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你没有给出具体的例句,转一个类似能够说明问题的吧
为什么下面这句话是正确的,表示虚拟语气were为什么不用变成had been? - 知乎 (zhihu.com)‘
按照下面的文章解释,
- He fought as hard as if his wife were in danger. 这句话是有歧义的。
用had been 代替 were
2. He fought as hard as if his wife had been in danger.
这句话同样是有歧义的。
He fought as hard as if his wife were in danger.
他拼命地战斗,似乎他的妻子(当时)有危险。——真有危险(真实)
他拼命地战斗,就好像他的妻子(当时)有危险一样。——假有危险(虚拟)
He fought as hard as if his wife had been in danger.
他拼命地战斗,似乎他的妻子已经身处险境。——真有危险(真实)
他拼命地战斗,就好像他的妻子已经身处险境一样。——假有危险(虚拟)
Clauses that start with as if / as though describe an unreal or improbable situation if they are followed by an unreal tense (the past subjunctive or the past perfect subjunctive). Otherwise, they express that the statement is true.
The past subjunctive after as if / as though indicates an unreal situation in the present. However, if the situation is true, we use a real tense to express present time:
He looks as if he knew the answer. (he gives the impression that he knows the answer, but he (probably) doesn't know or we don't know whether he knows or not)——虚拟语气
He looks as if he knows the answer. (he knows the answer)——真实语气 If we put the verb preceding as if / as though into the past tense, the present simple knows changes into past simple, whereas the past subjunctive knew stays the same. Therefore, both sentences will read as follows:
He looked as if he knew the answer.——虚拟、真实语气 Consequently, the meaning of this sentence (whether he knew the answer or not) can only be deduced from the context.
The past perfect subjunctive after as if / as though is used to refer to an unreal past situation. If the situation is true, we use a real tense to express past time:
He seems as if he hadn't slept for days. (it seems that he hasn't slept for days, but he (probably) has or we don't know whether he has or not)——虚拟语气
He seems as if he hasn't slept for days. (he hasn't slept for days)——真实语气 If the preceding verb is put into the past tense, the present perfect hasn't slept changes into past perfect, while the past perfect subjunctive hadn't slept stays the same:
He seemed as if he hadn't slept for days.——虚拟、真实语气
原文链接:AS IF / AS THOUGH | Grammaring
如同我在《英语思维:解密英语语法的原理》一书中指出,英语的时态体系在表达复杂虚拟的时候已经无能为力了。
另外一个代表性的就是情态动词,见:
一般将来时和过去将来时的will和would跟助动词和情态动词的will和would是什么关系? - 知乎 (zhihu.com)
还可以参考单词间细微的意思差别,见:
为什么英语的“看”和“听”更像是不及物动词? - 知乎 (zhihu.com) |
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