的。)

(6)关系代名词为主语或宾语时:

The hinge is loose and the first wind〔that〕comes along will blow the whole door off.(铰链很松,第一次刮风就会把整个的门吹掉的。)(主语)

I landed one once〔that〕weighed two and a half tons.(我有一次钓到一条有两吨半重。)(宾语)