劉青沅
too...to...句式是初中英語中的常用句式,無論在中考英語的語法考題中,還是書面表達考題中,too...to...都大有用武之地,所以同學們在平時的學習中必須引起高度重視。具體說來,對該句式的用法,同學們應該掌握以下六個方面。
在too...to...句式中,too是副詞,意思是“太”,其后應接形容詞或副詞的原級,表示“太……”;其中的to是不定式符號,后接動詞原形,所以該句式的基本形式為“too+形容詞或副詞原級+to+動詞原形”,意思是“太……以至于不能……”。如:
She was too excited to go to sleep. 她興奮得睡不著了。
The ice is too thin to bear your weight. 冰太薄,承受不住你的重量。
She works too slowly to be of much use to me. 她干活太慢,對我不會有多大幫助。
注意,如果too修飾的形容詞同時還修飾單數(shù)可數(shù)名詞,則要按“too+形容詞+a+名詞+to”安排詞序:
It is too good a chance to miss. 那機會真好,不容錯過。
She is too polite a person to refuse. 她非常客氣,不好意思回絕。
Hes too clever a man to say a thing like that in public. 他是個很聰明的人,絕不會在公開場合說那種話的。
在too...to...句式中,不定式的邏輯主語有時就是句子的主語。如:
Youre too small to be a policeman. 你個子太小,不能當警察。
但有時不定式并沒有邏輯主語,如下面一句中不定式短語to swim across easily的邏輯主語就不清楚:
The river is too wide to swim across easily. 這條河太寬了,很難輕松地游過去。
如果要具體指明不定式的邏輯主語,可在不定式前用for sb來表示。如:
The river is too wide for me to swim across easily. 這條河太寬了,我很難輕松地游過去。
The river is too wide for the children to swim across easily. 這條河太寬了,孩子們很難輕松地游過去。
The river is too wide for old people to swim across easily. 這條河太寬了,老年人很難輕松地游過去。
1. 如果不定式是不及物動詞,自然不需要后接賓語。如:
Jim is too busy to come. 吉姆太忙,來不了。
He was too drunk to drive. 他喝得太醉了,不能開車。
2. 如果不定式是及物動詞,原則上要后接賓語。如:
He is too old to do any work. 他太老了,不能做任何工作了。
He is too wise not see that. 他是那樣聰明,不會看不到這一點。
但是,當不定式為及物動詞時,如果句子主語就是不定式的邏輯賓語,則此時不定式不能帶賓語。如:
This coffee is too hot to drink. 這咖啡太燙,不能喝。(不能在drink后加it)
The wood was too wet to burn. 這些木頭是濕的,燒不著。(不能在burn后加it)
如果句子主語與其后不定式具有被動關系,那這個不定式表示被動意義,通常用主動式。如:
The suitcase was too heavy to lift. 手提箱太重,提不起來。
The type is too small to read. 印出來的字體小得看不清楚。
但有時不定式也可以用被動式來表示被動意義。如:
This parcel is too heavy to send / to be sent by post. 這個包裹太重了,不能郵寄。
注意,有些情況必須要用被動式,否則,意思不同。比較:
She is too ill to move. 她病得很厲害,動彈不得。
She is too ill to be moved. 她病得很厲害,經(jīng)不住轉移。
The road was too narrow for cars to pass. 路很窄,汽車過不去。
→The road was so narrow that cars cant pass.
He spoke too fast for me to understand. 他說得太快了,我聽不懂。
→He spoke so fast that I cant understand.
注:有時還可與 not...enough to…轉換,但此時要注意把原句型中的形容詞改為相對應的反義詞。如:
The child is too young to dress himself. 這小孩太小,不會自己穿衣。
→The child is not old enough to dress himself.
too...to...通常表示“太……以至于不能……”,它形式上是肯定的,但意義是否定的。但在某些特殊情況下,它在意義上也是肯定的,此類用法主要見于當too修飾happy, glad, pleased等形容詞時。如:
Im only too glad to be of help. 我非常樂意幫忙。
He wont be too pleased to see you. 他見到你不會很高興的。
I am only too happy to drive you to the store. 我非常樂意開車送你去商場。
(編輯 陳根花)