張文甫
【摘要】因果關(guān)系是英語(yǔ)中的一種重要的銜接關(guān)系,本文探討了英語(yǔ)連接中的各種因果關(guān)系,探討了引起因果關(guān)系的各種情形,從用法入手,用列舉例句的方法探討了英語(yǔ)中包括連詞、動(dòng)詞、介詞、動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)、副詞等引起的各類因果關(guān)系。
【關(guān)鍵詞】因果關(guān)系 英語(yǔ) 用法 例句
因果關(guān)系是英語(yǔ)中的一種重要的銜接關(guān)系,本文從用法入手,用列舉例句的方法探討和總結(jié)英語(yǔ)中包括連詞、動(dòng)詞、介詞、動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)、副詞等引起的各類因果關(guān)系。
先看一組表示因果關(guān)系的連詞:for, since, as, because,它們的語(yǔ)氣強(qiáng)弱依次為Because → since → as →for. 其中because ,since, as均為從屬連詞,引導(dǎo)原因狀語(yǔ)從句;而for是并列連詞,引導(dǎo)并列句。
1. because表示直接原因,它所表示的原因通常是聽(tīng)話人所不知道的,其語(yǔ)氣最強(qiáng),常用來(lái)回答why的提問(wèn),一般放在主句的后面,有時(shí)也可放在主句的前面,也可以單獨(dú)存在。如:(1) I did it because he told me to.是他吩咐我才做的。(2)Just because I dont complain, people think Im satisfied.就因?yàn)槲也话l(fā)牢騷,大家便以為我滿意了。(3)Why is she absent? 她為什么缺席?Because she is sick. 因?yàn)樗×恕4送?,在?qiáng)調(diào)句型中,表示原因只能用because,如:4)It was because I missed the early bus that I was late for school.我上學(xué)遲到是因?yàn)槲覜](méi)有趕上早班車。
2. since側(cè)重主句,從句表示的理由已經(jīng)顯然或者已經(jīng)為聽(tīng)話人所知,常譯為“因?yàn)椤?、“既然”,語(yǔ)氣比because稍弱,通常置于句首,但有時(shí)也位于句中,表示一種含有勉強(qiáng)語(yǔ)氣的原因。如:(5)Since he asks you, youll tell him why. 他既然問(wèn)你,你就告訴他為什么吧。(6)We thought that, since we were in the area, wed stop by and see them. 我們想,既然到了這個(gè)地方,就該順便去看看他們。
3. as表示“因?yàn)椤钡囊馑紩r(shí)主從并重,表示的原因是顯而易見(jiàn)的原因,或者理由不太重要,含義與since相同,但語(yǔ)氣相對(duì)較弱,沒(méi)有那么正式。如:(7)As you were out, I left a message.你不在,所以我留了個(gè)字條兒。
4. for是并列連詞,引導(dǎo)的并列分句一般不放在句首,不能解釋某件事的發(fā)生的必然原因,只能提供附加的解釋和說(shuō)明。這時(shí)for前多加逗號(hào)。如:(8)如:She does not go out in the winter,for she feels the cold a great deal.——她冬天不出門,因?yàn)樗芘吕?。但是?dāng)for引導(dǎo)的句子與前邊的句子有一定的邏輯關(guān)系時(shí),可以放在名首,起承上啟下的作用。如:(9)For ,you see, they trusted their own sense of touch very much. 因?yàn)?,你知道,他們非常相信自己的觸覺(jué)。
有些介詞可以表示原因,如at,for,with,from等。
5. at:作為原因介詞,一般由于某種原因?qū)е履橙四撤N情緒的時(shí)候,可以用at,常和glad, amused, pleased等連用。如:(10)I am glad at the news. 聽(tīng)到這則消息,我感到很高興。(我因?yàn)槟愕挠⒄Z(yǔ)很流利而驚奇。)(11)I laughed at her joke. 我因?yàn)槁?tīng)了她說(shuō)的笑話而大笑起來(lái)。
6. for是最常用的原因介詞,相當(dāng)于because of,常和sorry, famous, punish, praise, thank, reward,blame等詞連用,后跟sth. /doing sth.。如: (12)I am sorry for what I said to you. 我后悔剛才對(duì)你說(shuō)了那話。(13)He was rewarded for his bravery. —他因英勇而得到嘉獎(jiǎng)。(14)Thank you for your help/reminding. 謝謝你的幫助/提醒。(因?yàn)槟愕膸椭吞嵝讯x謝你。
7. with: 后面一般跟名詞表示原因,主語(yǔ)是人時(shí)著重在對(duì)現(xiàn)在經(jīng)歷的事件感到滿意、害怕等,主語(yǔ)是事物的時(shí)候表示導(dǎo)致目前狀態(tài)的原因。比如:(15)She was trembling with fear.——她因?yàn)楹ε露l(fā)抖。(17)The grass was wet with rain.——因?yàn)橄掠辏莸貪窳恕?/p>
8. from可以表示原因,后面跟doing sth.。表示導(dǎo)致謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)作的起因。如:(18)In this way self-confidence grows, first from mastering a subject, then from being able to talk about it.這樣,你的自信心不斷增強(qiáng),先是因?yàn)檎莆樟艘婚T學(xué)問(wèn),接下來(lái)是因?yàn)槟軌蚓痛税l(fā)表見(jiàn)解。
9. about 表原因,情感是由about后面的動(dòng)作或事物帶來(lái)的。(19)He seemed to be excited about something. 他看上去似乎因?yàn)槭裁炊貏e興奮。
10. by表示某種情感的源頭,如:(20)The children were very excited by the pantomime. 孩子們看了童話劇感到非常興奮。
due to, owing to, because of, thanks to這些詞組均表示“由于”之意。
11. due to用于較莊重的書面語(yǔ)中,側(cè)重“起因于”,大多數(shù)情況下表示壞的原因,在句中多作表語(yǔ),有時(shí)作狀語(yǔ)。如:(21) His lateness was due to the very heavy traffic on the motorway. 他遲到是因?yàn)楦咚俟飞宪囕v過(guò)多所致。(22)Due to the heavy traffic, he was late.因交通擁擠,他遲到了。due to也可以直接用在名詞之后,如:(23)Accidents due to driving at high speed were very common that weekend. 在那個(gè)周末因高速駕駛所造成的交通事故很多。
12. owing to可以和due to換用,但在句中多作狀語(yǔ),也可作表語(yǔ)。如:(24)Owing to the heavy traffic, he was late. 因交通擁擠,他遲到了。(25)His success was owing to his hard work. 他能成功是因?yàn)樗芘Α?/p>
13. because of 指事物動(dòng)作發(fā)生的直接原因,可以指好的原因和壞的原因,在句中通常作狀語(yǔ)。如:(26)He succeeded because of his hard work.他因?yàn)榕W(xué)習(xí)而成功了。(27)He was absent from class because of the heavy snow. 因?yàn)檠┨?,他沒(méi)有去上學(xué)。
14. thanks to突出一種感激之情,含“多虧”意味,表示產(chǎn)生好的結(jié)果的原因。如:(28)She eventually got to airport thanks to good weather.多虧了好天氣,她終于到達(dá)了機(jī)場(chǎng)。還有習(xí)語(yǔ)no thanks to sb./sth. 意思是“并非某人或某事物之功”,如:(29)Its no thanks to you that we arrived on time—your short cuts werent short cuts at all. 我們及時(shí)趕到可并沒(méi)有叨你的光—你說(shuō)的近路一點(diǎn)兒也不近!thanks to sb./sth.有時(shí)做反語(yǔ),多虧……如:(30)Thanks to the bad weather, the match had been cancelled. 多虧了這個(gè)倒霉的天氣,挺好的比賽取消了。
15. on account of, 表示客觀的原因。如:(31)We delayed our departure on account of the bad weather.有于天氣不好,我們將啟程的時(shí)間推遲了。
16. in light of和because of意思相同,是“由于”的意思。如:(32) Vote in light of killing of Italian student in Cairo. 因?yàn)橐獯罄麑W(xué)生在開(kāi)羅被殺(一事)投票表決。
17.that 從句在一些表示感情的形容詞后表示引起這種感情的原因。如:(33)I am sorry that I have left my book home.不好意思我把書落在家里了。(34) I am glad that you are getting better. 你身體在變好,我很開(kāi)心。
18.一些表示情感的形容詞后面跟不定式短語(yǔ)或動(dòng)名詞表引起這種感情的原因,如:(35)I am happy to know that you have passed the driving test.得知你考過(guò)了駕照,我很高興。(36) Nice meeting you!見(jiàn)到你很高興!
19.有些動(dòng)詞表原因,如:cause,excite, stimulate, make等。(37) Practice makes perfect.熟能生巧。(38)The excited children forgot to take the present to the party.孩子們興奮得忘了把禮物帶到聚會(huì)上。
表示因果關(guān)系的動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)有:lead to, result in, result from等。
20. lead to導(dǎo)致好的結(jié)果。如:(39)His hard work led to his success.
21. result in 后接結(jié)果,表示意想不到的結(jié)果或不好的結(jié)果,往往是指失敗、錯(cuò)誤等。如:(40)Our efforts resulted in success.我們的努力終于成功了。(我們的成功是因?yàn)槲覀兊呐?。?1)The accident resulted in three deaths. 這起事故共死了三個(gè)人。
22. result from后接原因,如:(42)His success resulted from his hard work.他的成功源自努力學(xué)習(xí)(工作)。
23. in that是一種固定搭配,其意為“因?yàn)椤保捎糜谝龑?dǎo)原因狀語(yǔ)從句,但是與because不同的是,in that 不能放在句首,只能放在句中。如:(43)Im in a slightly awkward position in that hes not arriving until the 10th. 我的處境有點(diǎn)尷尬,因?yàn)樗?0號(hào)才來(lái)。
24. for the reason+that…因?yàn)椤?如:(44)We are not interested in drummed tallow for the simple reason that its price is higher. 對(duì)桶裝獸脂我們不感興趣,原因很簡(jiǎn)單,價(jià)格比散裝的更高。(45)It is for the reason that we quarrel over the question, because our scales of values differ from one another. 我們?yōu)檫@問(wèn)題而爭(zhēng)論,便是這個(gè)緣故,因?yàn)槲覀儽舜说膬r(jià)值標(biāo)準(zhǔn)都是不同的。
25.The reason why...is that... ……為什么……的原因是……如:(46)The reason why he was late for school was that he got up late. 他上學(xué)遲到的原因是他起床晚了。
26.That's why... 那就是……為什么……的原因。如:(47)He got up late. That's why he was late for school.他起床晚了。那就是他為什么上學(xué)遲到的原因。
李基安教授在《現(xiàn)代英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)法》中提到了表示結(jié)果的連接副詞,他認(rèn)為:這些連接副詞引導(dǎo)的結(jié)果是由前句的原因所帶來(lái)的。這些連接副詞包括Accordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefore, thus, as a result, as a consequence,in consequence等。
27. Accordingly 是“因此;于是”的意思,用來(lái)引導(dǎo)前面提到的事物的結(jié)果或后果。如:(48)We have a different background, a different history. Accordingly, we have the right to different futures.我們有不同的背景和不同的歷史。因此,我們有權(quán)擁有不同的未來(lái)。
28.hence (for this reason),是“因此”的意思。較正式用詞,指接下來(lái)的東西是理所當(dāng)然的必需的東西,但強(qiáng)調(diào)其重要性。如:(49)I fell off my bike yesterday—hence the bruises. 我昨天騎自行車上摔倒了—所以青一塊、紫一塊的。(50)The dog is very cute, hence I bought the dog and took her home.這只小狗很可愛(ài),因此,我把她買下帶回了家。
29. so 是“所以”的意思,用于比較隨便的場(chǎng)合,口語(yǔ)中多用。如:(51)The shops were closed so I didt get any milk. 商店都關(guān)門了,所以我沒(méi)買到牛奶。
30. therefore (for that reason) 是“因此”的意思,通常指引出一個(gè)推斷出的必然結(jié)論。如:(52)The sentence can, therefore, be expected to be severe. 因此,完全可以預(yù)料,判決將是嚴(yán)厲的。(53)I think, therefore I exist. 我思故我在。thus 多用于書面語(yǔ)中,可與therefore換用。
31. as a result引導(dǎo)某項(xiàng)事物或活動(dòng)的結(jié)果,通常指不好的結(jié)果。如:(54)Her hair started falling out as a result of radiation treatment. 由于放療,她開(kāi)始掉頭發(fā)。(55)Tony worked extremely hard on this project for months. As a result, he broke down for overworking.為了這個(gè)工程湯姆玩命地干了幾個(gè)月,結(jié)果,他因勞累過(guò)度而倒下了。
32. consequently是“因此”的意思,表示自然而然的結(jié)果。(56) She was a bright and eager student and, consequently, did well in school. 她是個(gè)聰明好學(xué)的學(xué)生, 因此學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)很好。
33. As a consequence,因而,因此。只有某種事物或情況所帶來(lái)的結(jié)果,有好的結(jié)果有壞的結(jié)果。如:(57)In this changing business environment, different demands are being placed on employees. As a consequence, the education system needs to change. 在當(dāng)今變幻莫測(cè)的商業(yè)環(huán)境下,員工被提出各種不同的要求。因此,教育體系有必要隨之改變。(58)I regret to inform you he died as a consequence of his injuries. 我很遺憾地通知你,他因傷勢(shì)太重不治身亡。
34. in consequence 由于,結(jié)果。如:(59)Maternity services were to be reduced in consequence of falling birth rates. 由于出生率下降,產(chǎn)科服務(wù)會(huì)隨之削減。(60)In consequence he lost his place. 結(jié)果,他失去了他的位置。
上面探討了英語(yǔ)中的因果關(guān)系,限于篇幅和筆者水平,難免掛一漏萬(wàn),但寫本文的目的是拋磚引玉,希望更多的學(xué)者能從不同的角度和采用不同的方法來(lái)研究英語(yǔ)中的因果關(guān)系。
參考文獻(xiàn):
[1]霍恩比(A S Hornby).牛津高階英漢雙解詞典[M].商務(wù)印書館.
[2]李基安.現(xiàn)代英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)法[M].外語(yǔ)教學(xué)與研究出版社,328.