一、概说
形容词是用于描写或修饰名词或代词的词,它可以表示人或事物的性质、特征、状态和属性,在句中可用作定语、表语、补语、状语等。
二、形容词的句法功能
1.用作表语
Her parents are very old.她的父母很老了。
Everyone was happy.人人都很快活。
2.用作定语
He has a clever son.他有个聪明的儿子。
We had a good time there.我们在那儿玩得很高兴。
3.用作宾语补足语
The news made her sad.这消息使她很伤心。
We found the room empty.我们发现房间是空的。
【说明】这类句型若变为被动语态,形容词则为主语补足语:
She was made sad by the news.这消息使她很伤心。
4.用作状语
He arrived home,hungry and tired.他回到家里,又饿又累。
I went there full of joy.我兴高采烈地去了那儿。
三、形容词的位置
1.前置与后置
(1)形容词用作定语一般应前置(即置于被修饰的名词前):
a beautiful girl美丽的女孩an interesting story有趣的故事
cheap clothes便宜的衣服difficult problems难题
(2)以下情况形容词作定语可以后置或必须后置:
①表语形容词若用作定语,必须后置:
Who is the greatest poet alive?谁是当今世界上最伟大的诗人?
②修饰something,anything,everything,nothing,everyone,anybody等复合不定代词的形容词,必须后置:
There must be something wrong with it.它一定出了什么问题。
Keep everything useful.保存好所有有用的东西。
③在“数词+名词+old(long,high,deep,tall等)”结构中,形容词总是后置:
The boy is only five years old.这男孩只有5岁。
The tree is about 20 meters tall.这棵树大约20米高。
【说明】形容词heavy不用于该结构,如回答How heavy is the box?时,不能用It's 10 kilos heavy.(应去掉heavy)
(3)形容词enough修饰名词时可前置,也可后置(但以前置为多见):
Do you have enough money[money enough]?你有足够的钱吗?
We have enough time[time enough]我们有足够的时间。
2.前置形容词的排列顺序
当名词的修饰语不只一个时,我们就得考虑它们的排列顺序问题。在通常情况下,它们的顺序为遵循以下原则:描绘形容词—大小(长短高低)形容词—形状形容词—年龄(新旧)形容词—颜色形容词—国籍形容词—材料形容词—用途(类别)形容词—名词(动名词):
It was a small yellow wooden table.那是一张黄色的小木桌。
He bought a nice(好看的)small(小小的)round(圆形的)new(新的)brown(褐色的)French(法国产的)oak(橡木做的)writing desk(写字台).
四、表语形容词和定语形容词
1.表语的形容词
所谓表语形容词即指只用于连系动词后作表语,而不能用于名词前作定语的形容词。这类形容词常见的有:
(1)某些以a-开头的形容词:
afraid害怕的alive活着的alone单独的
ashamed羞愧的asleep睡着的awake醒着的
Don’t be afraid.别怕。
Now the baby is asleep.现在孩子睡着了。
He was alone in the house.他独自一人在家里。
若要用作定语且具有以上意义,可改用其他形容词:
误:an asleep child,an ashamed girl,an alive poet
正:a sleeping child,a shy girl,a living poet
(2)某些表示健康的形容词:
fine健康的ill有病的well身体健康的
“How's your wife?”“She’s fine,thank you.”“你妻子好吗?”“她很好,谢谢。”
He was ill and couldn’t come.他病了,所以不能来。
【说明】在美国英语中,表示健康状况的ill和well有时也用作定语。另外,以上词语若不是表示以上意思,则可用作定语:fine weather好天气,ill news坏消息
(3)某些描述感觉或心情的形容词:
glad高兴的pleased高兴的sorry难过的
I’m glad to hear that.听到这消息我很高兴。
You will be sorry about this later.对这件事你以后会后悔的。
We are very pleased with the plan.我们对这个计划很满意。
【说明】若用于其他意思,则可用作定语,如glad表示“(感到)高兴的”时,只用作表语;若表示“令人高兴的”,则只用作定语(glad news好消息)。
(4)其他表语形容词:
certain确信的,一定的sure确信的,一定的fond喜欢的,温柔的
ready准备好的,愿意的unable不能…的
I’m certain[sure]he will come.我确信他会来。
He is fond of music.他喜欢音乐。
We are ready to do it.我们已准备好做这事。
【说明】若用于其他意义,有的也可用作定语,如certain表示“某”时,只能用作定语:a certain person某人。
2.定语的形容词
所谓定语形容词即指只位于名词前作定语(即前置定语),而不用作表语的形容词,如elder(年岁较大的),eldest(最年长的),daily(每日的),everyday(每日的),last(刚过去的)等:
Janet is Mary's elder sister.珍尼特是玛丽的姐姐。
Her eldest daughter works in a bank.他最大的女儿在银行工作。
He is practising everyday English.他在练习日常英语。
He went home last Sunday.他上周星期日回家了。
五、–ed形容词和–ing形容词
顾名思义,-ed形容词即指由过去分词转化而来且以-ed结尾的形容词,-ing形容词则指以现在分词转化而来且以-ing结尾的形容词。
关于两者的用法区别,有的同学认为-ed形容词只用于人,-ing形容词只用于物,此说法尽管对初学者来说记忆方便,而且在许多情况下也是可行的,但由于说得太绝对,在许多情况下却是不可靠的。如-ing形容词用于人的情况就比比皆是:若你的老师说话幽默、讲课生动,那么不仅他的课非常interesting,而且你会说他是一个interesting man(有趣的人)。比较以下句子:
I'm interested in interesting people.我对有趣的人感兴趣。
He was worried about his worrying son.他为他令人担忧的儿子感到担忧。
另一方面,-ed形容词用于指物的情况也不少见。比较并体会:
a frightened look害怕的表情(指带有这种“表情”的人感到害怕)
a frightening look吓人的表情(指这种“表情”令人害怕)
an excited talk心情激动的谈话(指“谈话”的人心情激动)
an exciting talk令人激动的谈话(指听“谈话”的人心情激动)
六、形容词比较等级
1.比较等级的构成
(1)单音节和部分双音节形容词通过加后缀–er和-est构成比较级和最高级:
原级比较级最高级
tall(高的)taller tallest
quiet(安静的)quieter quietest
【说明】①若原级以字母e结尾,则只加-r和-st,如fine—finer—finest。
②若原级以“辅音字母+y”结尾,则应将y改为i,再加-er和-est构成比较级和最高级,如:dry—drier—dries,early—earlier—earliest。但是有一个例外,即shy(害羞的)—shyer—shyest。
③若原级为重读闭音节结尾,且末尾只有一个辅音字母,则双写这个辅音字母后加词尾-er和-est构成比较级和最高级,如:big—bigger—biggest。
(2)多音节和部分双音节形容词通过在其前加more和most构成比较级和最高级:
原级比较级最高级
difficult(困难的)more difficult most difficult
dangerous(危险的)more dangerous most dangerous
【说明】有的双音节形容词(如clever,common,gentle,handsome,happy,narrow,polite,quiet,shallow,simple,stupid)可以有两种方式构成比较级和最高级:clever—cleverer/more clever—cleverest/most clever等。
2.形容词比较等级的不规则变化
原级比较级最高级
good(好的)better best
well(好,健康的)better best
bad(坏的)worse worst
ill(有病的)worse worst
much(多)more most
many(多)more most
little(少)less least
far(远)farther/further farthest/furthest
3.farther,further与farthest,furthest的用法区别
(1)表示距离时,四个词都可用:
Which town is farther[further]from this city?哪个城镇离这座城市更远?
What's the farthest[furthest]distance you've ever run?你跑过最远的距离是多少?
(2)若用于引申义,表示“更进一步”、“此外”等义,则只能用further:
Are there any further questions?还有问题吗?
4.elder,eldest与older,oldest的用法区别
(1)old通常的比较级和最高级分别是older,oldest。可用于人或物,可用作表语或定语,可与than连用:
He is older than me.他比我年纪大。
I'm two years older than he.我比他大两岁。
The church is the oldest building in the city.这座教堂是城里最古老的建筑。
(2)elder与eldest主要用于家人之间表明长幼关系。通常只用于人而不用于物,只用作定语而不用作表语,也不与than连用:
Who is the eldest sister?谁是大姐?
He is my elder brother.他是我哥哥。
【说明】在美国英语中也可用older,oldest表示长幼关系。elder与eldest的区别是:前者指两者中年纪较大的,而后者指三者或三者以上的年纪最大的。如:
one's elder son指两个儿子中年纪较大的一个
one's eldest son指三个或三个以上的儿子中年纪最大的一个
另外,elder和eldest作为形容词,通常只能用作定语,不用作表语;但若不是用作形容词(即其后不接名词)而是用作名词,则可以用作表语(此时通常有冠词或物主代词修饰):
I'm the eldest in the family.我是全家年纪最大的。
He was the elder of the two sons.他是两个儿子中较大的。
5.使用比较等级的基本原则
不作比较用原级,两者比较用比较级,多者比较用最高级:
He is very tall.他很高。(尽管“很高”,但没有比较,故用原级)
He is very short,but taller than me.他很矮,但比我高。
Among the three short girls,Mary is the tallest.在这三个矮姑娘中,玛丽是最高的。
6.不能使用双重比较等级
即构成比较级时不能既加词尾-er,又在其前加more;构成最高级时不能既在词尾加-est,又在其前加most:
误:His English is more better than mine.
正:His English is much better than mine.他的英语比我的英语好多了。
【说明】虽不能说more better,most earliest之类的,但可用“比较级+and+比较级”这样的形式:
It’s getting warmer and warmer.天气越来越暖和了。
The city is becoming more and more beautiful.这个城市变得越来越美丽了。
7.使用比较等级要合乎逻辑
请看下面两道题:
(1)Her music is more beautiful than ______.
A.me B.you C.us D.his
此题应选D,其中的his=his music。因为从逻辑上说,应该是her music与his music作比较,而不是her music与me,you,us比较。
(2)China is larger than ______ country in Asia.
A.any B.other C.any other D.any others
此题应选C,因为China也在Asia范围内,所以应在any后加上other,以排除自己比自己大的不合理逻辑。
8.比较级前冠词使用规律
比较级前通常不用冠词,但有时也用,这主要见于以下情形:
(1)当比较级后接名词时,比较级前可能用冠词,此时的冠词不是修饰比较级,而是修饰其后的名词:
This watch is too expensive.Would you show me a cheaper one?这块表太贵了,你能给我看一个便宜一点的吗?
(2)当要特指两者中“较(更)…”时,比较级前通常要带定冠词,此时可视为比较级后省略了有关的名词或代词one,即定冠词实为修饰被省略的名词或代词one:
Of the two brothers,the younger is more clever.在这两兄弟中,年轻的这个更聪明。
(3)用于“the+比较级,the+比较级”,表示“越来越…”:
The sooner,the better.越快越好。
The more a man has,the more he wants.人越有越想要。
9.最高级前冠词使用规律
(1)在形容词最高级前通常应有the:
He is the tallest boy in the class.他是这个班最高的。
This computer is most expensive in this shop.这种电脑是这家商店里最贵的。
(2)当最高级形容词用作表语且不带比较范围时,有时可以不用the:
This room is(the)best.这个房间最好。
但是,当处于表语位置的最高级带有比较范围或限定性修饰语时,其前的the通常不能省去:
This room is the best in this hotel.这个房间是这家宾馆最好的。
(3)如果是对同一个人或事物在不同情况下进行对比,那么处于表语位置的最高级形容词前不能用the。比较:
He’s busiest on Sunday.他星期天最忙。(他与自己平时比,不用the)
He’s the busiest of all the people.在所有人当中他最忙。(他与别人比,故用the)
10.比较级和最高级的常见修饰语
(1)比较级的修饰语有far,even,still,a great deal,a bit,rather,three times,any,no,very much等:
This is very much cheaper.这个便宜得多。
Do you feel any better today?你今天感觉好点儿了吗?
This one is even more expensive.这个更贵些。
(2)最高级的常见修饰语有(by)far,much,nearly,almost,not quite,second等:
He is far more careful than I am.他比我仔细得多。
He is almost the tallest here.他差不多是这儿最高的。
This is much the worst book of all.这是所有书中最最糟糕的一本。
【说明】very不能修饰比较级,却可修饰最高级,但它与一般的修饰最高级的副词有所不同,即它要放在最高级前的定冠词之后,而不是之前:
This is the very best one.这是最最好的。
另外,second,third等也要放在定冠词之后:
The Yellow River is the second longest river in China.黄河是中国第二长河流。
11.as…as结构
该结构的意思是“与…一样”,其间应接形容词原级,不能用比较级或最高级:
He is as tall as his father.他与他父亲一样高。
He is as busy as before.他还是像以前那样忙。
在否定句中第一个as也可换成so,其意为“不如”:
He is not as[so]tall as his father.他不如他父亲高。
He is not as[so]busy as before.他不像以前那样忙。
12.more than与less than
两者均可用于表示数量,more than指“比…多”或“多于”,less than指“比…少”或“不到”:
He is more than 50 years old.他有50多岁了。
Two eyes can see more than one.两只眼睛比一只眼睛看得真。
It's less than a mile to the station.去车站不到一英里。
She eats less than she should.她吃得比她应该吃的少。
【说明】more than除以上用法外,还可表示“不只是”、“非常”等:
He is more than a father to her.他待她胜过父亲。
They were more than glad to help.他们非常乐于帮忙。
七、实力训练题
1.写出以下各形容词的比较级和最高级:
(1)nice ______________________(2)fat ____________________
(3)slow _____________________(4)dry ____________________
(5)happy ____________________(6)wet ____________________
(7)much ____________________(8)ill _____________________
(9)little _____________________(10)bad ___________________
(11)thin ______________________(12)far ____________________
(13)early _____________________(14)careful_________________
(15)exciting ___________________(16)busy __________________
2.根据句意,用所括号内所级形容词的比较等级形式填空:
(1)Mr.Smith is _________ man in this office.(rich)
(2)Winter is _________ season of the years.(cold)
(3)This radio is not so ________ as that one.(cheap)
(4)It is much _______ today than yesterday.(hot)
(5)She is a little ________ than her classmates.(careful)
(6)________ people came to the meeting than last time.(many)
(7)Which book is ________,this one or that one?(easy)
(8)My room is _______ than yours.(small)
(9)Hainan is _______ from Beijing than Hunan.(far)
(10)Skating is _______ than swimming.(exciting)
(11)Jim is _______ than all the others.(honest)
(12)Things are getting _______ and _______.(bad)
(13)The higher you climb,the _______ it will be.(cold)
(14)Now his life is becoming ________ and _______.(difficult)
(15)There are _______ boys than girls in our class.(few)
3.选择最佳答案填空:
(1)It was really a(n)_______ story.
A.afraid B.excited C.exciting D.worried
(2)Everyone was _______ in the _______ news.
A.interesting,interesting B.interested,interested
C.interesting,interested D.interested,interesting
(3)Look the _______ baby.______ lovely it is!
A.sleeping,What B.sleeping,How
C.asleep,What D.asleep,How
(4)My pronunciation is poor,but his is even _______.
A.better B.worse C.good D.bad
(5)Which town is _______ from here,Beijing or Shanghai?
A.far B.farther C.farthest D.the farthest
(6)She knows _______ about history than most people.
A.more B.much C.most D.many
(7)It takes _______ time to go there by plane than by train.
A.little B.much C.less D.least
(8)To my joy,it was much _______ than I thought.
A.more easy B.more easier C.much easy D.much easier
(9)The house is not ________ for so many people.We must find ______ one.
A.big enough,a bigger B.enough big,a bigger
C.big enough,bigger D.enough big,bigger
(10)Canada is larger than _______ country in Asia.
A.any B.any other C.other D.another
参考答案:1.(1)nicer/nicest(2)fatter/fattest(3)slower/slowest(4)drier/driest(5)happier/happiest(6)wetter/wettest(7)more/most(8)worse/worst(9)less/least(10)worse/worst(11)thinner/thinnest(12)farther/farthest或further/furthest(13)earlier/earliest(14)more careful/most careful(15)more exciting/most exciting(16)busier/busiest
2.(1)richest(2)coldest(3)cheap(4)hotter(5)more careful(6)More(7)easier(8)smaller(9)farter[further](10)more exciting(11)more honest(12)worse,worse(13)colder(14)more,more difficult(15)fewer
3.(1)—(5)CDBBB(6)—(10)ACDAA
今天的内容就介绍到这里了。