问英语
原书主词条 · 11 个连续词条

mean

原书 PDF 第 895—899 页

mean1

mean for him to do

问

“The photographer thought he was supposed to arrive after the guests.” “But I meant ____ early.”

A. for his coming B. him coming C. for him to come D. he would come(TOEFL)给的正确答案为 C(for him to come)。但是我查了许多语法书和词典，只查到 mean sb. to do sth., 而没有查到 mean for sb. to do sth. 。试题是否有误？

答

mean sb. to do sth. 是一种标准句型。例如：

  1. I meant a doctor to examine him. = I meant him to be examined by a doctor. (CGEL) 我曾打算叫医生给他检查身体。

  2. I didn't mean you to read the letter. (ACD) 我并没有打算叫你读那封信。

  3. I thought you meant me to come with you. (Maugham) 我原以为你打算叫我跟你一起去的。

  4. Those flowers were meant for you; I meant you to have them. (LDAE) 这些花是给你的；我的意思是让你要这些花。

mean for sb. to do sth. 这一结构只见于美国英语：

  1. I didn't mean for you to tell him. 我并没有打算叫你把这件事告诉他。

  2. “There’s no evidence at all that she really meant for him to have the property.” (Lipman, Point of Law). “并没有证据来证明她真的打算叫他拥有这份财产。”

  3. “I never meant for you to know how I got the money. I was going to tell you I'd won the sweepstakes.” (Lacy, Cone). “我从来没有想让你知道我是怎样弄到钱的。我打算告诉你我赢了赛马的总赌金。”

  4. They didn't mean for her to read the letter. 他们并不想让她读那封信。

  5. She had seemed certain her grandfather meant for her to visit the famous painting one more time. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 她坚信祖父要让她再去看一次《蒙娜丽莎》。(《达·芬奇密码》，上海人民出版社)

但是,有的语言学家(例如 Right Words at Right Time 的作者们)指出,mean for sb. to do sth. 的用法是不标准的。甚至连 Longman Dictionary of American English 和 Oxford American Dictionary 也没有收入这一用法。

看来,托福的出题者们采用尚未被普遍认为标准的语言格式 mean for sb. to do sth. 作为考核项目,似乎是违背了他们只承认标准的正式英语的原则。

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-5.md · 6709—6742 行PDF：第 895 页 · mean 1-2

mean2

By A is meant B\*

问

By the skill of reading is meant what is generally known as reading comprehension.

我认为介词短语 by the skill of reading 是句子的主语①,不知对否?

答

在 By A is meant B 这个句型中，B 是被动句的主语，而 by A（介词短语）是状语。这个句型常用来给事物下定义。A 是被下定义的部分，包含已知信息，而 B 是下定义部分，即揭示概念内涵和（或）外延的部分，当然是要告诉读者的新信息。采用这种倒装语序，就能使新信息（即语意重点）位于句尾这个被强调的位置上（见 end-focus）。原来这是个强调被动句主语的随意的语用用法，久而久之，便成了固定的语法格式了。这在英语论说文和科技英语中是用得非常广泛的。例如：

  1. By acceleration is meant the rate of change of velocity with time. 加速度就是指速度对时间的变化率。

  2. By power is meant the rate of doing work. 功率就是指做功的速率。

  3. By motion here is meant momentum. 这里所说的运动指的是动量。

  4. By automation is meant the technique of making a mechanical device or a process self-regulating and self-controlling. 自动化是指能使机械装置或操作过程进行自动调节和自动控制的技术。

  5. By “strategy” is meant the basic planning of the whole operation. (CGEL) “策略”是指整个操作的基本计划。

请与下列主谓倒装的被动句进行对比：

  1. In each phenomenon there is involved some change in energy. 在每种现象里都涉及到能量的某些变化。

  2. To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction. 对于每个作用力总存在一个大小相等、方向相反的反作用力。

  3. Whenever any positive charge is created, there is always created an equal amount of negative charge. 每当正电荷产生时，总有等量的负电荷产生。

  4. By degree of freedom is understood an independent variable quantity, such as pressure, temperature or concentration. 所谓自由度，乃是一个独立的变量，如压力、温度或浓度。

(上列各句中的主语也是被强调的成分,是句子的语义重点)

练习

  1. One difficulty in translation lies in obtaining a concept match. ____ this is meant that a concept in one language is lost or changed in meaning in translation.

    1. A

      By

    2. B

      In

    3. C

      For

    4. D

      With(全国研考,01-8)

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mean3

问

By a thermodynamic process or a change of state is meant any change in the system (however small) that involves changes in these variables. (研考英语试题)

[原译]热力学过程或状态的变化,是表示出该系统中的(无论怎样小)任何变化,这都包含在这些变量中的变化。(《英语高考应试要览》)

请问 is meant 可以译为“是表示”吗?

请问...is meant 可以译为“是表示”吗？

答

这句译文是无法理解的,究其原因,主要是译者完全误解了 mean 和 involve 这两个动词的含义。By A is meant B 这个句型常用来给 A 下定义,例如:

  1. By “atom” is meant the smallest particle of a chemical element. 所谓原子就是化学元素的最小微粒。

  2. By acceleration is meant the rate of change of velocity with time. 加速度是指速度变化和时间的比率。

[试译]热力学过程或状态的变化指的是系统内引起这些状态变量改变的任何变化(不管多么小)。

(参见 involve)

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-5.md · 6783—6802 行PDF：第 896 页 · mean 3-4

mean4

be meant to do

问

查《英汉大辞典》，be meant to do 的意思是：必须（做）；应该（做）。但我遇到下列句子，不知如何解释和翻译。He was meant to be a barrister.

答

be meant to do 粗略地说具有三层不同的含义。

A. 由命运、能力、天资等所“注定”或者由父母决定。例如：

  1. He seems meant to be a soldier. (ALD) 他似乎生来就注定当士兵。

  2. He believes he is meant to be a great man. (LDCE) 他相信他生来就是要当伟人的。

  3. Books are meant to be read. (Bolinger) 书就是让人读的。

B.“被预料”“被期望”“被认为”：

  1. Are parents meant to love all their children equally? 是否可以认为父母对他们所有的孩子都给予相同的爱？

  2. I found a road that wasn't meant to be there. 我发现一条原来没有意料到的路。

  3. They are meant to cooperate with each other only when it is in their interests to do so, to advance the cause of their allies, and even to spy on each other. (TIME) 人们预料他们只有在为了自己的利益时才会互相合作，会促进自己的结盟事业，甚至互相从事间谍活动。(时代周刊)(译文引自《现代英语报刊阅读词典》)

C. 在意义和用法上相当于半助动词 ought to 和 be supposed to (应该, 必须):

  1. You're meant to take your shoes off when you enter an Hindu temple. (ALD) 进入印度寺庙时应当脱鞋。

  2. You were meant to ask why I was disappointed with the idea. 你该问问为什么我对这个想法感到失望。

你所提问的句子,如果脱离上下文,可以有好几种理解:

  1. 他生来就是当律师的材料。

  2. 他父母决定让他当律师。

  3. 他父母曾打算让他当律师。

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mean5

had meant to do/meant to have done

问

I had meant (intended, hoped) to visit him. 我已学过 hope, expect, mean, intend, plan, suppose, want 等动词的过去完成时 + 动词不定式, 表示“希望”“预料”“打算”“计划”“想”等没有完成或没有实现。但我不知道它们的过去时加上完成时不定式是否也能表达同样的意思?

答

语言学家们认为,在表达未完成或未实现的“希望”“打算”“计划”等时,最好是使用此类动词的过去完成时+不定式。例如:

  1. I had meant to come, but something happened. 我本想来，但发生了点事，没有来。

  2. I had intended to speak, but time did not permit. 我本来想发言,但是时间不允许。

  3. I had hoped to visit you yesterday. 我本希望昨天去看望你。

  4. I had hoped to send him a telegram to congratulate him on his marriage, but I didn't manage it. (LEG) 我本想给他拍个电报祝贺他新婚之禧，但是我却没有做到。

  5. I was disappointed with the film. I had expected it to be much better. 我对这部电影很失望。我原以为它会好多了。

但是,用它们的一般过去时+完成时不定式,也能表达同样的意思:

  1. I hoped to have seen you before now. (Scheurweghs) 我本希望在这以前看到你。

  2. I intended to have called on you, but... (GPU) 我本打算去拜访你,但……

  3. I meant to have visited you yesterday. 我本应该在昨天拜访你。

练习

  1. In World War II, Japan hoped ____ its power to the whole Asia, and it did not succeed.

    1. A

      extend

    2. B

      extending

    3. C

      to extend

    4. D

      to have extended

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-5.md · 6843—6874 行PDF：第 897 页 · mean 5-6

mean6

I mean

问

Then you add the peaches—I mean, the apricots...

句中的 I mean 是什么意思？

答

在无准备的口语中常常会出现一些语误，I mean 就是用来修正语误的，可译为“不”“不，我是说”“我的意思是”。请看下面的例句：

  1. The third thing, I mean the first thing to remember is that... (CGEL) 要记住的第三件事, 不, 我是说, 要记住的第一件事, 是……

  2. "What time this afternoon did you burn your hand, Delia?"

“Five o'clock, I think. The iron—I mean the soup—was ready about five.” (O. Henry)

“今天下午几点钟你烫坏了手，迪莉娅？”“我想是五点钟。熨斗，不，我说的是汤在五点左右就做好了。”

[附注]I mean 有时用来表示强调：

I want you home by midnight. And I mean midnight. 我要你在午夜前回家，记住是午夜。mean 7^{7}

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mean8

mean to do/mean doing $^{2}$

问

您在《英语常见问题解答大词典》(p.706)中说，mean作“意味着”解时，只能接动名词，但是，在下面的句子里，mean作“意味着”解，接的却是动词不定式：That flashing red light means to stop your car and wait for the train to go by. 那个闪烁的红灯表示停车等待列车通过。

答

在 mean to do/mean doing 条目中讲的是英国英语的通用情况,在美国英语中,作“意味着”解的 mean 有时也接动词不定式。

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mean9

meant to do/had meant to do

问

I meant to tell you yesterday, but you were not in your office.

薄冰教授在《薄冰英语语法》中指出：“过去完成时有时表一种未实现的愿望或想法：I had meant to come, but something happened.”(p.215)张道真教授在《实用英语语法》中也指出：“intend, hope, plan, mean, want, think等动词的过去完成时可以用来表示一个本来打算做而没有做的事。”

根据他们的论述,我断定上面援引的那个句子是错误的:应当改为 I had meant to tell ...。

答

上面两位教授的论述都是正确的。但是,应当补充一点:在现代英语中,尤其是在美国英语中,mean 和 intend 的过去时 + to-v 也能表示未实现的愿望(参见 intended to do)。例如:

  1. I meant to phone you, but I forgot. (OELD) 我本想给你打电话的,可是我忘了。

  2. I meant to call on you. But I was too busy. 我本来想拜访你。但是我太忙了。

  3. I meant to phone you earlier, but I didn't have time. (CPED) 我本想早点给你打电话，但是我没有时间。

  4. I meant to ring you but I'm afraid I forgot ... (EED) 我本想给你打电话,但是,很遗憾,我忘记了……

练习

  1. ——You should have thanked her before you left.

    —I meant ____, but when I was leaving I couldn't find her anywhere.

    1. A

      to do

    2. B

      to

    3. C

      doing

    4. D

      doing so(上海高考,00春)

  2. ——Why didn't you tell me that earlier?

    ——，but when I called you, no one answered the phone.

    1. A

      I did

    2. B

      I wanted

    3. C

      I meant to

    4. D

      I couldn't(包头市中考)

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mean10

meant to have done/meant to do

问

I meant to ____ you with your homework but father didn't permit me to.

A. help B. have helped C. helping D. having helped

《中华第一名校高考高分解疑》(首都师大出版社, p.213) 给的答案是 B。能否选 A 呢?

答

除选项 B 外, 选项 A 也是正确的, 见 mean 9^{9} , intended to do。

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mean11

had meant to do/meant to do

问

Crusoe ____ a boat, but he failed. A. meant to build B. meant building C. had meant to build D. had meant building 《海淀名题·高中英语语法完全解题》(东北师大出版社, p. 96) 给的答案是 C。能否选 A 呢?

答

meant to do 也能表达未实现的愿望,故选项 A 也是正确的,见 mean 9^{9} , intended to do。

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mean12

be meant for

问

Its streets were never ____ for heavy traffic.

A. tested B. meant C. kept D. used(全国高考,99-35)

答案是 B。但是, be meant for 是什么意思呢?

答

mean ... for 常常用于被动结构: be meant for。它的意思是: “(计划)是要给……的” “打算作……用”。例如:

  1. Is this picture meant for me? 这幅画是给我的吗?

  2. The magazine was meant for young girls. 那份杂志是编给小女孩看的。

[句意]这个乡村的街道并不是供繁忙的交通使用的。

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