緊縮定語從句“介詞+關(guān)系代詞+不定式”的用法

一、用法實(shí)例

“介詞+關(guān)系代詞+不定式”的表現(xiàn)形式通常為 in which to do sth, with which to do sth, on which to do sth等，其中的介詞視具體語境的搭配而定。如：

She must have time in which to grow calm. 她需要有時(shí)間冷靜下來。

She had no time left in which to pack her things. 她沒有時(shí)間收拾行李了。

He had only the long nights in which to study. 他只有漫漫長夜可用來學(xué)習(xí)。

Allow me one minute in which to change my costumes. 給我一點(diǎn)時(shí)間來卸裝。

Now he had no pretext on which to prolong his stay. 現(xiàn)在他已沒有繼續(xù)留下去借口。

He had a couple of revolvers with which to defend himself. 他只有一兩把手槍用來自衛(wèi)。

She had some money in the bank, with which to help her mother. 她銀行里有些錢用來幫助她的母親。

The boy wants another fifty cents with which to buy some ice cream. 這男孩還要五角錢去買冰淇淋。

It was a marvelous place to begin one’s management career. First of all, there were so many different aspects of transport on which to try my hand. 這是開始一個(gè)人的經(jīng)營管理生涯的好地方。首先，那里有涉及運(yùn)輸許多方面工作讓我初試身手。

二、結(jié)構(gòu)分析

在閱讀中我們經(jīng)常可以見到以上這樣的“介詞+關(guān)系代詞+不定式”形式，許多讀者不明白它是什么結(jié)構(gòu)，其實(shí)它就是一種緊縮了的定語從句。在正式文體中，當(dāng)引導(dǎo)定語從句的關(guān)系代詞用作介詞的賓語時(shí)，有時(shí)可用“介詞+關(guān)系代詞+不定式”這樣的結(jié)構(gòu)來簡化定語從句。比較：

She must have time in which she can grow calm.=She must have time in which to grow calm. 她必須有冷靜下來時(shí)的時(shí)間。

Allow me one minute in which I can change my clothes.=Allow me one minute in which to change my clothes. 給我一點(diǎn)時(shí)間換衣服。

He was miserable unless he had neighbors with whom he could quarrel.=He was miserable unless he had neighbors with whom to quarrel. 他要是沒有鄰居吵架就難受。

She had some money in the bank, with which she could help her mother. =She had some money in the bank, with which to help her mother.  她銀行里有些錢用來幫助她的母親。

三、補(bǔ)充說明

對于“介詞+關(guān)系代詞+不定式”結(jié)構(gòu)，若語義清楚，且結(jié)構(gòu)恰當(dāng)，有時(shí)可進(jìn)一步省略其中的關(guān)系代詞，而只保留介詞和不定式（注意，此時(shí)介詞要移至不定式之后，且當(dāng)先行詞為表時(shí)間的名詞時(shí)，該介詞通常省略）。如：

She must have time to grow calm (in). 她必須有冷靜下來時(shí)的時(shí)間。

Allow me one minute to change my clothes (in). 給我一點(diǎn)時(shí)間換衣服。

He was miserable unless he had neighbors to quarrel with. 他要是沒有鄰居吵架就難受。

It’s reported that the city needs more land to build houses on. 據(jù)報(bào)道，這座城市需要更多的土地來建房。

四、特別提示

值得指出的是，“介詞+關(guān)系代詞+不定式”結(jié)構(gòu)中的介詞不能沒有，并且該介詞也不能位于不定式后面。如：

在那兒孩子們有個(gè)玩耍的花園。

正：There the children had a garden in which to play. (很正式)

正：There the children had a garden in which they could play. (較正式)

正：There the children had a garden to play in. (較口語化)

誤：There the children had a garden which to play in.