(参见第261节与第266节。)
(e)用于构成复合的名词:
a ′diving board 跳板
这里的动名词要重读。(参见第16节。)
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[Amber demo]
258 用做主语
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如在第240节E中所示,从泛指的、一般的角度来考虑一个动作时,不定式和动名词都可用做主语。可以说:
It is easier to read French than to speak it./Reading French is easier than speaking it.
法语读比说容易。
动名词和不定式一样(参见第240节F)可以作动词believe,consider, discover, expect, find, think, wonder等之后的从句的主语。
在find之后可以把that和动词be一起省略,因此可以说:
He found that parking was difficult./He found parking difficult.
他感到很难停放汽车。
但在其他动词之后,以不省略be为妥。
注意,这里动名词与不定式之间可能有意思上的区别:
He found parking difficult 意指他通常或总是感到找地方停车较困难。
He found it difficult to park常意指在某具体场合他发现找地方停车较困难。它也可能意指他总是感到困难,但后一概念常用动名词来表达。
动名词常用于简短的禁令中:
No smoking.
禁止吸烟。
No waiting.
禁止停留。
No fishing.
禁止垂钓。
这类句子不能有宾语,因此禁令性的语言中如有宾语则常用祈使句表示:
Do not touch these wires.
请勿接触电线!
Do not feed the lions.
请勿向狮子投喂食物!
在格言 Seeing is believing(眼见为实;百闻不如一见)中使用的就是动名词。
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[Amber demo]
259 介词之后的动名词
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(另参见第98节。)
A 如把动词直接放在介词后面,就必须用动名词形式:
What can yon do besides typing?
除了打字你还会做什么?
I have no objection to hearing your story again.
再听一遍你的故事,我没有异议。
Touch your toes without bending your knees!
试着不屈膝去够你的脚趾!
He is good at diving.
他擅长跳水。
She is fond of climbing.
她喜欢爬山。
I’m not keen on gambling.I’m too afraid of losing.
我对赌博不感兴趣。我太怕输了。
He was fined for being drunk in charge of a car.
他因酒醉驾车被罚款。
I’m against saying anything./I’m for saying nothing.
我反对说话。/我赞成什么都不说。
I’m tired of arguing.I’m fed up waiting.
我厌烦争辩了。我等得腻味极了。(口语)
This is a tool for opening tins.
这是一个开罐头的工具。
Do you feel like going out?
你想出去玩吗?
After swimming I felt cold.
游完泳我感到冷。
She disapproves of jogging.
她不赞成慢跑锻炼。
What about leaving it here and collecting it later?
先把它放在这里等一会儿再来取怎么样?
He is thinking of emigrating.
他正在考虑移居国外。
I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.
很抱歉,让你久等了。
They escaped by sliding down a rope.
他们是从一根绳子上滑下来逃走的。
We had difficulty in finding a parking place.
我们费了很大劲才找到一个停车位。
You should be ashamed of yourself for behaving so badly.
你应该为你的行为无礼感到羞耻。
In spite of starting late, he arrived in time.
虽然他动身很晚,却及时到了。
Aren’t you interested in making money?
难道你对赚钱不感兴趣?
There’s no point in waiting.
等待是毫无意义的。
B 某些动词+介词/副词(即短语动词)后面要求接动名词。最常用的这类组合有 be for/against, care for, give up,keep on,leave off, look forward to, put off, see about, take to。( go on的用法参见第363节。)
I don’t care for standing in queues.
我不喜欢排队。
Eventually the dogs left off barking.
狗终于不叫了。
I am looking forward to meeting her.
我渴望见到她。
He put off making a decision till he had more information.
他推迟到获得详情之后再决定。
He took to ringing us up in the middle of the night.
他开始习惯在半夜给我们打电话。
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[Amber demo]
260 to
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这个词由于既可当做不定式的一部分(参见A),又可用做介词(参见B),因此时常引起混淆。
A 置于助动词 be, have, ought, used后面和 going后面(如在 be going to这类短语中)的 to是后面的动词不定式的组成部分,放上to只是为了提醒学生前面的动词要求跟完整的不定式,即带to的不定式。
to也经常置于 hate, hope, intend, would like/love, mean,plan,try,want等动词及其他一些动词后面(参见第247节),以避免重复已经提到的动词不定式:
—Did you buy cheese?
—No, I meant to(buy some) but the shop was shut.
—你买奶酪了吗?
—没有,我本来想买,但是商店已经关门了。
B 除此以外,放在动词后面的to很有可能是介词,后面应当跟名词/代词或动名词。尤其要注意下列短语动词:look for-ward to, take to, be accustomed to, be used to:
I am looking forward to my holidays/to next weekend/to it.
我盼望着假期/下个周末/它到来。
I am looking forward to seeing you.
我期待着见到你。
I am used to heat/hard work/bad food/noise/dust.
我已习惯于炎热/艰苦的工作/粗劣的食物/嘈杂的声音/尘土。
I am used to standing in queues/to it.
我已习惯排队/它了。
必须注意不要弄混 I used to/he used to等和 I am used to/he is used to等的不同含义。前者表示过去的习惯或惯例(如 They used to burn coal;now they burn fuel oil only 〈他们过去一直烧煤,而现在只烧油式的燃料了〉)。