英语中的停顿和意群简析
英语和汉语一样，人们在朗读或讲话时，为了生动、清楚地表达自己的意思，或作稍微短暂的呼吸换气，将意思表达完整，往往需要在语言表述的某些地方加以停顿。在英语教学中常遇到学生朗读或讲话时对停顿无所措的情况，直接影响着教学进程和效果。和汉语一样，讲话者不得随意乱停。若停顿的不是地方，不仅不能准确的表达意思，而且可能引出许多笑话或误会来。譬如，汉语中人们常说的这样一则笑话：“我是××总经理”、“派来的”。就是因为停顿上的错误，让人误解，觉得滑稽可笑。中学阶段的应试教育模式，强调的是阅读理解、语法结构和习题练习，往往对会话、读音重视不够，致使大学生不知该在何处停顿换气，影响英语的学习与交流。为此，我们应对这个薄弱环节予以重视，让学生全面掌握英语知识，使学生的听说与读写译有机地统一起来，提高学生的整体英语水平。当然，英语学习是一个复杂的语言接受、理解和应用的综合过程，涉及教育学、心理学、语音学、语法学等方面的知识，我们结合教学实际，应用有关理论，就意群在英语停顿中作用问题作一探讨。
一、 停顿（Pａｕｓｉｎｇ）
英语语法规定根据阅读或讲话句子长短情况，可按意群进行停顿。在同一意群的各个词之间
不能停顿，而应一口气读完，以便整体意思不致中断，使人能完整地理解讲话人的意图和目的。
例如：ÀＩdid not e Mary / at the party .
Á Changjing is the longest river / in our country .
 A child begins / to speak / the moment it opens its lips / to utter any acknowledged sound.
注：意群和意群之间并非一定要停顿，根据情况，有些可停也可不停。
例如：上例À Á 就可不停。
ÀＩdid not e Mary at the party .
Á Changjing is the longest river in our country .
上例 Â 也可少停一次。
 A child begins to speak / the moment it opens its lips / to utter any acknowledged sound.
现已知停顿的规则，但要准确地运用还必须弄清楚英语中的意群及其划分。
二、 意群（Sen-groups）。
意群指句子可以按照意思和语法结构分为若干段落，每一个段落就称为一个意群。它是在意思上相对完整，在语法上密切联系，不能再分的一个词组。
例如 1 .下列句子可分为两个意群：
À We study hard / for our country .
Á There are only two windows / in that room .
2.下列句子可分为三个意群：
À I will be glad / to meet you again / next year.
Á He said / that he would do better / in his English study.
3.下列句子可分为四个意群：
À We worked / with the workers there / and learned a lot / from them.
Á The forest had been green / in the summer / when we had come / into the town..
三、 意群的划分。
一般规则如下：1.冠词与名词划为同一意群。
À There is an English novel on the bookshelf.
Á The film we saw last night is very interesting.
2.形容词与名词划为一个意群。
À Plea pass me that red-blue pencil.
Á I have not enough money to buy it.
3.系动词与表语划为一个意群。
À How to go there is a problem.
Á To ri early is his custom.
4.介词短语划为一个意群。
À There are some tall trees in front of the building.
Á Keep him in the dark about the matter.
5.动词不定式短语划为一个意群。
À I refud to believe the evil rumor.
Á Becau he is ill , he feels unable to do it to it
6．分词短语化为一个意群。
À They lived in a room facing the south.
Á A letter posted today will reach him the day after tomorrow.
7.动名词短语划为一个意群。
À Seeing him happy made me happy too.
Á Have you finished correcting the students’papers?
8.动词及其主语或宾语划为一个意群。
À We can sing a song in English
ÁI received a letter from him after a long silence.
9.副词与动词放在一起划为一个意群。
À He has been working hard since he came here.
ÁNow that you are a big boy, you must behave better.
10.关系词与从句、连词与其后面部分划为一个意群。
À W should strike while the iron is white hot.
ÁTake the medicine before you go to bed.
 He said that he would come to e you soon.
à Do you know who pen it is?
Ä She told a story which moved us deeply.
Å We should never pretend to know what we do not know.
Æ You can go either by boat or by train.
ÇI awoke one morning and found mylf famous.
因此，朗读时一个意群不能分开读，即不能在意群中间停顿，否则，就会影响整体意思的表达和理解，出现与前面提到的与汉语一样的错误，在教学中应引起重视。
