交際英語中常用“過去時”表示“現在”

■山東  劉永科

在交際用語中，說話人為了表示禮貌或客氣，常用過去時態來表達現在的情況。例如：

Would you please do me a favor?

Would you mind if I opened the door?

I’d appreciate it if you could be quiet.

Wouldn’t it be great if you explained the reason to us?

有些動詞包括情態動詞，其過去時態表示現在的情況，屬于一種委婉表達。除了would之外，could和might也同樣可以用來表達現在的婉轉請求、建議、疑問或看法。例如：

Could you tell me the way to the station? 請告訴我去車站的路好嗎？

Could I speak to you in private a moment, John? 約翰，我可以單獨跟你說一會兒話嗎

Oh, how could you be so stupid? 哎呀，你怎么這么蠢啊！

It's boring to walk all alone. Couldn't you go for walks with your friends? 一個人走路很沒意思。你可以和朋友們一起去散步呀？

Might I ask what you're doing here? 我可不可以問一下，您在這里干什么？

You might as well bring me a chocolate next time.你下次最好給我帶塊巧克力來。

I might well regret it later. 我很可能以后會對此后悔的。

The paper says that it might rain tomorrow. 報上說明天可能下雨。

I have got a lot of books that might interest you. 我有許多書，也許你感興趣呢。

The drivers, as you might imagine, didn't care much for that. 和想象中的一樣，這些司機對此并不太在意。

【比較】

Could I use your telephone? （意味著I'm not sure if you will allow me to use your phone.)

Might I use your telephone? （意味著If I don't break it, would you mind my using your phone?) 

此外，一些表示“想法，愿望”的動詞，如：wonder, hope, think, want等，它們的過去時態可以表示現在婉轉的想法或愿望。

I was wondering if you could lend me a hand. （是現在的委婉建議）

We hoped you would do us a favor now. （指現在婉轉的希望）

I thought you might like this flower.（指現在的情況，但不敢肯定。） 

I wanted to ask you a question now.（擔心對方不給回答，屬于婉轉。）

Did you wish to see me at present? （屬現在的委婉請求。）