你干了什么？：动词及其补语

In many sentences, complements are an important part of the predicate: They’re called complements because they complete the verb. 在许多句子中，补语是谓语的重要组成部分：它们之所以被称为补语，是因为它们使动词的意义完整。

For example, all these sentences are obviously incomplete: 例如，下面这些句子显然都不完整：

Ralph seemed. Alice gave. Norton is. 拉尔夫似乎[意义不全]。艾丽斯给了[某物]。诺顿是[某人/某物]。（这些句子都不完整）

The verbs here (seemed, gave, and is) each need another word (or more) to complete their meanings. They need complements. For example: 这里的动词（seemed、gave 和 is）每个都需要另一个（或多个）词来使意义完整。它们需要补语。例如：

Ralph seemed impatient. Alice gave him his present. Norton is their neighbor. 拉尔夫显得不耐烦。艾丽斯把礼物给了他。诺顿是他们的邻居。

The underlined words are complements—nouns, pronouns, or adjectives that complete the verb in some way and are part of the complete predicates of the sentences. 带下划线的词是补语——以某种方式使动词意义完整的名词、代词或形容词，并且是句子完整谓语的一部分。

In this chapter, we’ll examine five kinds of complements. 在本章中，我们将考察五种补语。

PREDICATE ADJECTIVES

谓语形容词

Earlier we discussed two kinds of verbs: linking verbs and action verbs. We said that the relatively small number of linking verbs in English include seem, become, appear, looked, felt, and forms of the verb to be. 我们之前讨论过两类动词：系动词和行为动词。我们说过，英语中数量相对较少的系动词包括 seem、become、appear、looked、felt，以及动词 to be 的各种形式。

Linking verbs typically have complements. In these sentences, the complements are underlined: 系动词通常带有补语。在下面的句子中，补语带有下划线：

Mr. Lochenhocher is irritable. The staff appears efficient. All of his sisters are musical. Lochenhocher 先生容易发脾气。员工们显得有效率。他所有的姐妹都有音乐天赋。

Each of these underlined words is an adjective that follows the verb, and each describes the subject of the sentence. Such complements are called predicate adjectives. Here are some more examples: 这些带下划线的词都是跟在动词后面的形容词，并且都描述句子的主语。这类补语被称为谓语形容词。再举一些例子：

This chapter looks easy. He seems friendly. They became calm and quiet. 这一章看起来容易。他似乎很友好。他们变得平静而安静。

PREDICATE NOMINATIVES

谓语名词（表语）

Predicate nominatives are nouns or pronouns that follow linking verbs and describe the subject. In these examples, the predicate nominatives are underlined: 谓语名词是跟在系动词后面并描述主语的名词或代词。在下面的例子中，谓语名词带有下划线：

George became President. Helen was a teacher. We are also teachers. 乔治成为了总统。海伦曾是一名教师。我们也是教师。

In each sentence, the noun phrase following the linking verb identifies the subject of the sentence. Here are more examples: 在每个句子中，跟在系动词后面的名词短语都用以说明句子的主语。再举一些例子：

Ralph became president of our club. Norton is a menace. The Browns are good neighbors and good citizens. 拉尔夫成为了我们俱乐部的主席。诺顿是个讨厌鬼。布朗一家是善良的邻居和好公民。

Some grammar books call predicate nominatives predicate * nouns. Still others combine predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives into a single category called subject complements. 有些语法书把谓语名词称为谓语名词*（predicate nouns）。还有些语法书把谓语形容词和谓语名词合并为一个类别，称为主语补语（subject complements）。

Notice that sometimes the verb be is followed by an adverb, especially a prepositional phrase, instead of a complement: 注意，系动词 be 有时后面跟的是副词，尤其是一个介词短语，而不是补语：

Dad is at the library. The kids are in the car. 爸爸在图书馆。孩子们在车里。

DIRECT OBJECTS AND TRANSITIVE VERBS

直接宾语与及物动词

We’ve discussed action verbs before, but here we learn a bit more about them. 我们之前讨论过行为动词，但这里我们要多了解一点。

There are two kinds of action verbs, transitive and intransitive ** verbs. Transitive verbs have complements; intransitive verbs don’t need them. The sentences that follow contain intransitive verbs— no complement is present: 行为动词有两类：及物动词和不及物**动词。及物动词带有补语；不及物动词不需要补语。下面的句子包含不及物动词——没有任何补语：

The accountant disappeared. It rained today. Rain fell all day. 会计不见了。今天下雨了。雨下了一整天。

Some intransitive verbs, like disappeared, typically don’t take complements in any context. 有些不及物动词，如 disappeared，通常在任何语境中都不带补语。

Transitive verbs always have one or more complements, and they must have a direct object, a noun or pronoun that typically follows the verb and is the object of the verb’s action in some way: 及物动词总是带有一个或多个补语，并且它们必须有一个直接宾语——通常跟在动词后面，并在某种意义上是动词动作对象的名词或代词：

Susan saw the Lloyds at the mall. June addressed the audience. Ed baked the cake yesterday. 苏珊在商场看到了劳埃德一家。琼向听众发表了讲话。埃德昨天烤了蛋糕。

Here are more examples: 再举一些例子：

Ed wrote the article. The newspaper published the article and Ed’s photos. Mr. Lochenhocher wants peace and quiet. 埃德写了这篇文章。报纸发表了这篇文章和埃德的照片。Lochenhocher 先生想要和平与安静。

Many verbs can be transitive or intransitive. That is, they can be used with or without direct objects: 许多动词既可以作及物也可以作不及物。也就是说，它们可以带或不带直接宾语：

Intransitive: I’ll run to the store. 不及物： 我会跑到商店去。

She read for two hours. 她读了两个小时。

He laughed. 他笑了。

She sang. 她唱了歌。

Transitive: I run the store. 及物： 我经营这家商店。

She read the book. 她读了这本书。

He laughed a hearty laugh. 他发出一阵开怀大笑。

She sang an Irish song. 她唱了一首爱尔兰歌曲。

When the direct object is a pronoun, it must be in the objective case: 当直接宾语是代词时，它必须处于宾格：

Susan saw them at the mall. Susan greeted us warmly. 苏珊在商场看到了他们。苏珊热情地招呼我们。

INDIRECT OBJECTS

间接宾语

Indirect objects appear only in sentences with direct objects, and then they appear between the transitive verb and the direct object. They name a person or thing that receives the direct object in some way. In the following sentences, the indirect objects are underlined and the direct object is a note: 间接宾语只出现在带有直接宾语的句子中，并且位于及物动词和直接宾语之间。它们指出以某种方式接收直接宾语的人或事物。在下面的句子中，间接宾语带有下划线，直接宾语是 a note（一张便条）：

Bailey wrote me a note. Ed wrote her a note. We wrote Bailey and Ed a note. 贝利给我写了一张便条。埃德给她写了一张便条。我们给贝利和埃德写了一张便条。

Here are more sentences with indirect objects (underlined) followed by direct objects: 下面是更多带有间接宾语（下划线）后接直接宾语的句子：

Mr. Redden taught me history. Last night I read my daughter a book. We bought Ruthie an accordion. 雷登先生教我历史。昨晚我给女儿读了一本书。我们给露西买了一架手风琴。

Notice that when pronouns are indirect objects, they are also in the objective case (as with me and her in the sentences above). 注意，当代词作间接宾语时，它们也处于宾格（如上面句子中的 me 和 her）。

There is a test for the indirect object. Without changing the meaning of the sentence, the indirect object can be turned into the object of a prepositional phrase beginning with the preposition to or for. The prepositional phrase then appears after the direct object: 有一个检验间接宾语的方法。在不改变句子意义的情况下，间接宾语可以变成以介词 to 或 for 开头的介词短语的宾语。然后该介词短语出现在直接宾语之后：

Mr. Redden taught history to me. Last night I read a book to my daughter. We bought an accordion for Ruthie. 雷登先生把历史教给了我。昨晚我给女儿读了一本书。我们为露西买了一架手风琴。

But please notice the important difference. This sentence has an indirect object: 但请注意重要的区别。这个句子有一个间接宾语：

Mr. Redden taught me history. 雷登先生教我历史。

The next sentence has no indirect object; to me is a prepositional phrase: 下一个句子没有间接宾语；to me 是一个介词短语：

Mr. Redden taught history to me. 雷登先生把历史教给了我。

Some transitive verbs can take direct objects but cannot take indirect objects, as in these sentences: 有些及物动词可以带直接宾语但不能带间接宾语，如下面的句子：

Ned ate the cake. Julie wanted cake. Mr. Lochenhocher hates the violin. 内德吃了蛋糕。朱莉想要蛋糕。Lochenhocher 先生讨厌小提琴。

OBJECT COMPLEMENTS

宾语补语

The object complement is the last kind of complement we’ll discuss here, and it’s another complement used only with a transi- tive verb and a direct object. Here are some examples: 宾语补语是我们要在这里讨论的最后一种补语，它是另一种只与及物动词和直接宾语一起使用的补语。下面是一些例子：

We elected Bernice president. We named Bob the new treasurer. The news made Mr. Lochenhocher angry. 我们选举伯尼斯为主席。我们任命鲍勃为新的财务主管。这个消息让 Lochenhocher 先生很生气。

Object complements are nouns or adjectives that follow the direct object and describe the direct object, in roughly the same way that a predicate adjective or predicate nominative describes the subject. 宾语补语是跟随直接宾语并描述直接宾语的名词或形容词，大致与谓语形容词或谓语名词描述主语的方式相同。

With object complements, we don’t distinguish between the adjectives and the nouns that describe the direct object—they are all object complements if they appear after the direct object and describe it. 对于宾语补语，我们不区分描述直接宾语的形容词和名词——只要它们出现在直接宾语之后并描述它，就都是宾语补语。

Here are more examples: 再举一些例子：

We found the request unreasonable. The Court declared the law unconstitutional. The Court’s decision renders the issue null and void. 我们发现这个要求不合理。法院宣布该法律违宪。法院的决定使这个问题无效。

It’s important to distinguish object complements from other grammatical units. In the following pairs of sentences, the first sentence contains an object complement and the second sentence contains a different structure that is identified in the comment that follow: 区分宾语补语和其他语法单位很重要。在下面成对的句子中，第一个句子包含宾语补语，第二个句子包含一个不同的结构，如其后注释所标明：

They found Will irritable. They found Will at home. (At home is an adverbial prepositional phrase) 他们发现威尔烦躁不安。他们发现威尔在家里。（At home 是一个状语介词短语）

They made Bill an officer. They made Bill a cake. (In the second sentence, Bill is the indirect object; cake is a direct object.) 他们任命比尔当了军官。他们给比尔做了一个蛋糕。（在第二个句子中，Bill 是间接宾语；cake 是直接宾语。）

In everyday conversation, we often use the verbs have and get with object complements: 在日常对话中，我们经常把动词 have 和 get 与宾语补语一起使用：

I have the car ready. I will get the car ready. 我把车准备好了。我会把车准备好。

Reflexive pronouns, the ones that end in –self (e.g., *himself, * herself, themselves) are often the direct objects that appear with object complements: 反身代词是以 –self 结尾的代词（例如 himself、herself、themselves），它们常常是带有宾语补语的直接宾语：

We got ourselves ready. He imagined himself successful. 我们让自己准备好了。他想象自己成功了。

We’ll discuss those pronouns in Chapter 19. 我们将在第 19 章讨论这些代词。

Object complements never appear in a clause that also contains an indirect object. They can only appear when there are direct objects in the same clause, and only a small number of transitive verbs can take object complements. 宾语补语绝不会出现在同时含有间接宾语的从句中。它们只能出现在同一从句中有直接宾语的情况下，而且只有少数及物动词可以带宾语补语。

POINTS FOR WRITERS

写给写作者的建议

As we’ve said, when we use a personal pronoun as a direct object or an indirect object, it has to be in the objective case. In these sentences, the underlined direct and indirect objects are objective case pronouns: 正如我们所说，当我们把人称代词用作直接宾语或间接宾语时，它必须处于宾格。在下面的句子中，带下划线的直接宾语和间接宾语都是宾格代词：

They gave me the job. (Me is the indirect object.) We will find her immediately. (Her is the direct object.) You must tell them the news. (Them is the indirect object.) She has just informed us. (Us is the direct object.) 他们把工作给了我。（Me 是间接宾语。）我们会马上找到她。（Her 是直接宾语。）你必须把这个消息告诉他们。（Them 是间接宾语。）她刚刚通知了我们。（Us 是直接宾语。）

With predicate nominatives, which appear after linking verbs, the situation is a bit more complicated. Consider these versions of the same sentences: 对于出现在系动词后面的谓语名词，情况要复杂一些。请看同一句子的这些版本：

The person responsible is he. The person responsible is him. 应负责任的人是 he（他，主格）。应负责任的人是 him（他，宾格）。

It is I. It is me. 是我（I，主格）。是我（me，宾格）。

Most of us would instinctively use the second version in each pair, because we’re accustomed to using objective-case pronouns after a verb. 我们大多数人会本能地在每对句子中使用第二个版本，因为我们习惯于在动词后面使用宾格代词。

But the verb in these sentences, is, is a linking verb, and that makes he (and him) and I (and me) predicate nominatives. In the judgment of those writers and editors most careful about prescriptive grammar, we should use nominative case pronouns as predicate nominatives, because the pronoun is being equated with the subject: It is I. It is he. It is annoying. 但是这些句子中的动词 is 是系动词，这使得 he（和 him）以及 I（和 me）成为谓语名词。在那些对规定性语法最严谨的作家和编辑看来，我们应该使用主格代词作为谓语名词，因为该代词与主语等同：It is I.（是我。）It is he.（是他。）这很让人恼火。

Here again, the choices you make will depend on your editor, your audience, and the formality of your tone. It’s often possible to rewrite the sentence to avoid the issue altogether. 在这里，你所做的选择将取决于你的编辑、你的读者以及你语气的正式程度。通常可以通过改写句子来完全避免这个问题。

EXERCISES

练习题

8a. In the following sentences, fill in the blanks with one word: *always, never, *or sometimes. (This is tougher than you might think. Feel free to look back at the chapter to work out the answers.) 8a. 在下面的句子中，用一个词填空：always（总是）、never（从不）或 sometimes（有时）。（这比你想象的要难。可以回头查看本章内容来得出答案。）

  1. Sentences with action verbs ______ have a complement.

  2. 含有行为动词的句子______有补语。

  3. Sentences with linking verbs _______ have a complement.

  4. 含有系动词的句子______有补语。

  5. Sentences with intransitive verbs _______ have a complement.

  6. 含有不及物动词的句子______有补语。

  7. Sentences with transitive verbs _______ have a complement.

  8. 含有及物动词的句子______有补语。

  9. Sentences with transitive verbs _______ have a direct object.

  10. 含有及物动词的句子______有直接宾语。

  11. Sentences with transitive verbs _______ have an indirect object.

  12. 含有及物动词的句子______有间接宾语。

  13. Sentences with linking verbs _______ have a predicate nominative.

  14. 含有系动词的句子______有谓语名词。

  15. Sentences with transitive verbs _______ have a predicate adjective.

  16. 含有及物动词的句子______有谓语形容词。

  17. Sentences with linking verbs _______ have a predicate adjective.

  18. 含有系动词的句子______有谓语形容词。

  19. Sentences with transitive verbs _______ have an object complement.

  20. 含有及物动词的句子______有宾语补语。

  21. Sentences with linking verbs _______ have an object complement.

  22. 含有系动词的句子______有宾语补语。

  23. Sentences with linking verbs _______ have a direct object.

  24. 含有系动词的句子______有直接宾语。

8b. In the sentences below, identify the complements and classify them as a direct object, an indirect object, a predicate adjective, a predicate nominative, or an object complement. These simple sentences may have as many as two complements, but never more than two. 8b. 在下面的句子中，识别补语并将其归类为直接宾语、间接宾语、谓语形容词、谓语名词或宾语补语。这些简单句可能含有多达两个补语，但绝不会超过两个。

In some sentences, the complements are underlined. In others, there are no complements. 在有些句子中，补语带有下划线。在另一些句子中，则没有补语。

  1. My daughter made me proud.

  2. 我女儿让我感到骄傲。

  3. My aunt brought me a souvenir.

  4. 我姑姑给我带了一件纪念品。

  5. My sister is late.

  6. 我姐姐迟到了。

  7. Both my sisters are teachers.

  8. 我的两个姐姐都是教师。

  9. Both my sisters are arriving at noon.

  10. 我的两个姐姐中午到达。

  11. Six hours a day, Ruthie practices the accordion.

  12. 露西每天练习手风琴六个小时。

  13. Ruthie practices for hours every day.

  14. 露西每天练习好几个小时。

  15. We sent Bill and Sue a gift.

  16. 我们给比尔和苏寄了一份礼物。

  17. They were kind and grateful.

  18. 他们既善良又感激。

  19. I will address that issue at another time.

  20. 我将在另一个时间处理那个问题。

  21. That fellow became our assistant.

  22. 那个家伙成了我们的助手。

  23. Bonnie bought Ed that painting.

  24. 邦妮给埃德买了那幅画。

8c. Now go back through the sentences above and identify the verbs as linking, transitive, or intransitive. 8c. 现在回头看上面的句子，把动词归类为系动词、及物动词或不及物动词。