问英语｜英语常见问题解答

except that¹

问

I'd lend you my car except (that) I may need it later this afternoon. 这里的 except (that) 是什么意思？我在《远东英汉大辞典》和 ALD 中都没有查到它的含义。

答

这里的 except(that) 是连词, 相当于连词 only, 可译为“要不是”“只不过”“但是”。上面的句子可译为:

我本来是想把我的汽车借给你的，只是我今天下午晚些时候可能要用它。

类例：

I would go except it's too late. (NELD) 要不是太晚的话,我会去的。
I would have had a perfect score except I missed the last question. (ECD) 要不是漏掉了最后一道题,我会得满分的。
I would buy a new suit except I have no money. (ECD) 我想买一套新衣服,只是没钱。
I wouldn't have given it a second thought except the rungs were worn and muddy. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 要不是看到梯子中间的横档坏了发了霉,我才不会多想。(《达·芬奇密码》)

试比较：

I would've asked you, only my mother told me not to. (CGEL) 要不是我妈妈告诉我不要去问你，我本来会问你的。
I would have gone, only you objected. (ECD) 要不是你反对,我早就去了。请做下面的英语试题:

“Why didn’t Mary go?” “She ____ except she didn’t have time.”

A. would have gone B. will go C. would go D. be going(TOEFL)

except that²

问

张道真编《现代英语用法词典》(外研社, p. 1258)说, that从句可以用在个别介词之后，并列举了下面的例句：

She had no idea where Cork Street was, except that it was near Bond Street. (Galsworthy) In the United States, a very special situation exists in that the Negro people have reached the stage of actually becoming a nation. (Foster)

请问 except that 和 in that 是介词 + that 从句结构吗?

答

现代语言学家们认为, except that, in that, save that, but that 是复合从属连词 (complex subordinators), 而不是介词 + that 从句结构, 见 but that。R. Quirk 等人曾明确指出, 不与 that 从句连用, 乃是介词的标准之一。

This suit fits me well except that the trousers are too long. (JED) 这套衣服很适合我，只是裤子太长。
He is a good student except that he is occasionally careless. (Eckersley) 他是个好学生，只是偶尔有些粗心。
He has no special fault except he smokes too much. (Lewis) 除吸烟太重之外,他没有什么严重的缺点。
His account is correct, except that some details are omitted. 除了一些细节未提到之外，他的叙述是正确的。
“How was the concert?” “Fine, except that we arrived terribly late.” (TOEFL) “音乐会怎么样?”“很好，只是我们到得太晚了。”
Rémy didn't give a damn about the Grail, except that the Teacher refused to pay him until it was found. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 雷米对圣杯并无什么怨恨，只是如果不能找到它，教主就拒绝给他报酬。(《达·芬奇密码》)
But it's not true and I don't [know] what else to say except it's sad to me. (Hillary, Living History) 但是, 那不是事实, 除了说这让我感到很难过之外, 我不知道还能说些什么。
The graduation ceremony of the Sidwell Friends Class of 1997 was much like any other, except that the President of the United States gave the commencement address. (Hillary, Living History) 西德维尔之友中学 1997 年毕业典礼与过去并无二致，所不同的只是典礼致辞者乃当今美国总统。

except that³

问

The Swede stood quite still, except that his lips moved slightly. (《高中英语课本》, Book 1, p. 252)

课文注释说,except 是介词,是这样吗?

答

应当注意, except that 与 except 并不是相同的语言单位。except that 应解释为复合连词, 见 except that $^{1}$ 。