动词表示动作形态
通告是什么意思-风不能把阳光打败
动词表示动作形态，但英语里有些动词并不表示动作形态，而
是协助主动词表示时态（tenses）
或语态（voices）。这些动词如“ do, is,
have”等，叫助动词（auxiliary verbs）。另外有
些动词如“can,
will, may, must”等，则可协助动词表示语气或情态，叫情态动词（modal
verbs）。
助动词和情态动词都是特殊动词，非常有用。没有了它们，疑问句不能成
立，否定句也难形
成。没有了“have, has, had”完成时态（perfect
tenses）无法存在；没有了“be, is, are,
am, been, was,
were, being”，何来被动语态（the passive
voice）？请看下列例子，就知
道梗概了：
● -What do you do
every day?
-I teach every day.
● -Can
they speak English?
-Yes, they can.
●
-Will he do it?
-No, he won't.
●
-John lived here before.
-John did not live
here before.
● -Betty has completed her work
on time.
-She is really good.
●
-After I had eaten my breakfast, I went to office.
-How about Nancy? Did she do the same?
● -Jason is writing a new book.
-A new book
is being written by Sam, too.
● -The cat
caught a rat.
-A rat was caught by a cat.
此外，助动词和情态动词还有下列用途：
㈠构成疑问句附加语，如：
● Mr Chen has not become a
businessman, has he?
● Jason's lectures are
clear and easy-to-understand, aren't they?
㈡构成简短答语，如：
● -Who can answer this question?
-Sam can.
● -Will you help us with
the gardening?
Yes, I will. No, I won't.
● -I have seen that film before.
-So
have I.
● -William isn't a hypocrite.
-Neither is his wife.
㈢构成省略句，如：
● I
can't understand him. Can you ?
● The boss
doesn't often come to the factory and when he
does, it is generally on
Sunday.
除了“do,
be, have”之外，作为第三人称现在时态（third person present
tense）时，
助动词和情态动词语尾不起变化，也就是不必有“-s”这形式。例如：
I can write English. He can write English, too.
Tom will know soon, but he will never know.
All of you may go. Jack may also go if he
wants to.
（注意“be”代表其他几个助动词：is, am, are, was,
were, being, seen）
总而言之，助动词和情态动词，随处可见，出现率高，不难使用，也不会有什么错误。
“时间”是生
命中很受重视的东西；人人都爱惜时间，因此人人要把涉及“时间”的惯用语记
起来，用出去。
（1）In time for„„及时到„„／做„„“If you go now, you
will be in time for the
meeting.
（2）On
time:准时的“Don't go to the examination late. Make
sure you are on time.”
（3）Pressed for
time：时间不足“I must hurry up, I am pressed for time
at the moment.”
（4）Buy
time：争取时间“There are ten seconds left, but Jordan
carried the ball
steadily to buy time instead
of passing it out.”
（5）For the time
being：暂时地“The company has just been formed. For
the time being,
it is run by the company
partners.”
（6）From time to time：偶尔“They
visited us from time to time, but we have never
been to their house.”
（7）In the nick of
time：及时“All the passengers got on board in the
nick of time.”
（8）In no time：很快地“The police
caught a thief and sent him to prison in no time.
（9）Kill time：消磨时间“While waiting for my turn
to do something, I often read
something to
kill time.”
（10）Time and again：屡次“Motorists
were warned time and again not to throw rubbish
from their cars.”
（11）Time alone will
tell：时间可以证明一切“No one is certain if it is wise to
emigrate to the West; time alone will tell.”
（12）Time's up：时间到了“Time's up. Stop writing
and hand in your answer books
now.”
（13）At the best of times：当情况最佳时“Samuel's Mandarin
is not good at the best
of times, not to
mention when he has to speak if impromptu.”
（14）At times：有时“life as a spinster or bachelor is
care-free, but the problem
is that he or she
may feel lonely at times.”
（15）Behind the
times：过时的“Maggie's dressing style is a bit behind
the times.
She should try to keep up with the
times by wearing fashionable dresses.”
（16）Move keep up with the times：赶上时代“Some
people's mode of thinking is
should try to
move with the times so as to better fit in the
present
society.”
（17）The time is ripe
for„„的时机成熟了“The political leaders of the two
countries
have communicated with each other.
Time is therefore ripe for closer cooperation.”
（18）With time to spare：比预期时间早“As there was
no traffic congestion, we reached
the
destination with time to spare.”
（19）With
timeGiven time：假以时间“Don't feel depressed ! Things
will improve
with time.
（20）For
any length of time：短暂而已“Tom likes to work in
different companies.
Evidence shows that he
has not held on to the same job for any length of
time.”
简简单单的“more than”，用法可多呢！
下面是些好例子：
● A. “More
than＋名词”表示“多于„„”、“非但„„尤其是”如：
1） Modern
science is more than a large amount of
information.
2） Jason is more than a
lecturer; he is a writer, too.
● B. “More
than＋数词”含“以上”或“不止”之意，如：
3） I have known
David for more than 20 years.
4） Let's
carry out the test with more than the sample copy.
● C. “More than＋形容词”等于“很”或“非常”的意思，如：
5） In doing scientific experiments, one must be
more than careful with the
instruments.
6） I assure you I am more than glad to help you.
● D. 在“More„„than„„”中，肯定“more”后面的而否定“than”后面
的，约等于
“是„„而不是„„”如：
7） The difference
between pure linguistics and applied linguistics
is more
apparent than real.
8） This
book seems to be more a manual than a text.
9） Catherine is more diligent than intelli-gent.
10） Hearing the loud noise, the boy was
more surprised than frightened.
● E. “More
than”或“More„„than„„”＋含“can”的分句时表示“否定意”，如：
11） That's more than I can do.
12） Don't
bite off more than you can chew.
13） In
delivering his lecture, Jason makes sure not to
include more things than
the students can
understand.
● F. “No
more„„than„„”表示“不„„；不如„„”，如：
14） I can no
more do that than anyone else.
15） A
learner can no more obtain knowledge without
reading than a farmer can
get good harvest
without ploughing.
“No
more„„„than„„”的语义，也可用“not any more than„„”来取代，因此
15 可
以变成 16.
16） A learner cannot„„ any
more than „„“同样的， 17可以变成 18：
17） Dr Hu is
no more a poet than Dr Wu is a philosopher.
18） Dr Hu is not a poet any more
than Dr Wu is a philosopher.
此外，“more
than”也在一些惯用语中出现，如：
19） More offen than not
（经常），people tend to pay attention to what they can
take rather than what they can give.
20）
All of us are more than a little concerned
about（非常关心）the current
economic problems.
总之，“more than”看似简单，其实很有内涵，味道隽永。
英语的情态动词（modal
verbs）可以协助主动词，表达一句话的语气；有时，不同的情态动
词还会多少扭转一句话的含意。
例如“Shall I come in?”和“May I come
in?”这两句话的含
意一样吗？答案是否定的。
用“May”提问，目的在请求对方同意某事，是种客气方式，意思是：“我想进来，不知你
允许吗？”
用“Shall”提问，目的在探听对方要不要我进来，有点像“Do you want me
to come in?”
而“你要我进来，我就进来，你不要我进来，我就不进来。”
现在再比较下列各组，看看语意有何差别：
（1） a. Shall I read this
book now?
（你现在要我看这本书吗？）
b. May I read
this book now?
（我现在可以看这本书吗？）
（2） a.
Shall I buy the stamps for you?
（你要我替你买邮票吗？）
b. Can I buy the stamps for you?
（我可以替你买邮票吗？）
（3） a. Shall I write the annual
report?
（你要我写年终报告吗？）
b. MightMayCan I
write the annual report?
（我可以写年终报告了吗？）
最后，再看看另外两句的差别何在？
（4） Our basketball team has
gone to Malaysia.
（5） Our basketball team
has been to Malaysia.
第4句子里用“gone”；5里用“been”。一字不同，意思有别。
前句的含义是：这支队
伍现在已不在这儿到马来西亚去了。后句的意思是：这支队伍曾经去
过马来西亚，但现在已在这儿。
同样的，第6句和第7句的含义差别也和4及5一样：
（6） Jade has
gone to China.
（7） Jade has been to China.
由此可见，“have gone to”和“have been
to”尽管样貌相似，用的都是现在完成时态，
但含意并不相同。
通过上述例句的对比，可以知道“今天早上，海伦去看过牙医了”的英译句应该是8或9：
（8）
Helen has been to the dentist.
（9） Helen
went to see the dentist this morning.不能说：
（10） Helen has gone to the dentist this morning.
还有，针对“Where have you been
before?”这句问话，正确的答案是11不是12：
（11） I have been
to London.
（12） I have gone to London.
因为人还在说话，怎么可以在伦敦？
在结束本文之前，请比较13a和13b，以确定其语意：
（13） a. The security guard is used to watch
the bank.
b. The security guard is used
to watching the bank.
13a.
是被动句，意思是：“保安人员被用来看守银行。”主动句是：“Someone uses the
security guard to watch the bank.”
13b.
是“接系动词＋used to + 宾语”
（linking verb + used to
+ object），意思是：
“保安人员习惯于看守银行。”
其他例子：
（14） Are you used to living in a cold
counrty?（你习惯住在寒冷国家吗？）
（15） I am quite used
to cold weather.（我相当适应冷天气。）
英语讲义【175】挥之不去的错误
2007-7-5 16:19
页面功能 【字体：大 中 小】【打印】【关闭】
信箱里有
张房地产贷款的信件及其细项，印得漂亮，写得也很清楚；美中不足的是几个语文
运用上的错误，如混淆
词、动词形式和惯用法。这些错误，我已经在不同场合里处理过，可是常
常又看到它们出现，虽然不是“
召之则来”，但却是“挥之不去”。
现在就把这几个错误整合起来，一一分解，希望未犯者不要犯、犯者不要重犯。
（一）“I am
interested to attend the seminar and be able to
enjoy the benefits.”
这句的连词“and”连接两个并列句“I am
interested„„seminar”和“I am able
to„„”第二句的主语和动词和第一句一样，可以省略为“„„and （am） able to„
„”这里
的动词“am”也是可有可无，但改用“be”，就是动词形式不对了。此外，“intere
sted”多和
“in”连用，因此也可改成“I am interested in
attending the seminar„„
（二）“We are looking
forward to hear from you soon.”
这句的语意没有问题：“我
们盼望你尽速来信。”问题是“to”这个字，这里把它当作不定
式动词（infinitive）中的
“to”，如“to come, to read, to
sing”等。但是这句里的“to”
是片语动词 （phrasal verb）“look
forward to”的一部分，是介词（preposition），后头
要有宾语（object
），可当宾语的是名词（Noun）、代词（Pronoun）、动名词（Gerund: v„„ling）<
br>等。这句里用“hear”，动词形式不对，要改为“hearing”（动名词）。不然，句子就要改写
为：“I am looking forward to your response
（reply） soon your early response （reply）.”
（三）“Beside the mortgage planning, I also want to
find out how I can benefit from
the other
scheme.”
有些英文字形同义异。上面这句话的意思不是很清楚吗？有什么问题呢？假如把
“beside”
改为“besides”，全句就没问题，但是少了个“s”的“beside”就把
意思从“除此之外”变为
“在„„旁边；与„„相比”了。
现在试把介词beside和besides填入下列句子的空白处：
（1）John is
sitting his teacher.
（2）What other languages
do you speak English?
（3）teaching, Jason
writes a lot.
（4）your wonderful
achievements, my performance counts for nothing.
（四句的答案刊于文后。）
（四）“We could
provide loan package that cater to your needs.”
这句复杂句的意思明白易解，可惜的是形容词从句中的动词“cater
to”和先行词“loan
package”的数不搭配。由于这先行词是单数的名词，修饰它的形容
词从句的动词也要单数的
“caters
to”才对。如果是复数，动词也要复数（没有“s”）：“We could provide loan
package
and other services that cater to your
needs.”
（五）“Please let us have your response
at your earlier convenient.”
这个惯用法的位置好，但成分不准确，应该是：at your earliest
convenience（尽早）。
这个用法有些过时，改用“as soon as
possible”好了。
（答案：（1）beside （2）besides
（3）Besides （4）Beside.）
英语动词是所有词类中最易犯错的一种，许多英语运
用上的毛病都和动词有关。有时，连常
用的动词都会有用法上的错误。例如有些动词意思相近，其实不尽
然。至少，在用法上，会
有所差别，如“ rise”和“raise”，“stay”和“remai
n”便是。有些动词，单独用时是
一个意思和用法，加上介词时，是另一个意思和用法，如“
see”和“see to”，“search”
和“search for ”便是。
下面就来详细谈谈。先看这两个句子：
① Sam raises very early
every morning.
② The monitor rises his hand
to ask a question.
大家知道，raise是个及物动词，意思是“举起”，要有宾语；
rise是个不及物动词，
意思是“起身”，不可有宾语。这里的①和②
都错；raises和rises必须对换才对。
③ He remained in the
Holiday Inn.
④ The flowers stayed on the
branches.
英语的remain是“留下来”；stay是“暂住”。显然的，③和④
是不合逻辑的，
remained 和stayed必须互换。
⑤ A crook
robbed her money.
⑥ A few masked men stole a
small bank last night.
虽然robbed和stole都是及物动词，
有自己的宾语，但是它们在这里的用法不当。Steal
要跟着被偷的东西，如钱财、珠宝等；rob的
宾语是“人”或“处所”。因此，⑤和⑥的robbed
和stole要掉转一下。
类似的例子还有下面这些：
⑦ a. mend b. repair
这两个动词都是“修理”；不同的是：简单的工作，用mend；复杂的或需要特别仪器
的事项，则用r
epair，如：
⑦a. You can mend the broken part of
the page with glue.
⑦b. It took some time to
repair the road.
⑧a. burned b. burnt
这
两个动词是burn的过去式和过去分词；在句子中的岗位不同，通常有宾语时用
“burnt”，没宾
语时用“burned”，如：
⑧a. The love of freedom
burned in our hearts. The candle has burned
brightly
for the whole night.
⑧b. Who
has burnt the paper? Jane burnt all the letters
from her former
boyfriend.
至于“动词”和“助动+介词”的误用，我们可以看下面两组例子：
⑨ The police
searched the suspects in the shopping centre, but
nobody was
arrested.
⑩ I searched for my
pocket and found some coins.
从语感就知道，⑨和⑩里的searched和searched for是倒置了。
⑨要的是“寻找”
（searched for）；⑩要的是“检查”（searched
），两者对换才是。
（11） The boy says when he grows,
he will be a teacher.
（12） Their business
grows up rapiding.
英语的grow是“发展”；grow
up是“长大”。显然的，（11）和（12） 的两个动词
又误用了，要对调一下。