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Chapter 15

They're So Common 它们如此常见 More on Nouns 更多关于名词（noun）

We've not yet dealt with important features of nouns and associated functions and structures, including some you may already know. Here we discuss several of them.

我们尚未处理名词及其关联功能和结构的重要特征，包括一些你可能已经知道的。这里我们讨论其中的几个。

THE COMMON AND THE PROPER 普通名词（common noun）与专有名词（proper noun）

You may already know about common and proper nouns. Common nouns are words like man, woman, child, city, state. They name general, nonspecific persons or things. Proper nouns name particular persons or things, and they're capitalized: Henry, Annie, Herbert, St. Louis, Missouri. (There are no improper nouns, and if there are, being very proper ourselves, we refuse to discuss them.)

你可能已经知道普通名词和专有名词。普通名词是像 man, woman, child, city, state 这样的词。它们指称一般的、非特定的人或事物。专有名词指称特定的人或事物，并且大写：Henry, Annie, Herbert, St. Louis, Missouri。（不存在不正当名词，如果有的话，作为非常正派的我们，拒绝讨论它们。）

Usually, it's easy to know when to capitalize a noun, but there can be uncertainty about words that may---or may not---be official titles:

通常，很容易知道何时将名词大写，但对于那些可能是——也可能不是——正式头衔的词，可能存在不确定性：

I spoke with Doctor Smith yesterday. I spoke with the doctor of obstetrics yesterday.

The president of the club lives in that white house. The President lives in the White House.

Context often has a great deal to do with this. (When Dr. Smith has his business cards printed, the words Doctor of Obstetrics are capitalized.) To make these decisions, notice what is being done in contexts similar to yours.

语境通常与此有很大关系。（当 Smith 博士印名片时，Doctor of Obstetrics 这些词是大写的。）要做出这些决定，请注意在与你类似的语境中所做的事情。

Dictionaries can help us make these distinctions, but it's also helpful to notice what other writers do in similar situations.

词典可以帮助我们做出这些区分，但注意其他作者在类似情况下的做法也很有帮助。

PLURAL NOUNS 复数名词（plural noun）

As you know, we make most nouns plural by simply adding –s to the end.

如你所知，我们让大多数名词变成复数，只需在末尾加 –s。

If a word ends with s, x, z, sh, or ch, we add –es: basses, boxes, dishes, churches, and many others.

如果一个词以 s, x, z, sh 或 ch 结尾，我们加 –es：basses, boxes, dishes, churches 等等。

But there are quite a few exceptions---called irregular plurals---and for these, all of us may need to refer to a dictionary at times. The easiest irregular plurals are those that don't change from singular to plural: Sheep, deer, and moose don't change.

但有不少例外——称为不规则复数（irregular plural）——对于这些，我们所有人可能有时需要查阅词典。最简单的不规则复数是那些从单数到复数不变的词：Sheep, deer 和 moose 不变。

Still other familiar irregulars change a vowel within the word (mice, men, teeth, and more) or add –en: oxen, children.

还有另一些熟悉的不规则词改变词内的元音（mice, men, teeth 等）或加 –en：oxen, children。

With a noun that ends with a consonant and o, we usually use –es for the plural: heroes, zeroes, potatoes.

对于以辅音和 o 结尾的名词，我们通常用 –es 表示复数：heroes, zeroes, potatoes。

But there are other nouns that end with a consonant and o that take only -s. Some of these are musical terms from Italian: pianos, cellos, solos.

但还有另一些以辅音和 o 结尾的名词只加 -s。其中一些是来自意大利语的音乐术语：pianos, cellos, solos。

A noun that ends with a vowel followed by o also takes only –s for the plural: patios, radios, rodeos, zoos.

以元音加 o 结尾的名词也只加 –s 表示复数：patios, radios, rodeos, zoos。

With some nouns that end with f or fe, follow the familiar rule: Change the f to v and add –es: calves, halves, knives, wives. But other plurals that end with f or fe take only –s: roofs, proofs, handkerchiefs, beliefs.

对于某些以 f 或 fe 结尾的名词，遵循熟悉的规则：将 f 改为 v 并加 –es：calves, halves, knives, wives。但另一些以 f 或 fe 结尾的复数只加 –s：roofs, proofs, handkerchiefs, beliefs。

You probably recall that in nouns that end with a consonant and y, we change y to i and add –es: armies, ladies, rallies. But when a vowel precedes y, we add only –s: bays, boys, alleys, valleys.

你可能还记得，在以辅音和 y 结尾的名词中，我们将 y 变为 i 并加 –es：armies, ladies, rallies。但当元音在 y 之前时，我们只加 –s：bays, boys, alleys, valleys。

And then there are a number of words from Latin or Greek that retain their original plural forms or something similar. To us, these plurals seem quite irregular:

还有一些来自拉丁语或希腊语的词保留了它们原来的复数形式或类似的形式。对我们来说，这些复数似乎非常不规则：

alumnae（女校友们） phenomena（现象） alumni（男校友们） radii（半径） criteria（标准） stimuli（刺激） media（媒介） theses（论文） nebulae（星云） vertebrae（椎骨）

We'll remind you again that a dictionary always helps with words like these. Most writers will use few of these Latin and Greek plurals, but we all need to remember some, including (probably) these:

我们再次提醒你，词典总是对这样的词有帮助。大多数作者会用很少这些拉丁语和希腊语复数，但我们都需要记住一些，包括（可能）这些：

  • medium (the singular) and media, as in the medium of television（媒介与媒体，如电视媒体）
  • criterion and criteria（标准）
  • phenomenon and phenomena（现象）
  • crisis and crises（危机）

Almost every profession and academic subject has its special terms that include certain irregular plurals, and it's a good idea to learn them as soon as possible for your professional writing.

几乎每个职业和学科都有其包含某些不规则复数的特殊术语，为了你的职场写作，尽快学习它们是个好主意。

It's also helpful to know that almost no one uses memorandum and memoranda anymore; we simply write memo or memos. And for most purposes today, data is accepted as both singular and plural.

知道几乎没有人再使用 memorandum 和 memoranda 也是有帮助的；我们只是写 memo 或 memos。而在今天的多数用途中，data 既被接受为单数，也被接受为复数。

GREAT INDECISIONS: POSSESSION AND APOSTROPHES 重大犹豫：所有格与撇号（apostrophe）

It's usually easy to indicate possession in English nouns; with singular nouns, we add an apostrophe and –s: man's, woman's, child's, Oliver's, Stanley's.

对英语名词表示所有通常很容易；对于单数名词，我们加一个撇号和 –s：man's, woman's, child's, Oliver's, Stanley's。

With plurals, we add a lone apostrophe after the final –s: friends', students', teachers'.

对于复数，我们在末尾的 –s 后加一个单独的撇号：friends', students', teachers'。

But the English language sometimes makes things a bit trickier. When a plural does not end in –s, we make the possessive form with the apostrophe first, then –s, like the regular singular possessive: men's, women's, children's.

但英语有时让事情变得有点棘手。当复数不以 –s 结尾时，我们用撇号再加 –s 构成所有格形式，就像规则的单一所有格一样：men's, women's, children's。

Now comes the frustrating part: Suppose a singular noun ends in –s, like boss or Ross, Charles or Bess? For the possessive, do we add only an apostrophe? (Ross', Charles', or Bess'?) Or do we add an apostrophe and –s? (Ross's, Charles's, or Bess's?)

现在到了令人沮丧的部分：假设一个单数名词以 –s 结尾，如 boss 或 Ross, Charles 或 Bess？对于所有格，我们是只加一个撇号吗？（Ross', Charles', 或 Bess'？）还是我们加一个撇号和 –s？（Ross's, Charles's, 或 Bess's？）

The sad truth is that American English has no universally accepted way of marking possession in these cases. Some authorities insist on one way, some on another.

可悲的事实是，美式英语在这些情况下没有普遍接受的表示所有格的方式。一些权威坚持一种方式，一些坚持另一种。

In your professional writing, you must find out which way your organization prefers and stick to it. If your organization has no standard way, persuade your leaders to adopt one of the standard style guides (like the Associated Press Stylebook) to answer such questions.

在你的职场写作中，你必须找出你的组织偏好的方式并坚持使用。如果你的组织没有标准方式，说服你的领导采用一种标准风格指南（如 Associated Press Stylebook）来回答此类问题。

In this book, we create possessives with –'s after singulars ending in s, like this:

在本书中，我们对以 s 结尾的单数在末尾加 –'s 构成所有格，如下所示：

The boss's desk Ross's desk Bess's desk

APPOSITIVES 同位语（appositive）

An appositive is a noun or pronoun that usually appears immediately after another noun to rename the first noun and provide additional information about it. The appositive is usually enclosed in a pair of commas, although we may sometimes use dashes or parentheses depending on our desired style, tone, or emphasis.

同位语是一个名词或代词，通常紧接在另一个名词之后出现，以重新命名第一个名词并提供关于它的附加信息。同位语通常括在一对逗号中，尽管我们有时可能根据我们想要的风格、语气或强调使用破折号或括号。

More than one appositive is possible, and sometimes the appositive has modifiers of its own:

更多一个同位语是可能的，有时同位语有自己的修饰语：

My boss, Mr. Smith, was talking to my parents. Mr. Smith, my wonderful boss, was talking to my parents. My boss---that bore, that ogre, that man whom I hate more than any other person living, with the possible exception of my English teacher---was telling my parents that I have a bad attitude.

In the sentences above, the appositives all rename the subject (My boss or Mr. Smith), and for that reason they are considered part of the subject.

在上面的句子中，同位语都重新命名了主语（My boss 或 Mr. Smith），因此它们被认为是主语的一部分。

In the third example, the dashes are helpful to mark the beginning and end of the long, complicated appositive phrase because the phrase itself contains three commas.

在第三个示例中，破折号有助于标记漫长复杂的同位语短语的开头和结尾，因为该短语本身包含三个逗号。

Nominal clauses can be appositives:

名词性从句可以是同位语：

The physicist's idea, that multiple universes exist, baffles me. My question---who killed Colonel Mustard in the library?---remains unanswered. His topic, why climate change is happening, was timely.

When pronouns are used as appositives, their case (nominative, objective, or possessive) should match the function of the nouns they rename. In the example below, the appositives rename the object (judges) of a preposition, so the pronoun is in the objective case:

当代词用作同位语时，它们的格（主格、宾格或所有格）应与它们重新命名的名词的功能匹配。在下面的示例中，同位语重新命名介词的宾语（judges），所以代词用宾格：

The photos were given to the judges, Eric and me.

In the next example, the appositives rename the subject (judges), so the pronoun is in the nominative case:

在下一个示例中，同位语重新命名主语（judges），所以代词用主格：

The judges, Eric and I, will study the photos.

Sometimes structures look like appositives but are not. For instance, a compound noun phrase, joined with or, can be used to indicate a synonym:

有时结构看起来像同位语，但实际上不是。例如，由 or 连接的复合名词短语可以用来表示同义词：

The common dog, or Canis lupus familiaris, belongs to the Canidae family. Mergenthaler's typesetting machine (or Linotype) was completed in 1884.

The noun after or is not an appositive, despite the punctuation. But remove the conjunction or and the same sentences now contain appositives that are, again, synonyms of the preceding noun phrase:

or 后面的名词不是同位语，尽管有标点符号。但去掉连词 or，相同的句子现在就包含同位语，它们再次是前面名词短语的同义词：

The common dog, Canis lupus familiaris, belongs to the Canidae family. Mergenthaler's typesetting machine, the Linotype, was completed in 1884.

Don't confuse the appositive with adjectives that appear after the noun they modify:

不要把同位语与出现在它们修饰的名词之后的形容词混淆：

The children, noisy and enthusiastic, dashed through the living room.

THE EXPLETIVE THERE 虚词 there（expletive）

An expletive, as the term is used in grammar, is a word inserted into a sentence that adds nothing to the meaning but alters word order in ways that are sometimes useful. As we use the term here, expletives are not swear words, although the term sometimes has that meaning, too: "Where are my [expletive deleted] glasses?"

虚词，按其语法术语的用法，是插入句中的一个词，它不增加任何意义，但以有时有用的方式改变词序。正如我们在这里使用这个术语，虚词不是脏话，尽管这个术语有时也有那个意思："我的[脏话已删除]眼镜在哪里？"

The most commonly used expletive is there, which can be added to a sentence to temporarily take the place of the subject.

最常用的虚词是 there，它可以被加到一个句子中，暂时占据主语的位置。

This expletive postpones the appearance of the subject, which may be a noun or a pronoun, until after the first word of the verb (that is, after the first auxiliary or after the main verb when there is no auxiliary). The expletive is never the actual subject.

这个虚词推迟主语的出现，主语可能是名词或代词，直到动词的第一个词之后（即第一个助动词之后，或没有助动词时的主要动词之后）。虚词永远不是真正的主语。

Compare these pairs of sentences, in which the complete subject is underlined:

比较这些成对的句子，其中完整主语以下划线标出：

A painting by Degas is hanging in the museum. There is a painting by Degas hanging in the museum.

Two men were looking for you. There were two men looking for you.

The expletive there has no grammatical function in the second sentence. It has only a stylistic function, to stand in for the true subject, postponing the subject until later in the sentence, as shown above.

虚词 there 在第二个句子中没有语法功能。它只有文体功能，代表真正的主语，将主语推迟到句子的后面出现，如上所示。

In English, expletive constructions are the usual way to say certain things:

在英语中，虚词结构是说某些事情的惯用方式：

There will now be a short intermission. （现在将有一个短暂的中场休息。）

We don't say, A short intermission will now be (though we can say We'll now have a short intermission.)

我们不说 A short intermission will now be（尽管我们可以说 We'll now have a short intermission）。

Somewhere there is a place for us. （在某处有我们的地方。）

We can't say, Somewhere a place for us is or A place for us is somewhere.

我们不能说 Somewhere a place for us is 或 A place for us is somewhere。

In both of the cases above, the expletive there postpones the subject to the end of the sentence, where the subject (a short intermission; a place for us) receives special emphasis.

在上述两种情况下，虚词 there 将主语推迟到句尾，主语（a short intermission; a place for us）获得特殊强调。

Don't confuse the expletive there with the adverb of place there. Here's a useful test: Can you replace there with here and retain the original general sense of the sentence? If yes, then there is an adverb.

不要将虚词 there 与地点副词 there 混淆。这里有一个有用的测试：你能把 there 替换成 here 并保留句子的原始大意吗？如果可以，那么 there 是副词。

ADVERB: Your keys are over there. (Compare: Your keys are over here.)

ADVERB: There are your keys. (Compare: Here are your keys.)

EXPLETIVE: There are keys all over the place. (We wouldn't usually say, Here are keys all over the place.)

Here are a few more examples of subjects postponed by the expletive there:

以下是虚词 there 推迟主语的更多示例：

A dog is growling in the yard. → There is a dog growling in the yard.

A boy is building something on our porch. → There is a boy building something on the porch.

In Chapter 20, we'll learn about the use of it as an expletive.

在第 20 章中，我们将学习 it 作为虚词的用法。

NOUNS OF DIRECT ADDRESS 呼语名词（noun of direct address）

In written dialogue and letters, as in daily conversation, we sometimes use the names of the people we're addressing. These names are called nouns of direct address:

在书面对话和信件中，就像在日常对话中一样，我们有时使用我们正在称呼的人的名字。这些名字称为呼语名词：

Mr. Smith, I'd like to speak with you, please. I don't like to be disappointed, and you, Renfru, disappoint me.

Sometimes nouns of direct address are common nouns that apply to one person or an entire audience:

有时呼语名词是适用于一个人或整个听众的普通名词：

My friend, I hope you will take my advice. This news, my friends, should comfort us all. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our forty-first annual vase juggling competition.

The noun of direct address is always enclosed by a pair of commas, and it has no grammatical function in the sentence. That is, it's not considered part of the subject or the predicate. It has a social function: to get the attention of the person addressed, or to clarify who is being addressed.

呼语名词总是用一对逗号括起来，它在句子中没有语法功能。也就是说，它不被视为主语或谓语的一部分。它具有社会功能：引起被称呼者的注意，或澄清正在对谁说话。

Sometimes, if the context doesn't resolve ambiguities, readers may confuse nouns of address and appositives:

有时，如果语境没有解决歧义，读者可能会混淆呼语名词和同位语：

Your supervisor, Mr. Watley, told you to finish that project.

If Mr. Watley is the supervisor, then the words Mr. Watley are an appositive. If Mr. Watley is the person being addressed, then Mr. Watley is a noun of direct address. We can usually depend on the larger context to clarify this.

如果 Mr. Watley 是主管，那么 Mr. Watley 这些词是同位语。如果 Mr. Watley 是被称呼的人，那么 Mr. Watley 是呼语名词。我们通常可以依靠更大的语境来澄清这一点。

POINTS FOR WRITERS 写作要点

1. Restrictive and non-restrictive appositives. 限制性同位语与非限制性同位语

Here comes a distinction that is seldom understood and often ignored.

以下是一个很少被理解、经常被忽视的区分。

Sometimes the pair of commas is not used with the appositive, depending on the larger context. In the first example below, the writer has more than one daughter; in the second, he has only one:

有时，同位语不使用一对逗号，这取决于更大的语境。在以下第一个示例中，作者不止一个女儿；在第二个中，他只有一个：

My daughter Mary plays the tuba. My daughter, Mary, plays the tuba.

In the first example, Mary is a restrictive appositive: it restricts (or limits) the meaning of daughter. In the second example, the non-restrictive appositive Mary simply provides supplementary information. (And in this case the commas contribute nothing to understanding the sentence.)

在第一个示例中，Mary 是限制性同位语：它限制（或限定）daughter 的含义。在第二个示例中，非限制性同位语 Mary 只是提供补充信息。（在这种情况下，逗号对理解句子没有帮助。）

Here are more examples of restrictive appositives, followed by non-restrictive examples:

以下是限制性同位语的更多示例，接着是非限制性示例：

RESTRICTIVE: My cousin Bob plays the harmonica. NON-RESTRICTIVE: My cousin, Bob, plays the harmonica.

RESTRICTIVE: Our custodian Mr. Halley does good work. NON-RESTRICTIVE: Our custodian, Mr. Halley, does good work.

In both cases the restrictive appositive, without the commas, is used to identify a specific cousin or custodian out of many.

在这两种情况下，没有逗号的限制性同位语用于从众多中识别特定的表亲或管理员。

When in doubt, add the commas. Few (if any) readers will object, or even notice, if you're wrong, and the commas seldom if ever alter the meaning of the sentence significantly. But if you add the first comma, don't forget the second.

如果有疑问，就加上逗号。很少有（如果有的话）读者会反对，甚至注意到，如果你搞错了，而且逗号很少（如果有的话）会显著改变句子的意思。但如果你加了第一个逗号，别忘了第二个。

EXERCISES 练习

15a. What's the difference in writing between regular plural nouns, possessive nouns, and plural possessive nouns? Write an example that illustrates each category, using words that have regular plurals.

在写作中，规则复数名词、所有格名词和复数所有格名词之间有什么区别？用具有规则复数的词写一个示例来说明每个类别。

For example: cats, cat's, and cats'.

15b. Write plural, singular possessive, and plural possessive forms of the following nouns: woman, ox, church, tomato, piano, medium (e.g., the medium of TV), boss, and octopus. Use a dictionary when you need to.

写出下列名词的复数、单数所有格和复数所有格形式：woman, ox, church, tomato, piano, medium（如电视媒体）、boss 和 octopus。需要时使用词典。

15c. In the following sentences, identify the sentences that contain nouns of address, appositives, and expletives, and underline those structures. In sentences with expletives, identify the complete subject of the sentence. A sentence may contain more than one of these structures. In some cases, the function of the phrase may not be clear within the limited context.

在以下句子中，识别包含呼语名词、同位语和虚词的句子，并在那些结构下画线。对于有虚词的句子，识别句子的完整主语。一个句子可能包含多个这些结构。在某些情况下，短语的功能在有限的语境中可能不清晰。

Examples: 示例：

My brother Ed has left. [同位语 / Appositive] Dwight, see if his brother has left. [呼语名词 / Noun of address] There are no printer cartridges in the supply closet. [There 是虚词，no printer cartridges 是主语。]

  1. Dr. Kildare, you can speak with my assistant.
  2. June, speak with my physician, Dr. Kildare.
  3. Your brother, Alice, is remarkable.
  4. There is rain forecast for tomorrow.
  5. It is clear that Ed is a menace.