79 He has a son,who is an engineer.
He has a son who is an engineer.
这两个句子的词素完全相同,又都是主从复合句,但涵义并不一样。
第一句的son之后有逗号,其后为非限制性定语从句。全句的意思是:“他只有一个儿子,职业是工程师”,说话的重点是“只有一个儿子”,“儿子的职业是工程师”只是附带的说明而已。
第二句的son之后没有逗号,其后是限制性定语从句。全句的意思是:“他有一个当工程师的儿子”,可能这个儿子是独子,也可能不是独生子,说话的重点放在儿子的职业上。
通过上列句子的比较,我们可以举一反三地去辨别下面两组句子的差异:
Lee's sister,who lives in Macau,is a nurse.
Lee's sister,who lives in Macau is a nurse.
My nephew,who is a teacher,has gone to England.
My nephew,who is a teacher,has gone to England.
逗号的使用在英语里确实是很重要的,它往往会使句义起重大变化。在某些句子中,把逗号放在不同的位置可以产生大不相同的语义。试比较下列各组句子的不同涵义:
Come now. Don't waste time. (强调“现在立刻来”)
Come, now. Don't waste time. (come指“来吧”)
Did they go there then? (then 指时间,解“当时”)
Did they go there, then? (then 指“那么”)
Nowadays there are too many workers who give only part-time service.(too many 指“太多”)
Nowadays there are, too, many workers who give only part-time service. (too=also)
Mr. Lee says the teacher is rather clever. (说话人是Mr. Lee)
Mr. Lee, says the teacher, is rather clever. (说话人是the teacher)
He is to come to the office, directly after the class. (directly 是指after the class)
He is to come to the office directly, after the class.(directly 是指come to the office)
The discussion afterwards proved the success of the talk. (afterwards指后来的discussion)
The discussion, afterwards proved the success of the talk. (afterwards指整个事的最后结果)
John, the postman is at the door now.(说话人告诉John关于the postman)
John, the postman, is at the door now.(John就是the postman)
在英语中,类似的语句多如恒河沙数,需要我们在阅读时仔细辨别其义;有时候,还要结合上下文,借助词典,才能正确地领会其义。
[此贴被竹影无风在2004-06-18 15:54重新编辑]