楚恬思
摘要:英語中形容詞大都既可作表語又可作定語?補語,但少數(shù)形容詞只能作定語或表語,它們分別叫做定語形容詞和表語形容詞,但二者的用法不同。
關(guān)鍵詞:形容詞;定語;表語
英語中大部分形容詞既可作表語又可作定語?補語,分詞便是其中一例,如:
--The grand setting are clearly the key components of this amazing production[2].(現(xiàn)在分詞作定語)
-- The teacher gave us a satisfied smile.(過去分詞作做定語)
--....while others (=other jobs)can appear very exciting but are very
difficult and boring. (現(xiàn)在分詞作表語)[2].
有些復(fù) 合形容詞也常作定語和表語,如:kind-hearted (好心腸的),life-long (畢業(yè)的,終生的),world-famous (世界著名的)等。但少數(shù)形容詞只能作定語,稱為定語形容詞;有些形容詞只能作表語,稱為表語形容詞。它們的用法是高中英語語法考點之一。
一、定語形容詞
定語形容詞是指只修飾名詞或代詞作定語的形容詞,如:elder(年歲較大的),eldest(最年長的),daily(每日的),everyday(每日的),last(剛過去的),wooden(木制的),golden(黃金般的),former(以前的),inner(內(nèi)部的),live (活的)等。定語形容詞常作前置定語,如:
--Her eldest daughter works in a bank.
--Last night I went to see Shaoxing opera[1] .
常見的定語形容詞有:
(1)某些表示強(qiáng)調(diào)作用和重要程度的形容詞,如:
--She is the only girl here that knows how to drive.
(2)以“-ly”結(jié)尾的表示時間頻度的形容詞,如daily, weekly, monthly, yearly等。
-- These people,who perform such ordinary but vital tasks, allow others to go about their daily lives[2].
(3)一些相當(dāng)于形容詞的過去分詞:a forced smile,the risen sun,armed forces,required courses,fallen leaves等。
(4)一些復(fù)合形容詞,如:so-called(所謂的), 100-dollar bill (100美元的鈔票),three-hour walk (三小時路程),a 500-meter-long street (一條500米長的街道),one-eyed (獨眼的),two-faced (兩面的), a three-wheeled vehicle (三個輪子的車),full-time (全日制的)等1。
二、表語形容詞
表語形容詞用來說明主語性質(zhì)、身份、特征和狀態(tài),不能作定語,只能用于連系動詞后作表語或補語,主要包括:
1.某些以a-開頭的形容詞:afraid(害怕的), alive(活著的),alike(相似的),alone(單獨的),ashamed(羞愧的),asleep(睡著的),awake(醒著的),available(可獲得的、可購得的)等。
--There were inventions and developments in China which were not available in Europe at that time.
有些表語形容詞也可以作后置定語或作賓補:
The lady is one of the greatest novelist alive. (alive作后置定語)
The man asleep in bed is my elder brother .(asleep作后置定語)
I found her afraid of dogs. (afraid作賓補)
使用這類形容詞時要避免混淆?如:They are conducting an experiment on a live animal.句中的live是定語形容詞,作定語時只能前置,且不能作表語和賓補。
--誤:The animal is still live .
--正:The animal is still alive .
--誤:He found the animal still live.
--正:He found the animal still alive.
2. 某些表示健康的形容詞,如:fine(健康的),ill(有病的),well(身體健康的)等。ill,fine作定語與表語時意義不同: ill作定語是“壞的”,作表語是“生病的”?在美國英語中,表示健康狀況的ill和well 有時也作定語,但意義不同,如:fine weather 好天氣,ill news 壞消息。
3. 某些描述感覺或心情的形容詞,如:
glad(高興的),pleased (高興的),sorry (難過的), angry (憤怒的), unwilling(不情愿的)等。
--Turandot becomes very angry at this turn of events, as she is unwilling to get married[1].
4. 其他表語形容詞:sure (確信的、一定的),fond (喜歡的,溫柔的),
ready(準(zhǔn)備好的、愿意的),unable(不能…的 )等。
參考文獻(xiàn):
[1]Deborah Aldred(英),Gary Walder(英),王守仁,何鋒等.牛津高中英語(模塊十一. 高三下學(xué)期),鳳凰出版社傳媒集團(tuán),譯林出版社,
[2]Deborah Aldred(英),Kelly Fried(美),Elizabeth Steward(南非),王守仁,何鋒等.牛津高中英語 (模塊八. 高二下學(xué)期),鳳凰出版社傳媒集團(tuán),譯林出版社,2015年6月
注釋:
1.注意:①形容詞修飾不定代詞時,只能作后置定語: --There is something wrong with the machine.
②含有-able ,-ible 等后綴的形容詞作定語時也常后置,如:--The travellers have tried all the ways possible.
--I have a computer available.