Three billion years after life began, the earth is now the home to many different kinds of living things. (《高中英语教科书》)
after 从句与 three billion years 是什么关系？该书《教师教学用书》(p.150)说 three billion years 是修饰 after 从句中的 began 的。是这样吗？
应当明确,after 从句是个时间状语从句。它前面的名词短语 three billion years 作它的修饰语。为了把时间关系说得更加精确,在 after 从句之前可加上修饰语,诸如 just, right, immediately, some time, a long time, soon, three years, many days 等等。《教师教学用书》的说法值得商榷:如果把“修饰动词 began 的”three billion years 放在 after 从句之中去,这个从句还能成立吗? three billion years 并不是修饰动词 began 的,而是修饰整个 after 从句的。请看下面的实例:
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Come over right after you've finished working. 你干完活后马上过来。
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I found the letter two weeks after he had left. 他离开两周后, 我才发现这封信。
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She went abroad two years after she graduated. 她毕业两年后出国去了。
[句意]在生命开始30亿年后,地球如今是许多不同种类的生物的生息地……