without so much as a "by your leave" 结构和意义分析

这位网友提出了一个有趣的句子：She came in without so much as a by your leave.

正确的书写应为：

She came in without so much as a "by your leave".

She came in without so much as a by-your-leave.

【直译】她甚至未经允许就进来了。

句子虽短，但有两个难题：

1. without so much as 是一种什么结构？什么含义？

2. by your leave 是什么意思？

下面，我对此作一分析：

第1个问题：without so much as 的结构和意义

so much as 实际是一种比较结构，是 as much as 在否定时的变式。因此，so much as 一般与 not 或类似的否定词如 without 等连用，意思是：“（程度上）不如；甚至不；甚至没；连...也没；连...都没”。例如：

She didn’t know so much as a three-year-old child. 她还不如三岁的小孩懂得多。

He never spoke so much as a word.   他甚至连一句话也没说。

He left without so much as a nod.  他连头也不点一下就离开了。

She walked away without so much as a thank-you.  她走时连句感谢话都没说。

She left without so much as saying “good-bye”.  她甚至连“再见“都没说就走了。

He is poor without so much as a place to live in.  他穷得连住的地方都没有。

第2个问题：by your leave 是什么意思？

在非正式英语中，leave 用作名词（不可数），表示“准许，许可，同意”，意思相当于permission。常见的固定表达有：

ask (for) leave to do sth. 请允许做某事

beg leave to do sth. 请允许做某事

take leave to do sth. 冒昧做某事；请原谅做某事

give sb. leave to do sth. 准许某人做某事

by your leave 在你的允许下；如果你允许的话。引申义：请原谅；对不起；劳驾 。

without a “by your leave” 擅自；未经许可地；未征得同意

【例句】

He asked leave to adopt the boy as his son.  他请求许可收养那少年为他的儿子。

I beg leave to inform you of the news. 请允许我告诉您这个消息。

I take leave to differ from you.  恕我冒昧，我不敢苟同。

She gave me leave to borrow her book.  她允许我借她的书。

I'd like to read the letter by your leave. 如果你同意, 我想看看这封信。

I went in without a “by your leave”. 我未经你允许就进去了。

关于你的问题：“为什么把不定冠词放在介词短语之前？”

without so much as a by your leave

在口语中，有语调和停顿。但是，在书面语中，则要有标点符号。所以，a by your leave 在书面语中是不正确的，应改为：a by-your-leave 或者 a “by your leave”。将“by your leave” 视为一个名词看待。

刚才看了陈老师的解答，我谈一下自己的看法：

陈老师的这些例句，都是引自权威辞书，正确性不容怀疑。伴随着现代社会生活的快节奏，语言在向着简洁的方向发展，在不引起歧义的前提下，能省略的尽量省略。不过，陈老师说的这些例子，仅限于“数字+名词”或者“数字+名词+形容词”，而且这些例子都是作另一个名词的“定语”。例如：

a 5 minute taxi ride

a one week introduction

a 10 year prison sentence

a 10 man crew

the fifteen hour journey

A thirteen year old girl

the three month time limit

但是，我认为，以上例子跟 a by your leave 不是一个结构，作用也不相同。by your leave 除了是介词短语作状语外，还可以被视为一个“整体名词”，之前可以加冠词，但它不同于陈老师的例子都是作定语。

我坚持认为：当“一个短语被用作名词”时，为了排除这个短语原来的结构、用法和语义，在句子中需要加连字符或者引号，以示区别。又如：

A forget-me-not is a small plant with tiny blue flowers.  “勿忘草”是一种有小蓝花的小植物。

（这个用作名词的 forget-me-not，不加连字符是不行的。）

既然用作名词，这时的by your leave，要么加引号：a“by your leave”，要么加连字符：a by-your-leave，否则，a by your leave 在书面语是不正确的。

【最后再次补充】

我始终认为：当一个固定的短语（如：介词短语或者动词短语）被用作“名词”时，为了排除这个短语原来的结构、用法和语义，用于句子中，在书写时需要加连字符、引号、黑体或者斜体，以示区别。只有这样，才符合书面语言的基本要求。

下面是我咨询两个老外后，他们给的答复，现摘录如下。

Question One:

Generally, if a fixed phrase is used as a noun, how can we write the noun correctly in a sentence?

【Mirriam answers】 最好是hyphen 加斜体，其次是hyphen，再其次是斜体。

Question Two:

In English, if a fixed phrase such as a prepositional phrase and a verb phrase is used as a noun, which of the following are correct written language?

Group One:

1. He came in without so much as a by-your-leave. (hyphenated)

2. He came in without so much as a “by your leave”. (in inverted commas)

3. He came in without so much as a by your leave.(in bold type)

4. He came in without so much as a by your leave. (in italic type)

5. He came in without so much as a by your leave.

Group Two:

1. A forget-me-not is a small plant with tiny blue flowers. (hyphenated)

2. A “forget me not” is a small plant with tiny blue flowers. (in inverted commas)

3. A forget me not is a small plant with tiny blue flowers. (in bold type)

4. A forget me not is a small plant with tiny blue flowers. (in italic type)

5. A forget me not is a small plant with tiny blue flowers.

【Answer】

老外：I'd choose the hyphenated form in both cases.

---Thank you. Do you mean the rest of the sentences are all incorrect?

老外：I can't say that with certainty, as some writers might prefer one of the other ways. But they would probably get red-lined if I were the editor.

老外：both entries of a dictionary have the hyphens in forget-me-not.

 最后我想说，关于 by your leave这个习语，是一个比较古老的用法。尽管词典收录了这个词条及其例句，但在现代英语中极少使用，我们一般用 permission 取而代之。这应该是比较特殊的个例。对于英语初学者而言，此种用法应该避免。

She came in without so much as a by your leave.

【参考译文】她径自走了进来， 连句“对不起”都没有。

【参考解析】英语中有个成语：by / with your leave,通常在句中用作状语；有时还可用作名词，此时也可写作by-your-leave/ with-your-leave，所以此时前面可以带有不定冠词：

She walked into the room and without a with-your-leave or by-your-leave sat down in the most comfortable  armchair and rang the bell for tea.她走进房间，连一声“对不起”都没说，便径自坐到最舒服的小沙发上，并按铃要茶。（《综合英语成语词典》p569）

【相似例句】下面的题目也可以给你某种启示：

Off________ without so much as a “goodbye” .

  A. went Jenny     B. did Jenny go    C. goes Jenny      D. does Jenny go

珍妮跑开了，连句“再见”也没说。

【关于书面书写形式的补充】

正如陈老师所言，事实上，without (so much as) a by your leave 整个儿是个习语（许多词典均有收录），意思是“擅自”“未经许可”“粗鲁地”“无礼地”（似乎通常不用连字符）。又如：

What do you think you’re doing, coming in here without so much as a by your leave? 你知道自己在干什么吗，你怎么能擅自闯到这里来?

注：收录 without so much as a by your leave 为习语的词典有不少。如：

《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》的 leave 词条

《麦克米兰英语词典》的 leave 词条）

《朗文当代英语词典》的 leave 词条

《牛津英语习语词典》的 leave 词条

而我采取的是《综合英语成语词典》的解释，其只把by / with your leave看做成语，而只是把without（ so much as ）a by your leave以例句的形式列在该词条下方。

陈老师说，without so much as a by your leave似乎通常不用连字符。这是符合该成语的实际使用情形的，实际上不仅如此，带引号的情形也似乎少见。除上述陈老师所列词典外，英国国家语料库BNC含有without（ so much as ）a by your leave的例句有10个，只有两句带有引号，没有一句带有连字符。

因此我们有理由认为，刘老师所谓的【a by your leave 在书面语是不正确的】的论断是站不住脚的。事实是，其不仅是正确的书面语格式，而且更为常见。

▲从严谨的语法角度来看，刘老师的分析是有道理的——【当“一个短语被用作名词”时，为了排除这个短语原来的结构、用法和语义，在句子中需要加连字符或者引号，以示区别】。
但从实用的角度来看，陈老师和张老师的论述也是符合语言实际的。我在《牛津实践语法》在谈到连字符（hyphen）的用法时有这样一段论述：The rules about hyphens are not very exact. For example, you may see a compound noun written as phonecard, phone-card or phone card. Hyphens are not very frequent in British English, and they are used even less in American English. If you are unsure, it is usually safer to write two separate words.
▲在BNC上输入 an on，查到了一些该用连字符而未用连字符的例子：
1. As the partnership evolves and grows there is a need for an on going review of its activities linked with new issues facing the school.
2. British viewers of Manhattan Cable are by now familiar with Robin Byrd, whose late-night TV show consists of her reclining in a string bikini, a microphone clipped somewhat clumsily on to one breast, exhorting viewers to ‘lie back and get comfortable’ while various folk bare their pimply bottoms and everything else in an on camera strip show.
3. All the Careers Services will be running an On Course help and advice service from 21 August to the time when higher education courses actually start.
4. an on screen mouse operated facility that allows the user to choose from a selection of ‘tools’ to create simple geometric shapes—lines, boxes, circles etc. and to add fill patterns.
5. This does not effect the quality of the stored image file, but if you require an on screen display of the final image, a SVGA card displaying 256 colours will be needed.
6. And what began as apparently inter-tribal friction developed into an on going township war between the A N C, the Zulu-based Inkahta movement and the State Security Forces.
▲在BNC上输入 an after，查到了一些该用连字符而未用连字符的例子：
1. Festivals aren't only about fishing, most feature an after match disco and for the less energetic there's pool, darts competitions and singalongs in the local bar.
2. Is it possible to fit an after market turbo to this engine.
3. Is X conscious he is giving an after dinner speech?
4. This was covered by a biscuit tin lid on top of which was a kettle filled with water for an after dinner cup of tea and the washing up.
5. Protective Detail is holding a little affair called an After Action Study.
6. They will be able to give you a practical demonstration and support with an after sales service that offers a same day or out of hours call.
7. Ensure that the software package and an after sales service is available on the product
8. Sean Clarke has several years' experience with Knockdene where he was formerly an after sales service advisor.
▲另外，再补充一个与 without so much as a by your leave 的例子——do it yourelf。这个短语若用作动词与本问题无关，但当它用作名词时，通常是用连字符的，但有时也不用。如下面一句摘自张道真《现代英语用法词典》do词条：
She’s very interested in do it yourself. (DCE)

She came in without so much as a by your leave.
她未表示任何歉意就闯了进来。