252 tooenough以及soas 之后的不定式

 

A too+形容词/副词+不定式

1 too+形容词+不定式

a)不定式可以是指句子的主语而言,此时它具有主动含义:

You are too young to understand

你太年轻了没法懂得(这件事)。

He was too drunk to drive home

他醉得太厉害了,没法开车回家。

b)不定式也可以指动词的宾语而言,此时它具有被动的含义:

The plate was so hot that we couldnt touch it

盘子太烫,碰不得。

可以表示为:

The plate was too hot to touch

盘子烫得没法碰。

注意:第一句中touch的宾语it在第二句的不定式结构里消失了,因为不定式虽然形式上是主动的,在含义上却是被动的。

有时,不定式的主动式或被动式都可用:

This parcel is too heavy to sendto be sent by post

这个包裹太重了,不能邮寄。

但并不是在任何情况下以上两种形式都可用,学生因此最好一律使用不定式的主动式。

该结构中不定式之前可以加上for+名词/代词:

The case was too heavyfor a child to carry.相当于:

The case was too heavy to be carried by a child

箱子太重了,孩子搬不动。

c)与此类似的情况是,不定式可以指介词的宾语而言:

The grass was so wet that we couldnt sit on it

草地湿得没法坐。

The grass was too wetfor us to sit on

草地太湿了,(我们)不能坐。

The light is so weak that we cant read by it

光线太暗了,我们无法看书。

The light is too weak to read by

光线太暗,不能看书。

2 too+形容词+a+名词+不定式

He was too shrewd a businessman to accept the first offer.相当于:

As a businessman he was too shrewd to accept the first offer

他是一个极为精明的生意人,不会接受第一次报价。

He is too experienced a conductor to mind what the critics say.相当于:

As a conductor he is too experienced to mind what the critics say

他是一位经验非常丰富的指挥家,根本不会在乎评论家的意见。

如以上A1中那样,这里的不定式总是指主语而言。这里也可以用不定式的被动式:

He was too experienced a conductor to be worried by what the critics said

他是一位经验极为丰富的指挥家,不至于为批评家们的意见犯愁。

3 too+副词+不定式

It is too soonfor me to say whether the scheme will succeed or not

现在要我来说计划能否成功还为时过早。

He spoke too quickly for me to understand

他说得太快了,我听不懂。(这里for me是必要的。)

She works too slowly to be much use to me

她干活太慢,对我不会有多大帮助。

B 形容词/副词+enough+不定式

1 形容词+enough+不定式

a)如在too结构中一样,不定式可以指动词的主语而言:

She is old enough to travel by herself

她已经到了可以自己出门旅行的年龄了。

He was tall enough to see over the heads of the other people

他身材高得可以从别人头顶上看过去。

b)这种结构还可以指动词的宾语而言:

The case is light enough for me to carry.相当于:

The case is so light that I can carry it

这箱子很轻,我搬得动。

After a few minutes the coffee was cool enoughfor us to drink

几分钟后,咖啡凉了一些,(我们)可以喝了。

c)这种结构也可以指介词的宾语而言:

The ice was thick enough to walk on

冰厚得上面可以走人。

The light was strong enough to read by

光线亮得足可以看书。

2 enough既可作代词用,也可作形容词用:

He doesnt earn enoughmoney to live on

他挣的钱不够过日子的。

We havent enough time to do it properly

我们没有足够的时间把这件事做好。

She had enough sense to turn off the gas

她还有点脑筋,知道关掉煤气。

haveenough+抽象名词结构常常可以用havethe+名词结构替代:

She had the sense to turn off the gas

她还有点脑筋,知道关掉煤气。

He had the courage to admit his mistake

他有勇气承认自己的错误。

I hadnt the patience to listen to any more

我没有耐心再听下去了。

但这里time之前的the可省略:

We haventthetime to do it properly

我们没有足够的时间把这件事做好。

3 副词+enough+不定式:

He didnt jump high enough to win a prize

他跳得不够高,没能得奖。

He spoke slowly enough for everyone to understand

他说得很慢,每个人都听得懂。

C so+形容词+as+不定式:

He was so foolish as to leave his car unlocked

他真傻,车都没有锁。

这种说法可用来代替上面B1中的enough结构,但必须注意He was foolish enough to leave his car unlocked的含义既可以是他实际这样做了,也可以是他可能这样做,即他傻到竟会不知道锁车的地步;而 He was so foolish as to leave则意指他实际上这样做了。

像上边讲的soas结构的那种用法不常见,但它用为一种请求形式则是很常见的:

Would you be so good as to forward my letters?相当于:

Would you be good enough to forward my letters

劳驾把我的信件转给我,好吗?

这两种形式之间并无含义上的差别,但千万不要遗漏as。(关于其他形容词+不定式结构参见第26节与第27节。)