10 独立主格结构中冠词与物主代词的省略与保留

他手里拿着小刀冲进房间。

Knife in hand, he rushed into the room.

With a knife in hand, he rushed into the room.

上面第一句中的 knife in hand 是独立主格结构吧,第二句是带with的复合结构吧。

我大概知道:第一句的 knife 前要省略冠词a,hand 前要省略物主代词 his。

我的疑问是:第二句用了 with,加上了冠词a,难道不应该加上物主代词 his 吗?

敬赠老师鲜花10朵,非常感谢!

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最佳答案 2015-12-19 17:25

刘老师的分析有道理,这里最好加上物主代词 his——在独立主格结构中省略的冠词和物主代词,在转换成 with 复合结构时,原则上应补上。如:

She sat, pen in hand (= with a pen in her hand) , searching for the right words.  她手拿钢笔坐在那里,在脑海中搜寻合适的词。

但我觉得这个句子有个特殊性,那就是这里的 in hand 本身是一个惯用搭配,其意为“在手头”“在手里”“在进行中”“在控制中”等。如:

I still have somemoney in hand. 我手中还有些钱。

We have the situation well in hand. 我们完全控制住了局面。

Lisa seemed to have things in hand by the time he returned. 他回来的时候莉萨好像把事情处理好了。

又如下面的句子,a bird in hand, with a dagger in hand, with compass and map in hand, with contract and pen in hand等,hand 前均没有用物主代词:

(1) A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. 双鸟在林,不如一鸟在手。(谚语)

(2) With a dagger in hand, he shows great courage. 他短剑在手,勇气百倍。(王文昌主编《英语搭配大词典》)

(3) We started our hike with compass and map in hand. 我们带上地图和指南针就外出徒步旅行了。(《韦氏高阶英语词典》)

(4) The car salesman closed in for the kill with contract and pen in hand. 汽车销售员手里拿着合同和笔要准备最后促成交易。(《美国英语习语和短语动词词典》)

注意后面两句,不仅 hand 前面没有用物主代词,而且 compass and map 和contract and pen 前面也没有用冠词(与成对名词并列使用有关)。


【继续探讨】

这是一个有趣的问题,很愿意与刘老师继续探讨!

关于第(1)句,肯定不是独立主格,之所以举这个例子,是为了说明 in hand 的用法。其实,我后面所举的几个例子严格说来都不是独立主格结构(后面三句通常叫with复合结构),之所以列举这些例子,主要是为了说明 in hand 为一个固定搭配,它是不带物主代词的,尤其是后面三例,with a dagger in hand, with compass and map in hand, with contract and pen in hand——其中的 in hand 均没有物主代词,它们都是表示特定情况下的具体概念,而且都出自权威词典。

再来说说以下三句:

(2) With a dagger in hand, he shows great courage. 他短剑在手,勇气百倍。(王文昌主编《英语搭配大词典》)

(3) We started our hike with compass and map in hand. 我们带上地图和指南针就外出徒步旅行了。(《韦氏高阶英语词典》)

(4) The car salesman closed in for the kill with contract and pen in hand. 汽车销售员手里拿着合同和笔要准备最后促成交易。(《美国英语习语和短语动词词典》)

对于第(2)句,刘老师认为这个句子的准确性值得怀疑。因为不是来自权威辞书,作者同样可能遗漏物主代词。

对于第(3)、(4)句,我个人觉得 hand 前面没有用物主代词且 compass and map 和contract and pen 前面也没有用冠词,可能与成对名词并列使用有关。刘老师希望能从权威词典上,找一个with 后面的名词不是成对的”,我翻了一下手头的词典,还真找到一个这样的例子:

I arrived at my exam room with pencil in hand. 我备好铅笔来到考场。

这个句子摘自《美国传统英汉双解学习词典》(外语教学与研究出版社,2006年12月第1版)的第524页(hand词条)

这个句子符合刘老师需要证明的两个信息:一是 with 后面的名词不是“成对”的,二是这个 in hand 是表示特定场合的具体用法。

小结一下。鉴于 in hand 可以用作固定短语这一特殊性以以及下面两句来自词典的例句:

With a dagger in hand, he shows great courage. 他短剑在手,勇气百倍。(《英语搭配大词典》)

I arrived at my exam room with pencil in hand. 我备好铅笔来到考场。(《美国传统英汉双解学习词典》)

我们可以推断出,这位网友提出的句子可以有以下四种表达(均成立):

Knife in hand, he rushed into the room.

With knife in hand, he rushed into the room.

With a knife in hand, he rushed into the room.

With a knife in his hand, he rushed into the room.

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其它 1 个回答

刘永科   - 教育出版集团英语总顾问 & 英语系列图书主编
擅长:语法理论,语言学,文化背景

With a knife in his hand, he rushed into the room.

你的判断是对的!这句话中的with 复合结构,漏掉了物主代词his,应添上。

这样的例子举不胜举:

Our teacher came in, with a book in his hand.   老师进来了,手里拿着一本书。
ack went out with a book in his hand.  杰克手里拿着一本书出去了。
He came into the classroom with a book in his hand.  他手里拿着一本书走进教室。
The man left the meeting with a book in his hand.  这个男人子手里拿着书离开了会议。
With a book in his hand, the teacher came into the class.  老师走了进来,手里拿本书。
Our teacher came into the class room with a book in his hand.  我们老师走进教室,手里拿着书。
The teacher is standing at the door with a book in his hand.  老师手里拿着一本书站在门口。
Our teacher came in, with a book in his arms.  我们老师怀里抱着一本书走进来。
He was dozing with a book open in his hands. 他在打盹,手上的书打开着。
He came into the room with a sword in his hand.  他手里拿着剑走进了房间。
She came in ,with a book in her hand.  她进来了,手里拿着一本书。
My father sometimes goes out for a stroll with a stick in his hand.  父亲有时候带着手杖出去散步。
Mr Stevenson walked into the house with a basket in his hand.  史蒂文森先生手拿着一个篮子走进了那幢房子。


***************************************************************************************************

看了蒋老师的解答,很受启发。关于这个问题,我谈一下个人的看法:

in one’s hand 和in hand,两个短语都可以说。但是,前者表示具体的概念,意为“在某人手里;在手里拿着”。例如:He held a stick in his hand. She walked by with a basket in her hand.

而后者表达抽象的比喻意义,完全没有“在手里拿着”的含义:

1.(工作或问题)办理中的,处理中的:The job or problem in hand is the job or problem that you are dealing with at the moment. 例如:

The business in hand was approaching some kind of climax.

手头的生意似乎快到紧要关头了。

2.(局势)在控制下,在掌握中:If a situation is in hand, it is under control. 例如:

The Olympic organisers say that matters are well in hand.

奥运会的组织方说各项事务都在掌控之中。

鉴于此,网友的例句属于前者用法,应视为漏掉了物主代词his。


我也谈谈蒋老师这几个例句:

(1) A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. 双鸟在林,不如一鸟在手。(谚语)

——A bird in hand,这是句子的主语。它既不是独立主格,也不是with 复合机构。更重要的是,in hand 仍然是比喻意义,并非指“手里拿着”,这个谚语的真实意义是比喻,不是字面意思,bird 也是比喻事物,不是真正的“鸟”。

(2) With a dagger in hand, he shows great courage. 他短剑在手,勇气百倍。(王文昌主编《英语搭配大词典》)

——这个句子的准确性值得怀疑。因为不是来自权威辞书,作者同样可能遗漏物主代词。

(3) We started our hike with compass and map in hand. 我们带上地图和指南针就外出徒步旅行了。(《韦氏高阶英语词典》)

(4) The car salesman closed in for the kill with contract and pen in hand. 汽车销售员手里拿着合同和笔要准备最后促成交易。(《美国英语习语和短语动词词典》)

——正如蒋老师所言:注意后面两句,不仅hand 前面没有用物主代词,而且 compass and map 和contract and pen 前面也没有用冠词(与成对名词并列使用有关)。能否从权威词典上,找一个with 后面的名词不是成对的?

 

以下是我之前写的一篇文章,供网友参考,也许能帮助网友对此问题有更深的理解:

 

lose heart 看可数名词的抽象用法

我们经常见到这个短语lose heart,例如:The scientist from whom the government heard the bad news never lost heart when he was in trouble. 这个词组为何不说lose a heart, lose the heart或lose his heart呢?

heart本来是可数名词,意为“心;心脏”:Your heart is the organ in your chest that pumps the blood around your body. 在lose heart中,为何不加任何冠词或者物主代词呢?原来,这就是可数名词heart的抽象用法。下面,请仔细体味它的几个抽象用法,均来自权威词典:

If you lose heart, you become sad and depressed and are no longer interested in something. (lose heart:失去信心;灰心,泄气) 

If you take heart from something, you are encouraged and made to feel optimistic by it. (take heart from:从…得到鼓舞;因…振作精神)

If something gives you heart, it makes you feel more confident or happy about something.  (give sb. heart:鼓励某人;让某人振作起来)

If you know something such as a poem by heart, you have learned it so well that you can remember it without having to read it.(by heart:背诵出;靠记忆)

通过以上对heart的诠释,我们发现,在这些短语中heart一词已经完全失去了它原有的本义,而被赋予了比喻和抽象的意义(信心;记忆)。又如:Although he failed in this entrance examination, he didn’t lose heart. 这次入学考试他虽名落孙山,但他并不气馁。

假如heart之前使用了冠词或者物主代词,那么就是它的具体意义,这时句子还能讲得通吗?

此外,我们还见过lose face这个词组。同理,这里的face也不是指具体的“脸”,而是比喻抽象的“面子,尊严”。例如:

If Tom doesn’t keep his promise, he’ll lose face. 如果汤姆不信守诺言,他就会丢面子。

His careless work made him lose face with his teacher. 他工作疏忽使他在老师面前丢脸。

人们很少论述 “可数名词的比喻用法和抽象用法”,而比较注重“物质名词和抽象名词转化为可数名词”的用法。例如:

▲抽象名词的具体化:

help 帮助→a help 帮手

pleasure快乐→a pleasure快乐的事

success成功→a success成功者或成功的事

failure失败→a failure失败者或失利的事

beauty美丽→a beauty美人或美丽的事物

surprise惊奇→a surprise令人惊奇的事

honor荣幸→an honor令人感到荣耀的人或事

comfort舒适→a comfort令人感到安慰的人或事

shame羞耻→a shame令人感到可惜(耻)的人或事     

regret遗憾→a regret令人感到遗憾的事

joy高兴→a joy令人高兴的人或事    

danger危险→a danger令人感到危险的人或事

pity遗憾→a pity令人遗憾的人或事

youth青春→a youth青年人

disappointment 失望→a disappointment令人失望的事

▲物质名词的具体化、种类化或数量化:

wind风→a mild wind一阵微风  

rain雨→a heavy rain一场大雨

snow雪→a light snow一场小雪 

food食物→ a junk food一种垃圾食品      

fruit水果→a fruit一种水果

tea茶→a tea一杯茶→a special tea一种特制的茶

beer啤酒→a beer一杯啤酒 

coffee咖啡→a coffee一杯咖啡

glass玻璃→a glass一个玻璃杯

stone石头→a stone一块石头

paper纸→a paper一份论文、报纸、试卷

cold寒冷→a bad cold重感冒

以上为“物质名词和抽象名词转化为可数名词”的一些情况。现在,我们回到本文即将论述的问题。除了lose heart, lose face之外,还有那些情况属于可数名词的抽象用法?

在教学过程中,我们经常还碰到go to school / go to the school, in church / in the church, sit at table / sit at the table, in office / in the office等诸如此类的词组(或句子),当然大家都知道它们的区别。语法书在讲冠词的时候,也都举一些类似的例子以示区别。但往往只说现象,不说理由(或只说是习惯用法)。

大家知道,可数名词在单数情况下,使用时前面应加冠词,若无冠词,则加其他限定词如my, his, Tom’s等,但在实际语言中,确实存在着许多可数名词用作抽象意义的现象。如:

He goes to school every day except Sunday. 除了星期天他每天都去上学。

He sometimes goes to the school to attend a teacher-parent meeting. 他有时候去学校参加家长会。

同样是school,为什么前者不加冠词?为什么后者加了冠词?通过分析可知,不加冠词时强调了它的“社会功能”(是接受教育的地方),是抽象概念;加了冠词表示“具体的场所”,是具体概念。又如:

She went to church last Sunday. 她上周日都去做礼拜了。

She went to the church for a visit yesterday. 她昨天去参观了那所教堂。

The man stayed in prison for almost ten years. 那人蹲了接近10年监狱。

The man stayed in the prison for a night. 那人在监狱里过了一夜。

He went to bed very late last night. 他昨晚睡觉很晚。

He went to the bed to fetch his clothes. 他走向床边取衣服。

The whole family are sitting at table. 全家人正在吃饭。

The whole family sat at the table, chatting. 全家人坐在桌边聊天呢。

Mr. Brown is now out of office due to his old age. 因年龄原因,布朗先生现不在职了。(退休了)

Mr. Brown walked out of the office to get some hot water. 布朗先生走出办公室去取些热水。

又如:

in office 在职                         in the office 在办公室里 

in class 在上课                      in the class 在班级里 

in store 储备中,快要发生    in the store 在仓库 

live on farm 靠农业为生         live on the farm 居住在农场 

leave school 毕业,辍学       leave the school 离开学校 

还有,He was ill and had to lie in bed. 此句lie in bed不加冠词,意为“卧床不起”,也是强调了bed的用途属性,是抽象概念,不是指具体的某张床。如果指具体的某张床,则说:The man lay on the bed for a rest. on the bed指“在那张床上”。

交通工具也属这种用法,不加冠词表示“交通方式”,强调了交通工具的“用途属性”,例如:He came by bus. 他乘坐公交车来这儿。加了冠词表示具体的“车辆”,例如:He stood by the bus. They travelled on a red bus. 还有by bike, by car, by bus, by train, by ship, by plane, by boat等。

当然也有例外的情况,例如:hospital(医院)一词,加不加冠词都可以表示“就医,住院”。表现在美国英语中,hospital这个词反而往往要加冠词。例如:

The patient stayed in (the) hospital for almost a year.这个病人住院接近一年。

英语中,一些表示场所、地点的名词,如school, church, prison, office, table, bed等等,不加冠词一般表示抽象的“社会功能或用途属性”,加了冠词往往表示具体的“场所或位置”。

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  • 祥子   提出于 2015-12-01 13:46

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