问英语｜英语常见问题解答

问

Some of the apples are hard to reach.

《随堂学·练·考丛书·初二英语》(龙门书局,p.99)对上面的句子做了如下注释：

“be hard to do sth. 意思是‘难于干……’。例如：

It's hard to finish all the homework today. 今天完成所有的家庭作业很难。”

请问上句中的 hard to reach 跟该书所举的例句 It's hard... 属于同一结构吗?

答

讨论你提出的问题有助于我们区分两个不同的句型：

A. He is hard to please. 很难使他高兴。

B. It's hard to please him. 使他高兴是很难的。

《初中英语教科书》上的 hard to reach 属于句型 A, 而龙门书局的教辅材料所举的例句属于句型 B。对于初中生, 应要求他们背下上面的两个句型。对于高中生, 则应当让他们分清这两种不同的句型。在句型 A 中, 动词不定式 to please 是形容词 hard 的补足语, 主语 (He, Some of the apples) 则是动词不定式动作的客体 (即语义上的宾语)。在句型 B 中, it 是形式主语, 而动词不定式 (to please him, to finish...today) 是真实主语。请对比:

I thought that Bush would be hard to beat. (Hillary, Living History) 我认为击败布什的可能性微乎其微。(希拉里，《亲历历史》)
It's hard to please all. 讨所有的人欢心是很难的。
This letter is hard to type. 这封信很难打字。
It's hard to type this letter. 把这封信打印出来是很难的。
Bill Clinton was hard to miss in the autumn of 1970. (Hillary, Living History) 1970 年秋的比尔·克林顿很难令人忽视。(希拉里，《亲历历史》)

更详细的情形, 见 difficult。

练习

The man is hard _.
1. A
  to work
2. B
  to work on
3. C
  to work at
4. D
  to work with
The question asked by him is hard _.
1. A
  to answer
2. B
  to be answered
3. C
  to be answering
4. D
  for answer
A lot of people find modern art very hard ____.
1. A
  understood
2. B
  understanding
3. C
  to understand
4. D
  being understood(全国成人高考,95-37)