问英语｜英语常见问题解答

问

Without anyone noticing, I slipped out of the room.

不知如何分析 without 结构?

答

从句法上说,上面的 without 结构是伴随情况状语;从词法上说,它属于 without + 名词（或代词）+ 现在分词结构。在 with $^{8,9}$ 中对 with 结构所作的陈述完全适用于 without 结构。请看下面的实例:

Possibly this person died without anyone knowing where the coins were hidden. (without + 代词 + 现在分词) 可能这个人去世后谁也不知道这批硬币藏在什么地方了。
They debated for hours without a decision being taken. (without + 名词 + 现在分词) 他们争论了几个小时, 没作出任何决定。
Without his shoes on, he slipped on the polished floor. (without + 名词 + 副词) 他没穿鞋，在打蜡的地板上滑倒了。
Without anyone to talk to, John felt miserable. (without + 代词 + 动词不定式) 由于没有可与之谈话的人，约翰感到很悲哀。
Bert explained that without a wife at home to take care of all my personal needs, I would never be able to manage the demands of everyday life... (Hillary, Living History) 阿尔伯特解释说，少了太太在家照料我的生活琐事，我的生活将一团糟……（希拉里，《亲历历史》）(without + 名词 + 动词不定式)

问

Without the air to hold some of the sun's heat, the earth at night ____, too cold for us to live. A. would be freezing cold B. will be freezing coldly C. would be frozen cold D. can freeze coldly(上海高考,97-24)

答案为 A。令我不解的是,上句中并没有非真实条件从句,为什么谓语动词要用虚拟语气 would be 呢?

答

如同 with 短语一样, without 短语也可以引出非真实(虚拟)的条件。拿上句来说, without ... heat(如果没有空气来接收太阳的一些热量)是一个与现在事实相反的假设(条件)。它相当于 If there were no air to hold some of the sun's heat。注意: without 引出与现在事实或过去事实相反的条件,是很常见的(参见 subjunctive mood $^{9}$ )。例如:

“Without the message I would not have found you on the buoy,” he said. (全国高考, 92 - 阅 C) “要是没有他提供的信息, 我是不会在浮标上找到你的,”他说。
Without Betsey Wright, I could not have become President. (B. Clinton, My Life) 没有贝琪·赖特,我根本就不可能成为总统。(《我的生活》)

without

without¹

without²