在讲解浙江大学出版的《新编大学英语》基础教程Unit 3的写作练习时，遇到这样一句话：

　　No matter whether he had been invited or not, he was there to celebrate Wu You's birthday. 无论他是否被邀请参加，他去了就是为了庆贺吴莜的生日。

　　对于whether... or not前是否能用no matter，部分学生感到疑惑。他们说，见过no matter who, no matter what, no matter how, no matter where, no matter when等，没见过no matter whether... or not。可见，对于no matter的用法他们只知其一，不知其二。

　　针对这一情况，笔者特将no matter的用法归纳、整理如下。

　　1. 词组no matter可独立成句，也可在句中担当成分。如：

　　1) No matter! 不要紧！

　　2) No matter, I'll go myself. 不碍事，我自个儿去。

　　3) No matter if they do not take this factor into consideration. 如果他们不考虑这个因素，那无关紧要。

　　4) It is (of ) no matter. (no matter在句中作表语或of的宾语。) 这无关紧要。

　　5) I had something to say, but it's no matter. 我本来有句话要说，但不是很重要。

　　2. 词组no matter在it作形式主语、真正主语位于句末的句子中作表语。如：

　　1) It is no matter that he didn't phone. 他没打电话没关系。

　　2) It made no matter to him that his brother lost all his money. 他哥哥把所有的钱都弄丢了，这对他来说是无关紧要的。

　　3) It's no matter whether you get there early or late. 不论你到那里早或晚都无关紧要。

　　3. no matter与疑问词who, what, where, when, how, if, whether等连用，意为“无论，不管”。如：

　　1) Don't open the door, no matter who comes. 不管谁来都别开门。

　　2) Don't trust him, no matter what he says. 无论他说什么，都别相信他。

　　3) No matter where you work, you can always find time to study. 无论你在哪里工作，你都能找到时间学习。

　　4) No matter when and how the invaders come, they will be wiped out clean. 无论侵略者什么时候来，怎样来，他们必将被消灭得一干二净。

　　5)—Are you going home? 你回家吗？

　　—Not yet. No matter how hard I work, there is always more to do. 还不行。不管我干得多么卖力，总是有做不完的工作。

　　6) Mary wanted to get to school on time, no matter if she went without breakfast. 玛丽就是不吃早餐也要准时赶到学校。

　　7) No matter whether it is light or dark at that hour, we've decided to leave at five o'clock in the morning. 不管到时候是否天亮，我们都已决定早晨5点离开。

　　no matter who (what, when, where, how, whether等)引导的从句通常在句中作状语，表示让步，但有时也可在句中作宾语。如：

　　8) The man who is lazy radiates laziness in no matter what situation he be observed. [no matter what situation he be observed 在句中作in的宾语。另外，该从句中的谓语用了虚拟语气现在时(即动词原形)］不管什么情况下观察他，那个懒汉都显得很懒。

　　4. 有时， no matter what, no matter who, no matter when等可用于句末或句中。如：

　　1) We have to get to the airport on time, no matter what. 我们无论如何也要准时赶到机场。

　　2) They're going to win no matter what. 他们无论如何都要赢。

　　3) Anyone, no matter who, may point out our shortcomings. 不管是什么人，都可以指出我们的缺点。

　　5. 有时，在no matter what引出的从句中要省略谓语动词。如：

　　1) No matter what the excuse, you must not be late. 不管有什么借口，你一定不要迟到。英语中的连词主要分为两类：并列连词和从属连词。并列连词用来连接平行的词、词组或从句。

　　常见的表示语义引申的并列连词有：

　　1. and

　　Justice is on your side. And justice will triumph over injustice. 正义在你们一边，而正义是会战胜非正义的。

　　2. neither... nor

　　She could neither speak the language nor write it. 这种语言她既不会说，也不会写。

　　3. both... and

　　A man should have both courage and perseverance.一个人既要有勇气又要有毅力。

　　4. not only... but also

　　We should not only be bold, but also be cautious. 我们不仅要大胆，而且要谨慎。

　　5. as well as

　　I have read one of his novels as well as a few of his plays. 我读过他的一本小说和几个剧本。

　　表示选择的并列连词有：

　　1. or

　　You may do it yourself, or ask someone else to do it. 你可以自己做或者让别人做。

　　2. either... or

　　I left it either on the table or in the drawer. 我不是把它放在桌子上了，就是放在抽屉里了。

　　除了表示选择外，or和either... or还可以表示否定的条件：

　　1) Now I must go or (if not) I shall be late for the party. 我现在得走了，否则晚会我就要迟到了。

　　2) You'll either behave yourself, or you'll never go out with me. 你要么老实点，要么就永远不能跟我一起出去。

　　表示转折或对比的并列连词有：

　　1. but

　　He tried hard but he was unsuccessful. 他做了很大努力但没有成功。

　　2. yet

　　The car was old, yet it was in excellent condition. 这辆车子很旧，但仍处于良好的状态。

　　3. however

　　She felt ill. She went to work, however, and tried to concentrate. 她病了。然而她照旧去上班，并且尽力集中精神工作。

　　4. nevertheless

　　I don't know anything against that man; nevertheless I don't trust him. 我对那个人没有什么不良的看法，但我不能信赖他。

　　表示因果关系的并列连词有：

　　1. for

　　You'd better put on your sweater, for it's rather cold outside. 你最好把毛衣穿上，外边相当冷。

　　2. so

　　My sister is expecting me，so I must be off now. 姐姐在等我，因此我得走了。

　　3. therefore

　　You are right, therefore we should support you. 你是对的，所以我们应当支持你。

　　4. hence

　　I fell off my bike yesterday—hence the bruises. 我昨天骑自行车摔倒了——所以青一块、紫一块的。

　　从属连词是用来引导从句的。

　　引导时间状语从句的从属连词有：

　　1. when

　　There was prolonged applause when he began to speak. 他开始讲话时响起了经久不息的掌声。

　　2. while

　　We should strike while the iron is hot. 我们要趁热打铁。

　　3. as

　　As (When) he entered, the hall burst into thunderous applause. 当他进来时，全场发出雷鸣般的掌声。

　　4. after

　　After I visit Shanghai I'll travel up the Yangtze. 访问上海之后，我将溯长江而上。

　　5. before

　　It would be months before he was fit for the work. 要过好几个月他才能适应工作。

　　6. since

　　It is just a week since we arrived here. 我们到这里才一个星期。

　　7. until (till)

　　I shall stay here until (till) I've completed my studies. 我要在这里待到学习结束为止。

　　8. as soon as

　　As soon as he got well, he went back to work. 他病一好就回去上班了。

　　9. once

　　Once he said that, I knew he was lying. 他一说这话我就知道他在撒谎。

　　引导原因状语从句的从属连词有：

　　1. because

　　He failed because he was too careless. 因为他太粗心，所以失败了。

　　2. as

　　As it was already rather dark, we decided to stop at the temple for the night. 因为已经相当晚了，我们决定在庙里待一夜。

　　3. since

　　Since you don't want to go, we won't force you to. 既然你不愿意去，我们也不勉强你。

　　4. now that

　　Now that you are all back, we'd better start the work right away. 你们既然都回来了，我们最好马上就开始工作。

　　5. considering (that)

　　They did the job quite well considering (that) they had no experience. 考虑到他们没有什么经验，这项工作他们已经干得不错了。

　　6. seeing that

　　Seeing that (Since) nobody was very enthusiastic about it, they decided to cancel the trip. 由于都没有很高的热情，他们决定取消这次旅行。

　　引导条件状语从句的从属连词有：

　　1. if

　　If you can do it, so can I. 你要是能办到，我也能办到。

　　2. even if

　　We wouldn't lose heart even if we should fail ten times. 我们就是失败十次也不灰心。

　　3. unless

　　I won't go unless you want me to. 除非你要我去，否则我是不会去的。

　　4. in case

　　We'd better take our raincoats in case it should rain (rains). 我们最好把雨衣带着以防下雨。

　　5. provided /providing (that)

　　I'll come provided (providing) (that) you let me know in good time. 你要是及时通知我是会来的。

　　6. suppose/supposing (that)

　　Suppose (Supposing) (that) he won't agree, what shall we do? 假如他不同意，我们怎么办？

　　7. as (so) long as

　　You may use the room as long as you keep it clean. 只要保持清洁你可以用这个房间。

　　8. on condition (that)

　　I'll lend you the book on condition (that) you return it on Monday. 只要你能在星期一还我，这本书我就借给你。

　　引导让步状语从句的从属连词有：

　　1. although / though

　　Everybody worked with great enthusiasm although/though the weather was extremely cold. 虽然天气很冷，大家工作得非常起劲。

　　2. even if (though)

　　Even if I have to walk all the way I'll get there. 即使我得一路走着去，我也要去那里。

　　引导比较状语从句的从属连词有：

　　1. than

　　We have produced 20% more cotton this year than we did last year. 我们今年棉花产量比去年高百分之二十。

　　2. as (so)...as

　　He doesn't play half as well as his sister. 他演奏的水平不及他姐姐的一半。

　　引导目的状语从句的从属连词有：

　　1. lest

　　She explained again and again lest people should misunderstand her. 她一再解释唯恐人们误解。

　　2. so that

　　Speak clearly so that we may understand you. 讲话要清楚，以便我们能听明白。

　　3. in order that

　　He assigned us some books to read at home in order that (so that) we might have a deeper understanding of the subject. 他指定几本书给我们回家看，以便我们对这一主题有一个较深的了解。

　　引导结果状语从句的从属连词有：

　　1. so...that

　　She was so moved that tears came to her eyes. 她感动得热泪盈眶。

　　2. such...that

　　It was such a boring speech that I fell asleep. 演讲枯燥乏味，听得我都睡着了。

　　引导名词性从句的连词有三个：(1)that (本身无意义)，(2)whether (or not)，(3)if。例如：

　　That they will refuse the offer is unlikely. 他们不太可能会拒绝这个建议。

　　I don't know whether (=if) these figures are accurate. 我不知道这些数字是否精确。

　　需要注意的是：whether (or not) 可引导大部分名词性从句；if仅可引导宾语从句，而且不可跟or not。例如：

　　Whether (≠if) they will come or not won't make much difference. 他们来不来关系不大。

　　I wonder if (=whether) she has received our telegram. 我不知道她是否收到了我们的电报。

　　(文/刘勇；英语辅导报 大学二年级版 04～05学年第21、22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。)