摘要:本文针对高中学生学习当中遇到的语法问题,简要分析了英语教学过程中定语从句不同的表现形式及先行词、关系词在从句中的语法功能,指出了学生概念和理解上的误区,并从基本内涵、特殊细节、灵活机动等方面阐明了定语从句的基本规律。
关键词:定语从句 先行词 关系词 语法功能
众所周知,定语从句是英语学习中见得最多、用得最广的从句之一。如何正确分析定语从句对于理清语法结构、理解句子含义、提高阅读能力具有重要的意义。然而大多数英语老师在讲授定语从句这个语法环节时,只是简单地强调了它的基本用法而忽略了它的特殊情况及细节要求。因而,尽管学生在中学时都系统地学习过语法,然而遇到高职教材中各种包含定语从句的问题时却常常束手无策、不知所云。为了使学生早点走出定语从句的误区,现将这些问题小结如下:
一、重视构成形式,忽视内涵本质
有些教师在讲授定语从句时,总是一味强调它的构成和形式,而对于它的内涵及与主句的关系却讲的很少。因而学生的理解是:只要先行词是表示时间、地点和原因的名词,引导定语从句的肯定是关系副词when, where和why。其他先行词则由关系代词which和that引导。针对这种情况,我们教师在讲定语从句时一定要仔细分析一下定语从句的含义。不要一见到先行词是时间或者地点名词就用when或where引导,而应看看引导词在定语从句中应作什么成份。如果作时间、地点或原因状语才能用when,where和why。也可以分析一下定语从句中是否有主语或宾语。如果既有主语又有宾语,可以用when, where或why引导;假若没有主语和宾语,那么就要考虑是否用that或which来引导了。
如:A. Do you still remember the day(when)we met?
B. Do you remember the day (which/that) we spent with professor Li in Xi’ an?
这两句话里都含有表示时间的先行词“the day”。那么,我们试着分析一下:A句从句中有主语“We”,也有不及物动词“met”,因而,我们可以说先行词“the day”既没有作该从句的主语,也没有作宾语,因此只能用关系副词when引导,相当于“on which”也就是“on the day”的意思。而B句中主语是“we”,宾语没有在“spent”后出现。由于“spent”是个及物动词,故其引导词只能用在从句中充当宾语的关系代词“which”或“that”来引导了。类似的例子还有:
C. This is the place _____we visited last year.
(Where、which、to which、by which). 这是我去年参观的地方。(which是关系代词作宾语,指物)
D. we will visit the place ______he worked three years ago.
(where、which、that、which) 我们将参观他三年前工作的地方。(where是关系副词作状语)。
E. I went to Beijing last year, ______I visited the Great Wall.
(when、where、which、that) 我去年去了北京,在那儿我参观了长城。在这句话里where也是关系副词作状语。但从形式上看主句和从句用逗号隔开,从内容上看从句对先行词作了补充说明而不是修饰限制。因此它是一个非限制性定语从句。(注意限制性定语从句与非限制性定语从句的区别)
二、重视整体概念,忽视细节要求
当关系代词引导一个定语从句并且在从句中充当宾语时,该从句中的谓语动词必须是及物动词;如果不是,就要在该动词后加上相应介词。如果关系代词为which或whom,则要将介词放在which或whom前。可是这一细节要求常常被老师和学生忽视。注意下面的句子;
A. This is the book (that) I have learned a lot from.
B. This is the book from which I have learned a lot.
上面两个句子意思都是“这就是那本让我获益非浅的书”,但由于第二句由关系代词which引导,介词from必须放在which之前。
C. Do you know the man (that) she was talking to?
D. Do you know the man to whom she was talking?
你认识和她说话的那个人吗?C句中的to常常被有些同学去掉,而D句中的to常常被他们忘掉。
E. The house (that) he is living in is now a shop.
F. The house in which he is living is now a shop.
他现在居住的房子现在是一个商店。道理同上。
G. The fellow (that) I spoke to made no answer.
H. The fellow to whom I spoke made no answer.
和我说话的那个小伙子没作任何回答。和C句和D句一样,注意to的位置。
三、只见一叶障目,不见一片森林
定语从句中关系代词who指人,是主格,在从句中做主语;whom是宾格,在从句中作宾语;whose是所有格,在从句中作定语,是定语从句中表示所属关系的引导词,意为“……的”,既可以指人,也可以指物。然而,有些老师只告诉学生whose意为“谁的”。如:
A. He is talking with the girl whose brother is my classmate.
他正在和那个弟弟是我同学的女孩说话。
B. This is the boy whose father is our English teacher.
这就是那个父亲是我们英语教师的男孩。
可是,一旦whose出现在这样的句字里,学生就不知所云。如:
C. He lives in a house whose window opens to the south. 他住在一间窗户朝南开的房子里。(whose意为“房子的”)
I have just bought a new bike whose color is white.
我刚买了一辆白颜色的自行车。(whose意为“新自行车的”)
有些人认为whose的意思是“谁的”,只能表示人的所属关系,这是一种错误的认识,应该纠正过来。
四、重视机械接受,缺乏机动灵活
that与which都可以修饰表示物的先行词。于是,只要一见到表示物的先行词,学生都用这两个关系代词引导。殊不知,有些情况下只能用that引导,不能用which;有些情况下只能用which引导,不能用that。
1. 先行词为all、everything、something、anything、nothing时只能用that引导。
A. Please tell me all (that) you know.
请告诉我你所知道的一切。
B. I’ll tell you everything (that) I saw in the United States.
我会把在美国看到的事情告诉你。
C. I’d like to tell you something that will make you surprised.
我想告诉一件使你感到惊奇的事。
D. Is there anything (that) I can do for you?
有什么需要帮忙的吗?
E. There is nothing that has to be done today.
今天没有任何事情可做。
2. 先行词被数词,最高级形容词以及the very、the only、the last等修饰时只能用that引导。
A. The first student that put up hands was Zhang ping.
第一个举手的是张萍。
B. Agriculture was the most important invention that led to the beginning of civilization.
农业是导致文明开始的最重要的发明。
C. This is the very pen (that) he is looking for.
这正是他在寻找的钢笔。
D. That is the only English book (that) he bought from the bookstore yesterday.
这就是他昨天从书店买的唯一的那本英语书。
3.先行词中既有人又有物时只能用that引导
A. Henry and his dog that appeared in street last week disappeared mysteriously in the forest yesterday.
亨利和他的小狗上周还在街上,昨天又神秘地消失在树林里。
B. we were deeply impressed by the teachers and schools that we had visited.
我们访问过的老师和参观过的学校给我们留下了深刻的印象。
4. 先行词在主句中作表语,或关系代词在从句中作表语时。
A. It is a dictionary that will help you a lot.
这是本对你很有帮助的字典。
B. He is no longer the man that he was in our university.
他再也不是我们大学时的他了。
5.关系代词前有介词时不用that。
This is the house in which I lived ten years ago.
这就是我十年前住过的房子。
6. 先行词本身是that时不用that。
I will tell you that which he said yesterday.
我会告诉你他昨天说的话。
7.引导非限制性定语从句时不用that。
A. I have lost my mobile phone, which is bought by my father.
我丢了手机,那是我爸爸为我买的。
B. She entered a new vocational and technical college, which made her mother very happy.
她上了一所新职业技术学院,这使她母亲非常高兴。
五、拘泥课本知识,缺少训练创新
讲授定语从句时不能只局限于课本上的讲解,还应让学生拓宽知识面,多练习、多积累、多总结。比如象as,我们只知道它可以引导原因状语从句、时间状语从句和方式状语从句。然而,有时它也可与“which”一样,引导一个非限制性定语从句代表主句所要表达的内容。
A. She was ill yesterday, which made her mother very worried.
她昨天病了,这使她母亲非常担心。
B. She was patient towards the children, which made them very excited.
她很耐心地对待这些孩子,这使他们非常激动。
C. Eating too much, as is well known, is not good for our health. (as译为“正如”)
正如大家所知道的那样,吃的过多对我们的健康不好。
D.He opposed the idea, as could be expected.
正如所预料那样,他反对这个观点。
以上四个例子中,which与as均代表主句所表达的内容。
当然,定语从句包含的内容很多,这里我们只是对教师教学过程中易忽视的、学生练习中常常出错的一些典型问题简单地作了分析和总结。如果大家能认识到并多加训练,一定会克服这些困难,使定语从句不再成为学习英语的障碍。
[参考文献]
[1]张道真. 实用英语语法[M].商务印书出版社,1985.
[2]许国璋. 英语[M].商务印书出版社,1981.
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