「因為天氣冷,她穿上了外套」,英文可以說 Because it was cold, she put on her coat.,但比較正式、精簡的寫法會說 Feeling cold, she put on her coat.。這種把子句濃縮成分詞開頭的寫法,叫分詞構句。關係子句簡化成分詞片語,也是同樣的邏輯。
基本規則:兩個子句的主詞要一樣
分詞構句常見於書面語,把 when、because、after、and 這類連接詞子句,濃縮成分詞片語,前提是兩個子句的主詞相同:
Because she was tired, she went to bed early. — 因為她累了,所以早早去睡了。
Feeling tired, she went to bed early. — 覺得累了,她就早早去睡了。
After he finished his homework, he watched TV. — 做完功課後,他看了電視。
Having finished his homework, he watched TV. — 做完功課後,他看了電視。
主詞(she、he)在兩句裡是同一個人,才能把前半句濃縮成分詞開頭,動作的主詞不用重複寫出來哦。
現在分詞 vs 過去分詞:看主動還是被動
- -ing(現在分詞):主詞是動作的發出者。
- 過去分詞(-ed 或不規則變化):主詞是動作的接受者(被動)。
Written in simple English, the book is easy to understand. — 這本書用簡單的英文寫成,很容易懂。(book 是「被寫」的,用過去分詞)
Reading the newspaper, he drank his coffee. — 他一邊看報紙一邊喝咖啡。(he 是「看」的人,用現在分詞)
Having + 過去分詞:強調「先做完」
當分詞片語的動作比後面主要子句的動作更早發生,可以用 Having + 過去分詞,強調先後順序:
Having finished the report, she left the office. — 完成報告之後,她離開了辦公室。
不用 Having 也不算錯(Finishing the report, she left the office. 也看得懂),但 Having 更明確標出「這件事先做完了,然後才發生下一件事」,想強調順序時可以用哦。
懸盪分詞:主詞對不上,會很奇怪
分詞構句最容易出的錯,是分詞片語的邏輯主詞和後面主要子句的主詞對不上,這叫懸盪分詞(dangling participle):
Walking to the station, the rain started to fall. — 字面上變成「雨」在走路去車站,這是不合邏輯的。
正確的寫法要讓分詞片語的主詞和主要子句一致:Walking to the station, I got caught in the rain.(我走去車站的路上,被雨淋濕了)。
使用時機:書面語比口語更常見
分詞構句多出現在正式書面語、新聞、文學作品裡,讓句子更精簡;日常口語裡,用 when、because、after 這類完整連接詞子句反而更自然,不用刻意在講話時使用分詞構句哦。
小測驗
先自己想,再看括號裡的答案。
- Because he was exhausted, he fell asleep quickly. → ___, he fell asleep quickly. (Feeling exhausted)
- After she had checked her email, she went to the meeting. → ___, she went to the meeting. (Having checked her email)
- 選出正確的:___ in a small village, the writer knew rural life well. (Born,不是 Bearing)
- 找出懸盪分詞的錯誤並改正:Driving home, the streetlights suddenly went out. → I was driving home when the streetlights suddenly went out.(或改成 Driving home, I noticed the streetlights suddenly go out.)
四題都答對,分詞構句你已經能寫、能認了!
分詞構句一開始看真的有點抽象,我自己是先把它當成「兩句話合併時,重複的主詞可以省略」來理解,會順很多。
練習完之後,下面那顆「我學會了」按一下,讓我知道你學會了吧 (❛◡❛✿)