问英语｜英语常见问题解答

问

She said that we had no other choices ____ go to the police station for help. A. beside B. besides C. accept D. except[《高中英语教科书》第二册(上),人教社,p.92]

答案为 D。但我认为上句中的 have no choices 的用法是不正确的。不知您是否同意我的看法？

答

ALD 明确指出, choice 作“right or possibility of choosing(选择的权利或可能性)”解时, 是不可数名词, 并举了如下的实例:

He had no choice but to resign. 他除了辞职别无选择。

CIDE 也强调指出,用于此义的 choice 是“U + to infinitive”(“不可数 + 带 to 的不定式”): We have no choice but to close the hospital. 我们没有别的选择,只好关闭医院。

此外,上句中的 except go 的说法也是错误的,应改为 except to go, 见 except do。因此,上句应改为:

...we had no choice except to go...

问

That was so serious a matter that I had no choice but ____ the police. A. called in B. calling in C. call in D. to call in(全国四级,96.1-24) 答案为 D,但是,我认为选项 C 也是正确的,因为介词 but 后的动词不定式符号是可以省略的: What could he do but die?

答

在 but + to-v 结构中省略 to 是有条件的: but 之前如有实义动词 do(does, did), 则动词不定式符号 to 是可以省略的。而在 have no choice (alternative) but + to-v 结构中动词不定式符号是不可以省略的(参见 except do/except to do):

We had no choice but to accept the majority decision. 除了接受大多数人的决定外,我们别无选择。
I had no choice but to tell him what I knew, what I guessed! (J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) 我没有选择, 只得告诉他我知道的, 我猜测的! (《哈利·

波特与死亡圣徒》)

[试题句意]那是一件非常严重的事，除了叫警察来，我别无选择。

choice

choice¹

choice²