2009年6月英语四级语法备战-否定句大总结
日期:2009-03-25 09:28

(单词翻译:单击)

概述

总结英语的否定形式

肯定与否定是两个完全对立的概念,容不得半点含糊。然而,英语的否定形式相当繁杂,稍有不慎,就会出错。所以现在我们就来归纳一下英语对否定概念的表达方式作。

英语否定概念的表达形式大致可分为两类:显形否定与隐形否定。

显形否定一般借助否定词或含否定意义的句型表达,其否定含义较为直观,故有明否定之称;隐形否定无明显否定词,其否定含义往往要靠上下文或语境来推定,比较难以把握,故有暗否定或间接否定之称。

显形否定-常用否定


no,not,never,none,nobody,nothing,nowhere,neither, nor,neither...nor,but,without,unless,but for,but that,in the absence of,regardless of, instead of,exclusive of,short of,rather than,anything but,any more than,out of the question,would no more...than

由a-,dis-,il-,im-,ir-,un-,non-,anti-,mal-,under-等前缀及-less,-free,-proof等后缀合成的否定词

hardly,scarcely,barely,little,few,seldom等半否定词

avoid,ban,call off,cancel,deny,deprive,exclude,escape,evade,forbid,free...from,free from/of,fail,hate,ignore,lack,lose,miss,naught,neglect, prohibit,quit, refuse,rid,rule out,stop以及above,against,beneath,beyond,far from,off,out of,past和absent,bad,bare, empty, last, poor,vacant等可用于表达否定概念的词。

这类否定句要注意如下三个问题:

否定程度的强弱,说话者的态度以及否定句式表肯定概念

He is not richer than I. 他不比我富。

He is no richer than I. 他和我一样,也不富。

He is not a statesman. 他不是政治家。

He is no statesman. 他绝非政治家。(弦外音:他不懂政治)

No less than fifty people were killed in the accident.

事故中多达五十人死亡(够多的,≈as many as,多达)。

Write a short passage of not less than 200 words.

写一段短文字数不少于二百(多则不限)。

We have not learned more than 1,000 English words.

我们学了不超过一千个英语单词(顶多一千个,可能比这还少)。

We have learned no more than 1,000 English words.

我们学了一千个英语单词(不够多)。

I could not feel better.我感觉再好不过了。

I can not agree more.我完全同意。

You can't be too careful when driving.开车时愈小心愈好(或尽可能小心)。

There is no smallest wind today.今天一点风也没有。

There is no small wind today.今天的风可真不小。

It leaves nothing to be desired. 这已完美无缺。

显形否定-错位否定

It doesn't seem to be logical. 这似乎不合逻辑。

I don't think you are right.我认为你不对。

He didn't go there by bus. 他不是乘公共汽车去的。

I don't teach because teaching is easy for me. 我之所以教书,并不是因为教书容易。

In no circumstances should we be conceited.我们绝不应该骄傲自满。

但有些否定词的位置不同,含义也不同。

I haven't decided to go there. 我没决定去不去那儿。

I have decided not to go there.我已决定不去那儿。

这类词还有 advise,tell,ask,require,request,pretend 等。

显形否定-部分否定

当all,both,every,everything,everybody,everywhere,always,often,completely, wholly,entirely,necessarily 与not 连用时,也表示部分否定:

I do not remember all those names.我记不得所有的名称。

He does not often come here. 他不是老来这儿。

Don't always ask for help.不要老让人帮忙。

另外,遇到beyond等介词,要注意其搭配关系。

如:It's quite beyond me (above me, past me, beyond my depth). 这个我理解不了。

beyond: ~ expectation(出乎意料), ~ debate / controversy(无可争议,无疑的), ~ dispute(无可辩驳),~ description(无法描述),~ cure(不可救药), ~ control (无法控制), ~ belief(难以置信),~ all comparison(不能相提并论,不能相比)

out of: ~ sight(看不见),~ humor(不高兴),~ breath (喘不过气来), ~ cash(没有钱),~ mind(不去想),~ bounds(不准进入), ~ date / style / fashion(过时,不时髦),~ work(失业),~ danger(脱离危险)

beneath criticism(不值得批评);past repair(无法修补),past all belief(不可思议);off one's mind (不放在心上),off color(精神不好,身体不舒服)

显形否定-常用否定句型

1)too...to...,too...for...

He is too young to go to school.(=He is not old enough to go to school.)他还不够上学的年龄。

That's too much for me.这我可受不了啦。

但下列句中无否定含义:

He is too ready to speak.(≈He is talkative.)他太爱讲话了。

I'm only too glad to help you. 能为您效劳,我高兴极了。

2)stop (prevent,keep,hinder,protect,save,prohibit,dissuade...)...from...

Intact skin can protect the body from being invaded by germs.未受损的皮肤可以保护身体不受细菌侵害。

3)利用虚拟语气表否定

You should(ought to) have done it better.

你本应做得更好。(还不够好)

I could have come earlier.

我本来能早点来的。(实际上没有早来) I wish he were here now.

我希望他现在能在这儿。(实际上他不在)

If only he had asked for my advice!

他当初要能征求我的意见就好了!(实际上没有)

They would rather die than surrender.

他们宁死不降。

4)用before引导的从句表“来不及……,不等,未……先……,以防”等否定含义

The bell rang before I could look over my answers.

我还没来得及看一下答案铃就响了。

Put on more clothes before you catch cold.

多穿点衣服以防感冒。

5)预先安排的事未办到或计划落空

I had hoped to save some more money to buy a new car.

我本希望多攒点钱买辆新车。

6)用比较级句型表否定

He knows more than he lets on.

这件事他了解得很多,但不肯承认。

I know better than to believe him.

我才不相信他那一套呢。

He's more brave than resourceful.

他勇敢有余,谋略不足(有勇无谋)。

7)其它含否定概念的句型

God knows how high the mountain is.

谁知道这山究竟有多高。

What's the use of complaining? 抱怨有什么用?

Mind your own business!莫管闲事!

How is it possible?哪有这种可能 ?

隐形否定

此类否定既无特定句型,又无否定词,其否定含义多为习惯用语或引申义,颇为费解,也最易出错,切不可望文“生译”,如:

I'll buy it .

我答不上来(或不晓得)。

Catch me making the same error again.

我决不再犯同样的错误。

I dare him to jump.

我量他也不敢跳。

You are telling me!(=Tell me about it!)

这事还用你说?

Keep it dark! 这事不可泄露出去。

She bears her age well. 她一点不显老。

For all I care! 这事我才不管呢。(我才不在乎呢!)

It's anyone's guess. 这事谁也不清楚。

英汉否定互译技巧

从上述例句不难看出,有否定词的句子,未必是否定,没有否定词的未必是肯定,这与语法上所称之否定句、肯定句并不完全一致。汉语的否定词少得多,常用的词有:不、未、无、非、别、莫、勿、毋、休、没、没有、失、免、缺、禁、忌、戒、防等,其中以副词居多,只有个别形容词或少数动词。而英语的否定词几乎应有尽有,包括名、代、动、形、副、介、连七种词性。在这以繁对简的转换过程中,其困难可想而知。

1、对应法:此法为最基本的译法,直陈式的句子多采用此法翻译,即肯定译肯定,否定译否定,双重否定仍译双重否定。

There is no smoke without fire.

无风不起浪。

It is unlikely but not impossible.

这事可能性不大,但也不是不可能。

2、转移法:多用于错位否定的句子。

At no time and in no circumstances will China be the first to use nuclear weapons.

任何时候,任何情况下,中国决不首先使用核武器。

Neither of the substances dissolves in water.

这两种物质都不溶于水。

A number of patients can recall no recent sore throat.

很多患者都想不起近期有过喉痛。

3、反义法:借助反义词翻译,如:difficult = not easy, fail = not succeed, not bad = good, wrong = not right 等。

4、近义法:

He refuses to give up until all hope is gone. 他是不到黄河心不死。(refuse“拒绝”,译为“不肯”)

History is silent about it. 历史对这件事没有记载。

I hate troubling him. 我不想去麻烦他。

You are in charge of the job. How could you evade the issue? 你负责这件事,怎么能对此不置可否呢?(evade译成“不闻不问”或“不置可否”)

We will live up to what our country expects of us.我们将不辜负国家的期望(live up to “做得到”,译为“不辜负”)。

He sits silent in the corner.

他坐在角落里一声不吭。

5、转换法:包括肯定译为否定,否定译为肯定,双重否定译为肯定等。

We cannot really learn anything until we rid ourselves of complacency.

要认真学习一点东西,必须从不自满开始。

In no area of medicine is accurate diagnosis more important or in many instances, more difficult.

在医学领域,准确诊断是最为重要的,然而在很多情况下也是最困难的。

No disease is so common as cold.

在所有疾病中,感冒是最常见的。

Differential diagnosis of the disease is not infrequently difficult.

这种病的鉴别诊断往往很难。

In such cases, the condition cannot be otherwise than serious.

这种患者的病情必然是很严重的。

He is too careful not to have noticed it.

他是个细心人,肯定注意到了这一点。

For answer, he merely stared at me.

他不回答,只是两眼死死地盯着我。

Its importance cannot be overemphasized.

其重要性无论怎么强调都不过分。

These investigations are not done for nothing.

这些研究工作自然不会是白做的。

6、引申法:

Your question beats me.

你这个问题令我迷惑不解。

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重点单词
  • hinderadj. 后面的 vt. 阻碍,打扰 vi. 阻碍
  • expectationn. 期待,期望
  • vacantadj. 空的,空虚的,木然的
  • descriptionn. 描写,描述,说明书,作图,类型
  • evadev. 规避,逃避,躲避
  • debaten. 辩论,讨论 vt. 争论,思考 vi. 商讨,辩论
  • accurateadj. 准确的,精确的
  • pretendv. 假装,装作 adj. 假装的
  • exclusiveadj. 独占的,唯一的,排外的 n. 独家新闻,独权
  • excludevt. 除外,排除,拒绝