雅思听力中有这样一句话:
Over the years, we've expanded the premises considerably — we were lucky that the site is big enough, so moving to a new location has never been necessary.
请问为什么是we were lucky呢?不应该是说we are lucky that the site is big enough吗?
这是因为前面说得是过去的事,即over the years发生的事。此句用了破折号,表示说话人补充解释前面的话,因此说话人的思路自然回到了过去,用了we were lucky。其后面的从句用一般现在时说明这个事实到现在(即说话时)没有改变。如果that从句用过去时,也是对的,仅说明当时场地够大,现在不一定够大了。如果用we are lucky的话,破折号宜去掉,改为独立的一句较妥,但意思与原文会不同。因为后面说了将来要扩建,如果we are lucky now,何必还要扩建呢,这样逻辑上似乎欠佳,所以说话人用了we were lucky。
请看几个类似用法的外刊例句:
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