如何造名詞子句?
我們可以將名詞子句分成三種類別:
- 任何一個完整的句子,只要在前面加上that,就可以構成名詞子句
- 用if或whether構成的名詞子句
- 用6W關係詞構成的名詞子句
名詞子句的構成
要了解後兩種名詞子句如何構成,從大家都熟悉的疑問句入手會比較容易理解。疑問句有兩種,一種是Yes/No問句,另外一種是6W問句。Yes/No問句就是問『是與否』,要構成名詞子句時,就要用具有『是否』意思的連接詞if或whether。而在造6W問句時,我們所使用的疑問詞what,who,whom,when,where,how,why,which+名詞,whose+名詞,也就是在造名詞子句該使用的關係詞。
一個很重要的重點是,疑問句的主詞與動詞要倒裝,並且要打問號,而名詞子句不用倒裝也不打問號。以下,舉例說明疑問句如何變成名詞子句。請注意:在例子中,當句子變成名詞子句時,我們不打句號,因為,名詞子句只是一個名詞,不是一個完整的句子。
在最後,我們會加上第一種類別的名詞子句,也就是在一個句子前面加上that
- Is she your teacher?
-if she is your teacher
注意到,在將疑問句改為名詞子句時,be動詞is被移到主詞後面了嗎? - Did it rain last night?
-whether it rained last night or not
注意到沒有?因為疑問句有助動詞did,改成名詞子句時,要將did消去,動詞改回過去式 - What is on the desk?
–what is on the desk
這個句子中,what是句子的主詞,所以,不用移動動詞。最容易判斷的方法是疑問詞後面的的動詞或助動詞後面有沒有名詞,沒有的話,what在疑問句中當主詞 - What did you put into the car?
-what you put into the car
這個句子中,what是受詞,要將動詞移為主詞後面,所以將助動詞did去掉,動詞要改回過去式,但是因為put的過去式還是put,看起來好像沒有改變,請務必注意 - Which book does Lily like best?
-which book Lily likes best
注意:當which後面有名詞時,就可以當名詞子句的連接詞,如果沒有,就不行,這一點就是判斷的重點 - Who was there?
–who was there
who是句子中的主詞,所以不用移動動詞 - Whom did he see last night?
-whom he saw last night
whom在句中當受詞,所以,要將did去掉,see改回過去式saw(在美式英文中,可以用who代替whom。其實,現在已經不太用whom了,但是考試還會考。) - Whose notebook is this?
-whose notebook this is
以上,除了第ㄧ和第二個例子外,將關係詞遮住,每個名詞子句都不完整,要嘛少了主詞,不然就是少了受詞。少的主詞或受詞如果是人,關係詞就用who或whom; 如果不是人,關係詞就用what,which+名詞,或是whose+名詞。
接下來,我們來介紹when, where, how why所帶領的名詞子句:
- When did he go to the movie with Mary?
-when he went to the movie with Mary - Where did he see the girl for the first time?
-where he saw the girl for the first time - How did he do it?
-how he did it - How much should I spend on food every month?
-how much I should spend on food every month
在這個例子裡,因為should不是do/does/did這三個助動詞,要將他移回主詞後面 - How often does her son come to see her?
-how often her son comes to see her - How tall is your brother?
-how tall your brother is - Why did he go there?
-why he went there
以上七個例子,遮住關係詞,名詞子句很完整,沒有少主詞與受詞。因為where,when,why跟how這四個關係詞是代替句子中的副詞,所以叫做的關係副詞。
任何一個完整的句子(沒有少主詞、受詞或為名詞的補語的句子),在前面加上that,就是名詞子句:
- I love my best friend.
-that I love my best friend - She is pretty.
-that she is pretty
be動詞後面是形容詞,所以這個句子有主詞,就很完整了 - They are my friends.
-that they are my friends
be動詞後面是名詞,這個句子的主詞跟be動詞後面的名詞都在,才可以加上that變名詞子句 - They gave me a dog.
-that they gave me a dog
gave這個動詞要有兩個受詞,這個句子中,兩個受詞都在,很完整
注意到,因為that要加在一個完整句子的前面成為名詞子句,所以遮住that,句子是完整的。這一點,就是名詞子句中,要使用that或what當關係詞的判斷重點
名詞子句在句子中的位置
名詞子句,顧名思義,就是ㄧ整個句子當名詞用,在主要的句子裡當主詞、受詞或是補語。接下來,我們將上面例子中,改成的名詞子句,應用在句子裡。還有,前面說過,所有的句子前面加上that就可以變成名詞子句。在例句中的名詞子句以底線標出。
- I don’t know if she is your teacher.
名詞子句當know的受詞 - It doesn’t matter whether it rained last night or not.
這個句子的主詞是虛主詞it,名詞子句在後面當真正的主詞 - Do you see what is on the desk?
名詞子句在這個句子中,當see的受詞,因為主要句子本身是疑問句,所以句尾看到問號,要注意這一點 - They didn’t tell me what you put into the car.
當tell的受詞 - Nobody knows which book Lily likes best.
當know的受詞 - I wondered who was there.
當wondered的受詞 - He doesn’t remember whom he saw last night.
當remember的受詞 - Can you tell me whose notebook this is?
當tell的受詞,因為主要子句是疑問句,所以句尾打問號 - His mother wasn’t sure when he went to the movie with Mary.
當形容詞sure的補充說明 - Where he saw the girl for the first time is unknown.
當主詞(這樣的表達方式不常見,通常我們用虛主詞的句型來表達It is unknown where he saw the girl for the first time.) - That’s how he did it.
當補語 - I am not sure how much I should spend on food every month.
當形容詞的補充說明 - No one wants to know how often her son comes to see her.
當know的受詞 - I think she knows how tall your brother is.
當know的受詞 - That’s why he went there.
當補語 - No one knows that I love my best friend.
that帶領的名詞子句,只要不在主詞的位置上,that幾乎都會被省略
要如何判斷使用哪個關係詞,是what,that或which
只要選項為關係詞跟that這類題型,要先分析句子結構,判斷是名詞子句或形容詞子句,再沿著兩種子句的不同,去思考使用哪個連接詞。
形容詞子句
如果是形容詞子句,而且句子少了主詞或受詞,先行詞(形容詞子句所描述的名詞,大部分情況下,都是關係詞的前面那個名詞)不管是人或非人,只要連接詞前面沒有逗號或介係詞,都可以用that。細分的話,是人,在形容詞子句的主詞或補語的位置就用who,在受詞的位置就用whom; 如果是非人,就用which。要更進一步了解形容詞子句的話,請看『that, which, who, whom的用法與差異 – 補述用法與限定用法』和『in which, where 跟when – 介系詞加which的用法』這兩篇文章。
名詞子句
如果是名詞子句的話,請依照下面幾點來判斷:
- 當子句完整,沒有少主詞,也沒有少受詞,或這個子句本身在主要句子的補語位置(主詞補語或受詞補語),句意也不是要表達地方、時間、方法或理由,就用that
- 承上,但是句意要表達地方、時間、方法或理由,就依句意選擇where, when, how或why
- 當子句不完整,少主詞或受詞,非人就用what,what+名詞,which+名詞或whose+名詞,如果是人就用who(少主詞)或whom(少受詞)
下面,我們舉例來說明:名詞子句以底線,子句中的動詞用粗體字標示出來
- John’s parents did not tell John what his partner had done to them.
名詞子句中少had done的受詞,因為不是人,所以用what - We thought that a boy was killed in the accident.
名詞子句中,沒有少主詞與受詞,所以用that - They didn’t know which book belonged to me.
要小心,雖然是名詞子句,但是,因為有book這個名詞,所以可以用which,表示哪一個… - I wonder what size the dress is.
要記得,連接詞what後面可以加上名詞,表示什麼種類、尺寸、顏色等概念 - It doesn’t matter whose pen this is.
名詞子句的所有格關係詞用whose+名詞,表示…的東西