suppose

在正式英语里, suppose 引出的宾语从句的谓语动词要使用虚拟过去时(请与 wish 相比较):

1. Just suppose everyone were to give up smoking and drinking. (CGEL) 让我们每一个人都戒掉烟酒。

2. Suppose her father turned her out of doors! (Wells) 想想她父亲真会把她赶出门!

3. Let's suppose we each had £ 100 to spend—what would we buy with it? 我们大家来想想,要是我们每人都有一百英磅来花的话,我们会买些什么?

4. Suppose (that) one of us died. (CGEL) 假定我们当中有一个人死了。

但是, suppose 的宾语从句的谓语动词也可以使用一般现在时:

1. Suppose he is lost, what would you do? 要是他迷路了,你怎么办?

2. But let us suppose that the Atlantic Ocean is now regularly crossed by enormous hovercraft. The hovercraft, with a thousand motor-cars on board, moves at 100 miles per hour, and is across the Atlantic in little more than one day. [复旦大学《英语》(三), p. 168] 让我们设想, 现在有巨大的气垫船定期跨越大西洋航行。装运上千辆汽车的气垫船的航速每小时一百英里, 气垫船只消花上一天的时间就能渡过大西洋。

上面的译法是错误的，应译为：“我认为是这样。”或“我想我是不会来的。”更详细的情形，见 expect(don't expect so/expect not)。

上面两个句子都是正确的。这就是说 suppose 的宾语从句既可用陈述语气，也可用虚拟语气。上面两句中的 suppose 用于提出建议或请求，有时候相当于一个祈使句。在 suppose 后面的从句中使用过去时主要是为了使所提出的建议变得客气、委婉，或者使所提出的建议听起来不那么肯定。

1. Suppose we have lunch now! (Chambers) 我们现在吃午饭好吗?

2. Let us suppose that a child suddenly crosses the road in front of you. (New Concept English, Book 2, L.69) 现在假设一个小孩突然在你面前穿过马路。

3. Suppose you meet me at the post office at half-past seven. (Palmer) 你七点半到邮局来找我,好吗?

4. “Daddy, can I watch TV?”——“Suppose you did your homework first?”(PEU) “爸爸，我能看电视吗?”——“你先做家庭作业，怎么样?”

was/were supposed to 常常用来把本应该发生的事与实际发生的事进行对照,可译为“本应该”:

1. We were supposed to arrive at six. But we are late. 我们本应该6点钟到达。但是，我们迟到了。

2. Lucy was supposed to come to lunch. What's happened? 露西本应该来吃午饭。出什么事了？

在这种情况下,有时使用 was/were supposed to have done 来表示“过去本应该发生而实际上并未发生的事。”:

1. He was supposed to have told me about it. 他本应该把这件事告诉我的。

2. Mrs. Brown was supposed to have left for Italy last week. 布朗太太本应上周动身去意大利的。

[句意]“你本来会像这样死去的。你死后,没有一个医生能从你的皮肤上看出蛇咬的细小齿痕……”

在 think, believe, suppose, expect 等动词后面的从句中, 如果在意义上需要否定宾语从句的某个成分, 常常要将否定转移到主句中去。因此, 所提问的句子 I don't suppose... 相当于 I suppose that he does not care. 这就意味着, that 从句实质上是个否定句。按照附加疑问句的使用规则, 这里的附加疑问句只能使用肯定形式: does he? (参见 transferred negation $^{5}$ , tag questions $^{9}$ )

首先要懂得 What do you suppose has happened? 是一个混合疑问句。其中的 What 是句子的主语，而 has happened 是它的谓语，见 interrogative sentence。

其次要懂得，上题中符合混合疑问句条件的共有选项 A、C 和 D。但是，只能选 C。为什么呢？因为只有现在完成时才能表示过去事件与现在的联系，即：过去的事件，现在的结果。这样才能符合该题所提供的语境：“我很长时间没有收到享利的来信了。”“你认为发生了什么事（使得他没有写信）呢？”

此外,这类句子里的 suppose, think, expect 并不要求后面的动词与其保持时态一致。后面动词的时态可根据需要来使用。请看下面的例证：

1. Who do you suppose telephoned today? 你认为今天谁来电话了？

2. Who do you think murdered the lady? 你认为是谁谋杀了这位女士？

3. How long do you think you'll be gone? 你认为你会离开多久？

全句是一个混合疑问句,见 interrogative sentence, think $^{4}$ 。

[试题句意]倘若董事长知道你是那种感受,你认为会发生什么事?

[附注]《大学英语四级历年实考试卷详解》(全国大学英语四、六级考试委员会编,上海外语教育出版社,p.162)对上题的解答如下:

“主句主语是 you, 谓语动词是 suppose, 因此发生倒装的是 you suppose 这部分, what would happen 相当于 suppose 的宾语从句。”

这种分析方法有一个致命的弱点: 如果把 do you suppose 分析为主句, 而把 what would happen 分析为宾语从句, 那么, 整个句子就是一个是非问句 (yes-no question)。但是, 大家都知道, 上面试题中的问句是不能用 yes 或 no 来回答的。再如:

——What do you think made Mary so upset?

— her new bicycle.

A. As she lost B. Lost C. Losing D. Because of losing(上海高考,97-13)(答案为C)因此,我们只能用混合疑问句来解释(见interrogative sentence)。

首先要知道,此题答案是 C(去掉 that)。其次,要弄懂 they supposed 在这里所起的插入语的作用。弄懂了这一点,句子的脉络就清楚了:which 是定语从句的主语,had been done 是定语从句的谓语。

[试题句意]他们指出了他们所认为的昨天夜里的暴风雨所造成的损失。请做下面的英语试题：

1. They ____ to enter the building by the back door; however, the front door was locked. A. weren't supposed B. wouldn't be supposed C. were supposed D. would be supposed(全国六级,95.1-41)

2. He's watching TV? He's ____ to be cleaning his room.

A. known B. supposed C. regarded D. considered(全国四级,97.6-37)

上面的解答是错误的。要记住:be supposed to have done 有两个含义:(a)本应该做某事而实际上并没有做,见