动词不定式作条件状语观点梳理

■本站特约作者 李   翔

一、动词不定式作条件状语的历史传承

动词不定式作条件状语至少可以追溯到成书于1931年George O. Curme 著的Syntax，并且被中外的语法学家所认可，传承至今。以下是动词不定式作条件状语的历史传承：

1. George O. Curme 著Syntax(1931年版) (汪璜译《英语句法》商务印书馆 1989年8月第1版)(上册)P581:

“I was thinking of asking ￡30 for the month.”(for the use of the boat)—“The boat is not worth it to buy.”(=if one should buy it for that price)

《英语句法》(下册)P201:

I should be glad to go (= if I could go).

I should have been glad to go (=if I could have gone).

He would have been foolish to do it (=if he had done it).

2. R. W. ZANDVOORT 著 A Handbook Of English Grammar (First published 1957)P10： In so-called “free-adjuncts”, the idea of purpose may be weakened, and even shade off into that of circumstance or condition.

To hear him talk, you’d think he knew all about the subject.

3. 李绍基编著的《英语非谓语动词》（译林出版社1981年12月第1版）P68：动词不定式短语有时也可用来表示一定条件，其产生的结果往往带有虚拟或主观推断的性质，因此句中的谓语动词前常用should, would, could, must等词。例如：

To hear him talk, you would think he owned the whole world.(=If you should hear him talk, …)

To look at him, you could hardly help laughing.

To listen to him, you should think that no problem whatever existed.

To judge by her reaction, she must deeply felt angry at your remarks.

You would be a fool to refuse this offer.

I should be sorry to see such a day.

4. 冯明仪编《英语非限定动词》(广东教育出版社 1986年6月第1版)P46: 5.表示条件动词不定式表示条件，常见于虚拟语气中。例如：

I should be glad for Mary to go. (= I should be glad if Mary went.)

You should have done better to have made up with them.(= You should have done better if you had made up with them)

5. 刘乐亭编著的《英语五难题》(北京出版社 1989年2月第1版)P247: 3）作条件状语

To hear him speak English, one would take him for an English man.

6. 卢盛莽编著的《英语非谓语动词疑难详解》(辽宁大学出版社1989年12月第1版)P113:4）作条件状语。不定式常用于句首，主句谓语动词多用于虚拟语气。

To listen to him, you should think that he has gone there. (笔者注：gone应为been)

To hear him talk, you should think he owned the whole world.

7. 李永生主编《实用英语语法》(光明日报出版社 1990年10 月第1版)P169：

To hear him talk, you would think he owned the whole world.（条件）

8. L. G. Alexander著 的Longman English Grammar《朗曼英语语法》(雷航等译，外语教学与研究出版社1991年1月第1版)P533：

To hear him talk, you’d think he was Prime Minister.(=if you could hear him talk)

9. 刘毅编著的《英语语法宝典》(北京师范大学出版社 1993年12月第1版)P231:

表条件

You would make a great mistake to take his bribe.

(=You would make a great mistake if you took his bribe.)

I should be happy to be of any service to you.

(=If I am of any service to you, I should be happy.)

To hear him talk, you would take for a scholar.

(=If you heard him talk, you would take for a scholar. )

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