“名詞+after+名詞”類結(jié)構(gòu)的用法

1. 主要意思

我們這討論的主要是 A after A 的用法， 即after 前后兩個(gè)名詞完全一樣，且其前不用任何限定詞，其大意為“一……又一……地”，翻譯時(shí)需視具體語(yǔ)境而定。如：

The rain fell day after day. 雨一天又一天地下個(gè)不停。

Week after week the drought continued. 干旱持續(xù)了許多星期。

Prices continue to rise month after month. 近幾個(gè)月價(jià)格持續(xù)上漲。

The police were catching the same kids stealing time after time. 警察一次又一次地抓同一些孩子在偷東西。

有時(shí)翻譯比較靈活。如：

You will get a perfect result time after time if you follow these instructions. 如果你遵循這些用法說(shuō)明，每次都會(huì)得到最佳的效果。

2. 主要句法功能

A after A 這類結(jié)構(gòu)在句子中具有以下語(yǔ)法功能：

(1) 用作主語(yǔ)。如：

Wave after wave of aircraft passed overhead. 一批又一批飛機(jī)從上空掠過。

Day after day went by, and still no message arrived. 一天天過去了，一直還沒有消息。

Row after row of orange trees stretched to the horizon. 一排排橙子樹綿延不絕。

Wave after wave of pent emotion poured out. 郁積的感情似滾滾波濤，奔涌而出。

Speaker after speaker mounted / took the platform to denounce the policy. 演講者一個(gè)接一個(gè)走上講臺(tái)譴責(zé)這項(xiàng)政策。

關(guān)于A after A 這類結(jié)構(gòu)用作主語(yǔ)時(shí)，其后謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞的數(shù)的問題：

① A after A 這類結(jié)構(gòu)用作主語(yǔ)時(shí)，謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞通常用單數(shù)。如：

Ant after ant comes out from the hole. 螞蟻一只只地走出洞口。

There was post after post criticizing the Minister. 批評(píng)部長(zhǎng)的貼子一個(gè)接一個(gè)。

Truck after truck was set ablaze as the fire spread. 火勢(shì)蔓延，卡車一輛接一輛地起火了。

② 若用于 A after A of + 復(fù)數(shù)名詞，則其后的謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞通常用復(fù)數(shù)。如：

Range after range of mountains crowd the horizon. 地平線上山巒層疊。

On the shelves were rank after rank of liquor bottles. 架子上是一排排的酒瓶。

(2) 用作賓語(yǔ)。如：

He fired shot after shot. 他一槍一槍地發(fā)射。

They faced wave after wave of fresh troops. 他們?cè)庥隽艘慌�又一批增援的部�?duì)。

She lay awake for hour after hour (=for many hours, continuously). 她躺著，很久不能入睡。

Allied planes launched wave after wave of air attacks on the city. 一批又一批的盟軍飛機(jī)襲擊了這座城市。

He was wading through page after page of boring statistics. 他吃力地一頁(yè)頁(yè)看著乏味的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字。

They string together image after image until the documentary is completed. 他們把一幅幅畫面拼起來(lái)直到完成了紀(jì)錄片。

We’ve had meeting after meeting (= many meetings) to discuss this point. 我們已經(jīng)開了一次又一次的會(huì)議來(lái)討論這個(gè)問題。

(3) 用作狀語(yǔ)。如：

I’ve told you time after time not to do that. 我一再告訴過你不要做那樣的事。

She hates doing the same work day after day. 他討厭日復(fù)一日做同樣的工作。

I felt I was doing the same old thing week after week, month after month. 我覺得自己周復(fù)一周、月復(fù)一月地干著同樣的事。

The howling of wild animals kept him awake night after night. 野獸的叫聲讓他每個(gè)晚上都睡不著。

He’s worked in that same office week after week, year after year, since he was 18. 18歲開始，他就一直在同一個(gè)辦公室工作，一周復(fù)一周，一年復(fù)一年。

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本文摘自《飛揚(yáng)英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)法系列之名詞》（金盾出版社）