原书 PDF 第 289—290 页
The window was broken by the boy.
被动句中的 by 短语是否只能表示有生命的施动者(例如人),而不可能表示无生命的东西?
准确的说法应当是:被动句中的 by 短语一般是表示有生命的施动者(例如人),但是有时候也可以表示无生命的东西。例如:
Are these goods made by machinery? (Palmer) 这些商品是机器生产的吗?
The crops have been ruined by frost. (CGEL) 庄稼被霜冻冻坏了。
His ease was suddenly disturbed by a coin flying into his carriage. (Mis) 他的安逸突然被飞到马车里的一枚硬币给破坏了。
The window had been broken by a stone. (CGEL) 窗户被一块石头打碎了。
Coal has been replaced by oil. (CGEL) 煤被石油所取代。
He caught her by the hand.
[原译]他用手抓住了她。
译文完全误解了原意。原文的意思是:他抓住了她的手。要知道,英文和汉语在这方面的表达习惯是不同的(见 the hand):
I caught him by the shoulder. 我抓住了他的肩膀。
They pulled her by the hair. (CGEL) 他们扯着她的头发。
John was frightened by the new methods. 本句中 by 是引出施动者, 还是表示手段?
分析这个有歧义的句子,有助于我们深入了解 by 的意义和用法。大家知道,by 的最常见用法是在被动句中引出施动者:
This ability was first noticed by her father. (New Concept English, Book 4, p. 14) 她的这种能力首先是由她父亲发现的。
但是, by 也常常用来表示做某事的手段(If you do something by a particular thing, you do it using that thing.)。例如:
The money will be paid by cheque... 此款将由支票支付……
You have to express the thought by action. 你必须用行动来表达你的思想。
照此看来,你提出的句子可以有两种解释:
(a)有人用这些新方法来恐吓约翰。(Someone frightened John by the new methods.)
(b) 约翰被这些新方法吓坏了。(The new methods frightened John.)
同样,下面的句子也可以有两种解释:
Coal has been replaced by oil.
(a)煤被石油所取代。(Oil has replaced coal.)
(b)人们用石油来代替煤。(People have replaced coal by oil.)
许孟雄教授在《英语难题解答400则》一书中(p.54)对下列各句中的by短语提出了如下的译法：
“1. By the 1920s. 在接近二十年代时……”
By 1950. 到 1950 年前夕……
By the middle 1960s. “约在六十年代中期前”
他强调指出，by the middle 1960s 绝不可译为“到了六十年代中期”。
不知您是否同意上述译法。
EED 对 by 的释义是: If something happens by a particular time, it happens at or before thattime. CGEL 说: by specifies an end point (by 表示时间终点)。M. Swan 对 by twelve o'clock 的解释是: 9 点, 10 点, 11 点或 12 点。
You'll have to leave by Monday midday at the latest. (= at twelve on Monday or before) (BEU) 你最迟必须在星期一中午之前离开。
许孟雄教授的译法,有的(如“约在60年代中期前”)过分强调了before的含义,而否定了at和an end point的含义;有的(如“在接近二十年代时”)既否定了before的含义,也否定了at和an end point的含义。
从交际观点来看,有时候人们需要表达“在……之前将发生或发生了某事”这样的思想内容,而有时候人们需要表达“到某个时间终点时或之前将发生或发生了某事”这样的思想内容。在后一情况下,应当使用英语介词 by,而不能使用 before。前面提到的三个句子都是表达后一思想内容的,因此最好分别译为:
到了二十年代(的时候)……
到 1950 年……
到六十年代中期
不难看出,下面的句子中 by 既不能译为“……之前”,也不能译为“在接近……时”:
By 1940 the number had grown to 185 millions. 到 1940 年数目已经增加到一亿八千五百万。
I will have retired by the year 2020. (LEG) 到2020年我将退休。(意思是:在2020年或这之前,我退休将成为过去的事。)
By the time I got to the village proper everyone was out to meet me. (EED) 当我到达村子里的时候,大家都出来迎接我。
By 1974 the factory coped with repairs for 700 trucks per year. (ECD) 截止 1974 年该厂已能年修卡车 700 辆。
By the end of this month, we shall have carried out production plan. 到本月底我们将完成生产计划。
从例(3)、(4)、(5)可以明显地看出, By the time 和 By 1974, By the end of this month 绝不是指“在……之前”, 也不是指“在接近……时”, 而是指出 an end point(时间终点)。
应当指出，在某些习惯用语里，by 不再表示 not later than, at or before, 而是表示 during 的意思：by day(白天)，by night(夜里)，by daylight(白天，光天化日之下)。
“Hasn’t Mary arrived yet?” “No, and I thought she ____ here by this time.”
By the end of this month, we surely ____ a satisfactory solution to the problem.
____ this time next year you ought to have a very good knowledge of English.
by train/by the train
Your father is going to travel down by the next train.
我们英语老师说,上句中的 by 应改为 in 或 on,因为 by 不能跟表示具体交通工具的名词连用,而只能与表示泛指的交通工具连用,如 by bus/train/car。
请问 by the next train 真的是错误用法吗?
你们老师的说法是符合我国英语教学的普遍观点的，并且能用大量实例加以证明。但是，当代英语语法学家们的研究表明，by the next train 的说法（即 by 与表示具体交通工具的名词连用）也是正确的，见 bus。
表示时间的 by 短语能与哪些时态连用？
By 1820 the population of New York had grown to about 125,000, making it the largest city
in the USA.
请问 by 短语表示时间时是否只能与过去完成时连用？
by 短语表示过去时间时,最常见的情况是与过去完成时连用。by 短语表示将来时间时,最常见的情况是与将来完成时连用。
By the age of 21 he had already begun to notice that it was difficult to move around without falling over. 到21岁时他就已经察觉到，他一走动就难免摔倒。
By the end of this month, we shall have carried out the production plan. 到本月底我们将完成生产计划。
By 1999 the population will have risen to over 20 million. 到 1999 年人口将超过二千万。
We've still got a little food and water and maybe by tomorrow morning the weather will have cleared up. 我们还有一点儿食物和水。也许明天早晨天就会晴了。
By the end of July I'll have read all those books. 到7月末我将读完所有这些书。但是，表示时间的 by 短语也可以与一般时态或进行时态连用：
I'm always up by eight o'clock. 我总是8点前起床。
Can you pay me back by Friday? 你能在周五之前把钱还给我吗？
Will you finish it by tomorrow? 你可以不迟于明天把它完成吗？
By the time we got to the station, the train ____ for 5 minutes. So we had to give up the trip.
A. had left B. left C. was away D. had been away(北京会考,95-22)
By the time I left the school I ____ that course for ten years. A. taught B. have taught C. had taught D. has taught
He will have learned English for eight years by the time he ____ from the university next year. A. will graduate B. will have graduated C. graduates D. is to graduate(上海高考,02-23)