问英语｜英语常见问题解答

sequence of tenses¹

问

请谈一谈英语的时态呼应原则。

答

根据英语时态呼应的原则,当主句谓语动词使用过去时态时,某些从句的谓语动词的时态要作相应的调整,即一般现在时改为一般过去时,一般将来时改为过去将来时,等等。

例如：

She said, “Mr X will be back tomorrow.” 她说: “X 先生明天回来。”

She told me (that) Mr X would be back the next (or the following) day. 她跟我说过 X 先生第二天回来。

但是,当人们听到后一个句子的时候,既无法知道 Mr X 到底是回来了,还是即将回来,也无法知道 the next day 是指过去的某一天,还是指即将到来的一天(明天)。可以看出,这种时态呼应的原则使得交际与现实环境完全脱离了联系。这对于表达思想是很不精确的。这不能不说是时态呼应原则的一个缺点。因此,现代英语已趋于摆脱这种束缚,表现出它的灵活性:为了强调从句所表达的动作或状态与说话时的实际环境的联系,或者强调所转述的内容确实是事实时,人们常常独立地使用从句谓语动词的时态,而不受主句动词时态的影响。例如:

I told you (that) $\left\{\begin{array}{l} the road is closed. \\ the bridge has collapsed. \\ no one can cross it.\end{array}\right.$ 我告诉过你 $\left\{\begin{array}{l} 道路不许通行。 \\ 桥已经塌了。 \\ 谁也过不去。\end{array}\right.$

I told you (that) the road is closed. 的意思是 The road is closed, I told you that before. (即说话的时候道路仍不许通行)

He said (that) this road leads to Rome. (The road still leads to Rome). (EGS) 他说这条路通向罗马。
Werner said he is going home tonight. (Reader's Digest) 沃纳说他今晚要回家。
She told me she's getting married next June. (And I believe her.) (PEU) 她告诉我她明年六月结婚。

有人说,这种不符合时态呼应原则的句子仅能用于口语中,是标准书面英语所不能接受的。事实并非如此。例如,以考核学生运用标准书面英语能力为已任的 TOEFL,就常常采用这种用法:

"Professor Datilla just announced that he will give us a test this afternoon."

“That's not fair. How much time ____ for us to study?” 答案为 will there be (TOEFL) Nelson 试题也有这种用法：

It was told yesterday that the company ____ me there next week for a business conference. A. shall have sent B. are going to send C. shall be sending D. shall send(Nelson, 250A)(答案为B)

但是许多英语试题却总是要求学生严格遵守时态呼应的原则。考官可以使用的句式，偏偏不容许考生使用，岂非怪事！请看下面的改错题：

(1) On last night's news, Walter Cronkite said that the crime rate is increasing in spite of community and government programs aimed at providing education and employment opportunities for first offenders. (答案规定(A) is 为错误)(B's Exercises, p.66)

(2) Public Opinion Magazine reported that 57 percent of all Americans strongly believe that mothers with young children should not work outside of the home unless their families badly needed the extra income. (答案规定(B) believe 为错误)(B's Exercises, p. 66)

正如 G. Leech 所指出的，“When the idea expressed in the reported statement can also be applied to the time of reporting, there is no need to change the tense or other forms.”（“如果被转述的陈述句中表达的内容在转述时也适用，那就不需要改变时态或其他形式。”）考题(1)、(2)恰恰属于这里所说的情况。M. Swan 则主张根本没有必要去考虑时态呼应的原则：

“It is quite unnecessary to learn complicated ‘rules’ about reported speech, or to practise changing direct speech to reported speech. Simply use the tenses that are natural for the situation.” (PEU, p. 535) (这里完全没有必要去学习关于间接引语的复杂的“规则”或去练习把直接引语变为间接引语，哪些时态用起来自然，就用哪个时态好了。)

sequence of tenses²

问

“My father will be here tomorrow.”“Oh, I thought that he ____ today.”

A. was coming B. is coming C. will come D. comes(TOEFL)

书上给的答案是 A(was coming)。但我认为，B(is coming)也是正确的。

答

考生应牢记，许多英语测试专家仍然要求考生严格遵守时态呼应的原则。按照时态呼应原则，在间接引语中应将直接引语中的一般现在时前移为一般过去时，将一般将来时前移为过去将来时，将一般过去时前移为过去完成时，而将现在进行时前移为过去进行时，依此类推。因此，上面的试题应选A(was coming)。

英语教师应注意英语惯用法的变化趋势:不仅在口语中,而且在书面语中,人们日益摆脱时态呼应原则的束缚而根据实际需要来采用动词的时态:

I heard her say that she is studying Business Administration. (CGEL) 我听到她说她正在学商业管理。
It was told yesterday that the company ____ me there next week for a business conference.

A. shall have sent B. are going to send

C. shall be sending D. shall send(Nelson, 250A)

还应指出，在间接引语中遵守时态呼应原则与摆脱时态呼应原则，常常会引起句意上的差别。

请比较下列各组句中(a)句与(b)句的句意：

(a) Their teacher had told them that the earth moves around the sun.

(间接引语表示永恒的真理)

(b) The ancients thought that the sun moved around the earth.

（说话人认为间接引语中的论点是错误的，现在人们已不再持有这种观点了）

(a) Sam told me that he was an American citizen.

(也许 Sam 现在已改变了国籍)

(b) Sam told me last night that he is now an American citizen.

(现在 Sam 仍是美国国籍)

(a) Socrates said that nothing could harm a good man.

(认为苏格拉底的话只适用于过去)

(b) Socrates said that nothing can harm a good man.

（认为苏格拉底的话是一条普遍的规律，对于今天也是适用的）

(a) The waiter told me that lunch is now being served.

(间接引语中的话仍有效)

(b) The waiter told me that lunch was then being served.

（服务员的话是在以前讲的，因而间接引语中的话已无效）

sequence of tenses³

问

She told me game started at seven. (CGEL) 句中的 started 是代表直接引语中的一般过去时,还是代表直接引语中的一般现在时?

答

如 CGEL 所分析的,在没有上下文的情况下,上面的句子可以作两种解释。1. 句中的 started 不受时态呼应原则的支配,表示一般过去时,说明比赛已在 7 点开始了。2. started 受时态呼应原则的支配,它在直接引语中本是一般现在时,说明比赛尚未开始。因此,对上面的句子可以有两种不同的回答:

It didn't.
It doesn't. sequence of (参见 sequence of tenses $^{1}$ )

sequence of tenses⁴

问

I said the bus is late. 我认为上句中的 is 用错了,应改为 was。

答

上面的句子并没有错误,见 sequence of tenses $^{1,2}$ , indirect speech $^{1,2}$ 。series