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the police作主语时,谓语动词不可以用单数形式吗? | |||
作者:李 翔 文章来源:本站原创 点击数: 更新时间:2009/8/22 |
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the police作主语时,谓语动词不可以用单数形式吗? 江苏省丰县 李 翔 ■先看以下说明: 1. Michael Swan著Practical English Usage (Third Edition 2005) p517: The police are looking for a fair-haired man in his twenties. (Not The police is looking... OR A police ...) 2. L. G. Alexander著 Longman English Grammar《朗曼英语语法》(雷航等译 外语教学与研究出版社2002年月第16次印刷)p82: 下列集合名词没有复数,但他们须用复数动词:..., the police (警察),...。 The police have surrounded the building. 警察包围了那座建筑物。 3. N D Turton and J B Heaton主编的Longman Dictionary of Common Errors (Eleventh impression 2003) p263: ⅹThe police was not able to find anything. √ The police were not able to find anything. Police is always used with a plural verb: ‘ The police have a very difficult job to do.’ ■以上比较有影响的语法专著都认为the police作主语时,谓语动词只能用复数形式,不能用单数形式。赵振才教授在其编著得《英语常见问题解答大词典》(增订版)(世界图书西安出版公司2005年3月第1版)p1098说明了原因:就词本身的语法特点而言,police与class,committee,audience,family,faculty是完全不同的。police,如同作“人们”解的people一样,是一个无标记的复数名词(unmarked plural noun),永远不用作单数。而上列其它名词既有单数形式,又有数形式(class—classes)。在要求谓语动词的这一点来看,police也与class等名词不同,它永远要求谓语动词用复数。 然而,也有这样的解释: 1. 张道真编著的《英语语法大全》(外语教学与研究出版社1998年8月第1版)p26:有个别的集体名词可用作不可数名词, 如:police (警察总称),... 笔者注:张道真在其编著的《实用英语语法》(1995年修订重印本)(外语教学与研究出版社1995年8月第1版)p40指出:另外police 和cattle总是用复数,例如: Several hundred police were on duty. 几百个警察在执勤。 而在其编著的《张道真实用英语语法》( 最新版)(外语教学与研究出版社2002年5月第1版)p498指出:有些集体名词都指复数的人或物,后面都用复数谓语: The police are going to question him. 警察将审讯他。 可以看出张道真先生在“the police作主语时谓语动词是否可用单数形式”这个问题上的矛盾心理,一方面大多数具有影响力的语法专著都认为“the police作主语时谓语动词不可以用单数形式”;而另一方面无论英国英语还是美国英语都客观存在“the police作主语时谓语动词用单数形式”的真实例证。 2. 朱梅萍等编著《最新托福语法教程》(外语教学与研究出版社1992年)p7:police跟 class, team, committe, audience, family, faculty为同一类名词,他们可根据不同情况使用单数动词或复数动词。 笔者认为朱梅萍等老师的说法是和英语的客观情况是相吻合的,the police用作主语时,谓语动词用复数形式当然是正确的,但也不能不顾客观实际,就武断专横地认为谓语动词用单数形式是错误的。因为无论在英国英语还是美国英语中,the police作主语时,谓语动词用单数形式的情况是可断存在的,是不容置疑的。请看the police作主语时,谓语动词用单数形式的真实例证: 1. BNC(英国国家语料库http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk) 和BUY-BNC BRTISH NATIONAL CORPUS (UK,1980s-1993) (Mark Davies, Brigham Young University ) http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/: The police is still seen as the first line of defence, but in recent years there has been increased co-operation between the police and the military, as in the joint exercises conducted at Heathrow in preparation for possible terrorist incidents. (笔者译:警察仍然被视为第一道防线,但在最近几年已增加了警察和军队的合作,正如在希思罗机场为准备可能发生的恐怖事件而进行的联合军事演习。) Maybe the police has made me this way, but do you not see that if you're going to come in here asking me questions about my family, if you're going to want to know all these things, I've got to be able to trust you? (笔者译:也许警察让我这样做,但你没有看到,如果你到这里来问我有关我家庭的问题,如果你想知道所有这些事情,我必须得能信任你? The police has simply forgotten to tell the owner they had found it. (笔者译:警察只是忘记告诉主人,他们已经发现了它。) 2. BYU: THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY(http://corpus.byu/oed/): 1889 We'd as good as got a free pardon.., now the police was away. (笔者译:我们等于被宽恕了…… ,现在警察走了。) 1910 As the police is a Federal department, we, Montserratians can have a say in the matter. (笔者译:警察是联邦的一个部门,我们蒙特塞拉特人在这件事有发言权。) 3. BUY CORPUS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH (1990-2009) (Mark Davies, Brigham Young University) http://www.americancorpus.org/: 2008 All along I was just thinking the police is, you know, just framing some poor guy. (笔者译:一直以来我只是认为警察,你知道,只是给某个可怜的家伙捏造罪名。) 2001 Do you think the police has done the proper job? (笔者译:你认为警察做了恰当的工作吗?) 1996 The police was helping the baby go to the house. (笔者译: 警察正要帮助那个孩子回家。) 1992 Where the police is, there's kills. (笔者译:有警察,就有谋杀。) 1991 MAN:Yes, is now leave army. There's police but the police stay on. Mr. JOYCE:Army has left, but the police is still here? MAN:Yes. 从以上真实例证可以看出:英国英语早在1889年就有the police作主语时,谓语动词用单数形式的例证;而在美国英语中仍在使用,从而证明了the police作主语时,谓语动词完全可以用单数形式。 【说明】感谢李翔先生对本站的支持和厚爱!本文为本站首发,如有兄弟网站转载本文,务请注明来源,同时带上本站的有效链接! 引用地址: |
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