第四讲 英语句子的语法标记

第四讲 英语句子的语法标记

我们已经复习了英语句子的基本句型、结构类型和功能类型。这一讲我们将关注英语句子的语法标记

（grammatical markers），即英语句子中出于语法要求必须出现的形式标记。

与古英语相比，现代英语是渐趋分析型的语言（An analytic language is “characterized by a relatively

frequent u of function words, auxiliary verbs, and changes in word order to express syntactic relations, rather

than of inflected forms.”），越来越多依赖语序和虚词（也称结构词或功能词，包括冠词、介词、助动词、连

接词等）来标示句法关系和语法意义。例如：

语序：John loves Jane. / Jane loves John.

冠词：out of question out of the question / take the chair take a chair

介词：He is a man above vulgar interests. / It looks as if we are in for a storm.

助动词：I lived here three years ago. / I have lived here for more than one year.

连接词：Practically all substances expand when heated and contract when cooled.

不过现代英语仍然保留着综合语（A synthetic language is “characterized by frequent and systematic u of

inflected forms to express grammatical relationships.”）的某些特征，如有形态变化、语序相对固定。这一讲

1

我们将以几篇短文为例来考察英语中遗留下来的几种屈折变化标记或称语法标记，它们分别是：复数标记、

所有格标记、时/体标记、形容词或副词的级别标记。

一、与名词有关的标记

（一）“数”（number）是和名词相关的一个语法范畴。

在英语中，名词根据其词汇意义可以分为专有名词（proper nouns）和普通名词（common nouns）。普

通名词还可用两种方法分类：按照其所指对象的类型（type of referent）可分为具体名词（concrete nouns）

和抽象名词（abstract nouns）；按照其语法形式（grammatical form）可分为可数名词（countable nouns）和

不可数名词（uncountable nouns）。

具体名词包括物质名词（material nouns）和类属名词（generic nouns）。类属名词包括个体名词

2

（individual nouns）和集合名词（collective nouns）两类。

可数名词有单数（singular number）和复数（plural number）两种形式。个体名词的复数形式需要通过

词尾的屈折变化（inflection）来实现，而集合名词形式固定，具体表示单数还是复数会有不同的情况，大

致分为：形单义可单可复（family, team, class, audience等）、形单义复（cattle, people, police等）、形复义复

（goods, clothes, scissors, trours等）、形单义单（baggage/luggage, clothing, furniture, machinery, poetry,

scenery, jewelry, equipment）。

（二）“格”（ca）是和名词或代词、形容词这样一些有类似屈折变化的词类有关的一个语法范畴。

就名词而言，现代英语只有一个格有词尾变化标志，那就是名词的所有格。最常见的形式是“‟s”，以-s结

尾的复数名词只加“‟”；以-s结尾的专有名词或普通名词可用上述两种形式，如：Dickens‟(s) novels。

名词所有格标记在意义上是非常模糊的，需要在语境中才能加以确定。如课本36页例：

Where is Jack‟s book? His mother will get angry if he los it.

Jack‟s book is the best ller this month.

（另见课本39页课内练习3）

a children‟s hospital; a girls‟ college; a cow‟s hou

the mountain‟s top; the wood‟s edge; the city‟s center

一般来说，在英语中，无生命名词不能采用所有格标记，不过在表示国家、城市等地方的名词，以及

表示时间、距离、度量及金钱等的名词，虽是无生命的，但是也可用以上形式，表示所有或修饰关系。例

见36页：

three hours‟ drive ten days‟ trip today‟s world

1

2

屈折变化指把词缀（affix）加到词基或词根上以确定或限定词的语法意义的过程或结果。

物质名词是材料、食品、饮料以及固体、液体和气体的物质或化学元素名称,如: wood(木料), meat(肉), wine(酒), paper(纸),

ink(墨水), gas(气体), water(水), oxygen(氧)等。物质名词一般没有复数形式，不加冠词，只有特指时加the；表示物质名词的

数量时，前面需加piece(片,枝,块), sheet(张), cup(杯), bag(袋), bottle(瓶)等表示计量的名词。

1

a mile‟s distance an arm‟s length

two pounds‟ worth

China‟s economy Nanjing‟s weather

“of +名词”表示的所有格结构，既可用于有生命的名词，也可用于无生命名词，特别是当某名词有

较长定语的时候。当这个所有格结构的名词后面加‟s时，就构成了双重所有格（double posssive）结构，

常用作名词的修饰语。

（36页）可表示家、商店或其他有关人士的处所。

the barber‟s the florist‟s the baker‟s

my aunt‟s (hou) Lincoln‟s (hou) St. Paul‟s (Cathedral) Queen‟s (College)

the Smiths（史密斯一家） the Smiths‟（史密斯一家的住所）

43页练习4

Mike came from a worker family.

Mike visited a worker‟s family last Sunday.

He is a friend of my sister.

He is a friend of my sister‟s.

I have never heard of such an opinion of Ted.

I have never heard of such an opinion of Ted‟s.

Larry‟s treatment of the child was fair.

Larry‟s treatment by his teacher was fair.

Our last summer‟s trip to Nanjing is still fresh in my memory.

A summer trip to Nanjing is never ideal.

请阅读下文，找出其中的名词，就语法标记特征进行简单的分析。（课本33页练习6）

The Man and the Serpent

(1) A countryman‟s son by accident trod upon a rpent‟s tail, which turned and bit him so that

he died. (2) The father in a rage got his axe, and pursuing the Serpent, cut off part of its tail. (3) So

the rpent in revenge began stinging veral of the farmer‟s cattle and caud him vere loss. (4)

Well, the farmer thought it best to make it up with the rpent, and brought food and honey to the

mouth of its lair, and said to it: (5) “Let‟s forget and forgive; perhaps you were right to punish my

son, and take vengeance on my cattle, but surely I was right in trying to revenge him; now that we

are both satisfied why should not we be friends again?”(6) “No, no,” said the rpent, “take away

your gifts; you can never forget the death of your son, nor I the loss of my tail.”

(7) Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten.

名词：

the man

a/the rpent

a countryman

my son

2

accident [C]an unpleasant event, especially in a vehicle, that happens unexpectedly and caus injury

or damage（交通）事故，意外遭遇，不测事件

its/my tail

part [U] ~of sth=some but not all of a thing部分

We spent part of the time in the muum.

Part of the building was destroyed in the fire.

Part of me feels sorry for him.我有点同情他。

a rage [U, C]a feeling of violent anger that is difficult to control

His face was dark with rage.

Sue stormed out of the room in a rage.

revenge [U] something that you do in order to make sb suffer becau they have made you suffer报复

He swore to take (his) revenge on his political enemies.

She is eking revenge for the murder of her husband.

The bombing was in revenge for the assassination.

an act of revenge

revenge attacks/killings报复性的进攻/杀戮

the farmer

cattle 集合名词，总是用作复数。=cows and bulls that are kept as farm animals for their milk or meat

如：a herd of cattle twenty head of cattle=twenty cows dairy/beef cattle

3

loss [U, C, usually sing.]the state of no longer having sth or as much of sth; the process that leads to

this丧失，损失，丢失

food

honey

mouth

lair [usually sing.]=a place where a wild animal sleeps or hides兽穴，兽窝

vengeance [U] (formal) the act of punishing or harming sb in return for what they have done to you,

your family or friends

a desire for vengeance复仇心

to take vengeance on sb 对某人进行报复

He swore vengeance on his child’s killer.他发誓要找杀害他儿子的凶手报仇。

with a vengenance (informal)=to a greater degree than is expected or usual程度更深地；出乎

意料地

friends

gifts

3

head of sth (pl.) = ud to say how many animals of a particular type are on a farm, in a herd, etc.: 200 head of sheep

3

injuries

（1）以辅音字母加y结尾，变y为i再加-es。

（2）既可作可数名词，也可作不可数名词。

 [C, U]harm done to a person’s or an animal’s body, for example in an accident（对躯体的）伤害，

损伤，如：rious injury/injuries minor injuries to sustain injuries/an injury

to escape injury

Two players are out of the team becau of injury.

There were no injuries in the crash (=no people injured).

Don’t do that. You’ll do yourlf an injury (=hurt yourlf).

 [U] damage to a person’s feelings

Damages may be awarded for emotional injury.

death

名词所有格形式（interpret the meaning）

二、与动词有关的标记

英语动词能体现时态。现在时态中主语为第三人称单数时，动词加-s，其余则为原形动词，没有任何

外显标记；过去时态中无论主语的人称或数，谓语动词都会加-ed作为过去时间标记（不规则动词会采用

其他形式）。

英语动词还能体现体态（详见第九单元），有两种体态有语法标记：进行体和完成体。前者主要动词

标记为“be动词的各种时态及人称形式+动词ing”，后者主要动词标记为“have的各种时态及人称形式+

动词ed”。（课本43页练习3）

begin – beginning cut – cutting hit – hitting

重读闭音节以辅音字母结尾，重读部分在后面的音节。 什么叫闭音节？ 单个元音字母后面有辅字组

（r w y 除外）且以辅字组结尾的重读音节。例如：bag egg fish not cup 英语重读闭音节就是所谓的元音字

母不是发它本身的字母音，重读闭音节就是指在一个音节中，以辅音因素结尾的而且是重读音节的音节比

如apple 划音节就因该是ap/ple 前面那个ap 是一个音节以辅音因素p结尾就是闭音节。 重读闭音节三要

素：1. 必须是重读音节； 2. 最后只有一个辅音字母；3.元音字母发短元音。重读闭音节就要双写重读闭

音节即两个辅音中间夹一个元音，如:sit - sitting举两个很经典的例子：forbid - forbidding (重读闭音节，双

写)prohibit - prohibiting（重读在第二音节，非重读闭音节，不双写）。

阅读下面短文（课本42页），试分析其动词标记。

The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts

(1) A great conflict was about to come off between the birds and the beasts. (2) When the two armies were

4

collected together the bat hesitated which to join. (3) The birds that pasd his perch said: “Come with us”; but he

said: “I am a beast.” (4) Later on, some beasts who were passing underneath him looked up and said: “Come with

us”; but he said: “I am a bird.” (5) Luckily at the last moment peace was made, and no battle took place, so the bat

came to the birds and wished to join in the rejoicings, but they all turned against him and he had to fly away. (6)

5

He then went to the beasts, but soon had to beat a retreat, or el they would have torn him to pieces. (7) “Ah,”

said the bat, “I e now, „He that is neither one thing nor the other has no friends.‟”

三、与形容词和副词有关的标记

4

5

come off (informal) to take place; to happen举行，发生：Did the trip to Rome ever come off? 去罗马的事最后成了吗？

rejoicing [U] (also pl.) the happy celebration of sth喜庆；欢庆

4

在英语中，形容词和副词常常会以比较结构出现，有三个比较等级：原级（positive degree）、比较级

（comparative degree）、最高级（superlative degree）。后两个等级的表达形式包含屈折变化语法标记，分别

是“-er”、“-est”。（课本第38页）以形容词为例：

quick – quicker - quickest（单音节词）

narrow – narrower – narrowest（双音节词，以元音结尾）

pretty – prettier – prettiest （双音节词，以元音结尾，以y结尾，变y为i再加-er/-est）

happy – happier – happiest

simple – simpler – simplest（双音节词，词尾-l自成音节）

big – bigger – biggest thin – thinner – thinnest （以短元音加一个辅音字母结尾的词，双写该辅音字母）

vere – verer – verest stable – stabler – stablest （以-e结尾的词加-r，-st）

多音节词（multi-syllabic words）及有些单音节词和双音节词则加more和most。如：

just – more just – most just（以两个辅音结尾的单音节）

strict - more strict – most strict

modest – more modest – most modest （以两个辅音结尾的双音节）

tired – more tired – most tired（源于分词的形容词）

plead – more plead – most plead

第41页练习6：

Jack is more happy than plead.

Jane was more angry than surprid at the news of her cat‟s death.

more…than…与其„„倒不如说

The child was more frightened than hurt.

He always emed old to me, more like a grandfather than a father.

阅读下面短文，注意其中形容词或副词的比较等级：

Faster than Sound!

Once a year a race is held for old cars. A lot of cars entered for this race last year and there was a great deal

of excitement just before it began. One of the most handsome cars was a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. The most

unusual car was a Benz which had only three wheels. Built in 1885, it was the oldest car taking part. After a great

many loud explosions, the race began. Many of the cars broke down on the cour and some drivers spent more

time under their cars than in them! A few cars, however, completed the race. The winning car reached a speed of

forty miles an hour – much faster than any of its rivals. It sped downhill at the end of the race and the driver had a

lot of trouble trying to stop it. The race gave everyone a great deal of pleasure. It was very different from modern

car races but no less exciting.

5