浅谈中英文的语言学差异

GeneralIntroductionofTheLinguisticalDifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishByMargaret.HSyntheticvs.AnalyticAsyntheticlanguageis“characterizedbyfrequentandsystematicuseofinflectedformstoexpressgrammaticalrelationships”.Latin,GermanyandancientEnglishAnanalyticlanguageis“characterizedbyarelativelyfrequentuseoffunctionwords,auxiliaryverbs,andchangesinwordordertoexpresssyntacticrelations,ratherthanofinflectedforms”.ChineseBasedontheancientEnglish,ModernEnglishkeepsthehereditaryinflectionwhilewithnumerousfunctionwordsandrelativelysettledwordorder,soitisasynthetic-analyticlanguage.

综合语的特征是运用词的形态变化来表达语法关系。

分析语的特征是用语序及虚词来表达语法关系。

现代英语是从古英语发展出来，仍然保留着综合语的某些特征，但也有分析语的特点：有形态变化，但不像典型综合语那么复杂；语序比汉语灵活，但相对固定；虚词很多，用得也相当频繁。Inflectedforms,wordorderandfunctionwordsarethemajorthreewaystoexpresslexicalrelationships.AsChineselanguagehasbeenrecordedintheformofcharacter,namely,ideographs.Ideographsarenotaffectedbyphonologicalevolutionandthereforelargelyimmunetochange.English,thoughasrecordedinphoneticscript,hasgotridofmostitsinflections,andexpressesgrammaticalrelationsbydeviceslikeprepositionsandauxiliaryverbsandbytheorderofitswords.

形态变化、语序和虚词是表达语法关系的三大手段，三者之间关系密切。汉语由于缺乏形态变化，表达语法关系只好借助语序和虚词；现代英语摈弃了古英语大部分的形态变化，因而表达语法关系除了借助遗留下来的形态变化形式，还必须借助语序和虚词。Syntheticvs.AnalyticWordsInflectioninEnglish1.Affixation（词缀变化）E.g.a)Hemovedastonishinglyfast.b)Hemovedwithastonishingrapidity.c)Hismovementswereastonishinglyrapid.d)Hisrapidmovementsastonishedus.e)Therapidityofhismovementswasastonishing.f)Hismovementsastonishedusbytheirrapidity.g)Therapiditywithwhichhemovedastonishedus.h)Heastonishedusbymovingrapidly.i)Heastonishedusbyhisrapidmovements.j)Heastonishedusbytherapidityofhismovements.2)FormInflection（构形形态变化）E.g.1

Igavehimabook.我给他一本书。

Hehasgivenmetwobooks.他已经给了我两本书。

Hisfatheroftengiveshimbooks.他爸爸常常给他一些书。E.g.2Theytoldmethatbytheendoftheyeartheywouldhavebeenworkingtogetherforthirtyyears.他们告诉我，到年底，他们在一起工作就有三十年了。Newfactoriesarebeingbuiltalloverthecountry.全国到处都在兴建新工厂。Duringthewartime,yearslikethesewouldhavemeantcertaindeathformanypeople.Manywouldhavebecomebeggarsandotherswouldhavebeencompelledtoselltheirchildren.战争期间碰到这样的年景，很多人肯定会死去，很多人会逃荒要饭，很多人会被迫卖儿卖女。TheEnglishinflections,fewastheirnumberis,areanintegralandessentialpartofthelanguage.Theexcessivefrequencyoftheseformsgivesthemgreatmorphologicalweight.Wecannotbutacceptthetruththat“onceinflectional,alwaysinflectional”.Hence,whileEnglishappearsasalmostuninflectionalwhencomparedwithsuchalanguageasLatin,itappearsintheoppositelightwhencomparedwithanisolatinglanguagesuchasChinese.

AlthoughcertainimportantgrammaticaldevicesdoexistinLiteraryChinesetoindicateverbmood,nounnumber,nominalizationofwords,andthelike,theiruseisbynomeansalwaysmandatoryanddependsverymuchonthewhimofthewriter.Thislanguageisnotgovernedbyruleswhichrequiretheintroductionofsuchindicationsasamatterofprescribednecessity.Theruleis,ifyoucanpossiblyomit,doso.Theresultmaybethatthemeaningisquitehidden,butthereaderissupposednotonlytohaveanencyclopedicknowledgetoassisthiminhisguesswork,buttohaveunlimitedtimeforfillingtheellipses.Thisdoesnotmeanthatlanguagehasnowordstofilltheellipses,orthattherearenowordstoconveytense,number,ormood.Itmerelymeansthatthespiritofthelanguageisagainsttheiruse.Trytounderstandandinterprettheseparagraphsbelow.Tosummarize,thecontrastontheuseofinflectedformsinChineseandEnglishreflectsthefeaturesbetweenthesetwoquitedifferentculture.ThewesterncultureoriginsfromtheAncientGreekculture.AsthetoolofthinkingfortheGreekpeople,Greekisasyntheticlanguagewithclearclassificationofwords,prescriptsentencepatternsandgrammarrules,whichisfitforthepreciselythinkingmodeofphilosophyandscience.ThisprescriptionisdeeplybrandedintoEnglish.

英汉形态变化的多寡或有无反映了英汉语言文化的不同特征。西方文化的摇篮之一是古希腊文明。作为希腊人的思维工具，希腊语是一种综合语，词性分类精确，句法和语法要求严格，适合严密的哲学和科学思维。英语作为一种印欧语，深受希腊语的影响

Otherwise,themonosyllabic,noninflecting,andideographiccharactersprovidedacongenialmediumforrelationalthinking,whichhavebeenadistinctivequalityofChinesethoughtandculture.Byvirtueofthelanguagestructure,attentionisfocusedonwordrelationsratherthanonindividualwordsthemselves.

汉语缺乏形态变化，一个词本身难以表达性、数、格、时、体、语态、语气、词类、比较级和最高级等语法意义，必须与其他词联系起来，如借助词序或虚词，甚至语境或语感，才能确定其意。这一特点直接影响了汉民族注重整体关联性的思维方式。WordOrdersinEnglishandChineseThemoreinflectedinwordforms,themoreflexibleinwordorders.SoforChineseitisveryperscriptinwordordersthaninEnglish.Changingaword'sorderinonecertainsentencecouldmaketheword'sgrammaticalfunctionandconcentrationinthatsentencechange,too.

我吃完小浣熊干脆面了。小浣熊干脆面我吃完了。一个重要的问题averyimportantquestionaquestionofgreatimportance一个可以辩论的题目adebatablesubjectasubjectwhichcanbedebatedWetrustinGod.InGodwetrust.inversionThus,weneedtochangethewordordersandevenwordfunctionsoftheSLtextwhenwedoE-CorC-EtranslationfortheexpressivenessoftheTLtext.PracticeKeith:Alittleyellow,ragged,lame,unshavenbeggar.Shehadakindly,smiling,tender,gentle,generousheartofherown.Thesparkleofhereyesbetrayedhergreatexcitement.Manysketchesareinexistenceofpeasantsseatedbytheroadsideandmenandwomenatworkinthefields.Myfoolofadoctortoldmetomakemywill.基思：一个讨饭的，身材矮小，面色苍黄，衣衫褴褛，一瘸一拐，满脸胡子。她心地厚道，为人乐观，性格温柔，待人和蔼，心胸宽广。她闪亮的眼睛说明她非常激动。至今仍保留着许多速写，画的是坐在路旁的农民和田里劳动的男男女女。我那蠢货医生叫我写遗嘱。Still,bythevirtueofthevarietiesinexpressionsandthinkingpatternsbetweenChineseandEnglish,weneedtochangetheorderofwordsorsentencestomaketheTLtextmorefluent.E.g.1(a)Thetendencyofabodytocontinueinmotion(b)iscleartoonewhoobservesthat(c)anautomobileoratrainmovesforsomedistanceevenwhenbrakesareusedtocheckthismotion.

汽车或火车在已经刹车的情况下还会向前移动一定的距离。看到这种情况的人就会明白，运动着的物体具有继续运动的倾向。Chinesesentenceorder:c-b-aE.g.2(a)Categorytwocontainsonlyfouritems,and(b)Ishallsaynomoreaboutthemexceptthat,(c)sincetheyareunderconsideration,(d)weshouldnotletthegrassgrowunderfeet,butattempt,asearlyaspossible,toarriveatacommonunderstanding(e)intheinterestofhumanity.第二类只包括四项内容，而且都已在审议之中。为了人类的利益，我们应该不失时机，力图尽快达成共识。除此之外，别的我就不多说了。Q:WhatisthesentenceorderinE.g.2?TheEnglishlanguageanditsrelatedlineofthoughthaveevolvedoutoftheAnglo-Europeanculturalpattern.TheexpectedsequenceofthoughtinEnglishisessentiallyaPlatonic-AristoteliansequencedescendedfromthephilosophersofancientGreeceandshapedsubsequentlybyRoman,MedievalEuropean,andlaterWesternthinkers.Deductivevs.InductiveStraightlinevs.CircularlinePractice:

Soccerisadifficultsport.Aplayermustbeabletorunsteadilywithoutrest.Sometimesaplayermusthittheballwithhisorherhead.Playersmustbewillingtobangintoandbebangedintobyothers.Theymustputupwithachingfeetandsoremuscles.足球运动员必须能不停地奔跑，有时得用头顶球，愿意撞别人或被别人撞，必须忍受双脚和肌肉的疼痛，所以说，足球运动是一项难度大的运动。FunctionWordsinEnglishandChineseFunctionWordsinEnglishTherearegreatnumberoffunctionwordsinChineseandEnglish;theyare,whileontheoppositsideofnotionwords/fullwords,stillquietdifferentineitherlanguage.(alsocalledstructuralwordsorformwords)article;auxiliary;coordinator;preposition;etc.FunctionWordsinChinese(alsocalledemptywords)TheuseofdefinitearcticleandindefinitearticleinEnglishmakesdifficultyforthelearnersandtranslatorsinlanguageconception.outofquestionoutofthequestionE.G.ahundredandoneonehundredandonequantifier;auxiliary;coordinator;preposition;etc.PracticeShewaswithachild.ShewaswithchildTheyarestudentsofourschool.Theyarethestudentsofourschool.Ihavelivedhereformorethanayear.Ihavelivedhereformorethanoneyear.Pleasetakeachair.Hetookthechairtoday.Hetookthechairofthecommittee.她带着一个孩子。她怀着孕。他们是我校的学生。他们是我校全体学生。我在这住了一年多了。我在住了不止一年了。

请坐。今天他主持会议。/今天他拿走了那把椅子。他接受了委员会主席一职。Quantifier（量词）

QuantifierisbroadlyusedinbossthewrittenandoralsystemofChineselanguage,justasarticleinEnglish.Buttheywon’tstaysimultaneouslyinacertainlanguagethroughtheresearchoflinguistictaxonomy.ThisisbecausethatquantifiersinChineseandarticlesinEnglish

arebothusedastoclassifythetypeofnouns,justasthegendersysteminLatinlanguages.丰富的量词系统是汉语的一大特点，而汉语中的量词不是从来就有的。据统计,甲骨文中的量词不超过10个,金文中有40多个,西汉时有60多个,魏晋南北朝时期有200多个,而现代汉语则有500多个。量词的来源很复杂，不同类型的量词产生与发展的历史是不相同的。吕叔湘《现代汉语八百词》(商务印书馆2007，页14)把量词分为9个小类：①个体量词；②集合量词；③部分量词；④容器量词；⑤临时量词；⑥度量量词；⑦自主量词；⑧动量词；⑨复合量词。(via知乎@王宇quotedfrom《近三十年中古汉语量词研究述评》/upfile/soft/20101104/24-p0131-skd16.pdf)WhytherearequantifiersinChinese?Suggestedanswersa)toclassifyhomonymsandavoidthevaguenessincommunication;b)tobethesymbolsinhumanlanguagesasmen’ssubjectiveclassificationsofthereality.e.g.我给了他一把刀。(Igavehimaknife.)

我给了他一刀。(Istabbedhimwithaknife.)朱德熙（1982：48）在分析时指出，“名词和跟它相配的个体量词之间有的时候在意义上有某种联系”，如细长的东西论“枝”，有延展性的东西论“张”等，这是某种分类性的表现。（via知乎@卢笑予）

c)toindicatethenumberofnouns;汉语量词的特点是使得所有名词都可数。典型的“不可数”名词特征在汉语里表现为其量词可变。例如所有液体(水)根据情况可以用滴,滩,片(自由形态),瓶,杯,盆...(容器形态)来指代。可数名词的量词就没这么多变。另外在上下文明确的情况下,量词可以作为代词用而省略指代的名词本身，如“你要吃几碗饭？”“五碗。”。（via知乎@匿名）Whatconclusioncanyougetfromtheabovearguments?AuxiliaryAuxiliaryinEnglish:

An

auxiliaryverb

(abbreviated

aux)isa

verb

thataddsfunctionalorgrammaticalmeaningtothe

clause

inwhichitappears,suchastoexpress

tense,

aspect,

modality,voice,emphasis,etc.Auxiliaryverbsusuallyaccompanyamainverb.Themainverbprovidesthemainsemanticcontentoftheclause.Somesentencescontainachainoftwoormoreauxiliaryverbs.Auxiliaryverbsarealsocalled

helpingverbs,

helperverbs,or

(verbal)auxiliaries.E.g.Ihavefinishedmyhomework.Shedoesn’ttellmethetruth.

Shecouldn’thavebeensuchameangirl.IwouldknowthatJimisthekiller!汉语助词TheauxiliaryinChineseisquietdifferentfromwhichinEnglish.Itisusuallydividedintothreegroups,namely,modalauxiliary,（语气助词）,structureauxiliary（结构助词）andtenseandaspectauxiliary（时态助词）.ModalauxiliaryisoneofthemostremarkablefeaturesinChineselanguage.Itmakesthereadersoraudienceeasilygetthemoodofthespeakersorwriters.他早来啦！/Why,he’sbeenhereforalongtime!她真来啦？/Hasshereallycome?你好好想想吧！/Justthinkitover.多好的天气啊！/Whatafineday!InEnglish,themoodofthespeakersorwritersisexpressedbyintonation.Youmustbefeelingrathertired./你一定觉得有点累。你一定觉得有点儿累了。/你一定觉得有点累了吧？PrepositionPrepositioniswidelyusedinEnglishwhileinChineseactuallythereisnorealpreposition.MostprepositioninChineselanguagecomesfromverbs.SoinE-Ctranslation,theSLprepositioninSLisalwaystranslatedintoTLverbs.Whatisheat?他在干什么？PracticeJohnvotewiththeTories.Heisthemanabovevugularinterests.Peterdrewhisknifeontherobber.ItlooksasifweareinforastormIfamancouldn'twalkintoaroomandtellwhowasforhimandwhowasagainsthim,thenhewasn'tmuchofapolitician.CoordinatorEitherinEnglishorChineselanguagetherearecoordinators;however,theyaremuchmorefrequentlyappliedintheformmerone.InspiteofthesymstrysinChinese,suchasor,because,if,unless,when,etc.,therearestillrelativepronouns(who,which),linkingpronouns(that),relativeadverbs(where,when)andsoon.Usually,inChineselanguageonecanseecoordinatorsmoreinwritenandnormalstyles.TheChinesepeopleprefertocommunicatewiththehelpofadverbs,wordordersandthecontext.SoinC-Etranslation,thetranslatorsneedtoaddcoordinatorsinTLtext.火车未停，请勿开门。吃水不忘挖井人。无事不登三宝殿。Don'topenthedooruntilthetrainstops.Whenyoudrinkwater,thinkofthosewhodugthewell.Iwouldn'tcometoyouifIhadn'tsomethingaskforyou.APECblue/APEC蓝“APECblue”isapopularphrasecoinedbyChina’snetizenstodescribetheblueskyintheheavily-pollutedBeijingduringtheAPECweek,whichwasaresultoftoughemission-reductionmeasures.TheChinesepeoplehopetomakeAPECbluea“newnormal”.APEC期间，污染严重的北京执行了严厉的减排措施，天空重现蔚蓝，中国网友称其为“APEC蓝”。中国人民希望“APEC蓝”能够成为一种“新常态”。securitylevel/安检级别FightsbrokeoutamongangrypassengersatBeijingCapitalInternationalAirportonSundaymorning,afterthesecuritylevelfordomesticflightswasraisedfromLevelthreetoLeveltwo.周日上午，北京首都国际机场国内航班的安检级别从三级升致二级，部分旅客情绪激动，并引发争执。safetyoverhaul/安全大检查China'stransportationauthorityonSundayorderedlocaldepartmentstolaunchathoroughsafetyoverhaultoresolutelycurbseveretrafficaccidents.中国交通部负责人周日要求地方各部门全面开展安全大检查，彻底杜绝发生严重交通事故。

worksafety/安全生产Afirethatkilled120peopleatapoultryfactoryinNortheastChina'sJilinprovinceonMondayhasraisedconcernsoverChina'soften-criticizedlaxworksafetyconditions.本周一发生在吉林省一家肉禽加工厂的大火已导致120死亡。该事件引发了人们对我国安全生产环境的关注。国内的安全生产环境一直因管理松散而屡遭诟病。Intonationvs.ToneTheusageofinflection,wordordersandfunctionwordsinalanguagewillreflectinit'ssoundsystem.Inalanguageinwhichinflexionhasbeengreatlyreduced,word-ordermustbecomerelativelymorerigid.Oneconsequenceofthistendencytoafixedword-orderwillbeanincreaseintheroleofintonationinthelanguage.Forsincethevaryingoftheorderofwordsisnolongersopossibleasameansofconveyingshadesofmeaningsuchasthosethatdependonemphasis,thisemphasismustbeobtainedbyothermeans......AchangeoftoneinChinesewillturn“tobuy”into“tosell”,forinstance.(Wrenn,1978:143)屈折形式、语序以及虚词同语言的语音系统关系密切。比如某一语言的屈折变化越少，其语序就相对越固定。这一趋势导致语调在该语言的表意系统中至关重要。而对汉语而言，语调对于表意的影响不那么大，取而代之的是声调。MeansforEnglishSoundSystemIntonationFalliingToneRisingToneLevelFall-RiseRise-FallFall-plus-RiseThefallingtoneexpressescertainty,completeness,independenceandanairoffinality.Oftenusedin:statements,specialquestions,instructionsandorders.Welldone!（↙）Wherehaveyoubeen?（↙）Isupposeso.（↙）One,two,three.（↙）Therisingtoneexpressesuncertainity,incompletenessanddependence(includingyes-noquestions,parentheticalandsubsidiaryinformationinastatement,encouragingorpolitedenials,commands,invitations,greetings,farewells,etc.)（↙）（↗）（→）（∧）（∨）（↗↙）Really?（↗）One,two,three,four,five,six（↗）......Areyoukidding?（↗）What!（↗）Youdidwhat?（↗）Closethedoor,wouldyou?（↗）Comewithme.（↗）1）A：Jean，canyoubringmethenewspaper？B：Sorry？（↗）2)A：Jean，canyoubringmethenewspaper？B：Sorry．（↙）Implication:Ididn'thearyou．Couldyousaythatagain，please？Implication:Ican'thelpyou.3）M：Lindalookedverytiredthesedays．W：ShelookedOKtome（↗）．Q：WhatdoesthewomanthinkofLinda？［A］ShesawLindaandme．［B］Lindasaidshewasfine．［C］Shelookedupthewordforme．［D］SheconsideredLindawasallright．KEY:（D）A：Mr．Smiththinksweoughttogetthemoneyinhandfirst．B：Who？（↗）A：Mr．Smith．4）5）A：We'dliketohavesomeonetosayawordatthebeginningtowelcomethegroup．B：Who？（↙）A：WethoughtthatyouorDr．Johnsonmightdoit．Couldyoufindouttheimplicationoftheintonation?A：AreyouMr．Blake？B：Yes．（↙）A：Roomtwenty-six．6）7）A：AreyouMr．Blake？B：Yes？（↗）A：Ah，thesecretarywouldlikeawordwithyou．Couldyoufindouttheimplicationoftheintonation?8）W：Marysaysshelikesplayingtennis．M：Butshedoesn'tplaytennisoften，doesshe？（↙）Q：WhatdoesthemanimplyaboutMary？［A］Sheplaysalotofothersports．

［B］Shedoesn'treallyliketennis．［C］Sheonlylikeswatchingtennis．［D］Shehasalotofthingstodo．KEY:（B）M：HowlongshallwestayattheGrandCanyon？W：Aday？（↗）Q：Whatdoesthewomanmean？［A］WeshallstayattheGrandCanyonforoneday．［B］ShallwestayattheGrandCanyonforoneday？［C］TostayattheGrandCanyonforonedayistooshort．［D］TostayattheGrandCanyonforonedayisenough．KEY:（B）9）10）M：Istarteddrivingat8：00yesterdayandarrivedhereat5：30thismorning．W：Youdroveallnight？（↗）Q：Whatdoesthewomanmean？［A］Nightdrivingcanbedangerous．［B］Youshouldn'thavedrivenduringthenight．［C］Whydon'tyoudriveallnight？［D］Didyoureallydriveallnight？KEY:（D）M：Wasn'tSam'sspeechgreat！（↙）W：Areyouserious？Q：WhatdoesthemansayaboutSam'sspeech？［A］Sam'sspeechwasn'tgreat，wasit？［B］Sam'sspeechwasgreat，wasn'tit？［C］Samgaveaseriousspeech．［D］Samwasnotserious．11）KEY:（B）A：AreyougoingtowatchTVagain？B：Whatelseistheretodo？（↗）ComparewithB'snarrativeversion“there'snothingelsetodo.”tounderstandthefunctionofintonation.11）Thefall-risetonecombinesthefallingtone'smeaningof“assertion,certainity”withtherisingtone'smeaning“dependence,incompleteness”.Attheendofasentence,itoftenconveysafeelingofreservation;atthebeginningorinthemiddleofasentence,itisamoreforcefulalternativetotherisingtone,expressingtheassertionofonepoint,togetherwiththeimplicationthatanotherpointistofollow.M：DoyouthinkPettyisqualifiedtodothejob？W：IfPettyisnot（↙），whois？（↗）Q：Whatdoesthewomanmean？［A］Pettyisnotqualifiedforthejob．［B］Nobodyisqualifiedforthejob．［C］Pettyiswellqualifiedforthejob．［D］AllexceptPettyarequalifiedforthejob．KEY:（C）Stressa)Toshowemphasis;b)toexpressemotion;c)todistinguish;Youmay'notgo.You'maynotgo.你不可以去。你可以不去。Allcatsdon'tlikewater.（↙）'Allcatsdon'tlikewater.（↗）猫都不喜欢水。猫并不都喜欢水。Asubtledifferencecanbeconveyedbyintonationandstressworkingtogether.Ididn'tleavehome（↗）,becauseIwasafraidofmyfather.（↙）Ididn'tleavehomebecauseIwasafraidofmyfather.（V）You'saidhewouldcome.（↙）'Yousaidhewouldcome.（↙）You'said（V）hewouldcome.Passivevs.ActivePasssivevoiceissuchapopularwayinEnglishexpressingthatithasalmostbecomeabusive.AsS.Bakerjustfingeredout:“Ourmassed,scientificandbureaucraticsocietyissoaddictedtothepassivevoicethatyoumustconstantlyalertyourselfagainstitsdrowsy,impersonalpomp.“(1985:121)ReasonforthepassivehabitNONEEDorCANNOTshowtheAGENTThemurdererwascaughtyesterday,anditissaidthathewillbehanged.凶手已于昨天被捕，据说他将会被绞死。(Theagentisunknown.)Shetoldmethathermasterhaddismissedher.Noreasonhadbeenassigned;noobjectionhadbeenmadetoherconduct.Shehadbeenforbiddentoappealtohermistress.她告诉我，她的男主人已经解雇了她。男主人没有讲明任何理由，对她的行为没有任何异议，也不许她向女主人申诉。(Theagentisself-evident.)Heronlysonwasrunoverbyacar.Somethingshavebeensaidheretonightthatoughtnottohavebeenspoken.Canyoufigureoutthereasonofusingpassivevoiceinthesentencesabove?Attheteapartytheyservedonlyteaandcakes.Attheteapartyonlyteaandcakeswereserved.她的独子被汽车轧了。今晚有人讲了些不该讲的话。茶会上只提供茶饮和糕饼。DemandofSyntax1)forthesakeofcoherence;(typicalinEST)Somekindsofplasticscanbeforcedthroughmachineswhichseparatethemintolong,thinstrings,called“fibres”,andthesefibres

canbemadeintocloth.有几种塑料可以压入机器并分离成细长的纤维，这种纤维可以用来织布。2)tokeepend-weightandright-branchingofsentencestructure;Iwasastoundedthathewaspreparedtogivemeajob.他准备给我一份工作，这使我大吃一惊。Needsfromrhetorics(addvarietytowriting)TherearemanywaystovarythebasicEnglishsentencepatternofS-V-O.ThebasicEnglishsentencepatternofS-V-Ocanbevariedinmanyways.NeedsfromwritingstyleThereisanotabledifferenceinthefrequencywithwhichtheactiveandpassivevoicesareused.Theactiveisgenerallymorecommon,butthereisconsiderablevariationamongindividualtexts.Thepassivehasbeenfoundtobeasmuchastentimesmorefrequentinonetextthananother.ThemajorstylisticfactordeterminingitsfrequencyseemstoberelatedtothedistinctionbetweeninformativeandimaginativeproseratherthantoadifferenceofsubjectmatterorofspokenandwrittenEnglish.Thepassiveisgenerallymorecommonlyusedininformativethaninimaginativewriting,notablyintheobjective,non-personalstyleofscientificarticlesandnewsitems.科技文体和新闻文体要求客观叙述事理和活动，因此大量使用被动语态。Thepassivevoiceallowsonetoexpressideaswithoutattributingthemtoaspecificindividualsource.Thatiswhyitissowidelyusedingovernmentcommunications,inwhichdecisionsandopinionsarepresumedtobethoseofthebureauoragencyasawholeandnotofindividualofficials.Butlegitimateusecaneasilyturnintoabuse.Whiletheconventionbywhichgovernmentaledictscomefromanimpersonalentitycanbedefended,theindiscriminateuseofthepassiveasagrammaticalcamouflagecanalsobeasignofmoralweakness.Anyonefindsan“out”bywriting“itisdirectedthat”insteadof“Idirectthat”,or“itistheopinionofthefirm”insteadof“Ithink”.Theweakpassiveisusedinnewspaperwritingforthesamereasonforwhichitisusedingovernmentalcorrespondence:toachievetheimpersonalnote,andthus,inmanyinstances,todisclaimdirectresponsibilityforstatementsthatarebasedonhearsay.Whatkindsofwritingsfrequentlyusethepassivevoice?RulesforGoodWritingPreferthefamiliarwordtothefar-fetched.Prefertheconcretewordtoabstract.Preferthesinglewordtothecircumlocution.Prefertheshortwordtothelong.PrefertheSaxonwordtotheRomance.Neverusethepassivewhereyoucanusetheactive.SyntacticPassive&NotionalPassive（结构被动和意义被动）InEnglish,syntacticpassivevoiceisfarmorewidelyusedthanthenotionalpassivevoice(passivemeaningcarriedinactivevoice).passivevoiceoftransitiveverbs;passivevoicecarriedbyindefiniteverbs;impersonalpassive;doublepassive;ThelimiteduseofpassivevoiceinChineseLimitsinmeaningLimitsinformFuneralBlues(SongIX/fromTwoSongsforHedliAnderson)Stopalltheclocks,cutoffthetelephone.Preventthedogfrombarkingwithajuicybone,SilencethepianosandwithmuffleddrumBringoutthecoffin,letthemournerscome.LetaeroplanescirclemoaningoverheadScribblingintheskythemessageHeisDead,Putcrêpebowsroundthewhitenecksofthepublicdoves,Letthetrafficpolicemenwearblackcottongloves.HewasmyNorth,mySouth,myEastandWest,MyworkingweekandmySundayrestMynoon,mymidnight,mytalk,mysong;Ithoughtthatlovewouldlastforever,Iwaswrong.Thestarsarenotwantednow;putouteveryone,Packupthemoonanddismantlethesun.Pourawaytheoceanandsweepupthewood;Fornothingnowcanevercometoanygood.停掉所有时钟，切断电话给狗一块多汁的骨头，让他别叫别弹琴，随着低沉的鼓抬出灵怄，让送葬者上前

让飞机在头顶狂乱悲旋在天空写上他逝去的消息

把黑纱系在信鸽的白颈让交通员戴上黑色棉手套他曾经是我的东，我的西，我的南，我的北我的工作日，我的礼拜天

我的正午，我的夜半，我的话语，我的歌吟我以为爱可以不朽：我错了不再需要星星，把每一颗都摘掉把月亮包起，拆除太阳倾泻大海，扫除森林因为什么也不会，再有意味Impersonalvs.PersonalSubject&VerbsThereisapersonalinclinationinChinesewhiletheimpersonalinEnglish.Thisdistinctionbetweenthesetwolanguagesmainlycanbeseenintheuseofsubjecandverbinacertainsentence.Theimpersonalsubjectisfocusingon“sth.happenstosb”andthepersonalsubjectmakesthesentencefocuson“sb.doessth.”Words

failme!(Ifailtosayaword!)Whathashappenetoyou?

你出什么事了？sth.happenstosbsb.doessth我（吓得/惊得）无语了！Anideasuddenlystruckme.我突然想到了一个主意。PracticeAstrangepeacecameoverherwhenshewasalone.Notasoundreachedourears.Agreatelationovercamethem.Alarmbegantotakeentirepossessionofhim.Excitementdeprivedmeofallpowerofutterance.The

thickcarpetkilledthesoundofmyfootsteps.她独处时便感到一种特殊的安宁。我们没有听到任何声音。他们欣喜若狂。他开始变得惊恐万状。我兴奋得什么话也说不出来。我走在厚厚的地毯上，一点脚步声也没有。inanimatesubject+animateverbC-E:Personal-Impersonal1、一看到那棵大树，我便想起了童年的情景。Thesightofthebigtreealwaysremindsmeofmychildhood.complicatedsentencesimplesentence2、调查结果证明，他就是那婴儿的亲生父亲。Investigation

fatheredthebabyon

him.complicatedsentencesimplesentence3、发怒之后，我既不难过，也不后悔。Neithersorrownorregretfollowedmypassionateoutburst.4、小梅心地善良，性情温和，对她朋友这种没有心肝的行为，实在看不顺眼。Xiaomei’skindandgentlenaturecouldnotbutrevoltatherfriend’scallousbehaviour.complicatedsentencesimplesentence多年后的一个黄昏，像现在，你一人独坐的时候，你会想起眼前的情景。PracticeThisscenewillcomebacktoyouyearslaterwhenyousitaloneatthesunsetlikethis.凭良心讲，你带我礼貌有加，我却受之有愧。MyconsciencetoldmethatIdeservednoextraordinarypoliteness.SimplebutcomplicatedE-C:Impersonal-Personal;Simple-ComplicatedAverylittleencouragementwouldsetthatworldlywomantotalkvolubly,andpouroutallwithinher.(VanityFair)这老于世故的女人，只要人家稍微助助她的兴，她便马上滔滔不绝地把一肚子的话一股脑儿倒出来。从这条山路往南走，就是公路。Thismountainpathleadssouthtothehighway.他说不出话来。Wordsfailedhim.有了书，我就不再寂寞。Bookscandivertmefromloneliness.我觉得有三分怅惘，三分无奈。Atouchoffrustrationandhelplessnesscomesoverme.丛林中死一般寂寞，他还是毫无睡意。Sleepdidnotvisithimalthoughthesilenceofadeadworldwasonthejungle.Thesightofatailor-shopgavemeasharplongingtoshedmyrags,andtoclothemyselfdecentlyoncemore.我一看到服装店，心里就起了一阵强烈的愿望，很想扔掉这身褴褛的衣服，重新穿得像个样子。Herdoubtsandterrorsreachedtheirparoxysm.(VanityFair)她突然又怀疑有恐惧，一时不能自持。Themasteryofalanguagerequirespainstakingeffort.要掌握一门语言，必须下苦功夫。Thebestshortcutwouldstilltakeusfivehourstogetthere.即使抄最近的路，也要花5小时才能到达那里。Duskfound