■ both1) both 限定主语与限定宾语时的位置和搭配,与 all 相类似(但 both 后面不要 the)。参见 all 条之 7) 与 8) 。 - He played both of the Brahms concertos/ both Brahms concertos.他演奏了布拉姆斯的那两首协奏曲。
可以改为 He played them both. 但是不能改为 *He played the Brahms concertos both. 2) 必须是对双方有效而且排除了第三者方可以用 both。 - Both guests have arrived.两位客人都到了(当前谈到的只有两位客人)。
而且情况必须是分别对两者每一者都相同。 - Both books weigh more than five pounds.两本书每本都重五磅多(不是两本加起来五磅多)。
- It was having an effect on them both.这正在他们两个人都起作用。
3) 由于 both 表示谓语对每一方都各自起作用,因而如果表示双方共同合起来才能完成的行动时,最好不要画蛇添足,加上 both。 - John and Mary got married. 是指两人结为夫妇,而 Both John and Mary got married. 可能是各自同他人结婚。John and Mary are married. 是指两人是夫妻,而 John and Mary are both married.是指两人均已婚。
- She walked to the kitchen to bring us both a cup of hot coffee.是“两个人每人一杯”,不是“两个人共一杯”。
有人则持相反的看法,认为 both 表示两者加在一起如何如何而不是各自如何如何。 - Both boys are to receive a scholarship. 在他们看来是“两个人共同获得一份奖学金”,both children wore a new hat是“两个孩子共同合戴一顶新帽子”。
这样的看法似乎有点牵强。 不过,如果不是这样极端的例子,有时候 both 的确可以给人以一种两者加在一起的印象,例如英国的《蒸汽世界》杂志 (Steam World) 有那么一句话: - Didn't he know that the LMS and the LNER both employed more people than today's entire railway industry?他难道不知道,伦敦、密德兰及苏格兰铁路公司和伦敦及东北铁路公司所雇用的人员都比今天整个铁路业的人员多?
这里的 both 本来是对两者各自起作用的(即每一家雇佣的人员都比整个铁路业多),但是也容易造成误解,令人以为两家加在一起才如此,所以最好还是避免用 both,将句子改为:Didn't he know that the LMS and the LNER each employed more people than today's entire railway industry? 4) both... and... 表示的是一种并列的关系,如果是两个行动或状态,则两者是“既…又…”,不表示因果关系。 - John both loves Mary and wants to marry her sister.约翰既爱玛丽,又想同她妹妹结婚。
- John loves Mary and wants to marry her.约翰爱玛丽,(因此)想同她结婚。
5) 表示主有关系时,通常最好说 the mothers of both(他们两人各自的母亲)而不说 both their mothers,说 the fault of both(两人共同的过错)而不说 both their fault。Both the girls' mother 是两姐妹的母亲,both the girl's parents 是一个女孩子的双亲。 6) both 前面有否定时,是局部否定,即否定一个肯定一个。 - I don't want both books.我两本书不全要(只要一本)。
Both 后面否定可能是局部否定,但更多是全部否定。 - Both of them are not in good shape.他们两个人身体都不好。或:他们两个人并不是身体都好。
- Both children were not to be found at home.两个孩子在家里都不见了人。
但是全部否定最好不用 both... not...而用 neither,例如最好不要说*Both of them did not go swimming. 而说 Neither of them went swimming. 7) 无论 both 究竟是强调两者各自如何如何还是强调两者加在一起如何如何,但是两者一定有相同的情况,这一点是必须肯定的,否则就不能用 both。不过,即使以英语为母语的人,也往往忽视这一点,以为 both 就是简单的指“两者”,甚至两者情况明明不同也用 both。例如有一个英文病历上就有这样的记载: - In addition, both children had a different medical history. Child A was vaccinated against all common childhood illnesses, while child B was not; child A had her tonsils removed, while child B did not. The children were given two different homeopathic remedies; child A was given tuberculinum, while child B—arsenicum album.此外,两个儿童的病历不同。儿童甲接种了防止所有各种儿童常见病的预防疫苗,儿童乙则没有;儿童甲的扁桃腺已经摘除,儿童乙则没有。二人服用了不同的两种顺势疗法药物;儿童甲服用的是结核素,儿童乙服用的是砷白。
又例如 The Los Angeles Times 的记者 John Johnson Jr. 报道火星表面有水时说: - The team looked at two sets of images taken several years apart. In both cases the second set of images revealed a light-colored substance several hundred yards long that had not been there before, indicating something had erupted from the ground and apparently sloshed toward the bottom of the basin. (Dec. 7, 2006)小组注视着两组相隔几年拍摄的照片。在两组照片中,第二组显示有一种浅颜色的物质,有几百码长,是先前没有的,这表明地底下冒出了一些什么东西,看来溅泼到了盆地的底部(说了 both,但后面只说一组如何,也没有谈到两组相同之处)。
这种用法是不足为训的。 8) both 和后面的名词之间加不加上 the 均可,加不加都是定指的,以不加更为普通。 - Both (the) students were excellent.两个学生都很优秀。
9) both 与介词孰先孰后,是一个有争论的问题。主张介词先于 both(如 in both China and other countries)的人所持的理由是:both 后面的两个成分一定要在句法地位上对称(如果说 both in China and other countries 就一轻一重)。而主张 both 可以放在介词前面的人,则认为两个成分不容易保持对称,而且一般人行文都已经习惯了 both 先行。 - She was considering childbirth both as a woman and an obstetrician.她是既以女人的身份,又以产科医生的身份来考虑生孩子的问题的。
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