the same…that和the same…as有什么区别
■倪肖丁(西安)
有读者问:the same…that…和the same…as…有什么区别? 《薄冰英语常见共性问题解答》(商务版2008)第323页回答说:that多表示同一的,例如He
works in the same factory that I do;as多表示同样的,例如He
uses the same pen as I do。
同时,该书还说指出:这一结构中的that用作宾语可以省去,而关系代词as则不可省去,例如:She is the same girl (that) I sat next to in class last year。
尽管《薄冰英语常见共性问题解答》的回答中的措辞是“多表示...”,似乎给自己的结论留了一点余地。但作者显然突出了两者的区别,否则给出两个用词不同的例句(一句用了that,另一句用了as)就没有必要了。
关于the same…that…和the same…as…在意思上的这种所谓区别国内其它英语学习参考书也常有提及。例如《张道真高中英语语法》(吉林出版集团2016, P.330)指出:the same...that也常在定语从句中出现,但它表示“同一个,就是那一个”的意思,而the same...as表示“与...一样(但不是同一个)”。其例句如下:
This is the same book that I lost yesterday. 这就是我昨天丢的那本书。
This is the same book as I lost yesterday. 这与我昨天丢的那本书一样。
现在我们就上述两书的相关论点提出并尝试解答以下两个问题:.
1. the same... that和the same...as真有上述区别吗?
2. the same...as中的as真的不可省略吗?
关于第一个问题,我认为《薄冰英语常见共性问题解答》和《张道真高中英语语法》的相关说法值得商榷。
《新编英语语法》(上海译文版1981)第179页说:the same..that...相当于the same...as...结构;又说下面两句中的that都可以为as所取代:
This is the same museum that you once visited.
He told me the same story that he told you.
牛津版Practical English Usage(2016)给出以下例句也说明了that和as可以互换:
He's wearing the same shirt that/as he had on yesterday.
如果先行词指人,as和who也可互换。例如:
That’s the same man that/who asked me for money yesterday.
《现代英语语法例解手册》(科学出版社2006, P.636)指出:有人说as表示“同种、同型”,that表示“同一物”,其实并没有这样的区别。例如:This is the same wallet as [that] I bought in London.(这个钱包和我在伦敦买的一样。)
实际上,the same究竟表示同一个还是同一类(相似性)并不取决于用that还是as, 而取决于语境和逻辑。例如:
He works in the same building as my brother. (WALD)
His sons go to the same school as he did, and all [= all his sons] want to become doctors. (CGOEL)
She was wearing the same dress that I had on. (OALD)
He had the same stare that the rest of the marines had. (CCEU)
前两句虽然用了as, 但the same显然表示同一个(exactly the one or ones referred to or mentioned; not different:);后两句用了that,但the same却仅表示相似性(exactly like the one or ones referred to or mentioned)。
而且有些抽象名词,同一个与同类型两者的界限也难以明确,例如the same problem(同样的问题)。
在缺乏语境或逻辑线索的单句中,如果要明确表示“同一个”而不想被误解,先行词完全可以不用same修饰。例如:
This is the knife (that/which) I lost last week.
也可以在名词前加very予以强化。例如:
This is the very knife (that) I lost last week.
何必画蛇添足地再去加上same,从而催生究竟用that还是用as的纠结。
关于第二个问题,《薄冰英语常见共性问题解答》认为“that可以省略而as不能省略”。这一说法也是不对的。
实际上the same...后无论是that还是as或者who, 如果在从句中作宾语,都是可以省略的。Practical English Usage (2005)在谈到the same用法时明确指出:As/who/that can be left out when they refer to the object of the following verb. 例如:
He's wearing the same shirt that/as he had on yesterday.
= He's wearing the same shirt he had on yesterday.
通过以上分析,我们对前述两个问题的回答小结如下:
1. the same…that…和the same…as…在语义上的上述所谓区别并不存在,但后者的适用性和使用率远超前者。究竟是同一个还是同一类,这取决于语境和逻辑句意。
2. 上述句式中的as在分句中作宾语时也是可以省略的。更何况,既然省略了,你怎么能断定它原来是that而不是as?如果补充完整,不是that和as都可以吗?!
附:写稿后记:
顺便一提,上述the same...as结构中的as,在英美辞书中通常被界定为连词而非关系代词。
名称虽不重要,但词性的区别可能造成句子结构的区别。传统所谓的定语从句的引导词as(不限于the same...as结构)仍然保留其作为从属连词引导(方式)状语从句时的某些语义特点(比如具有“如同…”之意)和语法特征(比如可以放在主句之前:As you know, he is my best friend.)。
因此,《新编高级英语语法》(2012,P. 653)把这类as分句称之为“介乎关系分句和状语分句之间的语法结构”,即使在the same...as...结构中也同样如此。因此,as分句可采用省略形式,as也可引导非限定分句或无动词分句。例如:
Our children go to the same school as theirs.(OALD)
I have the same opinion as you. (MEGCA)
The preposition can be omitted under the same conditions as stated in 9.40ff. (CGOEL)
We achieved the same result as (was) obtained in the first experiment. (CGEL)
If you asked me again, I would give you the same answer as before. (MEGCA)
口语中as分句中省略谓语的主语还可用代词宾格。例如:
His wife is the same age as me. (CALD)
而that引导关系分句时是单纯的关系代词,故不具有上述句法特征。
如果觉得我的文章对您有用,请随意赞赏。你的支持将鼓励我继续创作!