问英语｜英语常见问题解答

who/that¹

问

×My sister, that is a nurse, came home for a few days.

× She was very fond of speaking French, that indeed she spoke well.

有人说句中的 that 是错误的。难道关系代词 that 不能用于定语从句来代替 who 和 which 吗?

答

首先应当分清定语从句是限制性定语从句,还是非限制性定语从句。在限制性定语从句里可以使用关系代词 that,这是毫无疑义的。

但是，在非限制性定语从句中一般不使用关系代词 that，而使用 who(whom) 或 which:

who/that $^{2}$

I spoke to Dr Spolsky, whom I met after the inquest. (CGEL)
She heard a terrible noise, which brought her heart into her mouth. (全国高考, 91-24) [参见 that (pron.) $^{5}$ ]

the very(only) + 表人的名词 that/who

问

有的语法书上说,如果定语从句的表人的先行词受形容词 only 修饰,则定语从句的关系代词只能使用 that,而不能使用 who。但是,我在许国璋《英语》第三册中读到:

“Because they are the only people who have golden trumpets,” said the ruler.

请问这里的 who 是否用错了。

答

现代英语语法学家并不认为在这种情况下使用 who 是错误的。他们根据大量的语言事实作出了这样一个符合实际情况的结论：当先行词受 only 修饰时，定语从句中充当主语的关系代词在表人时，使用 that 多于使用 who。在表物时，使用 that 多于使用 which。让我们考察几个实例：

He's the only man that can do it. (McArthur) 他是唯一能做这件事的人。
She's the only person that understands me. (PEU) 她是唯一了解我的人。
Leonardo is not the only one who has been trying to tell the world the truth about the Holy Grail. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 列奥纳多·达·芬奇并不是唯一竭力想告诉世人关于圣杯真相的人。(《达·芬奇密码》)

问

He is the only one ____ listens so closely.

A. who B. whom C. that D. which

书上给的答案是 C, 并指出, “当先行词有 only, any 等词修饰时, 定语从句的连词 [按: 应为关系代词] 不能用 who 或 which, 应用 that。”(《高中英语解题题典》, 东北师大出版社, p.17)。

请问到底能不能选A?

答

这是我国英语测试上的一个误区。实际上，选项A也是正确的，见上条。

问

Who are you that you should be so rude to us?

that 从句是什么类型的从句?

答

that从句是结果状语从句。句意是：“你是谁，竟敢对我们如此粗鲁？”这种句型还可以扩展到：What...that...should,Where...that...should,How many...that...should。见so...that,what...that。

who(m)...to/to whom 见 about $^{7}$ , what...on/on what, with whom/whom...with who else's/whose else 见 else $^{3}$