上列句中, "whether very sick people should... lives"、"that he has done this more than twenty times"、"(that) what he is doing is immoral"、"(that) what he is doing is merciful"及"whether Dr. Kevorkian should...this"均為名詞子句, 其中"(that) what he is doing is immoral"和"(that) what he is doing is merciful"因作及物動詞say的受詞, 故that可省略。以下為名詞子句的種類及其功能。
1. 名詞子句的形成
名詞子句一共有三種: that引導的名詞子句、whether引導的名詞子句、疑問詞 (what、when、why、how、where...等) 引導的名詞子句。
a. that引導的名詞子句:
此種子句乃由陳述句變化而成; 我們在陳述句之前冠以that即成名詞子句。
例: He doesn't like music.
(他不喜歡音樂。)
→that he doesn't like music
(他不喜歡音樂)
b. whether (是否) 引導的名詞子句:
此種子句乃由一般疑問句 (即可用Yes或No回答的問句) 變化而成。在一般疑問句前冠以whether, 原倒裝的句子結構還原成不倒裝的型態即成名詞子句。
1) 問句有be動詞時:
主詞與be動詞還原, 前面冠以whether。
例: Is she beautiful?
(她漂亮嗎？)
→whether she is beautiful
(她是否漂亮)
2) 問句有一般助動詞 (can、will、may、should、must、have等) 時, 主詞與助動詞還原, 前面冠以whether。
例: Should I tell the truth?
(我應該說出真相嗎？)
→whether I should tell the truth
(我是否應該說出真相)
Have you been to Thailand?
(你去過泰國嗎？)
→whether you have been to Thailand
(你是否去過泰國)
3) 問句有do、does、did等助動詞時:
此種助動詞引導的疑問句變成名詞子句時, 前面先冠以whether, 次將do、does或did去除, 句中的原形動詞再按主詞人稱和時態作變化。
例: Do you like it?
(你喜歡它嗎？)
→whether you like it
(你是否喜歡它)
Does she like it?
(她喜歡它嗎？)
→whether she likes it
(她是否喜歡它)
Did he go there?
(他去了那裡嗎？)
→whether he went there
(他是否去了那裡)
c. 疑問詞引導的名詞子句:
此種子句乃由疑問詞 (what、where、when、why、how、who、whom、which、whose等) 引導的特殊疑問句 (即不能用Yes或No回答的問句) 變化而成。我們保留原疑問詞, 原來倒裝的句子結構還原成不倒裝的型態即成名詞子句。
1) 問句有be動詞時:
主詞與be動詞還原, 前面保留疑問詞。
例: What is he doing?
(他在做什麼？)
→what he is doing
(他在做什麼)
2) 問句有一般助動詞時:
主詞與助動詞還原, 前面保留疑問詞。
例: Where can I find it?
(我在哪裡能找到它？)
→where I can find it
(我在哪裡能找到它)
3) 問句有do、does、did等助動詞時:
此種疑問句變成名詞子句時, 先保留句首的疑問詞, 再將do、does或did去掉, 其後的原形動詞則按主詞人稱及時態作變化。
例: Why do you say that?
(你為何那樣說？)
→why you say that
(你為何那樣說)
When did she leave?
(她什麼時候離開的？)
→when she left
(她什麼時候離開的)
注意:
在特殊疑問句中, 疑問代名詞who、what、which作主詞, 則變成名詞子句時, 句子結構不變。
例: Who did it?
主詞
(誰做了這件事？)
→who did it
(誰做了這件事)
What happened yesterday?
主詞
(昨天發生了什麼事？)
→what happened yesterday
(昨天發生了什麼事)
Which was chosen?
主詞
(哪一個被選到？)
→which was chosen
(哪一個被選到)
2. 名詞子句的功能
名詞子句與名詞一樣, 在句中可作主詞、受詞, 或置於be動詞後作主詞補語。
a. 作主詞
例: That honesty is the best policy is a proverb (which) we should
主詞
always keep in mind.
(『誠實為上策』是一句我們應時時謹記在心的箴言。)
Whether he can do it remains to be seen.
主詞
(他能否勝任仍有待觀察。)
Where he lives is still in doubt.
主詞
(他住哪裡仍不確定。)
注意:
名詞子句作主詞時, 往往會形成主詞過大的現象, 因此可用虛主詞it代替, 置於句首, 而被代替的名詞子句則置於句尾。故上列例句亦可寫成:
It is a proverb we should always keep in mind that honesty is the best policy.
It remains to be seen whether he can do it.
It is still in doubt where he lives.
b. 作受詞
名詞子句作動詞的受詞:
例: I know that he will go abroad in the near future.
及物動詞 受詞
(我知道他最近即將出國。)
I wonder whether he has finished the work yet.
及物動詞 受詞
(我懷疑他是否已做完工作了。)
I don't know how he'll handle it.
及物動詞 受詞
(我不知道他將如何處理這件事。)
注意:
1) that引導的名詞子句作及物動詞的受詞時, that可予以省略。
故: I know that he will go abroad in the near future.
= I know he will go abroad in the near future.
2) whether引導的名詞子句作及物動詞的受詞時, whether可用if取代, if仍譯為『是否』, 而非『如果』。
故: I wonder whether he has finished the work yet.
= I wonder if he has finished the work yet.
名詞子句作介詞的受詞:
1) 此時僅能用whether或疑問詞引導的名詞子句作受詞。that引導的名詞子句不可直接作介詞的受詞。
例: I am worried about whether he can do it.
介詞 受詞
(我很擔心他是否能做這件事。)
I am unsure of how he'll cope with the problem.
介詞 受詞
(我不確定他將如何應付這問題。)
2) 遇有介詞, 且非要使用that子句作受詞時, 其補救方法如下:
a) 介詞 + the fact + that子句
如此一來, 就可用the fact作介詞的受詞, 而that子句就成了the fact的同位語。
例: I am worried about that he doesn't study. (╳)
介詞 受詞
→I am worried about the fact that he doesn't study. (○)
介詞 受詞 同位語
(他不唸書令我操心。)
b) be動詞 + 形容詞 + that子句
也就是去掉介詞, 將that子句置於形容詞後面, 使that子句成為副詞子句, 修飾該形容詞。
例: I am sure of that the team won the game. (╳)
→I am sure that the team won the game. (○)
形容詞 副詞子句
(我確定那一隊贏了比賽。)
I am worried about that he plays around all day. (╳)
→I am worried that he plays around all day. (○)
形容詞 副詞子句
(我為他整天游手好閒擔心。)
c.置於be動詞後作主詞補語
例: The truth is that nobody really cares what you do.
主詞 補語
(事實上沒有人真的在乎你做什麼。)
The question is whether the project is worth doing.
主詞 補詞
(問題是這個企劃案是否值得進行。)
The problem is how it should be done.
主詞 補詞
(問題是該怎麼做這件事。)
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