1. You can’t end a sentence with a preposition 不能以介詞結(jié)尾
一般情況因該避免以介詞結(jié)尾。但以下四種情況用介詞結(jié)尾卻更自然。
被動(dòng)結(jié)構(gòu):passive structures
?(she enjoys being fussed over.她喜歡被簇?fù)淼母杏X)
條件從句:relative clauses
?(they must be convinced of the commitment that they are taking on.他們必須明確自己要承擔(dān)的責(zé)任。)
不定式結(jié)構(gòu)infinitive structures
?(Tom had no-one to play with.沒有人可以和湯姆一起玩)
Who、where、what打頭的問句:questions beginning with who, where, what, etc.
(what music are you interested in?你喜歡什么樣的音樂?)
2. You can’t start a sentence with a conjunction 不能以連詞開頭
Conjunctions are words such as and, but, so, and if, which are used to connect clauses, sentences, or words. This grammatical superstition arises from the thought that because these words are used to connect separate clauses.The argument against using and or but to introduce a sentence is that such a sentence expresses an incomplete thought (or ‘fragment’) and is therefore incorrect. However, this is a stylistic preference rather than a grammatical rule.
連詞包括and、but、so、if等詞語(yǔ),用于連接從句、句子或單詞。人們認(rèn)為這些詞是用來連接獨(dú)立的從句,所以才有了這種錯(cuò)誤觀點(diǎn)。還有人認(rèn)為使用and或者but來引出的句子表達(dá)的觀點(diǎn)使不完真給的,所以是不正確的。不過,這只是一個(gè)風(fēng)格的偏好,而不是語(yǔ)法規(guī)則。
3. Double negatives are always ungrammatical 雙重否定不符合語(yǔ)法規(guī)則
When two negatives are used to communicate a negative, then the usage is ungrammatical. The reason for this is that two negatives actually cancel each other out and create an affirmative statement. For example, the sentence ‘I don’t have nothing for you’is ungrammatical because the presence of two negatives technically switches the meaning to an affirmative one, so that it means ‘I have something for you.’
當(dāng)兩個(gè)否定詞匯一同使用時(shí),這種用法是不符合語(yǔ)法規(guī)則的。原因是兩個(gè)否定實(shí)際上互相抵消,表達(dá)肯定的含義。例如,這句話“I don’t have nothing for you”不符合語(yǔ)法,因?yàn)閲?yán)格意義上來講這兩個(gè)否定詞匯在一起表達(dá)了肯定的含義,表示“我有東西給你”。
Even though the use of double negatives in formal speech and writing is nonstandard, the use of double negatives is common in areas such as informal speech and popular music.
即使在正式演講和寫作中使用雙重否定是不標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的,但在非正式的演講和流行音樂等領(lǐng)域雙重否定是很常用的。
However, there is one use of double negatives that is entirely grammatical. In this use, the double negative is used to express and reinforce an affirmative.
然而,有一個(gè)雙重否定的使用是完全符合語(yǔ)法的。在使用雙重否定表達(dá)肯定或者加強(qiáng)肯定語(yǔ)氣的。
I couldn’t not help him. [meaning: I strongly felt I should help him]
我要幫助他。
4. Splitting infinitives is a mistake 不定式不能分隔使用
For the uninitiated, splitting infinitives is the practice of placing an adverb between ‘to’and the corresponding verb, as in ‘to lightly tap.’Splitting infinitives is a common peeve of grammar enthusiasts, but like many such peeves it has been employed by well-regarded English prose stylists for centuries. However, take care before splitting those infinitives; many style guides and professors would still consider this a stylistic error.
對(duì)外行人來說,分裂不定式是在to和之后的動(dòng)詞之間放置一個(gè)副詞,如“to lightly tap(輕拍)”。分裂不定式對(duì)語(yǔ)法愛好者而言是個(gè)常見的讓人苦惱的問題。但是有很多著名的英文散文家喜歡使用分裂不定式的寫作方式。不過,要小心使用分裂不定式,仍然有文體書和專家認(rèn)為這是文體錯(cuò)誤。
例如:
She used to secretly admire him.
她曾經(jīng)偷偷愛慕他。
You have to really watch him.
你必須真得看著他。
Those who believe that split infinitives are grammatically incorrect would rewrite these sentences as:
認(rèn)為分裂不定式不符合語(yǔ)法規(guī)范的人會(huì)主張這樣改寫上面的句子:
She used secretly to admire him.
她曾經(jīng)偷偷愛慕他。
You really have to watch him.
你必須真得看著他。
5. You can’t start a sentence with hopefully ?hopefully不能作為句子開頭
This use of hopefully to mean ‘it is hoped’rather than the adverbial ‘in a hopeful manner’has been disputed in the past several years, though it has found its way into general acceptance.
hopefully這個(gè)詞的意思是“有希望地”,而不是狀語(yǔ)“以一種充滿希望的方式”。在過去的幾年里,這種用法雖然已經(jīng)被普遍接受但一直有爭(zhēng)議的。
Hopefully and thankfully can’t be reworded along the lines of other sentence adverbs, using the constructions ‘it is hopeful that’or ‘it is thankful that’:
Hopefully 和thankfully和其他句子副詞不同,可以使用‘it is hopeful that’ 或者‘it is thankful that’的結(jié)構(gòu)
Hopefully, planning delays will be minimal.
希望比賽盡可能不被推遲。
It is hopeful that planning delays will be minimal.
希望比賽盡可能不被推遲。
也可以這樣改寫:
It is to be hoped that planning delays will be minimal.
希望比賽盡可能不被推遲。
?
聲明:本雙語(yǔ)文章的中文翻譯系滬江英語(yǔ)原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容,轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處。中文翻譯僅代表譯者個(gè)人觀點(diǎn),僅供參考。如有不妥之處,歡迎指正。