317 间接引语中的问句

 

直接问句:

He said,‘Where is she going?’

他说:“她要上哪儿去?”

间接问句:

He asked where she was going

他问她要上哪儿去。

A 把直接问句变为间接问句时,需作下列改变:

时态、代词、所有格形容词、时间副词和地点副词的变化与陈述句中的变化相同。

动词的疑问式变成陈述式;在间接问句中不加问号(?):

He said,‘Where does she live?’

他说:“她住在什么地方?”相当于:

He asked where she lived

他问她住在什么地方。

如直接问句针对主语提问,则此种变化显然是没有必要的(参见第55节):

Who lives next door?’he said

他说:“谁住在隔壁?”相当于:

He asked who lived next door

他问谁住在隔壁。

What happened?’she said

她说:“发生了什么事?”相当于:

She asked what had happened

她问发生了什么事。

B 如果引导动词是say,则必须换为表示询问的动词,如askin quirewonderwant to know等:

He saidWhere is the station?’

他说:“车站在哪里?”相当于:

He asked where the station was

他问车站在什么地方。

askinquirewonder也可用在直接引语中,但这时通常位于句尾:

Where is the station?’he inquired

“车站在什么地方?”他问道。

C ask之后可以接说话的对方(间接宾语):

He asked,‘What have you got in your bag?’

他说:“你的包里装的是什么?”相当于:

He askedme what I had got in my bag

他问(我)我的包里装的是什么。

但在inquirewonderwant to know之后不能有间接宾语。因此,如想要转述提及说话对方的问句时就必须用ask

He said,‘Marywhen is the next train?’

他说:“玛丽,下一班火车是几点的?”

He asked Mary when the next train was

他问玛丽下一班火车是几点的。

如果我们用inquirewonderwant to know,就必须省去间接宾语Mary

D 如果直接问句是由(whenwherewhohowwhy等)疑问词开头的,则必须在间接引语中重复这些疑问词:

He said,‘Why didnt you put on the brake?’

他说:“你怎么没刹车呢?”相当于:

He askedherwhy she hadnt put on the brake

他问(她)怎么没刹车。

She said,‘What do you want?’

她说:“你们想要什么?”相当于:

She askedthemwhat they wanted

她问他们想要什么。

E 如果没有疑问词,则必须用ifwhether

Is anyone there?’he asked

他问道:“那儿有人吗?”相当于:

He asked ifwhether anyone was there

他问那儿是否有人。

1 通常这两个词都可以用,但if要比whether更普遍些:

Do you know Bill?’he said. 

他说:“你认识比尔吗?”相当于:

He asked ifwhether I knew Bill

他问我是否认识比尔。

Did you see the accident?’the policeman asked

警察问:“你看到那起事故了吗?”相当于:

The policeman asked ifwhether I had seen the accident

警察问我是否看到那起事故了。

2 whether可用于强调对某事必须做出选择:

Do you want to go by air or sea?’the travel agent asked

旅游商问:“你想乘飞机走,还是想乘船走?”相当于:

The travel agent asked whether I wanted to go by air or by sea

旅游商问我是想乘飞机走,还是想乘船走。

请注意whether or not的用法:

Do you want to insure your luggage or not?’he asked

他问:“你的行李要保险吗?”相当于:

He asked whether or not I wanted to insure my luggage./He asked if I wanted to insure my luggage or not

他问我是否要给行李保险。

3 whether+不定式结构可位于wonderwant to know之后:

ShallShould I wait for them or go on?’he wondered

他问自己:“我是等等他们呢还是继续往前走呢?”相当于:

He wondered whether to wait for them or go on./He wondered whether

he should wait for them or go on

他问自己是要等等他们还是继续往前走。

inquirewhether+不定式结构是可以的,但不常见。

(关于whether+不定式,另参见第242B。)

4 如果问句含有条件从句时,用whether就比较清楚,否则就会出现两个if

If you get the job will you move to York?’Bill asked

比尔问:“如果你得到那份工作,你会迁到约克去吗?”相当于:

Bill asked whetherif I got the jobId move to York

比尔问如果我得到那份工作我是否会迁到约克去。