四、非谓语动词

1、我喜欢做饭。“ I like cooking. ”

本句中,“like”(喜欢)是谓语。“cooking”(做饭)是宾语,用动名词形式。又如:“ He likes cooking. ”在英语中。谓语动词经常随着主语的人称、数而变化,但动名词作宾语时是不变的。

2、对我来说,学英语不容易。“ It\' s not easy for me to learn English.”

3、从太空看,地球是个蓝色的球体。 “Seen from the space, the earth is a blue sphere.”

请比较这些句子的中英文。在这几个汉语句子中,做饭、学英语、从太空看分别作句子的宾语、主语和状语,但是其动词形式“做”、“学”、“看”没有变化。而在这几句英语中,“做饭”变成了cooking, “学”变成了to learn,“看”变成了seen.

动词形式发生了变化,而且必须发生变化,因为这些句子有另外的谓语动词。因此这些动词叫做“非谓语动词”,又叫“非限定性动词”,他们没有人称和数的变化。这是英汉动词的巨大差别,也是中国人学英语的一个难点,同时也是在使用英语时容易犯错误的地方。需要特别注意的是:英语的单句一般只有而且必须有一个主谓结构,即一个谓语,如果单句中出现了另外的动词,这些动词就要改变形式。

以上英语句子中cooking, to learn, seen 等具有动词特征,但是在句子中不能作谓语的动词形式,就叫动词的非谓语形式,也叫非谓语动词。

我们再比较 “I like cooking.” 与 “He likes cooking.”这两句话主语不同,谓语动词like形式变了,但意义没有变化。而cooking 没有任何变化。再看 “It is not easy for me to learn English.” 和 “It is not easy for him to learn English.” “对我”for me, “对他”for him之后的 “to learn”没有任何变化。可以看出,非谓语动词是不随人称和数的变化而变化的,它们不受人称和数的限定,所以又叫“非限定动词”。

动词在句子中除了充当谓语外,还可以起名词、形容词或副词的作用,在句子中充当主语、宾语、表语、补语、定语和状语。这就是动词的非谓语形式。当句子中需要用某种动作作主语、宾语或作某种修饰、说明的成分时,就要使用这种形式。

动词的非谓语形式有三种:

(1)动词不定式:to study (to + 动词原形)

(2)分词:studying (现在分词)、studied (过去分词)

(3)动名词:studying (形式与现在分词相同)

动词非谓语形式仍具有动词的一般特征,可以带有宾语、状语等构成短语。

动词非谓语形式有以下几种形式变化(以write为例):

 

形态 

主动 

被动 

动词不定式 

一般 

To write 

To be written 

 

进行 

To be writing 

 
 

完成 

To have written 

To have been written 

 

完成进行 

To have been writing 

 

现在分词和动名词 

一般 

Writing 

Being written 

 

完成 

Having written 

Having been written 

 

一般 

 

written 

A、 动词不定式

其形式是“to+动词原形”。 to是不定式符号,无词义。其否定式是在to前面加上not, never等否定词。 不定式可以有自己的逻辑主语,由for引出,加在不定式短语前面。

如果不定式的逻辑主语是表示不定式动作的承受者,则不定式用被动语态。所谓逻辑主语,就是指非谓语动词等动作的执行者。由于非谓语动词等带有动词的特征,但又不是谓语动词,所以这个动作的执行者就不能称为主语,而在逻辑上又是这个动作的执行者,所以就称为逻辑主语。

如果不定式逻辑上的主语是这个不定式所表示的动作的承受者,这个不定式一般要用被动语态。疑问词(who, whom,whose, what, which, when, where, why, how还包括whether)等后面加不定式构成不定式短语,可做主语,表语,宾语等。

(一)作主语 在不定式短语作主语的句子中,往往用 it 作形式主语,而不把不定式短语放在句子的后面。如:

To die like that is a terrible thing.=It is a terrible thing to die like that.

象那样死去是一件可怕的事。( it 作形式主语,把真正的主语to die like that放在后面)

To know oneself is difficult.=It’s difficult to know oneself.

有自知之明不容易。

To tell a lie is not always easy.= It’s not always easy to tell a lie.

撒谎并非总是容易。

Never to offend anyone is my principle. 永远不得罪任何人就是我的原则。

It’s against nature to remain single. 保持单身是违反自然的。

To see is to believe.   眼见为实。

For a dog to die like that is a terrible thing. = It is a terrible thing for a dog to die like that.

一条狗象那样死去是一件可怕的事。(for a dog是不定式的主语)

For one to know everything is impossible.= It’s impossible for one to know everything.

一个人什么都知道是不可能的。

For his brother John to go to sea seems natural.= It seems natural for his brother John to go to sea. 他

兄弟John去当水手是很自然的事。

It’ll be a great shame for you to forget her. 你要是把她忘了,那可太不应该了。

It’s not proper for us not to accept the invitation. 我们不接受邀请不合适。(否定)

It has not yet been decided when and where to discuss her resignation. 何时何地讨论她的辞职还没定。

但是,下列形容词做表语时,不定式的逻辑主语由 of 引出:

careless粗心的,clever聪明的,cruel残忍的,foolish愚蠢的,good好的,kind好心的 ,naughty淘气的,nice好的,polite礼貌的,right正确的,rude无礼的 ,silly愚蠢的,stupid傻的,unwise不明智的,wise明智的,wrong错误的,等等。

为什么这些词要用 of 引出不定式呢?

因为这些形容词都是描写人的性格和特点的形容词。“It is + 形容词 +of sb. + to do sth.”这样的句型更强调某人如何如何,可以改写为:“Sb. + be + 形容词 + to do sth.” 而“for sb to do sth.”这一结构更强调做某事如何如何。例如:

1、 It is difficult for me to learn English. 更强调学英语很难,不能写成I am difficult to learn English. (这句话含有逻辑错误。)

2、 It is unwise of you to go to the United States at this time. =You are unwise to go to the United States at this time. 强调你不明智。

It’s very kind of you to come to see us off. =You’re kind to come to see us off. 你来为我们送行太好了。

It’s unwise of him to drink and smoke so much.=He is unwise to drink and smoke so much. 他喝这么多酒、抽这么多烟是不明智的。

It’s extremely cruel of John to kill animals. John杀害动物真是残忍之极。

It’s rude/polite of Jack to say this to her.  Jack对她说这个,很无礼/礼貌。

(二)作宾语及宾语补语。

1、有些及物动词常用动词不定式作宾语。常见的这类动词有:afford负担得起,agree同意,arrang安排,ask要求,attempt试图,beg乞求,begin开始,choose选择,claim声称,consent同意,dare敢,decide决定,decline谢绝,desire欲想,demand要求,determine决心,expect期待,fail失败,forget忘记,hate讨厌,help帮助,hope希望,intend打算,learn学习,like喜欢,long渴望,manage设法,mean打算,need需要,offer主动提出,plan计划,prefer更喜欢,prepare准备,pretend假装,promise答应,refuse拒绝,remember记得,seek寻求,seem好像,tend倾向,threaten威胁,undertake承担,volunteer志愿,want想要,wish希望等。

I agreed to support him. 我答应支持他。

He said he wanted to be a professor. 他说他想当教授。

My daughter preferred to have eggs and milk for breakfast when she was in her twenties. 我女儿二十几岁时早饭喜欢吃鸡蛋和牛奶。

2、不定式可以和how, which, what, who, whom, whose, when, where还有whether等词连用作宾语常跟这种结构作宾语的动词有:ask询问,advise建议,consider考虑,decide决定,discover发现,discuss讨论,explain解释,find out查明,forget忘记,inquire打听,know知道,learn学会,remember记得,show演示,tell告诉,teach教,think想,understand懂得,wonder想知道,等等。例如:

I don’t know where to get so much money. 我不知道去哪里搞这么多钱。

They haven’t decided whether to leave or stay. 他们还没决定是走还是留。

此外,这种不定式结构还可作主语,表语,和介词宾语等。

How to live a happy life is a difficult question to answer. 怎样过幸福生活是个很难回答的问题

The question is whom to choose for the position. 问题是这个位置选谁。

That was a discussion about how to increase their strength. 那是一次关于怎样增强他们力量的讨论。

He said nothing about what to do with her. 关于拿她怎么办,他啥也没说。

She asked my suggestion just now about where to go for her holidays. 关于去哪里度假,她刚才征求了我的意见。

3、有些动词需要不定式作宾语补足语。这种动词常见的有:ask请求,advise劝告,allow允许,beg乞求,believe相信,call on号召,cause促使,compel强迫,command指挥,direct指导,enable使…能够,encourage鼓励,expect期望,feel觉得,force迫使,get使得,hate不喜欢,have使,hear听见,help帮助,inspire鼓舞,intend 打算,invite邀请,instruct指示,know知道,lead引导,let让,like喜欢,listen to 听,look at看,make 使得, notice注意到, observe观察,order命令,permit允许,persuade说服,prefer更喜欢,press施加压力,remind提醒,request请求,teach教,tell告诉,urge敦促,want 想要,warn警告,wish希望,等等。

I asked my mother to buy a new bike for me. 我请求妈妈给我买辆新自行车。

Tony knew his girl friend to be a shy college student. 托尼知道他的女朋友是一个害羞的大学生。

They helped you to get on the bus, didn’t they? 他们帮你上了汽车, 是吗?

4、有些动词要求省掉to的不定式作宾语补语。这样的动词有:feel觉得,have使,hear听见,help帮助,let让,listen to 听,look at看,make使,notice 注意,see看见,observe 观察,watch观看等,一类是感官动词,一类是使役动词。

A policeman saw the accident happen. 一位警察看见事故发生。

We listened to her talk about her experience abroad. 我们听她讲国外的经历。

We’d be glad to have you work with us. 我们会很高兴有你和我们一起工作。

上述help后面的不定式省掉to与保留to都可以。在被动语态中,上述动词后面的不定式要把省去的to还原。

I heard the dog come in. 我听见那条狗进来。

=The dog was heard to come in. 有人听见那条狗进来。

I saw her go out by bike. 我看见她骑着自行车出去了。

=She was seen to go out by bike. 有人看见她骑着自行车出去了。

Can I help (to) lift this heavy box?   我可以帮着搬起这个沉重的箱子吗?

You may as well help me (to)get things straight. 你不妨帮我把东西整理好。

She helped the old woman (to) cross the street. 他帮助那位老妇人过街

在had better(最好),would rather(宁愿),would sooner(宁愿),would (just) as soon(宁愿),cannot but(不能不,不由得不),cannot help but(不能不,不由得不)等成语后面也跟不带to的不定式:

He would rather listen to others than talk himself. 他宁愿听别人也不愿自己说。

He would sooner play than work. 他宁愿玩也不愿干活。

You had better go away right now. 你最好立即就走。

I would rather take this method. 我倒愿意采取这个办法。

I’d rather walk than take a bus. 我宁可走也不愿坐公共汽车。

She’d rather die than lose the children. 她宁可死也不愿失去孩子们。

I’d rather not have eggs and bacon for breakfast.

She’d sooner stay at home.

I would as soon do it by myself.

I would just as soon stay as go. 我宁愿住下也不愿去。

We couldn’t but weep at the sad news.

You can’t but respect them.

Rather than和sooner than同义,都是“宁可”,“与其…(不如)”,“不是…(而是)”的意思。当它们放在句首时,其后跟不带to的不定式;在其它位置时其后的不定式可带也可不带to。

Rather than risk breaking up his marriage, he told his wife everything. 他把一切都告诉了妻子,而不是冒离婚的危险。

Rather than cause trouble, he left. 他宁可走开而不愿引起麻烦。

Sooner than marry that man, she would earn her living as a waitress. 她宁可当女招待养活自己,也不嫁给那个男人。

He decided to write rather than telephone. 他决定写信,不打电话。

The manager believes it is important to invest in new machinery rather than to increase wages. 经理相信重要的是投资买新机器,而不是增加工资。

Rather than John do it, I’d prefer to do the job myself. 与其让John干这件事情,我宁可自己动手。

4、有些动词要求省掉to的不定式作宾语补语。

在Why 起首的疑问句中跟不带to的不定式:

Why not come with us? 为什么不跟我们一起来呢? =Why don\' t you come with us?

Why not go for a game of tennis? 为什么不去打网球呢?

Why not relax yourself? 为什么不放松你自己呢?

Why not try to train your character? 为什么不培养你的性格呢?

Why not give the $40 to Tom? 干吗不把那40美金给汤姆呢?

For God’s sake, why bring that up again? 看在上帝的份上,干吗又提这事呢?

Why split hairs over the color of the dress? 干吗对连衣裙的颜色吹毛求疵呢?

Why run this risk?  干吗冒这个险?

Why risk breaking the law? 干吗冒犯法的险呢?

5、不定式作宾语而后面还有宾语补语时,常用it来代替不定式短语,而把真正作宾语的不定式短语放在补足语后面。常见的动词有:consider认为,feel觉得,find发现,make使,think认为,等等。例如:

I think it best to go. 我想最好走。

Do you consider it right to send our doctors over? 你觉得派我们的医生去对吗?

I found it strange for her not to come today. 我发现她今天没来是很奇怪的。

注意:hope希望,demand要求,suggest建议,这三个词不能跟不定式作宾补。

错误的句子:

I hope you to be happy. 我希望你快乐。

I suggest you to take him seriously.  我建议你要把他当回事。

We demanded them to give us a definite answer. 我们要求他们给个确切的答复。

正确的句子:

I hope that you’ll be happy. 我希望你快乐。I suggest that you take him seriously. 我建议你要把他当回事。

I advise you not to take him seriously.  我建议你不要把他当回事。

We demanded that they give us a definite answer. 我们要求他们给个确切的答复。