湖北省武汉市长虹中学 430064
摘要;本文通过海量的来自名家著作和英语教材的例句证明“两个句子有且仅有一个连词引导”。在逻辑上分析其背后的逻辑。开始通过例句证明,三个连词会出现四个主谓结构(四个分句),四个连词会出现五个主谓结构。再用英语中最常见的八种句型进一步阐述此论点。
我们来看看最新的人民教育出版社的普通高中英语教科书第一册81页的句子:
It leans so far on one side that if you dropped a stone from the top, which is 188 feet high, it would fall 16 feet from the base of the tower. 它向一侧倾斜得很厉害,假如你从这个188英尺高的塔顶上让一块石头落下去,它落地的时候离塔座会有16英尺。
【探疑】一个句子的核心是主语和谓语。当然有些句型中的主语或谓语可能省略。一般说来,英语的书面语中,两个句子有且仅有一个连接词引导。这是一个很重要的规律,有人把它叫做“n-1”原则,n代表有多少个主谓结构,这个原则不难理解,接着前面的话说就是:两个句子有且仅有一个连接词引导,三个句子有两个连接词,四个句子有三个连接词,以此类推。在一个很复杂的句子中,你只需要找到谓语动词有多少个,就知道其中含有多少分句了。反过来,如果一个句子只有一个主谓结构,就不能出现连接词。
我们来看本条的句子,有四个谓语动词,leans, dropped, is, would, 这说明有四个主谓结构,应该有三个连接词,这三个连接词是that,if和which。
下面我们通过对一些例句的分析,来论证“两个句子有且仅有一个连接词引导”的原则。
①三个或三个以上个连接词例句分析
[1] Children who compete in a sport will learn how to deal with failure, because even though they work hard to master the skills needed for a sport, it does not mean (that) they will always win. (2019普通高中英语教科书第一册44页) 参加体育比赛的孩子将学会如何应对失败,因为即使他们努力学习掌握体育运动所需的技能,但这并不意味着他们总能获胜。
分析:四个连接词who,because,even though和可以省去的that。是不是五个谓语动词?是:compete,will learn,work,does not mean,will win。
[2] The researchers conducting the survey concluded that if hospitals and clinics serving the general public received more support, it would help to keep their medical staff from leaving the profession, and therefore the public would continue to receive good health services. (2019普通高中英语教科书第三册22页)进行这项调查的研究人员得出结论,如果为公众服务的医院和诊所得到更多的支持,将有助于不让他们的医务人员离开这个行业,因此公众将继续获得良好的卫生服务。
分析:三个连接词that,if,and。是不是四个谓语动词?是:concluded,received,would(help),would(continue)。另外注意:conducting,serving,leaving和to receive是不作谓语的动词,分别作定语,定语,宾语和目的状语。
[3]Whereas a woman’s closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage, it wasn’t unusual to hear a man say (that) he didn’t know (that) his friend’s marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa. (2001年全国高考题阅读理解E篇)尽管一个女人最亲密的闺蜜可能是第一个告诉她离开一次失败婚姻的人,然而听见一个男人说,直到他的朋友一天晚上问他是否可以睡在他家的沙发上,他才知道他朋友的婚姻已非常糟糕,这却是很平常的。
分析:共有五个连接词,看看是不是有六个谓语动词?这五个连接词是:whereas,that,that,until,if。这六个动词是:might(be), wasn’t, didn’t, was, appeared和could(sleep)
[4] If you ask people to name one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare”, “Samuel Johnson” and “Webster” but none of these men had any effect at all compared with a man who didn’t even speak English—-William the Conqueror. (2001年全国高考题阅读理解D篇)如果你问人们谁对英语产生的影响最大,你会得到像Shakespeare,Samuel Johnson和 Webster这样的答案, 但是以上这三人对英语的影响都无法和征服者William相比,即使他连英语都不会说。
分析:共有四个连接词,是不是有五个谓语动词?
[5] It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime.(2003年全国高考题阅读理解E)很难计算出因为互联网的应用所使用纸张的数量,然而几乎任何在办公室工作的人能告诉你,当有了电子邮件后,打印机就开始超时工作。
分析:四个连接词,是不是有五个动词?
[6] A statement of opinion by one writer may be restated by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another, and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation(which) he placed upon those facts.(2008年天津高考题阅读理解D篇)一个作者陈述的观点有可能会被另外一位作者重述,然后他的重述或许又会被另一个作者引用。这个过程会继续下去,除非有人质疑原作者的观点所根据的事实或者是对原作者对这些事实的解释提出异议。
分析:五个连接词,是不是有六个动词?
② (al)though不可以与but连用背后的逻辑
我们知道:用了(al)though,就不再用but,但是却可以与副词still, yet和nevertheless搭配。
[7]Although I try to talk to my classmates, I still find it hard to make good friends with them. (04人教新课标版必修一7页)虽然我试着和班上的同学交谈,但是我还是很难跟他们成为好朋友。
[8]Though he is poor, yet he is satisfied with his situation. (夸克《英语语法大全》884页)尽管他很穷,但是他对他的境况还是满意的。
[9]Although he is ill, yet/still/nevertheless he managed to look cheerful. (章振邦《新编英语语法》)虽然他病了,但他尽力表现得很快乐的样子。
我们再来分析为什么用了(al)though,就不再用but呢?其实隐藏于这个规则背后的缘由是:两个句子有且仅有一个连词引导!
在荷兰人依拉德斯所著《现代英语句法问题集》13页就出现了though与but连用的句子:
[10]In general his regard for women was high, though obviously there were few things they did as well as men, but they certainly had a very low level of sportsmanship. In fact, the more gifted they were——and Jane really was a very clever woman, he had to grant her that——the worse sportsmen they seemed. 总体上他是蛮尊重女性的,虽说很显然女性很少和男性做得一样棒,不过她们确实合作精神欠佳,实际上她们越有才,合作起来也越糟糕------简真是个聪明的女人,这不假。
分析:前半部分有三个主谓结构,即三个句子,所以要用两个连接词。这样说来,像Though the meeting was important, I didn’t want to attend it, but he insisted on my going这个句子就是正当的。Michael Swan在《牛津英语用法指南》(91年2月第1版)153条说:However, two conjunctions can be used to join three clauses,并举有一例:
[11]Although she was tired, she went to work, but she didn’t stay there long.虽然她累了,她还是上了班,不过在那里停留的时间并不长。