非限制性定语从句前面有逗号但后面没有

His best book, which won several awards was about the life of his mother. 他写得最好的书是关于他母亲生平的,荣获过几项奖。

句中的 which won several awards 应该是定语从句吧,它前面有逗号,但后面怎么没有逗号呢?谢谢老师解答!

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最佳答案 2014-10-01 16:06

▲英语中的标点符号有时比汉语更严格,标点不同往往会导致句子结构的变化。比较:

He bought a lot of books, most of which are about agriculture.

He bought a lot of books. Most of them are about agriculture.

▲但有时英语中的标点符号又比较“随意”。比如当状语从句位于主句之前时,主从句之间通常会用逗号隔开,但有时也可以不用逗号(尤其是当句子结构比较简单时)。如下面两句均引自牛津词典:

When I was ill I completely lost my appetite. 我生病时完全没有食欲。

When he asked me to marry him I said yes. 他向我求婚,我答应了。

▲回到本问题:这位网友说得没错,在通常情况下,非限制性定从句会用逗号与主句隔开,但事实上,这只是一般“规则”,例外也是有的。如下面一句摘自《朗文英语语法》第1.34节:

The shed in our garden, which my father built many years ago has lasted for a long time. 我父亲很多年前在花园里搭的棚子已经有很长时间了。(句中的非限制性定语从句 which my father built many years ago 前面用了逗号,但后面没有用)

▲曾老师给出的观点对初学者很有参考价值,因为许多学生判断限制性与非限制性定语从句的唯一标准就是看有没有逗号,这是一种误解。虽然非限制性定语从句通常会有逗号与主句隔开,但这并不是绝对的,有时需要结合句子意思来理解和判断。

▲另外有位网友问过一个类似的问题,请参考:

http://ask.yygrammar.com/q-2517.html

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其它 2 个回答

黎反修   - 英语翻译 (已退休)
擅长:数词用法,存在句,英语考试

如果把一个非限制性定语从句插在主句中间,则从句的前面和后面都应该有逗号。例如:

Water, which is a clear liquid, has many uses. 水是一种清澈的液体,有许多用途。(《薄冰高级英语语法》p.477)

所以,在 His best book, which won several awards was about the life of his mother. 这个句子中,which won several awards 的前面和后面都应该有逗号。

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曾克辉  
擅长:英语考试

同意黎老师的解答!这里也作一点补充:

One of the top players in the 110-meter hurdles was Liu Xiang who (= and he) was born in 1983. 顶尖的110米栏运动员之一是刘翔,他出生于1983年。

句中的“who was born in 1983”是对先行词作附加说明,可省略且不影响主句的意思,虽没有用逗号与主句隔开,但仍视为非限制性定语从句。非限制性定语从句对先行词的修饰通常都是很松散的,切勿仅仅以有无逗号去判断。

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  • 刘智   提出于 2014-09-20 07:46

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