插入语一般对一句话作一些附加的说明。它是中学英语语法的重点,也是高考的考点。通常与句中其它部分没有语法上的联系,将它删掉之后,句子结构仍然完整。插入语在句中有时是对一句话的一些附加解释、说明或总结;有时表达说话者的态度和看法;有时起强调的作用;有时是为了引起对方的注意;还可以起转移话题或说明事由的作用;也可以承上启下,使句子衔接得更紧密一些。掌握这一语言现象不仅有利于对英语句子等的理解,还有利于提高写作等的水平。插入语的类型较多,常见的如下几种:
一、形容词(短语)作插入语。 能用作插入语的形容词(短语)常见的有:true,wonderful,excellent,strange to say,most important of all, sure enough等。 如: True,it would be too bad. 真的,太糟了。 Wonderful,we have won again. 太好了,我们又赢了。 Strange to say,he hasn’t got my letter up to now. 说来也奇怪,他到现在还没有收到我的信。 Most important of all,we must learn all the skills. 最重要的是,我们必须掌握所有的技巧。
二、副词(短语)作插入语。 能用作插入语的副词(短语)有:indeed,surely,still,otherwise,certainly,however,generally, personally,honestly,fortunately,luckily,though,besides,exactly,perhaps,maybe,probably,frankly,or rather等。 如: When he got to there,he found,however,that the weather was too bad. 可是到了那儿之后他发现,那儿的天气太坏了。 Otherwise,he would still be at home. 不然的话,他还会在家的。
三、介词短语作插入语。 能用作插入语的介词短语有:in fact,in one’s opinion,in general,in a word,in other words,in a few words,of course,by the way,as a result,for example,on the contrary,on the other hand,to one’s surprise,in short,as a matter of fact,in conclusion,in brief等。 如: You can’t wait anymore-in other words,you should start at once. 你不能再等了——换言之,你得立即出发。 On the contrary,we should strengthen our corporation with them. 相反,我们应该加强和他们的合作。
四、V-ing(短语)作插入语。 能用作插入语的V-ing(短语)常见的有:generally speaking,strictly speaking,judging from by,talking of, considering等。 如: Generally speaking,the weather there is neither too cold in winter nor too hot in summer. 一般来说,那儿的气候冬天不太冷,夏天不太热。 Judging by his clothes,he may be an artist. 从衣着来判断,他可能是个艺术家。
五、不定式短语作插入语。 能用作插入语的不定式短语有:to be frank,to be honest,to be sure,to tell you the truth,to make matters worse,to sum up,to start with,to begin with等。 如: To be frank,I don’t quite agree with you. 坦率地说,我不太同意你的意见。 To tell you the truth,I’m not so interested in the matter. 跟你说实话,我对这件事情的兴趣不大。 To sum up,success results from hard work. 总而言之,成功是艰苦努力的结果。 六、句子(陈述句和一般疑问句)作插入语。 能用作插入语的句子有:I am sure,I believe,I think,I know,I suppose,I hope,I’m afraid,you see, what’s more,that is to say,as we know,as I see,believe it or not等。 如: Some animals only half-hibernate,that is to say,their sleep is not such a deep one. 有些动物只是半冬眠,就是说,它们的睡眠并不是深度睡眠。 I believe,China will catch up with the developed countries sooner or later. 我确信,中国迟早会赶上发达国家。 He can’t pass the exam,because he doesn’t study hard. What’s more,he isn’t so clever. 他不能通过这次考试,因为他学习不认真,更何况他又不太聪明。
插入语的应用
插入语(句)是说话者对所表达意思的补充、强调、解释或者说话的态度,其位置灵活,常常用逗号或破折号与其他成分隔开,并且在语法上不影响其他成分。例如:
I think, she has no feeling for your trouble. / She, I think, has no feeling for your trouble. 我想,她对你的遭遇无动于衷。
一 . 常见的插入语和插入句。
1. 插入语常以副词(副词短语)、形容词(形容词短语)、介词短语、非谓语动词短语等形式出现。
( 1 )常见的副词及短语: indeed, surely, however, obviously, frankly, naturally, luckily / happily for sb. certainly 等。
( 2 )常见的形容词及短语: funny, needless to say (不用说), most important of all 等。
( 3 )常见的介词短语: by the way, in a few words / in sum / in short (简而言之), in other words, in general, in one's opinion / judgment (按照某人的意见), in fact, in the first place, of course, to one's knowledge / surprise / regret /satisfaction / mind / joy / disappointment 等。
( 4 )常见的现在分词短语: strictly / generally / honestly / personally / exactly / physically / speaking (严格地 / 一般地 / 坦诚地等)说; judging from / by …(根据……判断)等。
( 5 )常见的动词不定式短语: to be sure (无疑地), to sum up (概括地说), to tell the truth, to be honest, to be short, to conclude, to put it briefly, to put it in another way, to begin ( start ) with 等。
注意:上述单词或短语作插入语和状语时的区别。例如:
( 1 ) Frankly, he'd like to listen to music.
(副词作插入语,表示说话人的态度)
Here you should speak frankly.
(副词作状语)
( 2 ) True, your daughter is at home now. (形容词作插入语)
He came back, hungry and tired. (形容词作状语)
( 3 ) Judging from what he said, he does look down his elder brother. (现在分词作插入语,其主语不是句中的主语,只是说话者的附加说明)
Seeing from the window, he can see the lake. (现在分词作状语,逻辑主语是句中的主语 he )
( 4 ) To tell you the truth, he doesn't quite agree with this idea. (不定式作插入语,动作主体不是句中的主语,只是说话者的附加说明)
To buy the machine, he went to Beijing. (不定式作目的状语,逻辑主语是句中的主语 he )
2. 插入句为简短的、具有完整意义的句子。常见的插入句如下: I think / hope / guess / know / believe / suppose, I am sure (我可以肯定地说), that is ( to say )(也就是说), it seems (看来是), as I see it (照我看来), what's more, what's worse, what is important / serious (重要 / 严重的是), I'm afraid (恐怕) , it is said (据说), as we all know (众所周知)等。
插入句独立性强,一般用标点符号将其与其他句子成分隔开。应当特别注意疑问句的插入句,它一般为倒装语序且无任何标点符号,而且整个疑问句应当保持陈述语序。例如:
( 1 ) What should I do first?
What do you think I should do first?(被插入的疑问句原来为倒装语序,插入后成为陈述语序)
( 2 ) Who is singing?
Who do you think is singing? (被插入的疑问句原来就是陈述语序,不需要做调整)
二 . 插入语(句)在试题中的应用。
1. 单项选择。由于插入语通常与句中其他成分没有语法上的关系,命题者有意在句中插入一个从句或插入语,造成主谓分离,给考生的理解带来一定的困难和干扰。例如:
( 1 ) He made another wonderful discovery, ______ of great importance to science. (上海 1998 )
A. which I think is B. which I think it is
C. which I think it D. I think which is
分析:这是一个非限制性定语从句, which 在从句中作主语,代替 the discovery .做这类题目的方法是先将插入语 I think 去掉,然后再将句子还原成为 He made another wonderful discovery, which is of great importance to science. 问题就迎刃而解了。正确答案: A .
( 2 ) In fact ______ is a hard job for the police to keep order in an important football match. (上海 2001 )
A. this B. that
C. there D. it
分析: in fact 在句中实际担当插入语,只不过没用逗号隔开,意思是“实际上,对警察来说在一次重大的足球比赛中,维持秩序是一项困难的工作”。空格容易把句子当成 fact 的同位语从句而误选 B .正确答案: D
( 3 )- Alice, you feed the birds today, _____?
- But I fed it yesterday. (广东 1999 )
A. do you B. will you
C. didn't you D. don't you
分析:这是特设语境,插入语 Alice 暗示后面句子为带主语的祈使句,正确答案: B .
( 4 ) Who do you think _______ us a talk this afternoon?
A. to give B. gave
C. will give D. giving
分析:do you think 是一个插入语,将其去掉的话,剩余部分用陈述语序。正确答案: C .
( 5 ) Philip is a New Yorker, _______ , he lives in New York.
A. that is B. besides
C. after all D. in one word
分析:直接选择适合上下文语境的插入语。正确答案: A .
2. 阅读理解和完形填空。阅读中出现大量插入语会增加理解障碍。熟练掌握插入语,有利于分析句子结构,理解文章大意。例如: I, of course, like a bicycle better. It doesn't cost me much, yet it brings me a lot of convenience. What's more, it doesn't pollute the air. Bicycles are really good friends of people's.
3. 写作。书面表达要求语言连贯、地道,恰当使用插入语,可以给文章增色不少。例如: Like most of my schoolmates, I have neither brothers nor sisters - in other words, I am an only child. My parents love me dearly of course and will do all they can to make sure that I get a good education. They do not want me to do any work at home; they want me to devote all my time to my studies so that I'll get good marks in all my subjects. We may be one family and live under the same roof, but we do not seem to get much time to talk together. It looks as if my parents regard me as a visitor or a guest. Do they really understand their own daughter? How things are in other homes, I wonder.
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