some of which / some of whom / some of them的差別

在閱讀的過程中,有些文法細節只在於標點符號的差別,並不影響語意,讀者常會忽略。然而,在考試中,這些細節卻是常考題,連英文程度很高,閱讀能力很強的學生對自己的選擇都會產生不確定感。舉凡像some of which,some of whom跟some of them、after which和after that 這種類型的題目都是。 想要掌握這一類的題型,最佳的入手法就是句子結構,請看以下的說明。

句子結構的概念​

句子的要素​

一個句子只能有一個主詞跟動詞,這是句子最基本的要素。沒有主詞(除了祈使句省略you),就不是句子; 同樣地,沒有動詞也不是句子。這樣的句子,就叫做簡單句。下面先舉出幾個簡單句的例子,在句中,主詞畫底線,而動詞用粗體字標示出來。

  1. Last Friday, David got up too late.
  2. His mother took him to school by motorcycle.
  3. On the way, they had an accident.
  4. David was hurt badly.
  5. His mother sent him to the hospital.
  6. She called his teacher.
  7. She asked for a sick day off for David.

用連接詞讓句子變長​

如果一個句子要出現兩個動詞,動詞就必須變形為不定詞、現在分詞、過去分詞或原型。而作者為了讓文章中句子長短間錯,或呈現前後兩個句子間的關係,可以用連接詞連接。接下來,我們將上面的例句用適合的連接詞合併起來。(動詞用粗體,而連接詞以底線標示出來)。

  1. Last Friday, David got up too late, so his mother took him to school by motorcycle.
  2. On the way, they had an accident, and David was hurt badly.
  3. After his mother sent him to the hospital, she called David’s teacher and asked for a sick day off for David.

如上面所示,使用連接詞,可以讓兩個句子之間的關係變得比較明顯清楚,也可讓文章的句子長短交錯,比較有趣。

我們可以用以下的方法連接兩個句子:

  • 使用對等連接詞–for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
  • 使用從屬連接詞–because, (al)though, when, after, before, as, while, if, whether, until, unless
  • 使用關係代名詞和關係副詞–who, whom, which, that, what, when, where, why, how
  • 使用分號–當兩個句子關係密切,卻找不出一個適當的連接詞,或想要用副詞轉換詞,讓文章句型多變化,可以用分號當連接詞。(想要讓文章句型多變化,還有很多方法,請閱讀『如何寫出多變化的英文句子』)

注意到了嗎?逗號不能用來連接兩個動詞或兩個句子。這一點就是導致大部分學生判斷錯誤的最大原因。

some of which和some of them這一類題型解析​

some of which,some of whom 或some of them​

some of which vs some of them

由上面的解說可知,which和whom是關係代名詞,可以連接兩個句子。在形容詞子句的補述用法中,which, who, whom所帶領的句子要用逗號和前面的名詞隔開,並且可以位於句子中。some of which與some of whom就用在補述用法中,所以前面要有逗號; 而them是代名詞,不可以連接兩個句子,可以打句號,分成兩句,也可以在前面句子後打分號當連接詞。(點擊鏈結,可以進一步了解形容詞子句的限定用法與補述用法)

下面舉一些例子來說明(兩個句子中的逗號、分號和them會用粗體,連接詞會用底線標示):

  1. At the zoo, the teacher saw her students, some of whom held a balloon in their hands.
  2. They found those sick monkeys, some of which were dying, in the cave.
  3. These singers, some of whom are popular with young students, will join the contest.

上面這三個例子,都是用關係代名詞whom跟which來連接兩個句子,用逗號與前面名詞隔開。現在,將其中的which 跟 whom改寫成them,請注意標點符號的變化,還有them在句子位置的改變。

  1. At the zoo, the teacher saw her students; some of them held a balloon in their hands.
  2. In the cave they found those sick monkeys; some of them were dying.
  3. These singers will join the contest; some of them are popular with young students.

雖然,在這裡,我們說可以用分號當連接詞,再加上some of them,可是,在寫作時,最好不要這樣做,簡單以句號隔開兩句就好。分號要用的少,用的好,考試時,會讓作文增色不少。(請參考『英文標點符號的用法』一文

這種在關係代名詞前面加上量詞的題型包括:

  • one of which, one of whom, one of them
  • many of which, many of whom, many of them
  • a few of which, a few of whom, a few of them
  • most of which, most of whom, most of them

after which 或 after that​

after which vs after that

在形容詞子句的非限定用法中,which可以用來代替前面一整個句子的語意,也就是一件事。在寫敘述文的時候,我們常常會說在那件事之後,這在英文有許多手法來表達,而after which 跟after that 就是其中兩種,也是考試常造成疑惑的選項。

看到這裡,想必讀者可以清楚的知道,什麼時候用after which?什麼時候用after that?下面一樣舉出幾個例子,將兩者做改寫,請注意after which跟after that前面的標點符號。

  1. The boy had a severe accident at the age of six, after which, he was unable to speak.
  2. He went into a haunted house alone one night, after which, he was afraid to be in the dark alone.

同樣地,我們將例句中的after which改寫成after that,請注意標點符號的變化。

  1. The boy had a severe accident at the age of six; after that, he was unable to speak.
  2. He went into a haunted house alone one night; after that, he was afraid to be in the dark alone.

同樣地,雖然可以用分號當連接詞,再加上after that,但是,很少人這麼做,最好簡單以句號隔開兩句就好。

原來,這麼讓人困擾的文法題型,只要注意標點符號就能解決,沒想到標點符號在英文中有這麼大的功用吧!趕快找一些練習題來練習,多應用便能將這個觀念記下,考試的時候,就會非常清楚選擇哪個答案才對。

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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更多文法與寫作相關文章

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在與我學習的過程,我將會系統性地從指導你從單字如何使用、句子如何寫、以及文章如何完成,同時還有過程當中無數的片語、文法、以及發音問題。(線上一對一|距離我家較近也可以面對面:)