“名詞+after+名詞”類結構的用法

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”，翻譯時需視具體語境而定。如：

The rain fell day after day. 雨一天又一天地下個不停。

Week after week the drought continued. 干旱持續了許多星期。

Prices continue to rise month after month. 近幾個月價格持續上漲。

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明，每次都會得到最佳的效果。

2. 主要句法功能

A after A 這類結構在句子中具有以下語法功能：

(1) 用作主語。如：

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

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. 演講者一個接一個走上講臺譴責這項政策。

關于A after A 這類結構用作主語時，其后謂語動詞的數的問題：

① A after A 這類結構用作主語時，謂語動詞通常用單數。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. 批評部長的貼子一個接一個。

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

② 若用于 A after A of + 復數名詞，則其后的謂語動詞通常用復數。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。如：

He fired shot after shot. 他一槍一槍地發射。

They faced wave after wave of fresh troops. 他們遭遇了一批又一批增援的部隊。

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襲擊了這座城市。

He was wading through page after page of boring statistics. 他吃力地一頁頁看著乏味的統計數字。

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

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

(3) 用作狀語。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. 我覺得自己周復一周、月復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，他就一直在同一個辦公室工作，一周復一周，一年復一年。

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本文摘自《飛揚英語語法系列之名詞》（金盾出版社）