问英语｜英语常见问题解答

cannot (can't)¹

问

《初中英语重点·难点纵横谈》(2)(中国科技大学出版社,p.154)指出,can't be是must be的否定形式,应译为“不见得”并举了如下的实例：

Just look at her dress, she can't be a bus conductor. (瞧她的衣服, 她不见得是一个公共汽车售票员。)

《高中英语重点·难点纵横谈》在分析《高中英语教科书》中的句子“You can't be serious!”时又作了同样的分析。

请问 can't be 真的可以译为“不见得”吗？

答

关于 must 的含义及其译法,我们在 must 条中已经讨论过了。现在来讨论它的否定形式 can't。must 用于“推测”“估计”意义时表示说话人对自己的“推测或估计”深信不疑,同样,它的否定形式 can't 也表示说话人对自己的“推测或估计”深信不疑。因此,不应把 can't 译为“不见得”,因为汉语的“不见得”表示说话人对自己“推测或估计”毫无把握,毫无信心。例如:

看样子,他不见得会来。(没有把握的推测或估计)

屋里开着灯，不见得就有人。

让我们分析一些含 $\dot{\mathrm{can}}\dot{\mathrm{t}}$ 的实例：

You can't be serious. = You must be joking. 你不可能是当真的。= 你一定是在开玩笑。
They can't be telling lies. [“It's not possible that they are telling lies.”] 他们不可能是在说谎。
You can't be hungry already—you only had lunch two hours ago! 你不可能饿了——两个小时以前你才吃完午饭呀！
‘Hold on! This can't be the password,’ she argued. ‘The cryptex doesn't have an Sh on the dail. It uses a traditional Roman alphabet.’ (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) “这不可能是密码。”她争辩道：“刻度盘上的密码盒没有 Sh。它用的是传统罗马字母。”(《达·芬奇密码》)
That can't be Mary—she's in hospital. 那不可能是玛丽——她住院了。
She must be asleep. = She can't be awake. 她准是睡着了。= 她不可能是醒着的。
‘This cryptex can't be the keystone,’ Sophie argued. ‘It’s not old enough. I’m certain my grandfather made this. It can't be part of any ancient Grail legend.’ (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 索菲争辩道: “这个密码筒不可能是楔石, 它的年代不够久远。我敢肯定这是祖父做的。这不可能是历史悠久的圣杯传说的一部分。”(《达·芬奇密码》)

我们再来考察一下英英词典对 can't 的注释：

You use cannot and can't to state you are certain that something is not true or will not happen. (CCLD, p. 155) (使用 cannot 和 can't 是为了表示确信某事不是真的或不会发生。)
If you say that something cannot be true or cannot happen, you mean that you feel sure that it is not true or will not happen. (BBCED, p. 155) [如果你说某事 cannot be true（不可能是真的）或者 cannot happen（不可能发生），那就意味着你确信某事不是真的或不会发生。]

This cannot be the whole story... (这不可能是事情的全部……)

He can't have said that... (他不可能说过这样的话……)

练习

There's no light on—they ____ be at home.
1. A
  can't
2. B
  mustn't
3. C
  needn't
4. D
  shouldn't(全国高考卷 I,06-24)

cannot (can't)²

cannot(can't)/must not(mustn't)

问

The other students in the class keep their eyes closed. They mustn't look.

《初中英语重点·难点纵横谈》(中国科技大学出版社, p.64) 在注释中说:

“I mustn't be late. (我可不能迟到了。)不可以说: I can't be late.” 该书 p.33 也曾提到: “汉语说‘不能’, 英语不等于‘can't’, 而要说‘mustn't’。例: 你不能坐下。英语要说: You mustn't sit down. (不用 can't)”

请问真的不能说 I can't be late. You can't sit down. 吗?

答

我们知道,can既可以表示“能力”或“可能”,也可以表示“被允许”,因而,can't可用于上面所有的意义。I can't be late.除表示“我不可能迟到。”之外,还可以表示“我不可以(不允许)迟到”。同样,You can't sit down.也可以表示“你不可以坐下。”请看下面的例证:

You can't go swimming. ("You are not allowed to..." 你不许去游泳。
Put that cigarette out! You can't smoke near a petrol pump. 把香烟熄灭了！在汽油泵旁边不许吸烟。
You can't pick the ball up in football. 踢足球时不可以用手拿球。

由此可见，can't 与 mustn't 一样，也可表示“不允许”“不可以”“不准”等含义。

cannot (can't)⁴

问

（1）Sir, you ____ sit here. It's for women and children only.

A. don't B. can't C. could D. needn't(南京中考)

(2) Sir, you ____ be sitting in this waiting room. It is for women and children only. A. oughtn't to B. can't C. won't D. needn't(上海高考,96-23)

试题(1)的答案是 B, 而试题(2)的答案却是 A。我认为这两个答案是互相矛盾的。

答

试题(1)选B是正确的。在试题(2)中，在没有上下文的条件下，选A或选B都是正确的[见 $cannot(can't)^{2}$ ]，只是语气有所不同。选A，语气显得客气、委婉，选B，语气则有些生硬。但是，上面的句子没有语境限定，使用A或B都应看作是正确的（注意：用了Sir，不一定非使用客气的语气不可）。因此，我们有理由说，上面的试题大有改进的必要。

cannot have done 见 can $^{13}$

cannot help it 见 cannot/ couldn't help it

cannot...too 见 can $^{16,17}$