关系副词与“介词+which”的区别
关系副词与“介词+which”的区别
本站特约作者 陈根花
引导定语从句时where与in which有时可互换,有时不能互换,注意以下几点:
一、关系副词与“介词+which”互换的情形
当“介词+ which”在定语从句中作时间、地点和原因状语时,可以用相应的关系副词when, where和why来替换。
1. when根据情况可以等于in which, at which, on which等。如:
The day when (=on which) she arrived was Thursday. 她到的那天是星期四。
July and August are the months when (=in which) the weather is hot. 七八月是天气很热的月份。——摘自《英语常用词多用途词典》(金盾出版社)
这种替换有时出现在非限制性定语从句中。如:
We’ll put off the picnic until next week, when (=by then) the weather may be better. 我们将把野餐推迟到下星期,那时天气可能会好一点。——摘自《张道真英语语法》(商务印书馆)
2. where根据情况可以等于in which, at which, on which等。如:
This is the hotel where ( =in which / at which) they were staying. 这就是他们当时住的旅店。——摘自《英语常用词多用途词典》(金盾出版社)
Do you remember the place where (=at which) we had lunch? 你记得我们吃午饭的地方吗? ——摘自《英语用法指南》(外研社)
这种替换有时出现在非限制性定语从句中。如:
The Tower of London, where (=in which) so many people lost their lives, is now a tourist attraction. 在伦敦塔中曾有许多人丧命,它现在是旅游胜地。——摘自《朗文英语语法》(外研社)
3. 关系副词若要换成“介词+which”只能是for which。如:
The reason why (=for which) I came here was to be with my family. 我到这里来的原因是要跟我的家里人在一起。——摘自《英语用法指南》(外研社)
My success in business, the reason why (=for which) he dislikes me, has been due to hard work. 他为我在事业上的成功而不喜欢我,我的成功归功于我努力工作。——摘自《朗文英语语法》(外研社)
但是,反过来,for which并不一定能换成why。如:
The documents for which they were searching have been recovered. 他们找寻的文件已经找到了。(此句中的for which也不能换成why,理由同上句)——摘自《高中英语语法详解》(湖南大学出版社)
二、关系副词与“介词+which”不能互换的情形
1. 有些语境需要用特定的介词来明确其关系,此时若换成关系副词,则会导致意思不明确或句意不能通顺。如:
The ladder on which I was standing began to slip. 我脚下的梯子开始向下滑动。(句中的on which不能换成where,否则意思不明确)
This I did at nine o’clock, after which I sat reading the paper. 九点钟时我做这事,之后我坐着看报。(句中的after which不能换成when,否则意思不明确)
2. 当“介词+which”后面接有被which修饰的名词时,通常不能用关系副词代替。如:
The programme will continue until 1994 by which time $3million will have been spent.
这个项目将持续到1994年。到那时开支将达到300万美元。(句中的by which time不能换成when或where,因为which后跟有它所修饰的名词time)——摘自《限定词与数量词》(外文出版社)
We arrived at noon, by which time the demonstration was over. 我们是中午到的,这时游行业已结束。(句中的by which time不能换成when或where,因为which后跟有它所修饰的名词time)——摘自《英语常用词多用途词典》(金盾出版社)
3. 当“介词+which”并不表示时间、地点或原因时,自然不能换成关系副词。如(www.hxen.net):
There are three principal routes by which one can drive to North Wales. 开车到北威尔士,有3条主要路线可走。(句中的by which不能换成when或where,因为这里的by which并不表示时间或地点,介词by在此表示“通过”)——摘自《英语常用词多用途词典》(金盾出版社)
This is a subject about which we might argue for a long while. 这是一个我们可能长时间争论的问题。(句中的about which不能换成when或where,因为这里的about which并不表示时间或地点,介词about在此表示“关于”,所涉及的搭配是argue about)——摘自《张道真英语语法》(商务印书馆)
■本站用户scarlett210在留言提问咨询关系副词与“介词+关系代词”的用法区别(见http://www.hxen.net/GuestBook/Guest_Reply.asp?TopicID=324),我们特向特约作者陈根花老师求助,碰巧陈老师一篇《关系副词与“介词+which”的区别》的文章即将由《第二课堂》杂志发表,承蒙陈老师提前发给本刊,作为对scarlett210用户所提问题的回答,特对陈老师表示感谢。