英語語法：前置現象

內容簡介

一位聽眾來信詢問能不能把句中的形容詞前置於句首作狀語？在英語中，這種把形容詞、副詞、副詞短語或其它一般不出現在句首的成分放在句首的做法被稱作 “fronting（前置）”。將這類成分前置的作用是什麼？在把副詞和副詞短語前置時要註意哪些要點？本期節目介紹有關 “前置” 的知識點。

文字稿

（關於臺詞的備註: 請註意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）

Jiaying
大傢好，歡迎收聽 AYYBLOG英語教學的 “你問我答” 節目。I’m Jiaying.

Phil
And I’m Phil. We have a question from one of our listeners:

Question
“Desperate, people pushed their way out.” 這裡的 “desperate” 是什麼語法？好像是一個修飾狀態的狀語。形容詞可以作狀語單獨放在句首嗎？

Phil
“Desperate, people pushed their way out.”

Jiaying
“人們不顧一切，拼命往外擠。”

Phil
So, this sentence starts with the adjective ‘desperate’, then a comma, and the main clause of the sentence: ‘people pushed their way out’.

Jiaying
沒錯，位於這句話句首的是形容詞 “desperate”，它在這裡的意思是 “不顧一切的，拼命的”，用來修飾句子中的名詞 “people（人們，人群）” 的狀態。

當我們在講述一件事情發生的經過或者在講故事的時候，常常能用到像這樣將形容詞放在句首的結構。我們有時將這種把形容詞、副詞、副詞短語或其它一般不出現在句首的成分放在句首的做法稱作 “fronting（前置）”，以此來突出說話人想要強調的重點成分，從而幫助聽者更好地想象事情發生時的景象。

Phil
Listen to the difference between these pairs of sentences. Think about what sounds most important in each.

Examples
Devastated, she sat on the grass and watched the other team lift the trophy.
The devastated player sat on the grass and watched the other team lift the trophy.
（那個垂頭喪氣的球員坐在草地上，看著對方隊伍舉起獎杯。）

Tired and hungry, the man pushed open the door and sat down.
The tired and hungry man pushed open the door and sat down.
（這個又累又餓的男人推開門坐瞭下來。）

Jiaying
在第一組例句的第一句話中，為瞭強調主語 “she” 的狀態是 “非常沮喪的，垂頭喪氣的”，形容詞 “devasted” 被放在瞭句首。

在第二組例句的第一句話中，為瞭強調 “the man” 的狀態是 “又累又餓的”，形容詞 “tired” 和 “hungry” 被放在瞭句首。

Phil
We’ve said that it’s not just adjectives that can be fronted, so let’s look at other parts of speech that work in this way, starting with adverbs. We could change the sentence in the question to say ‘Desperately, people pushed their way out’.

Jiaying
將副詞 “desperately” 前置在句首，要比說 “People desperately pushed their way out.” 更能突出強調人們 “往外擠” 的動作是 “不顧一切地”。我們再來聽兩個將副詞前置的例句。

Examples
Calmly, the students walked out of the hall and into class.
The students walked calmly out of the hall and into class.
（學生們平靜地走出大廳，走進教室。）

Angrily, he slammed down his bag and walked off.
He angrily slammed down his bag and walked off.
（他氣憤地扔下書包走瞭。）

Phil
It’s not just adverbs but also adverbial phrases that can work like this. We could change the sentence from the question to ‘In a desperate way, people pushed their way out’. Again, consider how the emphasis changes from ‘People pushed their way out in a desperate way’.

Jiaying
別忘瞭，將副詞短語前置在句首時，副詞短語後同樣也要加逗號。聽兩組例句，仔細體會每組例句的第一句話中，副詞短語前置在句首時，說話人想要突出強調的含義。

Examples
In a panic, she checked to see if the money was still there.
She checked to see if the money was still there in a panic.
（她慌忙檢查錢是否還在。）

With a heavy heart, she handed in her resignation.
She handed in her resignation with a heavy heart.
（她懷著沉重的心情遞交瞭辭呈。）

Phil
The question asked if adjectives could be used as adverbials. While they can’t, we’ve seen how fronting can be used in a similar way with both adjectives and adverbials to change the emphasis in a sentence.

Jiaying
另外，要記住，我們常常在講述一件事情發生的經過或者在講故事的時候，將上面提到的不同詞語或短語前置於句首，從而強調事情或動作發生時人或事物的狀態。

Phil
We hope that we’ve answered your question. If you have a question that you’d like us to answer, you can email us too at: questions.

Jiaying
你也可以通過微博私信的方式把問題發送給我們，我們的微博賬號是 “AYYBLOG英語教學”。Bye, everyone!

Phil
Bye.