许多事物：（但没有卷心菜或国王）
In this book, we don’t try to cover every possible topic in English grammar, but here are a few that we still need to discuss briefly. 在本书中，我们并不试图涵盖英语语法中所有可能的主题，但仍有几项内容我们需要简要讨论一下。
THE EXPLETIVE IT
虚词 IT
The personal pronoun it can be used as an expletive (as there is used), to postpone the subject until later in the sentence. The subject will then appear later in the sentence, usually to the right of the verb. 人称代词 it 可用作虚词（如同 there 的用法），将主语推迟到句子后面出现。主语随后会出现在句子的较后位置，通常位于动词的右侧。
The expletive it can only work with a subject that is a nominal infinitive* phrase or a nominal clause. 虚词 it 只能用于主语为名词性不定式 *短语或名词性从句的情况。
The expletive *it *is used less frequently than there, appearing in sentences similar to the following pairs, where the first sentence in each pair contains no expletive. All the subjects are underlined. 虚词 it 的使用频率低于 there，出现在与下列成对句子相似的句中，每对中的第一句不含虚词。所有主语均已加下划线。
To admit my mistakes is difficult. It is difficult to admit my mistakes. 承认我的错误是困难的。It 要承认我的错误是困难的。
That I made mistakes is true. It is true that I made mistakes. 我犯了错误这件事是真的。It 我犯了错误这件事是真的。
As we’ve seen, the phrase to admit my mistakes is called a verbal (more specifically, a nominal infinitive phrase). And *that I * made mistakes is a nominal clause. 正如我们所见，短语 to admit my mistakes 被称为一种动词性短语（verbal）（更具体地说，是一个名词性不定式短语）。而 that I made mistakes 是一个名词性从句。
Like the expletive there, expletive *it *has no grammatical function in these sentences, only a stylistic function: to postpone the appearance of the subject. In the following pairs of sentences, the grammatical structure is exactly the same in both sentences, and the underlined portions are the subjects. 与虚词 there 一样，虚词 it 在这些句子中没有语法功能，只有修辞功能：推迟主语的出现。在下列各对句子中，两句的语法结构完全相同，加下划线的部分是主语。
To trust him is difficult. It is difficult to trust him. 信任他是困难的。It 信任他是困难的。
To understand the theory requires patience. It requires patience to understand the theory. 理解该理论需要耐心。It 理解该理论需要耐心。
That the universe is expanding is a fact. It is a fact that the universe is expanding. 宇宙正在膨胀是一个事实。It 宇宙正在膨胀是一个事实。
That you have worked hard became apparent. It became apparent that you have worked hard. 你一直努力工作这一点变得明显了。It 你一直努力工作这一点变得明显了。
When we write sentences like these, we typically write the versions with the expletive it; the versions without it sometimes seem awkward. 当我们写这类句子时，通常会使用带虚词 it 的版本；不带 it 的版本有时显得别扭。
In English, we also use the pronoun it** **as a subject in conventional expressions regarding weather or time. In these sentences, it is an indefinite pronoun, not an expletive: 在英语中，我们还把代词 it 用作有关天气或时间的习惯表达中的主语。在这些句子中，it 是不定代词，而非虚词：
It may rain today. It is about four pm. 今天可能会下雨。现在大约是下午四点。
Don’t confuse the pronoun it with the expletive *it *that post- pones the subject. If there is no nominal clause or infinitive phrase later in the sentence, it is a pronoun, not an expletive. 不要把代词 it 与推迟主语的虚词 it 混淆。如果句中后面没有名词性从句或不定式短语，那么 it 就是代词，而不是虚词。
SENTENCE MODIFIERS
句子修饰语
Sentence modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that don’t modify any particular word in the sentence. Instead they modify the entire sentence in an unusual way, by indicating the writer’s attitude or intention about the sentence. The following sentences begin with sentence modifiers: 句子修饰语是不修饰句中任何特定词语的词、短语或从句。相反，它们以一种特殊的方式修饰整个句子，表明写作者对该句的态度或意图。下列句子都以句子修饰语开头：
Clearly, he’s a fool. Frankly, he’s a fool. Sadly, he’s a fool. To tell the truth, so are you. 显然，他是个傻瓜。坦白说，他是个傻瓜。遗憾的是，他是个傻瓜。说实话，你也是。
Sentence modifiers are concise ways of saying things that would otherwise require more words, even an entire additional clause. 句子修饰语是用简练方式表达本需更多词语（甚至一整个附加从句）才能说清的内容。
If we rewrote the sentences above without sentence modifiers, we would produce the following sentences (or something like them): 如果我们去掉句子修饰语来重写上面的句子，就会得到下列句子（或类似句子）：
It is clear to me that he’s a fool. I speak frankly when I say that he’s a fool. I am sad to observe that he’s a fool. I tell the truth when I say that you are, too. 在我看来很清楚，他是个傻瓜。我坦率地说他是个傻瓜。我遗憾地看到他是个傻瓜。我说的是实话，你也是。
Sentence modifiers often appear at the beginning of sentences, but, like adverbs, they can be placed elsewhere. Notice, in all the examples in this section, the placement of commas: 句子修饰语常出现在句首，但如同副词一样，它们也可置于别处。请注意本节所有例子中逗号的位置：
So, to tell the truth, are you. So are you, to tell the truth. 所以，说实话，你也是。你也是，说实话。
It’s easy to mistake sentence modifiers for adverbs. Keep in mind that true adverbs will modify some specific word or phrase 很容易把句子修饰语误认为副词。要记住，真正的副词会修饰某个特定的词或短语
in the sentence: a verb, adjective, or another adverb. This sentence contains an adverb, modifying the phrasal verb laid out: ——句中的动词、形容词或另一个副词。下面这句含有一个副词，修饰短语动词 laid out：
Mark honestly laid out his plans. 马克诚实地列出了他的计划。
But this sentence contains a sentence modifier that reveals the attitude of the writer: 但下面这句含有一个句子修饰语，揭示了写作者的态度：
Honestly, Mark laid out his plans quite well. 老实说，马克把他的计划列得相当好。
Similarly, don’t mistake dangling participles (or any participles) for sentence modifiers: 同样，不要把悬垂分词（或任何分词）误认为句子修饰语：
Speaking frankly, Michael criticized the plan. [A participle, modifying Michael] 坦白地说，迈克尔批评了这个计划。[一个分词，修饰 Michael]
Frankly, this plan looks impractical. [A sentence modifier] 坦白说，这个计划看起来不切实际。[一个句子修饰语]
This next example is ambiguous when out of context: It could contain a dangling participle or a sentence modifier that looks like a dangling participle. In either case, it probably needs rewriting: delete speaking. 下一个例子脱离语境时含义模糊：它可能含有一个悬垂分词，也可能含有一个看似悬垂分词的句子修饰语。无论哪种情况，它都可能需要重写：删去 speaking。
Speaking frankly, Michael’s criticisms seemed reasonable. 坦白地说，迈克尔的批评似乎有道理。
ABSOLUTE PHRASES
独立结构（绝对短语）
An absolute phrase, sometimes called a nominative abso- lute, is a noun phrase often followed by a modifier (a participial phrase, a prepositional phrase, or other adjectivals): 绝对短语（absolute phrase，有时称为独立主格结构）是一个名词短语，其后常跟一个修饰语（分词短语、介词短语或其他定语成分）：
The sun having set, Dracula considered where he might have breakfast. 太阳落山后，德古拉考虑该去哪里吃早饭。
Some grammarians call these phrases absolute, meaning that the phrases are independent from the rest of the sentence; they are said to play no grammatical role in the sentence. 一些语法学家称这些短语为 absolute（独立），意思是这些短语独立于句子其余部分；据说它们在句中不发挥语法作用。
But in these chapters, we consider absolutes as noun phrases used 但在这些章节中，我们把独立结构视为用作
adverbially, telling us when, where, why, or how the action of the 副词的名词短语，告诉我们动词的动作何时、何地、为何或如何发生：
verb is performed: Dr. Seward being out of town, I will sign the forms for him. The classrooms infested with spiders, we called Renfield. Harker, his hands trembling, stepped into his English classroom. 苏厄德医生出城了，我将替他签署这些表格。教室里爬满了蜘蛛，我们叫来了伦菲尔德。哈克手颤抖着，走进了他的英语教室。
This simple test for absolutes may be helpful: If the sentence still means the same thing after you’ve added the preposition with to the beginning of the noun phrase, the noun phrase is very probably an absolute: 下面这个针对独立结构的简单检验法可能有帮助：如果在名词短语前加上介词 with 后句子意思不变，那么该名词短语极可能是一个独立结构：
[With] the classrooms infested with spiders, we called Renfield. [With] Renfield taking care of the spiders, we left for lunch. [加上 with] 教室里爬满了蜘蛛，我们叫来了伦菲尔德。[加上 with] 伦菲尔德处理蜘蛛，我们去吃午饭了。
VERBS HAVE MOODS
动词具有语气
Earlier we discussed the four-way classification of sentences according to their purposes: the declarative, interrogative, imper- ative, and exclamatory sentences. 此前我们讨论过按照句子用途进行的四分法分类：陈述句、疑问句、祈使句和感叹句。
Verbs are an important part of that classification, and a related quality of verbs in those kinds of sentences is called modality, expressed by the mood of a verb in certain sentences. Grammarians have discussed and classified verb moods in several ways, but, generally, English verbs are said to have four moods, three of them corresponding with the classifications of sentence purpose: 动词是这种分类的重要组成部分，而在这些句子中与动词相关的一种属性称为情态（modality），由特定句子中动词的语气来表达。语法学家以多种方式讨论并划分动词语气，但一般来说，英语动词被认为有四种语气，其中三种分别对应句子的用途分类：
• Verbs in the indicative mood are those that appear in declarative sentences (Joshua went away). • Verbs in the interrogative mood appear in interrogative sentences (Did Joshua go?). The use of the do auxiliary in questions is often a mark of the interrogative mood. • Verbs in the imperative mood appear in imperative sen- tences (Go away!). The disappearance of the subject and some auxiliaries is often a mark of the imperative. • 陈述语气中的动词出现在陈述句里（Joshua went away）。• 疑问语气中的动词出现在疑问句里（Did Joshua go?）。在疑问中使用 do 助动词往往是疑问语气的特征。• 祈使语气中的动词出现在祈使句里（Go away!）。主语及某些助动词的省略往往是祈使语气的特征。
Exclamatory sentences, as we saw, have no special form or structure. 正如我们所见，感叹句没有特殊的形式或结构。
There’s a fourth mood, and it’s the important one at the moment because it’s useful in creating sentences that don’t correspond neatly to the four-way classification: 还有第四种语气，它目前是最重要的一种，因为它有助于构造那些不能整齐归入四分法分类的句子：
• Verbs in the conditional mood express necessity and possibility*.* • 条件语气中的动词表达必要性和可能性*。
We create verbs in the conditional mood using a subset of the auxiliary verbs that are called the modal auxiliaries: 我们用一类称为情态助动词的助动词的子集来构成条件语气的动词：
can and could shall and should *will and would * may, must, and might can（能）和could（能够） shall（应该）和should（应该） will（将）和would（会） may（可以）、must（必须）和might（可能）
(By the way, these modal auxiliaries are the verbs that don’t have principal parts or infinitives.) （顺便说一句，这些情态助动词是没有主要形式或不定式的动词。）
These modal auxiliary verbs are always the first auxiliary in the complete verb, and they help us discuss various kinds of neces- sary, possible, or permitted actions. Notice the differences (some subtle) among these sentences: 这些情态助动词在完整动词中始终是第一助动词，它们帮助我们讨论各种必要、可能或被允许的行为。请注意下列各句之间的差异（有些很微妙）：
I can go to the store. I shall go to the store. I will go to the store. I may go to the store. I might go to the store. 我能去商店。我应去商店。我将去商店。我可以去商店。我可能去商店。
I could go to the store. I should go to the store. I would go to the store. I must go to the store. 我本可以去商店。我应该去商店。我会去商店。我必须去商店。
Often we clarify and reinforce the conditional nature of these sentences with some modifier or additional clause, as in *I could go * to the store if I may borrow your car. 我们常用某个修饰语或附加从句来澄清并强化这些句子的条件性质，例如 I could go to the store if I may borrow your car.（如果我能借你的车，我就可以去商店。）
Notice that all of the sentences above are in some way about future possible events. So it’s not surprising that one of the modal auxiliaries that we use often is will, because (as we’ve seen) we use it for future-tense verbs: will drive, will have driven, will be * driving. 注意，上面所有句子在某种程度上都是关于未来*可能发生的事件。因此，我们常用的情态助动词之一是 will 并不令人意外，因为（如前所述）我们用它构成将来时态的动词：will drive（将驾驶）、will have driven（将已驾驶）、will be driving（将正在驾驶）。
This has had interesting consequences for another modal, shall, which we don’t use much any more. 这对另一个情态动词 shall 产生了有趣的影响，我们现在已经很少使用它了。
According to prescriptive grammars, shall should be used for future tenses only when the subject is in the first person; will should be reserved for future tenses when the subject is second- or third-person: 根据规定性语法，shall 只应在主语为第一人称时用于将来时态；will 应保留给主语为第二或第三人称的将来时态：
Today I shall read that article. Today they will read that article. 今天我将读那篇文章。今天他们将读那篇文章。
This conservative use of will and shall also prescribes that will should be used for the first person and shall for the second and third persons when we express an emphatic determination to perform a future action: 这种对 will 和 shall 的保守用法还规定，当我们表达要执行某个未来动作的强烈决心时，第一人称应用 will，第二、三人称应用 shall：
You may try to stop me, but I will read that article. You may try to stop them, but they shall read that article. 你或许想阻止我，但我will要读那篇文章。你或许想阻止他们，但他们shall要读那篇文章。
Because many U. S. readers and writers are unaware of these distinctions, writers commonly use will in many cases where 因为许多美国读者和写作者并未意识到这些区别，写作者常在许多原本用 shall 的地方改用 will。但 shall 仍保留在某些语境中，例如某些疑问句中：Shall we move on now?（我们现在继续好吗？）Let’s continue, shall we?（我们继续吧，好吗？）
we once used shall. But shall is still preserved in some contexts, as in certain questions: *Shall we move on now? Let’s continue, * shall we? Another careful distinction is sometimes made between the auxiliaries may and might, recognizing might as the past tense of may. This distinction is today seldom recognized, but is still used as in these sentences: 有时人们会在助动词 may 和 might 之间作仔细区分，将 might 视为 may 的过去式。这一区分如今很少被认可，但仍可见于下列句子：
I may be able to help if I have the time. Last week I might have been able to help. 如果我有时间，我也许能帮忙。上周我或许本来能帮忙。
YA REALLY OUGHTA READ THIS
你真该读读这个
Ought to (as in You ought to pipe down) is considered an unusual modal auxiliary—by some people. That requires some explanation. Ought to（如 You ought to pipe down（你该安静下来））被一些人视为一种不寻常的情态助动词。这需要一些解释。
Ought is an archaic form of our verb owed (past tense of owe), so it was once used as a transitive main verb. Ought 是动词 owed（owe 的过去式）的古体形式，因此它曾作为及物的主动词使用。
Today ought to is used—some believe—as an unusual two- word modal auxiliary, roughly synonymous with should, as in *You should *[or ought to] pipe down, or That statementshould [or ought to] *be enough. *(Some dictionaries and grammars draw fine distinctions between the meanings of ought and should that need not concern us here.) 今天，ought to 被一些人认为是一种不寻常的双词情态助动词，大致与 should 同义，例如 You should（或 ought to）pipe down（你该安静下来），或 That statement should（或 ought to）be enough（那个说法应该够了吧）。（一些词典和语法书在 ought 与 should 的含义之间作了细微区分，我们在此不必关心。）
In this analysis, ought to is followed by a present, perfect, or progressive tense verb, or a passive verb: 按这种分析，ought to 后接现在时、完成时或进行时动词，或被动动词：
You ought to see You ought to have seen You ought to be seeing You ought to be seen You ought to see（你应该看看） You ought to have seen（你本该看看） You ought to be seeing（你应该正在看） You ought to be seen（你应该被看）
Others argue that ought is still a transitive main verb, followed by an infinitive verb beginning, as usual, with to. In this case, ought is similar to other transitive verbs that can be followed by 另一些人则认为 ought 仍然是一个及物的主动词，后接以 to 开头的不定式动词，一如常规。在这种情况下，ought 类似于其他可后接
infinitives, like have or need. We learned about such structures in Chapters 17 and 18: 不定式的及物动词，如 have 或 need。我们在第 17 和 18 章学过此类结构：
You ought to see (compare have to see or need to see) You ought to have seen (have to have seen or need to have seen) You ought to be seeing (have to be seeing or need to be seeing) You ought to be seen (have to be seen or need to be seen) You ought to see（比较 have to see（不得不看）或 need to see（需要看）） You ought to have seen（have to have seen 或 need to have seen） You ought to be seeing（have to be seeing 或 need to be seeing） You ought to be seen（have to be seen 或 need to be seen）
If this analysis is correct, we again notice that infinitives can have perfect, progressive, or passive forms. 如果这种分析正确，我们再次注意到不定式可以有完成、进行或被动形式。
We form negative uses of this verb by simply inserting not immediately after ought, as Rubeus Hagrid kindly demonstrates in the first of the Harry Potter books: 我们通过直接在 ought 之后插入 not 来构成该动词的否定用法，正如鲁伯·海格在《哈利·波特》第一部中亲切地示范的那样：
Now listen to me, all three of you, you’re meddling in things that ought not to be meddled in. “Now listen to me, all three of you, you’re meddling in things that ought not to be meddled in.”（“现在听我说，你们三个，你们正在插手那些不该被插手的事情。”）
In examples like this, the placement of not suggests (but does not prove) that ought to isn’t a grammatical unit (because it’s interrupted by not), and that the to belongs to the following verb. In other words, sentences like Hagrid’s use may be evidence that ought is a transitive main verb, followed by an infinitive. 在此类例子中，not 的位置暗示（但并未证明）ought to 不是一个语法单位（因为它被 not 打断），且 to 属于后面的动词。换言之，像海格这样的句子可以作为证据，表明 ought 是一个及物的主动词，后接不定式。
A counter-argument might be that ought, considered as a main present-tense verb (Today you ought to clean your room), is strange indeed, for it has no progressive form (oughting?). This suggests that ought is an auxiliary, because some other auxiliaries lack progressive forms (i.e., there is no musting or shalling). 一个相反的论点可能是：将 ought 视为主要现在时动词（Today you ought to clean your room（今天你该打扫你的房间））确实很奇怪，因为它没有进行式（oughting？）。这表明 ought 是一个助动词，因为其他一些助动词也缺乏进行式（即没有 musting 或 shalling）。
The disagreement among grammarians will surely go on, and we ought not to get involved. 语法学家之间的分歧肯定还会继续，而我们不该卷入其中。
THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD
虚拟语气
Another mood grammarians sometimes identify (they have more moods than a thirteen-year-old) is the** subjunctive mood**. It appears in statements about hypothetical situations: e.g. 语法学家有时还会辨识出另一种语气（他们的语气比十三岁孩子还多），那就是虚拟语气。它出现在关于假设性情形的陈述中：例如
suggestions, wishes, speculations, and prayers. The verb is usually the same as in the indicative mood, but in some cases, especially using the verb to be, there’s a difference. The subjunctive often appears in traditional or conventional sentences: 建议、愿望、猜测和祈祷。动词形式通常与陈述语气相同，但在某些情况下，尤其是使用动词 to be 时，会有所不同。虚拟语气常出现在传统或惯用的句子中：
Blessed be the name of the Lord! I move that this meeting be adjourned. “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”（愿主之名受赞颂！）“I move that this meeting be adjourned.”（我提议休会。）
Sometimes we combine the subjunctive in one clause with the conditional mood in another clause: 有时我们把一个从句中的虚拟语气与另一个从句中的条件语气结合起来：
If I were you, I would tell him off. If he weren’t so lazy, he could be a millionaire. 如果我是你，我就会叫他滚蛋。如果他不那么懒，他本可以成为百万富翁。
Increasingly in present-day English, we don’t use distinctly subjunctive verbs. Instead we rely on other means to express the hypothetical nature of these ideas. Compare these pairs of sen- tences, in which the first sentence is in the subjunctive mood: 在现代英语中，我们越来越多地不使用明显的虚拟语气动词。相反，我们依靠其他手段来表达这些想法的假设性质。比较下列成对的句子，其中第一句为虚拟语气：
I suggest that Ed drop the matter. I think that Ed should drop the matter. 我建议埃德放弃此事。我认为埃德应该放弃此事。
If Dad were here, he would know what to do. If Dad was here, he would know what to do. 如果爸爸在这里，他就会知道该怎么办。如果爸爸当时在这里，他就会知道该怎么办。
The use of was in the last example is now regarded by many as acceptable, and the If indicates the hypothetical nature of the first clause. 在最后一个例子中使用 was 现在被许多人视为可以接受，而 If 表明了第一从句的假设性质。
EXERCISES
练习
**20a. **In the following multiple-choice questions, classify the underlined words. You will use some answers more than once; you may not need some answers at all. 20a. 在下面的多项选择题中，请对加下划线的词进行分类。有些答案你会用到不止一次；有些答案可能根本用不到。
A. Expletive B. Noun of direct address **C. Appositive ** **D. Subject of the sentence ** E. Sentence modifier A. 虚词 B. 呼语 C. 同位语 D. 句子主语 E. 句子修饰语
It** **was surprising to hear the news.
It** **听到这个消息令人惊讶。
It** **was surprising to hear the news.
It** **听到这个消息令人惊讶。
It is time to go.
It 该走了。
Gosh, John, you forgot your shoes.
天哪，约翰，你忘了你的鞋。
Frankly, John often forgets his shoes.
坦白说，约翰常常忘记他的鞋。
It is amazing that you forgot your shoes.
令人惊讶的是，你竟然忘了你的鞋。
You can speak with Mr. Smith, the principal.
你可以和校长史密斯先生谈谈。
Truly, Mr. Smith is a patient man.
的确，史密斯先生是个有耐心的人。
**20b. **Underline the absolute phrases in the following sentences: 20b. 请在下列句子中用下划线标出独立结构（绝对短语）：
The sun having set, we walked home. 太阳落山后，我们走回了家。
Our faces wet and cold, we arrived at my parents’ house. 我们脸上又湿又冷，到达了父母家。
**20c. **Now combine the following pairs of sentences into single sentences, rewriting the first sentence as an absolute phrase. Underline the absolute phrase: 20c. 现在将下列每对句子合并为单个句子，把第一句改写为独立结构（绝对短语）。请用下划线标出该独立结构：
Our time was running short. We hurried to the station. 我们的时间不多了。我们急忙赶往车站。
Her suitcase was safely stowed away. June finally relaxed. 她的手提箱已安全放好。琼终于放松下来。
Our last obstacle was overcome. We all relaxed. 我们最后的障碍被克服了。我们都放松下来。
20d. List the five moods of verbs. 20d. 列出动词的五种语气。
20e. List the nine modal auxiliaries. 20e. 列出九个情态助动词。