| 词组 | done |
| 释义 | done 1.Done in the sense of "finished" has been subject to a certain amount of criticism over the years for reasons that are not readily apparent. The use of done as an adjective in this sense dates back to the 14th and 15th centuries, but the construction usually objected to—be done—is of more recent origin, attested by examples in the OED from the second half of the 18th century. Otto Jespersen, in his seven-volume grammar (1909-1949), has examples of the construction from several well-known 19th-century writers beginning with Dickens. In earlier English the usual auxiliary with done had been have. From Jespersen's examples it would appear that during the 19th century the use of have with done became more and more limited to the fixed expression have done with, which is still in use; if his examples are indeed representative, this tendency may well have strengthened the position of be done. The earliest objection to be done in our files is from MacCracken & Sandison 1917. They do not say what is wrong with it but prescribe have finished in its place. (The fact that the OED and Curme 1931 note it as chiefly Irish, Scots, and U.S. may show how the objection originated.) This must have been a regular part of many schools' grammar lessons, for 47 percent of the usage panel of Heritage 1969 remembered them well enough to disapprove the construction. Theodore Bernstein objected to done for finished in 1958 but by 1971 and 1977 was on the way to accepting it. The construction is standard. Finished, too, has been used with be since the later 18th century. (See finished and through.) How old the construction really is may depend on how old the first example below is, and of course no one knows that. Perhaps the proverb in this form dates only from the later 18th century. Man's work lasts till set of sun, Woman's work is never done —proverb • A terrible sound arose when the reading of this document was done —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859 • I am done with official life for the present —Mark Twain, Sketches, New and Old, 1872 (Dictionary of American English) • ... the character I don't forget, and when the book is finished, that character is not done —William Faulkner, 13 Apr. 1957, in Faulkner in the University, 1959 • ... as soon as she is done shooting this movie — Richard Boeth, Cosmopolitan, June 1976 2. The use of done as the past tense rather than past participle of do is not recorded in the OED. Evidence in the English Dialect Dictionary and the Dictionary of American English suggests that it may be more recent than one might expect, dating only from the 19th century. It may be of dialectal origin, and it is quite possible that there will never be a sufficient early record to date the use with any certainty. It is likely that the form was corrected by schoolteachers almost as soon as it was noticed; it is still in school grammars for correction (we note it in Warriner 1986, for instance). Our oldest comment on the use is from Richard Grant White 1870, who says it is common among completely illiterate people. Reader's Digest 1983 calls the usage nonstandard; Bryant 1962 says it is colloquial but is a receding usage. It is very occasionally used in standard contexts, but only in such specialized ways as this: • To outline the highly intricate plot... is impossible in a short review, and in any case would be comparable to revealing who done it in a review of a whodunnit —Peter Lewis, Times Literary Supp., 21 May 1982 3. We do not yet know the definitive word on done used as a completive or perfective auxiliary. Raven I. McDavid, in his 1963 abridgment of H. L. Mencken's The American Language, observes that the usage occurs chiefly but not exclusively in Southern and South Midland dialects; it is also mentioned in works on Black English and Appalachian English. Examples in the American Dialect Dictionary substantially accord with McDavid's observations; many of them are indicated to have been used by black speakers. We are not certain of the social status of this usage; McDavid suggests that in most places that constituted the Confederacy it probably has a somewhat higher status than grammarians and school teachers would concede. We hope that in time the Dictionary of American Regional English will provide further light on the subject. All we can do is warn you that the use is evidently regionally restricted and that it is probably subject to some social restrictions as well. Some examples: • "When Brother James he see that, he thought she'd done got good " —William C. Hall, "How Sally Hooter Got Snakebit," 1850, in The Mirth of a Nation, ed. Walter Blair & Raven I. McDavid, Jr., 1983 • Old Eagle had done already took off —William Faulkner, Saturday Evening Post, 5 Mar. 1955 • ... her voice, which had all the sad languor of the upper Pamunkey River. "The Japanese," she said, "they done bombed Pearl Harbor." —William Sty-ron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, 1982 • ... and you play the same thing, then it ain't great no more. It's done been played —Carlton Haney, quoted in Bluegrass Unlimited, September 1983 4. See do. |
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