葉劉淑儀 立法會議員
我不時看到類似的文法錯誤:
The police are investigating the traffic accident happened yesterday.
一句簡單英文 只有一個動詞
以上一例錯在有"investigating"和"happened"兩個主要動詞。一句簡單英文句子,只能有一個主要動詞。這句其實可分拆成:
The police are investigating the traffic accident.
The traffic accident happened yesterday.
至於"Please bring all the documents required."(請帶齊所需文件)卻是正確的,因為句中的"required"並非require的簡單過去式,而是當作形容詞使用的分詞。
要把多於一個簡單句子連接起來,構成複句,除可用and、but和or等conjunctions(連接詞),還可使用that、who、why、when、which、whose和where等字。譬如說,剛才兩句可用which或that來連接:
The police are investigating the traffic accident which/that happened yesterday.
"The police are investigating the traffic accident"和"which/that happened yesterday"是上述複句中的clauses(子句),而後者乃relative clause(關係子句)。
一個子句用於描述另一子句中的名詞,就叫relative clause,例如:"I went to the place where I was born."(我到我出生的地方去。)。句中"where I was born"是relative clause,用以形容"the place"。
Relative clauses以下列字詞開頭:
1.Relative pronouns(關係代詞):who、whom、which、whose和that
2.Relative adverbs(關係副詞):where、when和why
Relative Pronouns 作用分3類
Relative pronouns可按其在relative clauses中的作用,分為3類:
1.用作主語(who/which/that):
The teacher punished the boy who broke the window.
老師懲罰那打破玻璃窗的男孩。
句中"who"指"the boy",而"the boy"是"the boy broke the window"的主語。
2.用作謂語(whom/which/that):
The boy whom the teacher punished is my little brother.
那給老師罰的男孩是我弟弟。
"Whom"指"the boy",但和上例不同,"the boy"是"the teacher punished the boy"的謂語。順帶一提,許多人愛用who替代whom,尤其在口語。
Relative pronouns作謂語時,往往可以省略。如:
The dress (which/that) Mary bought yesterday is pretty.
瑪莉昨天買的裙子很漂亮。
3.用作所有格(whose/of which):
The man whose wallet was stolen reported to the police.
那錢包被偷的男人報了警。
That只用於限定關係子句
That是relative pronoun,有時可跟which或who互換,有時卻不可。That只能用於defining relative clauses(限定關係子句)。例如:"I talked to the girl who/that lives next door."(我跟隔鄰的女孩說話。)。如果不說"who/that lives next door",讀者就無從知道我所談的是哪個女孩,所以說這個子句有限定作用。
然而,"Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft, is a philanthropist."(微軟創辦人蓋茨是慈善家。)只可用who。因為"who founded Microsoft"的作用乃提供有關Bill Gates的額外資料,就算刪去這個關係子句,讀者仍然知道我在說哪個人,所以這是non-defining relative clause(非限定關係子句),不能用that代替who。
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