怎样提高英语写作能力:基本句型的演化和扩展
作为初学者,我们首先要掌握英语的基本句型。同时,我们也要学会把这些基本句型演化或扩展成比较复杂的句子。基本句型的演化,主要是指谓语动词的变化。谓语动词可有各种不同时态。及物动词作谓语,还可有主动语态和被动语态之分。下面看几个演化的例子:
1) Mr. Wang was an English teacher two years ago.
2) Mr. Wang has been an English teacher since 1998.
3) He has been working at our university for three years.
4) He was asked to give us a lecture on how to prepare for Band-4 Test.
5) There seem to be many students who want to pass Band-4 English in our university.
扩展句子的手段有如下几种:
1) 在名词前加修饰语:例如“Mr. Wang is a teacher.”可扩展为:Mr. Wang is an experienced English teacher.
2) 在名词后加修饰语:Mr. Wang is one of the experienced English teachers of our department.
3) 在动词前后加状语:例如“He works at a university.”可以通过加状语扩展为:He has been working continuously at our university for twenty years.
4) 加各种短语: One of my best friends, Mr. Wang is an experienced English teacher. /Having taught English for more than twenty years, Mr. Wang is an experienced English teacher.
5) 加各种从句: He works at a university that is famous for its computer science programs.
6) 加并列分句: He works at a university but his wife stays at home without a job.
以上6个基本句型,通过演化和扩展,组成英语文献中无数的句子。区分不同句型的关键是其中的谓语动词。“主系表句型”中的谓语动词为系动词;“主谓状句型”的谓语动词为不及物动词,有时候也可不带状语,成为S V结构;“主谓宾状句型”的谓语动词为及物动词,有时候也可不带状语,成为S V O结构;“主谓宾补句型”的谓语动词为要求复合宾语的及物动词;“主谓双宾语句型”的谓语动词为要求双宾语的及物动词;“There be句型”的谓语动词为系动词“be”的各种变化形式。6个基本句型的谓语动词都可有时态和语气的变化,及物动词做谓语时,可演化成被动语态。
我们在写作过程中,所写的任何一个句子,必须属于某一个基本句型。学习每一个常用动词的时候,也一定要弄清楚,该动词属于哪一个基本句型。例如,动词give主要用于“S V Oi Od”句型;动词ask可以是S V Oi Od句型(He asked me a question.),也可以是S V O C句型(He asked me to give him some food.);动词work则常用于S V A句型(He works hard.)。(请读者任意找一段文章分析一下每个句子的句型。)
通过上述的分析,我们应该深信不疑:英语的所有句子确实是由非常有限的几个基本句型演化或扩展而来的,因此,我们写作文时,就得按英文的规矩办,不能写一些无头无尾的东西。你想说“旧社会重男轻女”,变成英文,就得按英文的规矩说:“Men and women were not equal in the old days.”当然,还可以有多种说法,但这个“主系表句型”是最简单的了,所有的单词都是初中阶段就学过的。