Chapter 4¶

Tall, Dark, and Wordsome 高大、黝黑、且多词 Adjectives 形容词（adjective）

MODIFIERS AND PHRASES 修饰语与短语

As we saw in Chapter 1, nouns and verbs often have modifiers, words that describe the noun or the verb.

正如我们在第 1 章中看到的，名词和动词经常带有修饰语（modifier）——描述名词或动词的词。

The following examples are not sentences but only parts of sentences. Here man is the noun; all the other words before and after man are modifiers that restrict the meaning of man in some way:

以下示例不是句子，只是句子的部分。这里 man 是名词；man 前后所有其他的词都是修饰语，以某种方式限定了 man 的含义：

The man The man in our neighborhood The irritable, unfriendly man in our neighborhood

As we've seen before, many modifiers appear immediately before the noun they modify: The, irritable, unfriendly. Some appear after: in our neighborhood.

正如我们之前看到的，许多修饰语紧邻其所修饰的名词之前出现：The、irritable、unfriendly。有些出现在之后：in our neighborhood。

This brings us to a common term that we use throughout these chapters: phrase. A phrase is a word or group of words used as a single grammatical unit.

这引出了我们在这些章节中贯穿使用的一个常用术语：短语（phrase）。短语是作为一个单一语法单位使用的词或词组。

The three examples above are noun phrases. They contain the noun man and other words and phrases that modify man. Each of those noun phrases could be used as a single grammatical unit---for example, as the subject of a sentence. That is, the noun by itself would be the simple subject, and the noun and its modifiers would be the complete subject.

上面的三个示例是名词短语（noun phrase）。它们包含名词 man 以及修饰 man 的其他词和短语。这些名词短语中的每一个都可以用作单一的语法单位——例如，作为句子的主语。也就是说，名词本身是简单主语，名词及其修饰语是完整主语（complete subject）。

ADJECTIVES 形容词

Words like irritable and unfriendly are adjectives. Adjectives modify nouns and sometimes pronouns. They describe the noun or place limits on the word's range of reference. In the following noun phrases, all the underlined words are adjectives:

像 irritable 和 unfriendly 这样的词是形容词。形容词修饰名词，有时修饰代词（pronoun）。它们描述名词，或对词的指称范围施加限制。在以下名词短语中，所有加下划线的词都是形容词：

The silvery moon The light brown hair Blue skies

In most cases, adjectives simply describe nouns: tall, short, ripe, rotten, round, perfect, clean, dirty, blank, full, empty, old, new, ancient, medieval, modern, and thousands more.

在大多数情况下，形容词简单地描述名词：tall、short、ripe、rotten、round、perfect、clean、dirty、blank、full、empty、old、new、ancient、medieval、modern 等等，成千上万个。

THE THREE ARTICLES 三个冠词（article）

There are only three articles in English: a, an, and the. Articles are always used to modify nouns. Some grammar books treat articles as if they are a separate class of words, but in this book we'll consider them a small, special subset of adjectives.

英语中只有三个冠词：a、an 和 the。冠词总是用来修饰名词。有些语法书把冠词当作一类独立的词，但在本书中，我们将它们视为形容词的一个小的、特殊的子集。

There is some confusion about when to use a and an. We use the article a before a word that begins with a consonant, and use an before a word that begins with a vowel, as in these phrases:

关于何时使用 a 和 an 有一些混淆。我们在以辅音（consonant）开头的词前使用冠词 a，在以元音（vowel）开头的词前使用 an，如下列短语所示：

A child A cheese omelet An only child An omelet

But we're sometimes puzzled when we see a and an used in phrases like these:

但我们有时在看到 a 和 an 用于如下短语时感到困惑：

A union of concerned citizens An honor to work with you

So let's clarify the rules: Use a before a word beginning with a consonant sound (as in a union or a child):

因此让我们澄清规则：在以辅音音素（consonant sound）开头的词前使用 a（如 a union 或 a child）：

A unicorn An uninvited guest

Use an before a word beginning with a vowel sound (as in an honor or an only child):

在以元音音素（vowel sound）开头的词前使用 an（如 an honor 或 an only child）：

A man An honest man

The important consideration is the first sound (not the first letter) in the word following the article. This includes the first sound in abbreviations: An M.D., a U. S. territory.

重要的考量是冠词后面那个词的第一个音素（而不是第一个字母）。这包括缩写中的第一个音素：An M.D., a U. S. territory。

Finally, a and an are called the indefinite articles. The is the only definite article in English, indicating a specific object that we can distinguish from all other objects of the same kind: the last straw.

最后，a 和 an 称为不定冠词（indefinite article）。The 是英语中唯一的定冠词（definite article），表示一个特定的对象，我们能将其与同类所有其他对象区分开来：the last straw。

ADJECTIVES AND WORD ORDER 形容词与词序

In the noun phrases we've seen so far, the adjective appears before the noun. But adjectives can also appear immediately after the noun:

在我们迄今为止看到的名词短语中，形容词出现在名词之前。但形容词也可以紧邻名词之后出现：

The old house, dark and foreboding The noisy fairground, bright and crowded A glorious sunset, gold and lavender

Articles are helpful in recognizing other adjectives. Consider this:

冠词有助于识别其他形容词。考虑这个例子：

The smaller child learned the simplest tasks.

When a word appears between an article and a noun, it's an adjective or another word functioning as an adjective.

当一个词出现在冠词和名词之间时，它就是形容词或作为形容词使用的另一个词。

COMMON KINDS OF ADJECTIVES 常见的形容词种类

There are certain groups of words that we can easily recognize as adjectives. Color words are often adjectives: a blue moon, green apples. (Sometimes, in a different context, color words are nouns: a dark blue, a vivid red.)

有些词群我们可以轻松识别为形容词。颜色词通常是形容词：a blue moon、green apples。（有时，在不同的语境中，颜色词是名词：a dark blue、a vivid red。）

These color words are adjectives:

这些颜色词是形容词：

The green apples Red sails A blue moon The gold and lavender sunset Red, white, and blue bunting A yellow traffic light

There are other descriptive words:

还有其他描述性词汇：

The new house Impulsive behavior A generous gift A sentimental old song Exciting new developments Soft music

There are adjectives that indicate number or quantity:

有表示数量或程度的形容词：

Both friends A few corrections Many pages One sock Two shirts Three shoes

Words that show possession are often used as adjectives:

表示所有关系的词常被用作形容词：

My mistake Your complaint His insight Bob and Ray's routine Wayne's help Elizabeth's reign

Some question words can be used as adjectives:

有些疑问词可以用作形容词：

Which room? What mess? Whose responsibility?

We'll say it again: A good desk or online dictionary can help you identify adjectives and other words.

我们再说一遍：一本好的案头词典或在线词典可以帮助你识别形容词和其他词汇。

NOUNS AND VERBS USED ADJECTIVALLY 用作形容词的名词和动词

Sometimes we build a noun phrase by using nouns or verbs to modify a noun:

有时我们通过使用名词或动词来修饰名词，从而构建名词短语：

The street noise The traffic accident The squeaking wheel A frozen lake

In these cases, we say that the noun or verb is used adjectivally, and we'll look at more cases of these in future chapters.

在这些情况下，我们说名词或动词以形容词方式（adjectivally）使用，我们将在未来的章节中查看更多此类情况。

COMPARISONS OF ADJECTIVES 形容词的比较级

Some adjectives have three forms, which together make the comparison of the adjective:

有些形容词有三种形式，它们一起构成形容词的比较：

Positive（原级） Comparative（比较级） Superlative（最高级）

hot hotter hottest

cold colder coldest

friendly friendlier friendliest

famous more famous most famous

suspicious more suspicious most suspicious

athletic more athletic most athletic

In any comparison of adjectives like these, there is a positive form of the adjective that simply names a quality the noun has: hot, cold, friendly.

在任何此类形容词的比较中，都有一个形容词的原级形式（positive），它简单地命名名词具有的某种性质：hot、cold、friendly。

We use the comparative when we're comparing two---and only two---items, and we use the superlative when we're comparing three or more:

我们在比较两个——且仅两个——项目时使用比较级，在比较三个或更多时使用最高级：

Susan is a fast runner. Susan is a faster runner than Alice. In fact, she's the fastest runner of all.

As we see in these sentences, when we're comparing one- syllable adjectives (and some two-syllable adjectives), we create the comparative and superlative forms by adding the suffixes -er and -est. See the examples for hot, cold, and friendly in the table of comparisons above.

如我们在这些句子中所见，当我们比较单音节形容词（以及一些双音节形容词）时，我们通过添加后缀 -er 和 -est 来构成比较级和最高级。参见上表比较中 hot、cold 和 friendly 的示例。

When we're comparing adjectives of three or more syllables (and some two-syllable adjectives), we create the comparative and superlative forms by placing the modifiers more and most before the adjectives. See the examples for famous, suspicious, and athletic in the table above.

当我们比较三个或更多音节的形容词（以及一些双音节形容词）时，我们通过在形容词前放置修饰语 more 和 most 来构成比较级和最高级。参见上表中 famous、suspicious 和 athletic 的示例。

When the comparison of an adjective is formed using the -er and -est suffixes or the more and most adverbs, we refer to it as a regular adjective.

当形容词的比较通过使用后缀 -er 和 -est，或副词 more 和 most 构成时，我们称之为规则形容词（regular adjective）。

Some two-syllable adjectives, like those below, can take either kind of comparison:

一些双音节形容词，如下所示，可以采用任一种比较方式：

happy, happier, happiest happy, more happy, most happy

often, oftener, oftenest often, more often, most often

Many careful writers seem to prefer happy, happier, happiest and often, more often, most often. When in doubt about a comparison, turn to the dictionary. And never use both kinds of comparison with the same word:

许多注重用词严谨的作者似乎更喜欢 happy, happier, happiest 和 often, more often, most often。当对比比较有疑问时，查阅词典。绝不对同一个词同时使用两种比较方式：

WRONG: Ed is our most hardest working employee.

Some adjectives that describe absolute qualities cannot be compared logically: We don't usually say deader or deadest, or more pregnant or most pregnant, unless we're kidding around. And it usually doesn't make sense to say more full or most instant or most continuous.

一些描述绝对性质的形容词在逻辑上无法比较：我们通常不会说 deader 或 deadest，或者 more pregnant 或 most pregnant，除非我们在开玩笑。说 more full、most instant 或 most continuous 通常也没有意义。

But sometimes we ignore logic, especially in everyday conversation. Unique (meaning "one of a kind") is a well-known example. Logically, something is either unique or it isn't, but people will still say things like this:

但有时我们会忽略逻辑，尤其是在日常会话中。Unique（意为"独一无二的"）是一个众所周知的例子。从逻辑上讲，某事物要么是独一无二的，要么不是，但人们仍然会说这样的话：

That tire swing in their living room is a very unique feature.

They mean that it's an unusual feature. But in everyday conversation (as opposed to professional writing), it seldom matters if you say very unique or most unique.

他们的意思是这是一个不寻常的特色。但在日常会话中（与专业写作相对），你说 very unique 或 most unique 很少有什么关系。

Every now and then a careful writer will ignore all of these arguments and compare an absolute quality, and it works. The opening words of the Preamble of the United States Constitution are one such example:

时不时会有注重用词的作者忽略所有这些论点，去比较一种绝对性质，而且行得通。美国宪法序言的开头语就是这样一个例子：

We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union . . . .

No one we know of has ever objected.

据我们所知，从来没有人提出异议。

POINTS FOR WRITERS 写作要点

1. Know the irregular adjectives. 认识不规则形容词（irregular adjective）。

A few adjectives have comparisons that are like clothes you see marked down in the stores: They're irregular adjectives--- they don't follow the usual patterns. They are some of the most commonly used adjectives, so you probably know most of them already:

有些形容词的比较级就像你在商店里看到的降价衣服：它们是不规则形容词——不遵循通常的模式。它们是一些最常用的形容词，所以你很可能已经知道其中大多数：

Positive（原级） Comparative（比较级） Superlative（最高级）

bad worse worst

good better best

little less least

much (or many) more most

2. Use superlatives correctly. 正确使用最高级。

Consider this sentence:

考虑这个句子：

I've heard Barbra and Taylor sing. Barbra is the best singer.

By the strictest rules of usage, we should write Barbra is the better singer, because we're only comparing two singers. Using the superlative form in a comparison of two is common in casual conversation, but we should try to avoid it in careful writing unless we're deliberately developing an informal style.

按照最严格的用法规则，我们应该写成 Barbra is the better singer，因为我们只在比较两位歌手。在两个对象的比较中使用最高级形式在日常会话中很常见，但在严谨的写作中我们应尽量避免，除非我们刻意营造非正式的风格。

3. Use hyphens in certain kinds of phrases. 在特定类型的短语中使用连字符。

When we use an entire phrase as an adjective, we typically hyphenate it:

当我们把整个短语用作形容词时，通常要加连字符：

The four-year-old girl A by-the-numbers process The broken-down car The short-term solution

Some cases are a bit more complex. Consider this noun phrase:

有些情况稍微复杂一些。考虑这个名词短语：

Nineteenth-century and twentieth-century American literature

We can remove one word and say the same thing:

我们可以去掉一个词而表达同样的意思：

Nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature

Notice the hanging hyphen after nineteenth. It enables nineteenth and twentieth to share the second element century. Here's another example:

请注意 nineteenth 后面的悬空连字符（hanging hyphen）。它使 nineteenth 和 twentieth 能够共享第二个元素 century。下面是另一个例子：

Short- and long-term solutions.

All the uses of hyphens shown here reflect formal usage. Increasingly, the hyphen is omitted in cases like these in less formal published prose.

这里展示的所有连字符用法都反映正式的用法。在不太正式的出版散文中，这类情况中连字符越来越常被省略。

EXERCISES 练习

4a. Name the three articles.

说出三个冠词。

4b. Identify the adjectives (including articles) in these sentences and underline them:

在以下句子中找出形容词（包括冠词）并在其下划线：

1. The new teacher is waiting in the outer office.
2. A rainy day could ruin the entire event.
3. Count Dracula is the tall, pale man in the shadows.
4. A backyard garden is a wonderful thing.
5. She wore a red and white dress to the casual party.
6. I gave my little brother good advice.
7. She has been a better student this year because of her hard work.
8. Bob's idea is the worst idea I've heard in a long time.
9. The point-by-point refutation was a difficult argument to follow.
10. Two roads lead to his farm.
11. Which roads are those?

4c. Give the comparative and superlative forms of these adjectives; use a dictionary when you need it. In some cases, there may be no comparative or superlative forms.

给出以下形容词的比较级和最高级形式；需要时使用词典。有些情况下可能没有比较级或最高级形式。

1. Small
2. Fast
3. Bright
4. Good
5. Bad
6. Curious
7. Cheerful
8. Happy
9. Wrong
10. Far (meaning anything except geographical distance)