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牛津实用英语语法 309 过去时态有时保持不变

分类: 英语学习方法 

A 从理论上讲,间接引语中一般过去时应当变成过去完成时,但在口语中,如果不至于使人对于动作发生的相对时间产生混淆,则常保持不变。

例如:He said,‘I loved her’(他说:“我爱过她”)必须变成He said he had loved her(他说他爱过她),否则句子的意思就会不一样了。但He said,‘Ann arrived on Monday’(他说:“安是星期一到的”)可以转述为He said Ann arrived/had arrived on Monday(他说安是星期一到的/他说安已于星期一到达)。

B 从理论上讲,过去进行时应当变成过去完成进行时,但实际上除非所指的是已完成的动作,否则一般都不变:

She said,‘We were thinking of selling the house but we have decided not to.’

她说:“我们曾想卖掉这所房子,但现在已经决定不卖了。”相当于:

She said that they had been thinking of selling the house but had decided not to.

她说他们曾想卖掉这所房子,但现在已经决定不卖了。

但是:

He said,‘When I saw them they were playing tennis.’

他说:“我看到他们时,他们在打网球。”相当于:

He said that when he saw them they were playing tennis.

他说他看到他们时,他们在打网球。

C 英语书面语中,一般过去时在间接引语中固然常常变成过去完成时,但也有以下几种例外情况:

1 时间从句中的一般过去时及过去进行时常不需改变:

He said,‘When we were living /lived in Paris…’

他说:“我们住在巴黎的时候……”相当于:

He said that when they were living in Paris…

他说他们住在巴黎的时候……

这类间接引语的主句中的主要动词既可保持不变,也可以变成过去完成时:

He said,‘When we were living/lived in Paris we often saw Paul.’

他说:“我们住在巴黎时,常常看到保罗。”相当于:

He said that when they were living/lived in Paris they often saw/had of- ten seen Paul.

他说他们住在巴黎时,常常看到保罗。

2 如一般过去时被用来叙述转述时仍继续存在的情况,则在间接引语中保持不变:

She said,‘I decided not to buy the house because it was on a main road.’

她说:“我决定不买这座房子了,因为它在交通要道上。”相当于:

She said that she had decided not to buy the house because it was on amain road.

她说她决定不买这座房子了,因为它在交通要道上。

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