The earliest we arrive there is...中包括的是定语从句吗

请教各位专家：下面这个句子对吗？如果对，它的成分应如何分析？主要是 we arrive there 是什么从句？是定语从句吗？引导它的词语是什么？是被省略了吗？

The earliest we arrive there is about three days later.

▲The earliest we arrive there is about three days later.

= The earliest time that we arrive there is about three days later.

= The earliest time when we arrive there is about three days later.

1. we arrive there 是定语从句，先行词是The earliest (time)，省略了关系副词when 或that。

2. 不过，这个句子的时态有问题，应该是谈论过去的事情。建议改为：

The earliest we arrived there was about three days later.

▲此外，我还遇到另外一个句子，跟你的句子类似，但更复杂一些，跟网友分享。

The closest that Herpin came to resting was to sit in a rocking chair and read some newspapers.

这个句子的核心是：come close to doing 意为“接近做某事”，引申为“可能做某事”。

本句close 使用最高级形式：come (the) closest to doing ，“最可能做某事”。

【翻译】埃尔潘最有可能的休息方式，是坐在摇椅上读报纸。

本句是一个特例：副词的最高级之前加 the，用作名词提到句首，这样that Herpin came to resting充当了定语从句。

刘永科 - 教育出版集团英语总顾问 & 英语系列图书主编

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zhouxiao5227 1秒前

The earliest we arrive there is about three days later.

可以改写成：

The earliest when we arrive there is about three days later.

The earliest that we arrive there is about three days later.

现代英语的变化表明，定从的关系副词，如 when, where, why 等常常被省略，相信你在做阅读理解时一定会大量见到；这和以前学习的知识有所不同，我们在学习定从时，老师明确告诉：关系副词不可省略，但是语言是变化发展的。你可能见过这样的句子：

I dislike the way you speak to your mother.

=I dislike the way that you speak to your mother.