《远东英汉大词典》、《新英汉词典》均指出: to agree with somebody, to agree to something。这种说法是否准确?
这是一个在我国英语学界被普遍接受的观点。但是,你在下面的大量例句中将会看到,agree with 与 agree to 的区别,并不在于它们所接的宾语不同(接人或接物),而在于它们具有不同的语义。现代英美语言学家们已对 agree with 与 agree to 在意义上的细微差别作了明确的辨析。
agree with 是指出自主观愿望的“赞成”“同意”(have the same opinion),例如:
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Langdon had not initially agreed with this idea, but as they had hatched their plan, Sophie's logic began to make sense. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 兰登最初并不同意她的主张,但是,由于他们已想好了一套计划,索菲的那套逻辑才开始变得有意义起来。(《达·芬奇密码》)
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I don't agree with a single word that you have said. (Wilde) 你所说的每句话我都不赞成。
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I agree with his views. (RWRT) 我同意他的观点。
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One Republican Congresswoman called me to explain that she agreed with the President's goal … (Hillary, Living History) 有位共和党籍女性国会议员打电话给我,解释说她赞成总统的目标……(希拉里,《亲历历史》)
agree to 则是指“接受、认可”,常常指并非出于主观愿望的“同意”。正像 ALD 所说,agree to 尤指不乐意或争论之后的同意(to accept an idea, opinion, etc., esp. after unwillingness or argument)。RWRT 有一句话颇能帮助我们区分 agree with 与 agree to:“你可能 agree to 一个政策,然而并不一定 agree with 它。”
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He agrees to all your proposals except the last. 他接受你所有的建议,但最后一条除外。
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I find it impossible to agree to your terms. (CIE) 我认为不可能接受你们的条件。
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She can't agree to your demands. 她不可能接受你的要求。
I agree with most of what you said, but I don't agree with ____.
In many ways I agree ____ his statement.