“There be 结构”的非谓语形式探究

刘永科

顾名思义，“非谓语动词”（non-predicate verb），就是“不能独立充当谓语”的一种动词形式。它属于动词的一个语法范畴，也是英语中最常见的语法现象之一。它包括：动词不定式、动名词、现在分词、过去分词。

在现实语言中，英语存在句“there be句型”也有着各种非谓语形式。本文拟对对此作一探讨。

“There be结构”的非谓语形式，主要有以下几种：

1. 不定式：There to be

2. 动名词：There being

3. 现在分词：There being

【注意】在上述3个结构中，there充当“非谓语动词的逻辑主语”。

我们通常说的There be存在句，一般都认为，there只是起引导作用，没有实际意义。因为句子的主语在be之后，而且be的单复数是由后面的主语决定，而非由there决定。剑桥出版的《当代英语语法》(English Grammar Today)把there称为dummy subject（虚拟主语）：

English clauses which are not imperatives must have a subject. Sometimes we need to use a “dummy” or “empty” or “artificial” subject when there is no subject attached to the verb, and where the real subject is somewhere else in the clause. “It” and “there” are the two dummy subjects used in English.

It’s always interesting to find out about your family history.

To find out about your family history is always interesting. (The real subject is “to find out about your family history”. )

There are five Dutch people in our village. (The real subject is the Dutch people – they are in the village.)

“There” operates as a dummy subject in the construction “there is” or “there are”. “There be” indicates that something or someone exists or is in a particular place or situation.

There’s a woman waiting outside who wants to talk to you. (The real subject is the woman – she is waiting outside.)

上述语法说明，there虽然只起引导作用，但在句子结构中，它充当了虚拟主语（dummy subject）。但在非谓语形态下，there实际充当了“非谓语动词的逻辑主语”（logical subject）。

一、“There be结构”的不定式形式：there to be

该结构分为如下几种情况，现分述如下。

1. 主语+及物动词+ there to be 型：

该类型相当于“主语+及物动词+复合宾语”结构，宾语由there充当，宾补由不定式to be充当。例如：

I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding between us. 我不希望我们之间有什么误会。

Would you like there to be a market near your home？你愿意你家附近有家商场吗？

We expect there to be no objections. 我们希望不会有人反对。

I don’t mean there to be any unpleasantness. 我无意引起任何的不愉快。

I should prefer there to be no discussion of my private affair. 我倒希望不讨论我私人的事情。

They hate there to be long queues everywhere. 他们不愿意处处都要排长队。

Teachers don’t want there to be any students lagging behind. 老师不希望有任何学生掉队。

I’d like there to be a pool in the garden. 我想要公园里有一个池塘。

The enthusiasm was causing there to be concern on the Democratic camp. 在民主党阵营中，这种热情引起了人们的关注。

It requires there to be some sort of organic material in the pigment. 它需要在颜料中有某种有机材料。

The participants perceived there to be more species present when the amount of tree cover was higher. 与会者意识到树的覆盖量更高时，会有更多的物种存在。

And they will not allow there to be a waste of time. 他们将不允许有浪费时间的现象。

I needed there to be no one else in the world at that moment. 在那个时刻，我需要在世界上没有其他人。

I believed there to be gunfire coming from outside the vehicle. 我相信有来自外界的枪声。

We consider there to be no threat occurring in these districts. 我们认为这些地区没有任何威胁。

So we can not permit there to be proliferation of nuclear weapons. 所以我们不允许有核武器扩散。

【注意】用于上述句式的动词，其特点是：1. 能跟复合宾语（宾补由不定式或to be充当）的及物动词，如cause, require, allow, permit, need, consider, believe等；2. 能够表达人的“意愿型”动词，如“想要，喜欢，厌恶，期待”等：want, expect, like, hate, would like, prefer, mean, intend等。此外，在let 后面也可接 there to be，但要 省略 to。例如：

Don’t let there be any noise. 不允许有任何吵闹。

Let there be no mistake about it. 这事不要出错。

2. It is + 形容词（或名词）+ for there to be 型：

该类型相当于“It is + 形容词（或名词）+ for sb. to do”结构：It是形式主语，“for there to be”是真实主语，there代替sb.充当不定式的逻辑主语，for there to be看作动词不定式的复合结构。例如：

It is important for there to be a free school for the poor children. 给贫困的孩子建一所免费学校太重要了。

In that case it is impossible for there to be an escape from the building. 在那种情况下根本没有从楼里逃出的可能性。

It's normal for there to be a little leftover glue on the drum. 有一点残余的胶留在鼓上是正常的。

It was strange for there to be so few people in the church. 教堂里人这么少真是奇怪。

It was unusual for there to be so few flowers in the park. 公园里只有这么一点花是不同寻常的。

It is natural for there to be a generation gap between the parents and their child. 家长和孩子之间存在代沟是很自然的事情。

It is not uncommon for there to be problems of communication between old and young. 老人与年青人之间存在着沟通问题是很常见的。

It is impossible for there to be any mistakes.不可能有任何错误。

It is enough for there to be five minutes. 五分钟就足够了。

I think that it’s entirely appropriate for there to be this ambiguity at this point. 我认为在这个问题上依旧含糊不清，这完全是可以理解的事情。

It is a pity for there to be any disagreement in the family. 家庭不和实在是很遗憾。

It is a shameful thing for there to be both rich men and beggars on such a tiny piece of land. 在这么小的一片土地上，既有富人也有乞丐，真是可耻的事。

It’s a great pity for there to be much trouble in the class. 太遗憾了，这个班上有许多的麻烦。

此外，偶尔也有“Sb. + be + 形容词 + for there to be...”的句子：

I’m anxious for there to be plenty of time for discussion. 我迫切希望有充分的时间进行讨论。

3. 主语+不及物动词+ for + there to be 型：

该类型与“主语+ wait for sb. to do”结构相似：wait是不及物动词，“for there to be”等于for sb. to do，there代替sb.充当不定式的逻辑主语，for there to be视为动词不定式的复合结构，作目的状语。例如：

They planned for there to be a meeting on Monday. 他们计划周一开会。

Jill is waiting for there to be a big party. 吉尔等着举行一次盛大的晚会。

We hope for there to be no wars and killings in the world. 我们希望世界上没有战争和杀戮。

The secretary arranged for there to be another interview. 秘书另外安排了一次会谈。

He has called for there to be better communication between referees and players. 他要求裁判和球员之间有更好的沟通。

4. 用于其他结构中的for there to be：

Our hope is for there to be a peaceful world.  我们希望世界和平。（for there to be...作表语）

It was too late for there to be any open shops. 时间太晚了，不会有营业的商店了。（for there to be...作结果状语）

The components of most double stars are close enough for there to be strong gravitational attraction between them.  大多数双星的子星都很靠近，所以它们之间存在很强的万有引力。（for there to be...作结果状语）

For there to be profit in a deal, there must be two elements: a bargain and change. 一桩交易要获得盈利，必须具备两个条件：一是廉价，二是有变化。（for there to be...作目的状语，相当于含有逻辑主语的不定式放在句首）

For there to be successful communication, there must be attentiveness and involvement in the discussion itself by all present. 为了进行成功的交流，所有参加讨论的人都必须认真倾听，热情参与。（for there to be...作目的状语，相当于含有逻辑主语的不定式放在句首）

In order for there to be peace, our plan requires an international response. 为了有和平，我们的计划需要国际的回应。（In order for there to be...作目的状语，相当于含有逻辑主语的不定式放在句首）

We talked about the need for there to be peaceful resolutions of conflicts. 为了取得和平解决冲突的办法，我们商谈了有关必要性。（for there to be...作目的状语，相当于含有逻辑主语的不定式放在句末）

二、“There be结构”的动名词形式：there being

“There be结构”的动名词形式为there being。它可以作句子的主语，作及物动词的宾语和介词的宾语。这时，there充当了动名词的逻辑主语。例如：

1. 句子主语：

There being a public bus service is a great convenience to people’s life. 有了公交车对人们生活十分方便。

There being some suspicion between us made me anxious. 我们之间有了猜疑让我焦虑不安。

The prison is heavily guarded. There being no hope of escape is certain. 监狱被严密看守。没有希望逃脱是肯定的。

【注意】现实语言中，“There be结构”的动名词形式用作主语，不是十分常见。

2. 动词宾语：

I don't remember there being aliens in the Battleship game when I was playing. 我不记得，我玩战舰游戏时有外星人这回事。

I can't imagine there being a better place to coach basketball than Lawrence. 我无法想象有一个比劳伦斯教练篮球的更好的地方。

You prefer there being only five houses in a 300-lot development. 你更喜欢在300套房子的开发中，只存在五个房子。

It's hard to imagine there being a more soulful woman in Ireland than Laura. 很难想象世界有比劳拉更深情的爱尔兰女人。

It means there being no settlement blocks in this problem. 这意味着在这个问题上没有什么解决的障碍。

    I don’t mind there being any objection to our plan. 我不介意对我们的计划有反对意见。

She denied there being any misunderstanding between them. 她否认他们之间有任何误会。

I wouldn't mind there being something eye-catching at the butcher counter. 我不介意在屠夫柜台上有什么抢眼的东西。

I don't recall there being very much to do about any of those situations. 我不记得，对于那些情况有很多事要做。

The realist acknowledges there being a domain beyond the conceptual sphere. 现实主义者认为，有一个超越概念领域的域。

And yet I don't recall there being any lengthy discussion in baseball circles. 但我不记得，在棒球界中有什么冗长的讨论。

We must avoid there being any harm done to our environment. 我们必须避免对环境造成的任何伤害。

【注意】“There be结构”的动名词形式作及物动词宾语，这类动词主要是一部分能跟动名词的及物动词，如：remember, recall, deny, mind, imagine, prefer, mean, admit, avoid等。

3. 介词宾语：

“There be结构”的动名词形式作介词宾语的情况特别多。一般说来，只要是能跟动名词作宾语的介词，几乎都可以跟there being。例如：

What’s the chance of there being an election this year? 今年举行选举的可能性有多大？

I talked about the possibility of there being another acute phase in this economic crisis. 我谈到了这场经济危机中另有一个严重阶段的可能性。

I never dreamed of there being a picture on the wall. 我根本没想到墙上有张画。

Well, I've never heard of there being any disparity between the two. 嗯，我从来没有听说过两者之间有什么差距。

The Chinese are proud of there being the Great Wall in the north of China. 中国人因为在中国北部有长城而自豪。

He was disappointed at there being no money left. 他对不剩一点钱感到失望。

No one told him about there being a meeting that afternoon. 没有人告诉他那天下午有个会议。

John was relying on there being another opportunity. 约翰指望还另有一次机会。

They were completely unaware of there being anything extraordinary. 他们完全没有觉察到这件事有什么出奇的地方。

I was wrong about there being some misunderstanding between us.认为我们之间有误解是我的错误。

Virtually all of the evidence argues against there being a causal factor. 实际上，几乎所有的证据都反对存在因果因素的说法。

They've gone through debates here without there being any significant effect on their work. 他们在这里进行了多次辩论，但对他们的工作没有任何显著的影响。

And as a result of there being physical violence at home, the couple broke up at last. 由于家庭暴力的结果，这对夫妇最后分手了。

The idea of there being a massive attack in the United States is unrealistic. 在美国有大规模攻击的想法，是不现实的。

三、“There be结构”的现在分词形式：there being

“There be结构”的现在分词跟动名词在形式上一致，其主要作用是在句中作原因状语。既可以放在句首，也可以放在句末，there为逻辑主语。例如：

There being nothing to do, we went home disappointedly. 无事可做，我们失望地回家了。

There being no bus, we had to walk home. 因为没有公交车，我们只好走着回家。

There being no one to help me, I had to do it all alone. 由于每人帮我，我只好自己干。

There having been no rain, the ground was dry. 一直没有下雨，土地干旱。

There being nothing to do, I went to bed. 因为没事可做，所以我就上床睡觉了。

There being nothing eatable within his reach, Oliver replied in the affirmative. 奥立弗看看左右前后已没有任何可吃的东西，便回答说吃好了。

There being no birds in the valley, there were no foredawn songs to warn of daybreak. 由于山谷中没有鸟，所以就没有拂晓歌曲提醒黎明。

There being nothing intelligent to say to that, we said nothing. 既然对此没有什么好说的，我们什么也没说。

At his store he had idled, there being no need to write. 在酒店里他无所事事地打发时间, 因为那天他不需要写信了。

The rest were ordered back to Athens, there being no intermediate landing grounds. 其余的飞机则被调回雅典, 因为中途没有降落地点。

除了作状语外，现在分词there being还可以作某些动词的复合宾语，其中there为宾语，being为宾补。这类动词多表示“看见”型的，如see, notice, find, foresee等。

I don't see there being a very large effect. 我看不到有非常大的影响。

I haven't really noticed there being a lot more scouts at those games. 我还没有注意到，在那些比赛中有更多的侦察员。

You'd never find there being a vacant city. 你永远也找不到一个空置的城市。

I foresee there being consistency across the board for policing drug testing. 我预见到，在监督药物测试时，会有一种一致性。

四、“There be结构”的被动式：There is said to be...

“There be结构”没有过去分词形式。原因是，be动词的过去分词虽然是been，但无法表被动，所以，该结构无过去分词。但它可以有被动语态，这虽然与讨论的问题关系不大，但也属于一种特殊用法，在此一并论述。

我们常说：He is said to be an agricultural scientist. 据说他是一位农业科学家。

原来，这个句子是这样转换来的：

A. People say that he is an agricultural scientist.

B. → That he is an agricultural scientist is said.（因主语太长，显得头重脚轻。我们一般采用形式主语It替代真实主语that从句，见C句。）

C. → It is said that he is an agricultural scientist.

D. → He is said to be an agricultural scientist.

转换的结果是，He作了主语，is said意为“被说”，to be an agricultural scientist成为动词不定式。

据此，从理论上讲，there be 句型如果充当了某个及物动词的宾语从句，那么，这个及物动词，就可以用于上述句式的转换。例如：

1. People say that there will be an election this week.

→ It is said that there will be an election this week.

→ There is said to be an election this week.

【注意】不定式本身表示将来，所以will 不再出现，不能说There will be said to be...。

2. The media report that there is oil under that desert.

→It is reported that there is oil under that desert.

→There is reported to be oil under that desert.

3. People expect that there will be a keen fight in the local elections.

→It is expected that there will be a keen fight in the local elections.

→There is expected to be a keen fight in the local elections.

4. People think that there will be a strike soon.

→It is thought that there will be a strike soon.

→There is thought to be a strike soon.

5. People suppose that there are more than 3000 languages in the world.

→It is supposed that there are more than 3000 languages in the world.

→There are supposed to be more than 3000 languages in the world.

但是，并非所有接宾语从句的及物动词，都可以这样使用。据我所知，具有该用法的动词是比较有限的，如say, report, expect, think, believe, suppose, understand 等。

1. There is/are said to be... 据说有......

2. There is/are reported to be... 据报道有......

3. There is/are expected to be... 预计有......

4. There is/are thought to be... 人们认为有......

5. There is/are believed to be... 人们认为有......

6. There is/are supposed to be...人们认为有......

7. There is/are understood to be... 人们都知道有......

【注意】由于There在此只引导作用，所以，用is还是are要视后面主语的单复数而定。

五、关于“There be + no + 动名词”

首先说明，“there be + no + doing”超出了本文讨论的范围，现把它作为一种特殊句式放在这儿一并讨论。“there be + no doing”的基本含义是“不可能做某事”，是说话者对未来某事件是否发生的一种判断，而且这种判断是否定的，有时，则表示“不许可”之意。此外，doing是动名词，名词和动词兼而有之，它有动词的意思（按动词翻译），又有名词的作用（作句子的主语，而且有no修饰，正是因为动名词作主语，所以我们说There is，不说There are）。例如：

There is no denying that she is very efficient. 她效率高是不容否认的。

There is no saying when it will stop raining. 很难说这场雨什么时候会停。

There is no telling when she will come back.  说不准她什么时候回来

There is no knowing when we shall meet again. 不知道何时我们再相见。

There is no mistaking what ought to be done. 该做什么是不会弄错的。

There is no persuading him to go there. 劝说他去那儿是不可能的。

There is no going back to the life she had. 她无法再回到从前的生活。

There is no expecting what will happen. 无法预料会发生什么事情。

There is no getting over the difficulty. 这困难无法克服。

There is no holding back the wheel of history. 历史的车轮不可阻挡。

There is no parking between 9 am and 6 pm. 上午9时至下午6时禁止停放机动车辆。

There is no gainsaying her ability. 她的能力是无可否认的。

There is no accounting for tastes. 人各有所好。

There is no reasoning with such a stubborn man as Peter. 跟彼得这种固执的人讲理简直是不可能的事。

There is no typing up this letter within five minutes. 不可能在五分钟内打完这封信。

There is no blinking the possibility of a scandal. 不能无视发生丑闻的可能性。

Remember, once you've signed the contract, there is no turning back. 记住，一旦签了合同，就不可能反悔了。