问英语
原书主词条 · 8 个连续词条

as if

原书 PDF 第 197—201 页

as if1

问

He opened his mouth as if to speak.

as if 是个从属连词,本应引导状语从句,它怎么会引出动词不定式呢?

答

在上面的句子里, as if 仍然是个从属连词, 它引导的是个省略型的从句: as if to speak = as if he wanted to speak。例如:

  1. He shook his head as if (he wanted) to say “no”. (LDCE) 他摇了摇头,好像是(想)要说“不”。

  2. She lifted one arm, as if to shield herself, then screamed in terror. 她抬起一只手臂，好像要护住自己，然后惊恐地尖叫起来。

  3. Her grandfather lowered his voice and looked around as if to make sure no one was listening. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 祖父环顾了一下四周，好像是要确认没有人在听他们的谈话。(《达·芬奇密码》)

当句子的主语与 as if 从句的主语相一致时, as if 还可以引出现在分词和过去分词。在大多数情况下可以理解为省略了主语和 be:

  1. He paused as if expecting Lanny to speak. (Sinclair) 他停了一下，似乎在等待兰尼说话。

  2. ‘Silence,’ said Voldemort, with another twitch of Malfoy's wand, and Charity fell silent as if gagged. (J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) “闭嘴!”伏地魔说到,再一次用马尔福的魔杖戳了她一下。查里莉好像被人掐住了脖子一般没有了声音。(《哈利·波特与死亡圣徒》)

(参见 as if 3^{3} )

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as if2

问

It looks as if it is going to rain. (Wood)

as if 引导的是什么从句?

答

一般英语语法书都认为这里的 as if 从句是主语从句(真实主语), it 是形式主语。但我们认为这里的 as if 从句更像是表语从句。详细的情形,请见 It seems that。

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as if3

as if expecting/to expect

问

The professor paused as if ____ his students to ask questions on the point he had just made. A. expecting B. to expect C. expected D. to have expected （翟象俊主编《大学英语》精读第一册，p.168），《教师参考书》给的答案是 A（expecting）。据我所知，as if 是个从属连词，应当引导从句。在上面的试题中它与现在分词连用是我无法接受的。

答

as if 之后可以接过去分词、现在分词、形容词以及介词短语，但实质上它们是 as if 从句的简略形式。正像语言学家们所指出的那样，当 as if 从句的主语跟主句的主语相一致，并且从句又包含充当谓语的 be 时，从句的主语和 be 就常常省略：

  1. He stood as if rooted to the ground. (ECD) 他站在那里,仿佛钉在地上。
  2. He bent down as if tightening his shoe laces. (CGEL) 他弯下身来,似乎在系紧他的鞋带。
  3. The agent made no response, his eyes probing as if trying to read Vernet's mind. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 警察不吱声，只是死死地盯着他，好像要看出他的心思。（《达·芬奇密码》） 还应指出,在上面的试题中,除了选 A 之外,还可以选 B (to expect),当然在意义上多少有些区别。CGEL 明确指出: “as if 和 as though 也可引导动词不定式。 She winked at me as if to say that I shouldn't say anything. 她向我使眼色，好像是告诉我什么都不应当说。” (参见 as if 1^{1} )
练习

  1. The man we followed suddenly stopped and looked as if ____ whether he was going in the right direction.

    1. A

      seeing

    2. B

      having seen

    3. C

      to have seen

    4. D

      to see(安徽高考,03春-32)

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as if4

as if/as though

问

（1）I've loved you as if you were my son.

(2) He looked as though he were from the country.

as if 与 as though 在意义和用法上有无区别?

答

许多语言学家都认为 as if 与 as though 在语义和用法上并没有什么区别。但是在口语中使用 as if 的情况较多。在 A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language 中把 as if 和 as though 当作一个词条来处理。当然，从修辞上讲，存在着使用哪个形式更合适的问题。但是，这个问题已超出了我们的讨论范围。

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as if5

as if he{knew knows

问

下面是某大学研考试题中的一道改错题：

He talks as if he knows everything.

出题者要求将 knows 改为 knew(亦即要求使用虚拟语气),但我认为使用 knows 也是符合现代英语惯用法的。不知您的看法如何?

答

英国著名语言学家 R. Quirk 等人在 A Grammar of Contemporary English 中曾举过这样的例子：

He treats me as if {I’mI were}\left\{ \begin{array}{l} \text{I'm} \\ \text{I were} \end{array} \right\} a stranger. (GCE, p. 755)

他们解释道：“The use of the hypothetical past makes little difference here, since both the present and past form imply the unreality of what is expressed in the subordinate clause; it is assumed from both sentences that ‘I am not a stranger’.”

（“这里用不用假设过去时，并没有什么区别，因为现在形式和过去形式都表明 as if 从句所表达的内容是非真实的，即两个分句都含有‘I am not a stranger.’的意思。”）

这就是说,当从句意可以明显地看出 as if 从句所表达的内容是非真实的时候,使用陈述语气或使用虚拟语气是没有什么区别的。请看下面的例句:

  1. He talks as if {hehashehad}\left\{\begin{array}{l} he has \\ he had \end{array}\right\} a potato in his mouth. (CGEL) (这两个句子都意味着“他嘴里并没有真的含着一个土豆”) 他说起话来就好像嘴里含着一个土豆似的。

  2. The stuffed dog barks as if it is a real one. (CGEL) 这个狗标本叫起来像真狗似的。

  3. Suddenly, the knocking turned to a forceful banging, as if someone were hitting the door with a metal rod. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 突然, 敲门声变成了沉重的撞击声, 仿佛有人在用铁棒砸门。(《达·芬奇密码》)

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as if6

as if I were/was

问

It seems as if I was there yesterday. A B C D

试题要求将 was(C) 改为 were。但我认为这里用 was 也是正确的。

答

对各类考生来说,牢记 as if I were 是有好处的。但是,对于英语教师和英语研究者来说,只记住这一点是不够的,还应了解更多的语言事实。在活生生的语言材料里,用 as if I was 来代替 as if I were 的现象是很常见的。Jespersen 曾指出,在 as if 之后有一种使用 was 的倾向:

She spoke as if she was ashamed. 她讲话好像害羞似的。

R. Quirk 等也认为 as if I was 是一个正常的用法。

She treats me as if {IwasIwere}\left\{\begin{array}{l}I was\\ I were\end{array}\right\} a stranger. (CGEL) 她对待我的态度, 就好像我是陌生人似的。

类例：

  1. They sat and looked at him as though he was disturbing them. (Maugham) 他们坐着，瞧了瞧他，好像他打扰了他们似的。

  2. He spoke so casually as though the matter was of little consequence. (Mis) 他说得很随便,就好像这事儿无足轻重似的。

  3. She could hear the line clicking and buzzing, as if she was being transferred. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 她听得见电话线里发出的“滴答”声和“嗡嗡”声，仿佛她正被电话线传了过去。(《达·芬奇密码》)

  4. The Teacher heaved a sigh, as if what he now had to do was profoundly regrettable. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 教主长叹一声，似乎对目前必须做的事情也深感遗憾。（《达·芬奇密码》）

  5. We shook hands and talked as if nothing else in the world was going on. (B. Clinton, My Life) 我们握手、交谈，仿佛世界上任何事也没有发生。（《我的生活》）(参见 was/were)

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as if7

as if you were/are

问

（1）I've loved you as if you were my son.

(2) It looks as if it is going to rain.

as if 用虚拟语气与用陈述语气有无区别?

答

一般而论,如果 as if 从句所表达的内容完全与实际情况相反或者纯粹是一种假设时,通常使用虚拟语气。句(1)含有“你并不是我的儿子”这个含义。请分析下面各例:

  1. He acts as if he knew you. (具有“他并不认识你”的含义) 看他的样子似乎认识你似的。

  2. She looks as if she were angry. (具有“她并没有真的生气”的含义) 看她的表情, 她好像生气了似的。

  3. He walks as if he were drunk. (说话人认为“他并没有喝醉”) 他走路的样子好像是喝醉了似的。

  4. The mood was light and joyous, as if the air itself had changed in an afternoon. (Hillary, Living History) 气氛轻松而欢乐，仿佛一个下午空气自己就改变了。(希拉里，《亲历历史》)

如果 as if(though) 从句所表达的内容被看作是事实或者有可能是真实的, 就要使用陈述语气。

  1. He walks as if he is drunk. 他走路好像喝醉了似的。

  2. It looks as if she is in love again. (RWRT) 看上去好像她又坠入情网了。

  3. It looks as though we shall have to do the work ourselves. (Wood) 看来我们好像不得不自己来做这项工作了。

  4. It seems as if we shall have to walk. (AEP) 看来好像我们不得不走着去了。

  5. It looks as if my parents treat me as a visitor and a guest. (全国高考,01-83) 我的父母好像是把我当作访问者和客人似的。

在你所提问的句(2)中, as if 从句使用陈述语气, 是因为说话人认为“真的要下雨”。因此之故, RWRT 作者们认为应将下列句中的 as if snow were coming 改为 as if snow was coming:

The light, though late now, was sharp, as if snow were coming on... behind that freezing iron leaf he watched the slice of cold evening, and pulled his coat across his chest. (RWRT)

尽管当时已经迟了，光线还很分明，似乎接着就要下雪了……在那冻结得铁一般的叶子后面，他看着这一片寒冷的夜晚，并把外套拉过胸部。（译文引自《英语准确用词词典》）

但是,也有特殊的情况:as if 从句使用陈述语气或使用虚拟语气,其意义并没有什么差别。这主要是因为从上下文或句义可以明显地看出 as if 从句所表达的内容是非真实的。

  1. She treats me as if {I′mIwere}\left\{\begin{array}{l} I'm \\ I were \end{array}\right\} a stranger. (CGEL) (这两个句子都意味着“我并不是一个陌生人”) 她对待我的态度就好像我是个陌生人似的。

  2. There he is to the life, looking as if at any moment he will slowly open those large grey heavy lidded eyes, stare at us solemnly for a minute, and then declare that “really he hasn’t the least idea.” 这是写生画出来的他的肖像，看上去现在还好像他会慢慢地睁开那大而灰色的，眼皮重重地垂下着的两眼，严肃地望着我们，一会儿之后，就会说出，“我真是一点也不知道呀。”（译文引自钱歌川《英文疑难详解续篇》，p. 162）

  3. She did not recognize the banker, but he for a moment looked as if he'd seen a ghost. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 她根本就没有认出这位银行家，可他刚才一刹那的表情就像看到了鬼似的。（《达·芬奇密码》）

(参见 as if 5^{5} )

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as if8

It seems( looks) as if 见 It seems as if, It looks as if

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