Chapter 10¶

Sentencing Guidelines: Building Sentences with Clauses 造句指南：用从句构建句子

Simple sentences（简单句）
Compound sentences（并列句）
Complex sentences（复合句）
Compound-Complex sentences（并列复合句）

You've probably encountered them before:

你可能之前已经遇到过它们。

Simple Sentence 简单句: A simple sentence contains only one independent clause:

简单句只包含一个独立从句（independent clause）：

I went to the garage.

A simple sentence can contain a compound subject, a compound predicate, or other compound structures. The sentence below contains one compound subject and one compound predicate, so it's still a simple sentence:

简单句可以包含复合主语、复合谓语或其他复合结构。下面的句子包含一个复合主语和一个复合谓语，所以它仍然是一个简单句：

Alphonse and I went to the garage, found his car, and drove it home.

The following sentence contains a compound subject, a compound verb, and a compound predicate:

以下句子包含一个复合主语、一个复合动词和一个复合谓语：

Jim and Louise planned and prepared the meal and cleared up afterward.

It's still just one clause, so it's a simple sentence.

它仍然只是一个从句，所以是一个简单句。

Compound Sentence 并列句: A compound sentence contains at least two clauses: two or more independent clauses joined by one or more coordinating conjunctions. There are no dependent clauses in a compound sentence:

并列句至少包含两个从句：两个或更多独立从句通过一个或多个并列连词（coordinating conjunction）连接。并列句中没有依存从句（dependent clause）：

I went to the garage, and I found my bike. I found my bike, but the tires were flat.

Complex Sentence 复合句: A complex sentence contains at least two clauses: only one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. In the examples in this chapter, the dependent clauses will be joined to the independent clauses by one or more subordinating conjunctions (shown in bold):

复合句至少包含两个从句：只有一个独立从句和一个或多个依存从句。在本章的示例中，依存从句将通过一个或多个从属连词（subordinating conjunction，用粗体示出）连接到独立从句：

I went to the garage because I needed my bike.

Complex sentences can also contain relative clauses or nominal clauses, as we will soon see.

复合句也可以包含关系从句（relative clause）或名词性从句（nominal clause），我们很快就会看到。

Compound-Complex Sentence 并列复合句: A compound-complex sentence contains at least three clauses. It contains two or more independent clauses joined by one or more coordinating conjunctions, and it also contains one or more dependent clauses. In the example below, the dependent clause is a subordinate clause, joined by a subordinating conjunction:

并列复合句至少包含三个从句。它包含两个或更多通过一个或多个并列连词连接的独立从句，并且还包含一个或多个依存从句。在以下示例中，依存从句是一个从句，通过从属连词连接：

I went to the garage because I needed my bike, and I found it.

As we'll soon see, compound-complex sentences can also contain relative clauses or nominal clauses.

我们很快就会看到，并列复合句也可以包含关系从句或名词性从句。

Fragments 残缺句: There's a fifth kind of sentence that's not really a sentence at all. It's a fragment sentence, a structurally incomplete sentence, and there are many ways to write them. Here's one way:

还有第五种“句子”，其实根本不是句子。那就是残缺句（fragment sentence），一种结构上不完整的句子，有很多写残缺句的方式。这里有一种方式：

I went to the garage and I found my bike. Because I needed it.

The second sentence is a fragment; it's simply a subordinate clause that is punctuated like a sentence. We use such fragments all the time in conversation:

第二个句子是残缺句；它只是一个像句子一样加了标点的从句。我们在对话中一直使用这样的残缺句：

Why were you looking for your bike? Because I needed it.

Usually no one objects, or even notices. In careful writing, however, we should avoid fragments unless we're deliberately using them for emphasis. Even then, we should use them with restraint.

通常没有人反对，甚至没有人注意到。然而，在细致的写作中，我们应当避免残缺句，除非我们故意用它们来强调。即便如此，我们也应该有节制地使用它们。

What if we combine two fragments? Do two fragments make a whole? The following consists of two subordinate clauses, punctuated like a complete sentence:

如果我们将两个残缺句组合在一起呢？两个残缺句能组成一个整体吗？以下由两个从句组成，像完整句子一样加了标点：

When he finally arrives, if the plane is on time.

Combining two (or more) dependent clauses still makes a fragment sentence, because a sentence has to have at least one independent clause. This kind of fragment is never acceptable, unless you're Gertrude Stein, and you probably aren't. (If you are, get in touch with us immediately.)

将两个（或更多）依存从句组合起来仍然构成残缺句，因为一个句子必须至少有一个独立从句。这种残缺句是永远不可接受的，除非你是格特鲁德·斯泰因，而你大概不是。（如果你是，请立即联系我们。）

CLASSIFYING BY PURPOSE 按目的分类

There is another way to classify sentences: according to their purposes. Even in these classifications, sentence structure and punctuation are important.

还有另一种分类句子的方式：根据它们的目的。即使在这些分类中，句子结构和标点也很重要。

As we've seen, declarative sentences make a statement. They usually have the subject + predicate structure we've examined (subject first, predicate second), and they usually end with a period:

正如我们所见，陈述句（declarative sentence）做出陈述。它们通常具有我们考察过的主语+谓语结构（主语在前，谓语在后），并且通常以句号结尾：

I am in trouble. 我有麻烦了。

Interrogative sentences ask a question. They may begin with a question word (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?) or with a verb. They typically end with a question mark:

疑问句（interrogative sentence）提出问题。它们可能以疑问词（Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?）开头，或以动词开头。它们通常以问号结尾：

Why do these things always happen to me? How can these things keep happening? Do things like this ever happen to you?

As the third example above shows, many questions (those that can be answered by yes or no) can be formed from declarative sentences by altering the placement of a verb. An auxiliary verb (like do) is placed before the subject:

如上面第三个示例所示，许多问句（那些可以用 yes 或 no 回答的）可以通过改变动词的位置从陈述句构成。一个助动词（如 do）被放在主语之前：

You know what I'm talking about. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Sometimes, especially in conversation and fictional dialogue, interrogatives are just a word or two that make sense in context (we hope):

有时，特别是在对话和小说对白中，疑问句只是在语境中有意义的一两个词（我们希望如此）：

What? Why? Who, me?

Interrogatives can also be statements that end in tag questions:

疑问句也可以是结尾带有附加疑问句（tag question）的陈述：

You did forget your textbooks, didn't you? I won't need them, will I?

These two examples above are not run-on sentences or comma splices. They are correct, completely acceptable sentences, and they're a bit more complicated than they might look.

上面这两个示例不是连排句（run-on sentence）或逗号拼接句（comma splice）。它们是正确、完全可以接受的句子，而且比它们表面看起来要稍微复杂一些。

As you see in the two examples, a tag question is added to the end of a declarative sentence with a comma, and it repeats the auxiliary verb and the subject of the declarative. If the declarative is positive (You did forget your textbooks), the tag question is negative (didn't you?). If the declarative is negative (I won't need them), the tag is positive (will I?).

如你在两个示例中所见，附加疑问句用逗号加在陈述句末尾，并且它重复陈述句的助动词和主语。如果陈述句是肯定的（You did forget your textbooks），附加疑问句就是否定的（didn't you?）。如果陈述句是否定的（I won't need them），附加疑问句就是肯定的（will I?）。

In other words, negative tag questions anticipate positive answers:

换句话说，否定附加疑问句预期肯定回答：

You forgot your textbooks, didn't you? Oh---yes, I did.

And positive tag questions anticipate negative answers:

而肯定附加疑问句预期否定回答：

I won't need them, will I? No, you won't.

But we don't always get the answer we anticipate, do we? (Or, as the great Fats Waller often said: "One never knows, do one?")

但我们并不总是得到预期的答案，不是吗？（或者，正如伟大的法茨·沃勒常说的："One never knows, do one?"人永远不知道，是吗？）

An imperative sentence is a command. It may end with a period or an exclamation mark, and it may be missing the subject:

祈使句（imperative sentence）是命令。它可以以句号或感叹号结尾，并且可能缺少主语：

Get out of here! Go! Scram! Get lost!

In an imperative sentence, the missing subject is often an implied second-person pronoun (you) perhaps with an implied auxiliary verb:

在祈使句中，缺失的主语通常是一个隐含的第二人称代词（you），可能还有一个隐含的助动词：

[You must] Get out of here! [You must] Stop that!

Commands can be phrased more politely, but they're still imperatives:

命令可以用更礼貌的方式表达，但它们仍然是祈使句：

Please don't do that.

Exclamatory sentences express strong emotion. They have no distinctive structure or end punctuation, and they're often incomplete sentences or just a phrase:

感叹句（exclamatory sentence）表达强烈的情感。它们没有独特的结构或结尾标点，而且常常是不完整的句子或仅仅是一个短语：

No! Don't! Oh, that's just great What the heck?

The four classifications that we just examined illustrate how inadequate simple terms and concepts sometimes are in analyzing what language can do. In some cases, because language is capable of explicit and implicit meanings, sentences don't clearly fit in any single category; they may have implicit meanings quite different from their explicit purpose.

我们刚刚考察的四种分类说明了简单的术语和概念在分析语言能做什么时有时是多么不充分。在某些情况下，因为语言能够表达明确的和隐含的意义，句子不能明确地归入任何单一类别；它们可能有与明确目的完全不同的隐含意义。

Suppose a teacher in a classroom says to a student,

假设教室里一位老师对一名学生说：

You look puzzled.

In that context, this declarative sentence may contain an implicit interrogative: Do you have a question?

在那个语境中，这个陈述句可能包含隐含的疑问：你有问题吗？

Or suppose the teacher says to a student in the back row,

或者假设老师对后排的一名学生说：

I'm watching you.

That could be an implicit imperative, meaning Stop what you're doing! Behave yourself!

那可能是一个隐含的祈使，意思是停止你正在做的事情！规矩点！

The teacher might imply the same imperative idea with a question: Did you have something to say?

老师可能用问题来暗示同样的祈使意思：你有什么要说的吗？

POINTS FOR WRITERS 写作要点

1. Beginning sentences with conjunctions. 以连词开头的句子

You may have learned in school that writers should not begin a sentence with the subordinating conjunction because, like this:

你可能在学校学过，作者不应该用从属连词 because 开头一个句子，像这样：

Because Linda was late for school, she left home hastily.

In fact, that is a perfectly good complex sentence, and good writers do indeed begin sentences with because. But you shouldn't do this:

事实上，那是一个非常好的复合句，好的作者确实会用 because 开头的句子。但你不应该这样做：

WRONG: Because Linda was late for school. She left home hastily.

As we saw earlier, a subordinate clause has to be connected to an independent clause unless you're deliberately writing a fragment.

正如我们之前所见，从句必须连接到一个独立从句，除非你是在刻意写一个残缺句。

You can also begin sentences with coordinating conjunctions, but don't overdo it. We've done it twice in the last page or so:

你也可以用并列连词开头句子，但不要过度。我们在上一两页已经做了两次：

But you shouldn't do this. And, even then, we should use them with restraint.

The initial conjunction connects the idea of the sentence to the preceding sentences---it's one way to create paragraph coherence. It also contributes to a somewhat less formal tone, which is desirable in some contexts.

首位的连词将句子的意思与前面的句子连接起来——这是建立段落连贯性的一种方式。它也有助于形成一种稍微不那么正式的语气，在某些语境中是可取的。

A sentence that begins with a coordinating conjunction is not a fragment sentence. It is a stylistic variation that you should use with restraint.

以并列连词开头的句子不是残缺句。它是一种文体变体，你应该有节制地使用。

2. Commas in compound structures. 复合结构中的逗号

When a sentence contains a compound phrase of two parts, commas are usually not necessary:

当句子包含两部分的复合短语时，逗号通常不是必需的：

My brother and your sister are planning a party.

When there are three or more parts in the compound structure, we typically use only one conjunction to join them all, and commas separate the parts:

当复合结构中有三个或更多部分时，我们通常只用一个连词将它们全部连接，并用逗号分隔各部分：

My brother, your sister, and their friends are planning a party.

As you may have noticed in the examples earlier, compound sentences use a comma to mark the end of every independent clause except the last:

正如你可能在之前的示例中注意到的，并列句使用逗号标记除最后一个外的每个独立从句的结尾：

Now you're behaving yourself, but you have to leave anyway. You're behaving yourself now, yet you have to leave, and you can't come back.

When the two clauses are short and simple, we can omit the comma:

当两个从句简短简单时，我们可以省略逗号：

I am angry and I am leaving.

When the clauses are long and complex, the commas separating the clauses become more important. They help the reader understand where one clause begins and another ends.

当从句长而复杂时，分隔从句的逗号变得更为重要。它们帮助读者理解一个从句在哪里开始，另一个在哪里结束。

When a subordinate clause begins the sentence, the comma separates the subordinate clause from the independent clause, unless the subordinate clause is brief and the sentence is unambiguous without the comma:

当一个从句位于句首时，逗号将从句与独立从句分隔开，除非从句简短且句子没有逗号也很清楚：

Because I could not stop for Death, I hid behind a tree. (Emily Dickinson, improved. / 艾米莉·迪金森，改良版。)

The sentences below challenge our comprehension (at least a little) because they each need a comma to mark the end of a subordinate clause. Read these sentences and decide where the commas should go:

下面的句子挑战了我们的理解力（至少有一点），因为每个句子都需要一个逗号来标记从句的结尾。阅读这些句子，决定逗号应该放在哪里：

Because you've eaten already dinner at our house tonight will be postponed. After you've eaten the dog should be fed right away.

Yes, we deliberately wrote these sentences to be difficult without the comma. But such sentences do occur in our everyday writing. Commas are important in these cases because they clarify the structure of the sentence for the reader. (If you haven't yet worked it out, both of those last two examples need a comma after eaten.)

是的，我们故意把这些句子写得没有逗号就很难理解。但这样的句子确实出现在我们的日常写作中。逗号在这些情况下很重要，因为它们为读者澄清了句子结构。（如果你还没有想出来，上面最后两个示例都需要在 eaten 后面加一个逗号。）

EXERCISES 练习

10a. Go back to the beginning pages of this chapter and reread the definitions of an independent clause, a dependent clause, and a sentence. Then try to write the three definitions from memory, and use the book to check your work.

回到本章开头几页，重读独立从句、依存从句和句子的定义。然后尝试默写这三个定义，并用本书检查你的作业。

10b. Classify the following sentences according to their structures. Each sentence will be simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. Refer to the definitions in this chapter when you need to.

根据结构对以下句子进行分类。每个句子将是简单句、并列句、复合句或并列复合句。需要时请参考本章中的定义。

Here are a few points to help you: 以下是几点帮助你的提示：

Pay attention to punctuation, which often helps. 注意标点，这通常有帮助。
Watch for conjunctions of all kinds; don't confuse prepositions with conjunctions. 注意各种连词；不要混淆介词和连词。
Remember that a compound phrase of some sort (like a compound subject or compound direct object) may be in a sentence that does not itself have compound structure. 记住，某种复合短语（如复合主语或复合直接宾语）可能在本身不具有复合结构的句子中。

Finally, there is at least one fragment sentence here that can't be classified any other way. Classify every incomplete sentence you find as a fragment.

最后，这里至少有一个无法以其他方式分类的残缺句。将你找到的每个不完整的句子归类为残缺句。

My family owned a cocker spaniel when I was young.
Before the meeting, we will set up the room, and you should prepare the refreshments.
Before the meeting begins, we will set up the room, and you should prepare the refreshments.
He has done well since graduation, and he credits his success to the university.
As if he is our supervisor.
Since graduation, when he began working here, while Arthur was the supervisor of both departments.
Louise and Sharon went to the garage and found their car.
Either Arthur and Gwyn find a way to solve this problem themselves, or they must seek help.
Both spring and fall are their favorite seasons for camping and fishing in the mountains.
We sat nervously as we waited for our interviews.
During our interviews, the applicants occasionally answered poorly, but in general they did well.
After they left the office, they returned, for Louise had forgotten her portfolio.

10c. Return to the sentences in 10b, and identify the complete subjects and predicates in all the clauses of all the complete sentences. Put subjects in brackets and underline predicates.

回到 10b 中的句子，识别所有完整句子中所有从句的完整主语和谓语。将主语放在括号中，在谓语下画线。

10d. Classify the following sentences according to their purposes: Each sentence will be declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory. (Don't worry about possible implicit meanings.) Refer to the definitions in this chapter when you need to.

根据目的对以下句子进行分类：每个句子将是陈述句、疑问句、祈使句或感叹句。（不要担心可能的隐含意义。）需要时请参考本章中的定义。

What a mess!
What are you shouting about?
I forgot my portfolio, and now the office is closed.
Just relax and get it tomorrow.
Listen!
The boys' choir is singing.
What music those children make!
Didn't Count Dracula say that once?
Are you comparing the boys' choir to wolves?
Stop twisting my words!