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之前的几篇中我们介绍了不定冠词a/an的使用、无冠词的情况以及简单引入了定冠词the使用,本篇将集中讲解the的具体用法。
所指涉的东西,根据公共知识/常识,是唯一的。
Another idea was that at the equator the ocean would be boiling hot.
London is the capital of England.
有时根据语境,我们判断对话发生于熟人之间,那么这种情况下,就可以预设有些他们提及的事物对于他们是“共同知晓唯一”的,因而是“特定”的,所以用the。Eg:
Our apartment is on the tenth floor.
The hotel where we stayed was a very old hotel.
关于“常识的唯一”,我们常在以下的事物前加the:
the world ; the universe ; the sun ; the moon ; the earth(地球)
the sky ; the sea ; the ground ; the country
eg:The sun was very clear in the sky, and there was a cool breeze from the sea.
Do you live in a town or in the country?(你住在城镇还是乡下?)
The earth goes round the sun, and the moon goes round the earth.
注:earth(地球)前加the,通常出现在日常对话,涉及到的是一般的常识(如上引的例句);当涉及到专业叙述(如天文学)时,通常大写,且不加the。这条规则也可适用于其他天体。Eg:Which is the planet nearest Earth?
又:space不加the,通常指涉“宇宙空间”。Eg:
The two spacecraft continued to float together, far out in space.
I tried to park my car, but the space was too small.(这里加the,指一般置放用空间)
形容词最高级前加the。
Eg:
The darkest cloud has a silver lining.
This is the best book of elementary chemistry.
但涉及到“大多数”这一用法时,如most people / most shops / most big cities,不加the。Eg:
Most shops accept credit cards.
“the same”
It seems to me that food all over Europe is becoming the same.
What I"m looking for is always the same.
常用表达:
a.(go to)the cinema, the theatre
I go to the cinema a lot, but I haven’t been to the theatre for ages.
b. TV / television前常不加the, 但radio 前常加the。
Eg:I watch TV a lot, but I don’t listen to the radio much.
但有时也看具体语境, eg:
The cat jumped on to his table and sat down in front of the television.(特定的电视机)
c. the internet
you can easily communicate with people all over the world by the Internet.
上一篇讲解不加冠词的情况时,我们提到这样两种情况:
1.当描述某人从业于某机构或者在此机构做与该机构密切相关的事时,机构前不加the.
2.“动词+bed,work,home,当我们用这一结构表达与之关联的行为概念而非去到特定地方时。”
而当这些相关名词前加the,则会引起语义上的变化。这里举出几组例子:
加the表示一特定的种类。
The giraffe is the tallest of all animals.
The bicycle is an excellent means of transport.
When was the camera invented?
The dollar is the currency of the United States.
以上例子的the都不表示特定的某个事物,而指某个种类的事物。这也是乐器前要加the的原因。但根据具体语境,有时也有变化。Eg:
这里就和上篇的内容有很大系联,刚好可以温习一下。
上一篇我们说,究竟是使用定冠词还是不定冠词,需要“根据语境,区分所描述的人或事物是否为特定的。”但应该说,这种区分的界限往往不是那么明确;这方面,就需要大家私下多多积累,培养语感。这里举一些例子:
The加形容词,指代特定种类人群。
Eg:
the old ; the elderly ; the rich ; the poor ; the homeless ; the unemployed
the sick ; the injured
这种表达之后的动词要用复数形式。如要指涉单数的人,可使用这种表达:a rich man 等。
在有关“哪国人”的表达中,我们用the加-sh 或 -ch 结尾的词 ,泛指该国人。
如:the French ;the Dutch ;the British ;the English ; the Spanish。 这种表达后用动词的复数形式。Eg:
The French are famous for their food.
如要指涉单个人,则可以说:
I met a French woman / an English guy.
同样的,“某国人”以-ese 或 -ss结尾, the加这些词也可泛指该国人,如:the Chinese ;the Portuguese ;the Swiss。 不同的是,这些词可以在前加不定冠词表单数,如:a Chinese。
另一方面,其他一些表国籍的词,可按照一般名词单复数变化指代个人或群体,如:an Italian(Italians);a Mexican(Mexicans);a Thai(Thais)。
所有上述这些词,都可以用其形容词形式+people表群体,如:French / Chinese / Mexican people are very friendly.
以上就是关于the的全部讲解。
冠词,到这里也就讲解完毕了。冠词这部分,我们用了三篇凡4000余字的篇幅来讲解,实在是因为它太无处不在,又十分依赖语境,因而显得繁琐,但每一个知识点又都有其价值。之后我这边会推出一个整合版,届时会有一定删节与增补,希望大家多多关注。
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