形容词+不定式作表语的不同的深层含义
江苏省铜山县郑集中学 宋德富
形容词+不定式作表语是英语中常见的一种句型。这种句型包含有表层相同而深层结构却完全不同的好几种情况，中学生至少要分清下列四种情况的深层含义：
1. You are kind to help me.
2. The next question is hard to answer.
3. In his early childhood he was slow to learn to talk.
4. I was worried to hear that.
让我们来解剖一下它们各自的深层结构吧：
1. You are kind to help me. 本句中的主语you同时也是不定式to help me的逻辑上的主语，我们可以将此句改写成大家都熟悉的句型：
It’s kind of you to help me.
2, The next question is hard to answer.
这一句的主语却是不定式to answer的逻辑上的主语，所以我们可以用不定式作主语来改写它：
To answer the next question is hard.
或用it代替这个主语：
It is hard to answer the next question.
3. In his early childhood he was slow to learn to talk.此句含义是爱因斯坦小时候学习说话很慢。所以我们可以将形容词换成副词slowly，然后对本句进行变换，即
In his early childhood he learned to speak slowly.
4. I was worried to hear that.这句中不定式to hear that可用作主语来改写原句：
To hear that worried me.
亦可以用使动词make进行改写：
To hear that made me worried.
亦即：
It worried me to hear that.
It made me worried to hear that.
如果学生懂得以上四种情况的不同的深层含义，就可以试作以下的句型转换练习：
1. He is clever to make so much money.
It _____________________________.
2. He is difficult to astonish.
To _________________________.
It___________________________.
3. He was quick to react.
He reacted _________________________.
4. It was puzzled to see he was still living.
To __________________________.
It _________________________.
5. The water isn’t fit to drink.
To __________________________.
It _____________________________.
6. The clothes are easy to wash.
It _________________________,
To _______________________.
The clothes wash ___________________.
7. You are wonderful to do this for me.
It ____________________________.
8. The old woman was happy to know that.
To ________________________________.
It __________________________________.
Keys: (for your reference)
1. is clever of him to make so much money
2. astonish him is difficult
is difficult to astonish him
3. quickly
4. see he was still living made me puzzled/puzzled me,
5. drinking the water isn’t fit
isn’t fit to drink the water
6. is easy to wash the clothes
wash the clothes is easy
easily
7. is wonderful of you to do this for me
8. knows that made the old woman happy.
made the old woman happy to know that
华东师范大学《中小学英语教学与研究》编辑部
中小学英语教学与研究 4/1986
