either…or/neither…nor/not only…but的用法- 動詞用單數?複數?

both A and B, either A or B, neither A nor B, not only A but also B這幾個片語,透過連接詞and, or, nor, but連接兩個單字、片語或句子。這類句子具有排比功能,如果熟習這幾個片語,在作文考試時,能正確使用,就顯得寫作者的英文程度不錯。但是,當他們連接主詞時,很多人分不清,動詞要跟哪個主詞一致; 也有很多人在寫這些句子時,犯了排比錯誤的情況。這篇文章中,我們會詳細介紹這幾個句子的語意,詳述動詞為何要跟特定主詞一致,並介紹何為排比,與如何修正錯誤排比。

Neither…nor、either… or、not only…but在句子中的位置與注意事項

both A and B、either A or B, neither A nor B, not only A but also B這幾個句型中,被連結的A跟B必須是相同的詞類,而且也要相同的構成樣式,這就叫排比。他們可以在句子中當主詞、受詞、補語、副詞、動詞,也可以連接兩個句子。

連接兩個名詞當主詞,動詞要與哪一個主詞一致?

每個語言都有他的習慣,在英文中,主詞要與動詞一致,所以當動詞不與最靠近的主詞一致,反而與距離遠的主詞一致時,觀眾就會覺得奇怪而加以注意,這就是為什麼有些句子的動詞不跟最靠近的主詞一致的原因,因為作者要強調前面的主詞。這個觀念對於理解either A or B, neither A nor B, not only A but also B, A as well as B, 還有A no less than B這幾個句型,動詞跟哪個主詞一致非常重要,只要了解了句子的意思,作者想要強調的主詞,就再也不用頭昏腦脹了。

  • both A and B +複數動詞
    這個句子最簡單,動詞一概用複數,因為句意為A和B兩個都…,主詞為複數
  • either A or B – 動詞與最靠近的主詞一致
    與A or B語意相似,都是兩個之中有一個,可以翻譯為要嘛是A,要嘛是B(或不是A就是B),句意並沒有強調A或B,所以動詞跟著最靠近的主詞
  • neither A nor B – 動詞與最靠近的主詞一致
    語意為不是A也不是B,同樣沒有強調任何一個主詞,所以動詞和最靠近的主詞一致。這個句型還有一個重點要注意:neither A nor B本身具有否定味道,所以這個句子只出現在肯定句。請注意,當想要表達A跟B都不能(是)…時,請不要用both A and B…not…,要用neither A nor B這個句型。
  • not only A but also B – 動詞與B一致
    Not only A but also B的語意 – 不只是A,還有B – 明顯強調B,所以他的動詞要跟主詞B一致。還有請注意,這個句型中的also可以省略。

下面再介紹兩個在比較正式文章中,才會出現的排比句(現在很少看到這樣的用法)

  •  A as well as B – 動詞與A一致
    意思是A和B一樣…,說話者的本意要強調A。舉個例子來說,大家都知道B英文很好,說話者就說A和B一樣英文很好,這種手法就是用B來凸顯A。因為語意強調A,所以動詞要與主詞A一致。很多教材上寫著as well as等於and,但其實並不是。因為and是加法的意思,會將前後的名詞合計成為複數。這個句型卻不會,他的意思比較像Not only B but also A,請注意A跟B位置不同
  • A no less than B – 動詞與A一致
    no less than的意思是沒有比較少,也就是差不多的意思。所以,A no less than B的意思就是A跟B差不多、A不比B差。這也是利用B來凸顯A的一種表達方式,說話者強調A,所以動詞要與主詞A一致

both A and B V複數

  1. Both he and I enjoy swimming.
  2. Both smoking and drinking do great harm to her health.

either A or B V靠近

  1. Either Mary or the boys are at home.
    要嘛是Mary,要嘛是男孩們在家
  2. Either you or your brother has to be responsible for this.
    你或你的弟弟,其中一個要為此負責

neither A nor B V靠近

  1. Neither David nor I live in Taiwan.
    David跟我都不住在台灣
  2. Neither doing exercise nor eating helps ease my nerves before going on stage.
    做運動跟吃東西都沒辦法讓我在上台前放鬆,不焦慮

下面例句中,強調的主詞以底線標示出來

not only A but also B Vb

  1. Not only John but also I am from America.
  2. Not only the students but also the teacher is expecting the coming holiday.
  3. Not only scolding but also nagging drives kids away from their parents.

A as well as B Va

  1. The singer as well as they takes the MRT to work.
    跟他們一樣,那歌手也搭捷運上班
  2. Silver as well as gold is a metal.
    跟金子一樣,銀也是一種金屬
  3. Ugly Duckling as well as Little Mermaid is popular with young kids.  
    醜小鴨和小美人魚一樣,都很受小孩喜愛
  4. Others as well as himself were leaving the room.
    其他人跟他一樣都正離開房間

A no less than B Va

  1. Mary no less than you is good at math.

連接兩個名詞當受詞或補語,要注意排比

在當主詞時,受限於要顯示動詞的不同,所以舉的例子變化有限,但是在當受詞或補語時,就有很多不同的形態,寫作時,就要注意,不要出現排比錯誤的問題。因為,讀者現在應該已經對各個片語的意思很熟了,我們就混著舉例了。

  1. I think John has a crush on either the college student he met at the party or the woman who lives next door to him.
    樣式:名詞+形容詞子句
  2. She is neither a professor at National Taiwan University nor a doctor at National Taiwan University Hospital.
    樣式:名詞+後位形容詞
  3. I enjoy both listening to music while I do the chore and watching TV when I cook dinner.
    樣式:Ving+時間副詞子句
  4. Firefighters are asked not only to put out fires but to rescue little animals.
    消防人員不只要救火、還要救小動物
    樣式:to V

連接兩個形容詞當補語

  1. Mary is not only clever but also beautiful.
  2. Tofu is both healthy and delicious.
  3. I am neither angry nor sad.  I am just disappointed.
  4. The apartments in the neighborhood are either too expensive or too small.

連接兩個副詞,注意排比

副詞有很多種:地方、時間、原因、目的、程度、方法、頻率等等。要記得前後要連接相同功能的副詞,還有樣式要一樣。例如:to V,、Ving(分詞構句)、 介系詞+名詞、子句

  1. We go to school neither on Saturdays nor on Sundays.
    我們星期六跟日都不用上學
    樣式:時間副詞(介系詞+名詞)
  2. You can find Mary either at the park or at the supermarket.
    Mary不是在公園就是在超市,你去那找她
    樣式:地方副詞(介系詞+名詞)
  3. She worked hard not only for a better life but also for a sense of achievement.
    她努力工作不只為了過好的生活,還為了成就感
    樣式:目的副詞(介系詞+名詞)
  4. The leopard runs both quickly and beautifully.
    樣式:程度副詞(ly的副詞)

連接兩個動詞,注意時態

當連接兩個動詞時,要注意時態,語言上為了方便,常常會省略重複的部分,所以,要注意是原形、過去是、或分詞。

  1. I have neither written nor read English for a long time.
    我已經很久沒讀英文文章,也沒有用英文寫作了
    樣式:過去分詞(現在完成式,後面have省略)
  2. On weekends, I will either go to a movie or do grocery shopping.
    樣式:原形(未來是後面省略will)
  3. The band both sings and dances well.
    樣式:現在簡單式動詞
  4. He is not only skating but dancing at the same time.
    樣式:Ving(進行式,後面省略be動詞)

連接兩個句子,注意倒裝

當連接兩個句子時,有兩個句子要注意 – neither…nor…跟not only…but also – 因為,當他們連接兩個動詞或句子時,他們就是副詞,而且是他們是否定副詞。當連接兩個句子,否定副詞一定要倒裝。想要進一步瞭解,請閱讀『英文倒裝句的解析、用法與例句』一文。

粗體顯示倒裝

  1. Either you come here, or I go to your place.
  2. Either you take it, or you don’t.
  3. Not only did he see her cheating, but he also reported to the teacher.
    not only是否定副詞,在主詞前面,要倒裝
  4. Neither have I written a novel nor can I do so.
    neither跟nor兩個都是否定副詞,當他們連接兩個句子,兩個句子都要倒裝。so等於寫小說這件事
  5. Neither has Mary come to my place nor has her husband.
    在nor的句子中,因為主詞her husband之後的字跟neither主詞之後完全一樣,所以全部省略,只留下倒裝的助動詞has跟主詞her husband

寫作這些句型需注意事項

了解了這些句子的動詞要與哪個主詞一致後,使用這些句子的時候,還要注意兩點:

  1. 這些句子是排比的一種手法,也就是,A必須和B相同詞性,除此之外,還要樣式相同,例如:to swim with him跟playing the piano with him就不同樣式,排比就錯誤了。在這裡,因為都是主詞,所以,只要檢查名詞A的樣式是否與名詞B一樣就可以。在上面各個句型中所舉出的例句都有考慮到排比,讀者可以回去看一下。
  2. 在帶有否定詞的neither A nor B、not only A but also B句子中,如果A 跟B是句子或動詞,則要倒裝,這一點在這裡不討論。

錯誤的排比與修改方法

名詞分單字、片語、名詞子句三種,在寫排比句時,單字和單字,片語和片語,子句和子句放在一起,不要單字搭片語、片語搭子句、或子句和單字搭在一起,那樣就破壞了排比。除此之外,即使是單字或片語,也要分名詞、不定詞、動名詞、互相不要搭在一起用,會造成排比錯誤。下面介紹一些錯誤的排比句子與如何修正比較好,讓大家了解,因為容易造成錯誤的名詞排比多落在受詞的位置,所以,例句中也會出現受詞。

在下面的例句中,排比錯誤的地方以底線標示出來,訂正的地方以粗體標示

  1. Technology is changing not only how we work but also influencing our way of making friends.
    A是名詞子句,而B是動名詞
    -Technology is not only changing the way we work but also influencing the way we make friends. 
    A是動名詞,B也是動名詞,為了更有排比的味道,我們在動名詞後,都用名詞加上形容詞子句的方式呈現
  2. He is interested in neither playing soccer nor math.
    A是動名詞,而B不是動名詞,排比有問題
    -He is interested in neither playing soccer nor studying math.
    兩個都改成動名詞
    -He is interested in neither soccer nor math.
    將兩個都改成非動名詞
  3. He taught his students both how to read faster and how they can write better.
    A是how to不定詞,而B是名詞子句,排比錯誤
    -He taught his students both how to read faster and how to write better.
    都改成how to不定詞
    -He taught his students both how they can read faster and how they can write better.
    都改成名詞子句
  4. On the weekend, I enjoy either music or reading books alone.
    A是名詞而B是動名詞,排比錯誤
    -On the weekend, I enjoy either listening to music or reading books alone.
    都改成動名詞

如果你有其他文法上的疑惑,可以到我們『英文文法』專頁,看看有沒有文章探討相關文法問題。

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