兩個寫法的句子 - 古德明

兩個寫法的句子 - 古德明

問:以下兩個寫法都見於英文書刊,哪個正確?──Where do you think you are / are you going?又句子是說「你想去哪裏?」還是「你以為你要去哪裏?」
答:Do you think三字,常用在where、who、what等字之後,表示不滿或憤怒,有時不能譯做「想」或「以為」。讀者說的那一句,就可譯做「這是你亂闖的地方嗎?」而Who do you think you are?則可譯做「你以為自己很了不起?」
至於文法,正確的當然是Where do you think you are going?另一說法固然也很常見,但只能算是隨便的口語,嚴格而言並不正確。
問:以下兩個說法,意思有分別嗎?──I was walking home when I met him / I met him when I was walking home。
答:When(當……的時候)所接連的兩個子句(clause),假如都是以簡單時式(simple tenses)各說一件事,那麼,When子句所述事情當先發生,例如:(1)When I called his name, he raised his hand(我叫他名字,他就舉手)。(2)When he raised his hand, I called his name(他舉起手,我就叫他的名字)。
但when接連的子句,假如不是都用簡單時式,則事情的次序可不能按when字決定,例如:When he raised his hand, I had called his name(他舉手的時候,我已叫了他的名字)。讀者示下那兩句,其中一個子句用ing動詞,無論when字放在哪裏,意思都是:「我在回家路上碰到他。」