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hardly是否可在简单句句首引起倒装
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hardly是否可在简单句句首引起倒装

■倪肖丁(西安)

英国朗文出版公司的LLCE词典在hardly词条中有一个例句为He could hardly wait to hear the news,这与《英汉大词典》的例句He could hardly (Hardly could he)wait to hear the news颇为相似!不同的是,LLCE的例句并没有提供(Hardly could he)这样的替换性选择。是不是《英汉大词典》在借用LLCE例句的同时又受到了《英语惯用法词典》的影响而添加了括号中这个选项呢?

查阅英文辞书、英文语法或语言学文献以及有关报刊时,我们没有发现hardly在单句句首引起倒装的依据或例证。恰恰相反,我们见到的是对这一用法的否定。

例如Macmillan English Grammar In Context (Advanced )MEGCA)第200页设计了有关Inversion的二选一测试题如下:

Hardly / Little did I know that it would be another three years before I saw her again.

答案为Little,排除了Hardly

在单句中hardlyscarcely只有在后接ever,构成hardly everscarcely ever这种组合方式的情况下才会置于句首引起倒装。

例如EGUC指出:The adverbs of negative import – neverseldomrarelyhardly ever – are occasionally fronted and followed by Subject–operator inversion for purposes of emphasis, though this structure is formal in style or emphatic.(否定性导入副词never, seldom, rarely, hardly ever有时前置于句首,后接部分倒装语序用以强调,这一结构用于正式文体或加强语气)

PEGInversion of the verb after certain adverbs一节列出了引起倒装的副词(短语)中最常用的一部分。其中包括:never, seldom, neither/nor, nowhere, hardly...when, scarcely...when以及hardly everscarcely ever

显而易见,EGUCPEGGVCAPUnit Seven)均把hardly everscarcely ever(而不是hardlyscarcely)视为与never, seldomrarely等并列的引导简单句倒装语序的否定副词。例如:

Hardly/Scarcely ever did they manage to meet unobserved.PEG-§38,45

Scarcely ever has the British nation suffered so much obloquy. (UGE)

Hardly ever did he wear a suit.GVCAP

Hardly ever do they tend to the pseudo-glam, fashion-world jobs they inexplicably manage to keep. (时代周刊, 1995/06/12)

Hardly ever has any policy conference recommendation been so quickly or comprehensively implemented.INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HOUSING AND HOME

但值得注意的是,hardly ever的意思基本与almost never相当,具有几乎从未…”之意。这与单独的hardly有所区别,后者通常不具此义,只有在修饰可用频度副词修饰的动词时才有可能。例如:She hardly (ever) sees her parents these days.OALD

由此可知,正如前文提到的Macmillan English Grammar In Context (Advanced )的习题已经向我们表明的那样,从语言的规范性角度来讲,hardly单独位于简单句句首引起倒装不可接受。

因此,本文开头提到的两个例句子均应使用正常语序,可分别改为He is hardly aware of the truthI hardly notice that the holiday is going by。如果直接在原句的Hardly后添加ever,虽然倒装语序成立,但句意改变甚至句意不通,尤其第二句。

必须承认,语言规律不像数学公式那样严密,有时会因个人文化背景或用语场合等诸多因素而产生例外情况。hardly在单句句首引起倒装的用法,在早期文学作品或历史题材文学作品中的偶尔出现也是客观存在。例如:

Hardly could I wait till night. ( The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night)

Hardly has our strength sufficed to beat off the first great assault. (Lord of the Rings)

总之,我们自己在使用英语(包括英语教学)时应该避免把hardly置于单句句首引导倒装句,尤其在规范的笔语和考试中。但对于早期文学作品中存在少量这种用法的现象,也应予以客观看待,既不奉为典例,也不求全责备。

说明:hardly在单句句首引导倒装语序在基础英语教学中似乎已成为习以为常的现象。本文对此的质疑,旨在作出个人的独立探讨而非简单的结论,故文中观点仅供读者研判参考。

 

完整内容请查看:https://www.cpsenglish.com/article/107

 

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