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新浪首页 > 新浪教育 > 英语辅导报社专栏 > 教学参考:“疑问”意义的丧失

教学参考:“疑问”意义的丧失
http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/03/06 20:03  英语辅导报

  先看下面一些例句:

  1.We must find out what they all did.

  2.When they will come hasn't been made public.

  3.The question is how they were defeated.

  4.She had her doubts whether he would come.

  通常是,如果主句的谓语表示的是一个"未确定"的概念,其从句(包括宾语、主语、表语,甚至同位语从句)中总是有主句谓语"未确定"的成份,这个"未知量"一般由某一疑问代词或副词来指示,如上述例1:要弄清"什么",例2:未公开"何时",例3:问题是"如何",例4:怀疑"是否",但是如果主句中的谓语是一个"确定"的概念,其从句中可否有疑问词存在呢?答案是肯定的,此时,疑问词不再表示"疑问"或"未知量"不再未知,而是一个隐含的"确定"的量,疑问的意义已经丧失。例如:

  I'm sure what we shall do next.我确定下一步我们要干的事。

  The officers have decided how they will take the city by surprise.军官们已决定了突袭这座城市的办法。

  I know who robbed the stranger of his money.我知道谁抢夺了这位陌生人的钱。

  The police discovered why the woman was murdered by the rascal.警方发现了此女人被流氓所杀的原因。

  When the planes are to take off has been announced.飞机起飞的时间已经被宣布了。

  Whether they will send a delegation to the conference is known to us.他们是否派代表参加此次会议我们都知道。

  That was what we should do.那是我们应做的事。

  This is where we differ.这是我们的分歧所在。

  The trouble who acts as Hamlet has been resolved.饰演哈姆莱特的人选这一麻烦事已被解决。

  上述诸例中的疑问词所表示的意义正是主句谓语所"确定"了的,只是具体的那个人、事、时间、地点等未在本句中说出或写出而已,其中的what释义为the thing,who为the person,how为the way, when为the time, why为the reason, where为the place, whether为the alternative。

  如果主句中出现question,doubt,prob-lem,difficult,trouble等本身含有"疑问""难解"意义的词,其主句概念的"确定"与否,要通过这些词与主句谓语(表语)相加的意义来认定。

  The question why they were defeated was answered.他们被击败的原因这一问题被解答。

  Why they were defeated was not the question.他们被击败的原因不是要讨论的问题。

  The question was not why they were defeated.要讨论的问题不是他们被击败的原因。

  最后两句是暗示可能是其它问题,如:时间、地点、方式等,但"why"肯定已不是或没必要是"疑点"。

  反过来如果将其主句谓语转换为"未确定",则从句中疑问词的"疑问"意义又可恢复。

  I didn't understand why these people would be sent abroad.

  I have my doubts whether their team will win.

  Who will carry out the experiment is beyond my knowledge.

  The problem is where the teaching build-ing is built.

  相对于疑问代词或副词,that引导的从句本身不含任何"未知量",它是对一种情形或事实的陈述,主句谓语面对的是整个从句,而非某个"疑问点",因而主句谓语的意义可以是"确定"的,也可以是"未确定"的,而从句本身的意义不受影响。如:

  Every child knows that two and two make four.

  I'm not sure that this conference is as good as last year's.

  Can you doubt that he will make a speech?

  That we need more equipment is quite obvious.

  That she is still alive hasn't been proved.

  My idea is that we should stick to our original plan.

  What I don't understand is that he always does everything in such a way.

  I had no idea that William Teller did kill the tyrant.

  再对比下述一组形式相差不大而内在意义相去甚远的句子更能说明问题。

  A:I doubt that he will come.

  B:I doubt if he will come.

  a,b两句的主句谓语动词都是doubt,具有"未确定"性,其中b句从句中有"未知量"if,而a句从句是无"疑点"的that从句,现试译如下。

  A:我看他未必来。(认为"他来"一事不可能)

  B:我拿不准他会不会来。(不能肯定"是否他来")

  (文/甘肃甘谷丁喜善;英语辅导报高中教师版03-04学年第17期;版权归英语辅导报社所有,独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育,未经许可,不得以任何形式进行转载。)




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