apposition 1 (同位語) – 同位成分作主詞時主詞動詞的一致問題
問：Land, brains, wealth, technology – in other words everything we need – (is/are) plentiful in our country.
請問上句的動詞是用is, 還是用are 呢?
答：兩個或多個同位成分作主詞時, 其動詞的數決定於第一個同位成分, 即被說明的同位成分。在上面的句子裡第一個同位成分是land, brains, wealth, technology, 因此, 其動詞應當用複數。請注意下列實例中動詞的數:
- His dinner, eggs and vegetables, is simple. 他的正餐 – 雞蛋和蔬菜是很簡單的。
- Everything we need – land, brains, wealth, technology – is plentiful in our country. 我們所需要的一切 — 土地、智慧、財富和技術在我們國家都是很豐富的。
apposition 2
問：As they grow old, people also accumulate belongings for two other reasons, lack of physical and mental energy, both of which are essential in turning out and throwing away, and sentiment. (New Concept English, Book 3, L. 59)
[原譯] 隨著歲月流逝人變老, 人們還由於另外兩個原因積累物品, 即體力衰弱與精神不佳, 因為在丟棄這些無用之物時這兩者缺一不可; 此外, 還有感情的因素。
(《新概念英語》(3), 世界圖書出版公司, 1993, p.279)
請分析上面譯文是否正確?
答：從譯文看, 似乎譯者認為two other reasons 就是指lack of physical and mental energy, 而把sentiment 看作是two other reasons 的並列成分。實際上, lack of physical and mental energy 和sentiment 兩者合起來共同做two other reasons 的同位語。
[試譯] 當人們年老的時候, 還由於其它兩個原因而積存物品: 一是缺乏體力和精力(因為清理和扔掉無用之物體力和精力是不可缺少的), 二是出於感情上的考慮。
an appositive clause or an attributive clause (是同語子句, 還是形容詞子句)
問：(a) The news that we are having a holiday tomorrow is not true.
(b) The news that appeared in the papers this morning was well received.
上面兩句中的that 子句是否都是同位語子句? 我在教學中發現, 區分同位語子句與形容詞子句有時候是困難的。請講一講如何區分它們。
答：在一般情況下, 同位語子句與形容詞子句的區別是很明顯的, 如果掌握住它們的如下幾個特徵, 並不難區分。
A. 從意義上看:
同位語子句所表達的內容與作為中心詞的名詞片語所表達的內容可以劃上一個等號。例如:
- He heard the news that his team had won. (the news = his team had won)
- He came to the decision that he must act at once. (the decision = he must act at once)
或者說, 同位語子句可以變為中心詞的述語子句:
He came to the decision that he must act at once. (the decision was that he must act at once.)
而形容詞子句則是限制或修飾中心詞的, 中心詞所表達的內容不能與形容詞子句所表達的內容劃等號。例如句(b) 中的the news ≠ that appeared in the papers this morning。形容詞子句也不能變為中心詞的述語子句: × The news was that appeared in the papers this morning.
B. 從that 子句中that 的文法功能上看:
在同位語子句中, that 只是一個連接詞, 不充當子句的任何成分, 而在形容詞子句中, that 則必定充當句子的一個成分(主詞、受詞等等) 。請比較:
The fact that the prisoner was guilty was plain to everybody (that 不充當句子的任何成分)
這個犯人有罪這一事實是人人都看得清楚的。
It is a question that needs very careful consideration. (that 充當子句的主詞) 。
這是一個需要認真考慮的問題。
C. 從充當中心詞的名詞特點上看:
充當形容詞子句的中心詞的名詞是無限的, 而充當同位語子句的中心詞的名詞只是有限的一些表示概括意義的抽象名詞: assumption (假設), fact (事實), idea (想法), news (新聞), belief (信念), message (信息), proposal (建議), proposition (建議), evidence (證據), proof(證據), possibility (可能性), suggestion (建議) 等。
- I have a feeling that our team is going to win. 我有一種感覺, 我們的球隊將取勝。
- We’ll be there tomorrow on the assumption that it doesn’t rain. 假如明天不下雨的話, 我們將去那裡。
- The suggestion that the new rule be adopted came from the chairman. 必須採用新規則的建議是主席提出來的。
- Obviously there were little probability that they would succeed, but they didn’t mind. 很顯然, 他們成功的可能性極小, 但是他們不在意。
(參見attributive clause/ appositive clause)