单词 | 复数代词 |
释义 | 〔be〕Traditional grammar requires the nominative form of the pronoun in the predicate of the verbbe : It is I (not me ); That must be they (not them ), and so forth. Even literate speakers of Modern English have found the rule difficult to conform to,but the stigmatization ofIt is me is by now so deeply lodged among the canons of correctness that there is little likelihood that the construction will ever be entirely acceptable in formal writing.Adherence to the traditional rule in informal speech, however, has come to sound increasingly pedantic,and begins to sound absurd when the verb is contracted, as inIt's we. · The traditional rule creates particular problems when the pronoun followingbe also functions as the object of a verb or preposition in a relative clause, as in It is not them/they that we have in mind when we talk about "crime in the streets" nowadays, where the plural pronoun serves as both the predicate ofis and the object of have. In this example, 57 percent of the Usage Panel preferred the nominative formthey, 33 percent preferred the accusativethem, and 10 percent accepted both versions.But H.W. Fowler, like other authorities, argued that the use of the nominative here is an error caused by "the temptation . . . to assume, perhaps from hearingIt is me corrected to It is I, that a subjective [nominative] case cannot be wrong after the verb to be. ” Writers can usually find a way to avoid this problem: They are not the ones we have in mind, We have someone else in mind, and so on. See Usage Note at I 1we 传统语法要求系动词谓语中的代词用主格形式be : It is I (而不是 me ); That must be they (而不是 them ),等等。 即使现代英语有文化的人也发现很难遵守这个规则,而It is me 的烙印现在已深刻地印入了判断是否正确的准则之中, 以致很少有可能使这种用法在正式书面语中被完全接受。但是在非正式讲话中奉行传统规则已经日益变得象在卖弄学问。并且当系动词被缩减时,就象在It's we 中一样,听起来反而象是不合语法的。 当代词跟在be 后面做动词宾语或做关系从句中的介语宾语时,传统的规则就象在 当我们谈到当今“街上的犯罪”时,他们不是我们心中所想的那些人, 句中复数代词同时充当is 的宾语和 have 的宾语。 在这个例子中57%的用法使用小组更喜欢用主格形式they, 33%更喜欢用宾格形式them, 而10%则两种都接受。但是象其他的权威一样,H.W.福勒争论道,在这里用主格是一个错误,它之所以错是因为“多半听到了It is me 都被改正成 It is I 而拿不定主意,以为主格的情况在动词 to be 后面不可能错。” 作家们常常能够找到一个办法来避免这个问题: 他们不是我们所想的人,我们脑子里想的是另一些人等等 参见 I1we〔every〕Every is representative of a large class of English words and expressions that are singular in formbut felt to be plural in sense.The class includes, for example, noun phrases introduced byevery, any, and certain uses of some. These expressions invariably take a singular verb;we say Every car has (not have ) been tested. Anyone is (not are ) liable to fall ill. But when a sentence contains a pronoun whose antecedent is introduced byevery, grammar and sense pull in different directions.The grammar of these expressions requires a singular pronoun, as in Every car must have its brakes tested, but people persist in using the plural pronoun,as in Every car must have their brakes tested. Although the latter pattern is common in the speech of all groups,it is still widely regarded as grammatically incorrect in writing. ·The effort to adhere to the grammatical rule leads to various complications, however.The first is grammatical.When a pronoun refers to a phrase containingevery or any that falls within a different independent clause, the pronoun cannot be singular.Thus it is simply not English to sayEvery man left; he took his raincoat with him. Nor can one sayNo one could be seen, could he? Writers unwilling to use plural forms in these examples must find another way of expressing their meaning,either by rephrasing the sentence so as to get the pronoun into the same clause (as inEvery man left, taking his raincoat with him ) or by substituting another word forevery or any (as in All the men left; they took their raincoats with them. ) · The second complication is political.When a phrase introduced byevery or any refers to a group containing both men and women, what shall be the gender of the singular pronoun?This matter is discussed in the Usage Note athe. See Usage Note at all ,any ,each ,either ,he 1neither ,none Every 是一大类英语单词和短语的代表, 它们在形式上是单数的,但在意义上感觉起来却是复数。例如,这一类词中所包括的由every,any 和某些用法中的 some 所引导的名词短语。 这些短语毫无例外的跟单数动词,我们说每辆车都已 (不是 have ) 被测试过。 每个人都(不是 are ) 会生病 。 但是当一个句子中包括一个由先行词every 引导的代词时, 从句法和意义上就要区分不同的情况了。象每一辆车必须测试它的制动器 这样的表达法在语法上要求使用一单数代词, 但人们总习惯于用复数代词,象Every car must have their brakes tested 这样。 虽然后面这种形式在各种团体的讲话中非常普遍,但它在写作中仍广泛地被认为是语法上的错误。无论如何,坚持语法规则的努力总会导致各种各样的复杂问题。首先是语法上的复杂性。当一个代词指代一个短语,而这个短语中包括every 或 any 属于另一个与此代词所在子句不同的独立子句中时, 这个代词不能用单数形式。因此很容易理解英国人为何不说每个人离开时,都拿着各自的雨衣 , 也不说没有人会被看到,不是吗? 。 不愿意在这些例子中用复数形式的书写者必须找到另外一种表达他们意思的方法,或者可以通过重新改变句子的说法以使代词与其指代的短语同属一个从句中(如Every man left, taking his raincoat with him ), 或者通过以另一个词代替every 或 any 的方法(如 All the man left;they took their raincoats with them )。 第二是政治上的复杂性。当一个被every 或 any 引导的短语指代的一个团体中既有男人又有女人时, 单数代词的词性怎么确定呢?这个问题在单词he的用法说明中将被讨论 参见 all,any,each,either,he1neither,none |
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