專有名詞前一般不加冠詞,因為它本身就是特指的,即使前面有形容詞修飾時通常也不加冠詞,如:
人名:Shakespeare,Jack London,Queen Elizabeth,Little Tom,Big Hugh, John Smith junior;
地名:Paris,Los Angeles,Russia,ancient Rome,East Africa, Western Europe,Southern France,North America;
其他:July,Saturday,Easter,English。
但有許多特殊情況:
1) 在某些地理名詞前要加定冠詞:
a. 江,河,海,洋:
the Yangtze River長江,he Hudson River 哈得孫河,he Pearl River 珠江, the Red Sea 紅海,the Mediterranean 地中海, the Indian Ocean 印度洋, the Pacific Ocean 太平洋, the Arctic 北冰洋。
b. 山脈,群島:
the Tian Shan Mountains 天山山脈,the Rocky Mountains 洛磯山脈,the Philippines 菲律賓群島,the Riukiu Islands 硫球群島,the West Indies 西印度群島。
但: Mount Emei 峨眉山,Christmas Island 圣誕島。
c. 海峽,海灣:
the English Channel 英吉利海峽, the Taiwan Straits 臺灣海峽, the Bay of Biscay比斯開灣, the Gulf of Mexico 墨西哥灣。
湖名前一般不加冠詞,如:
Lake Success 成功湖, Dongting Lake 洞庭湖, Lake Baikal 貝加爾湖。
但個別湖名前也有加the的,如:
the Lake of Geneva 日內(nèi)瓦湖, the West Lake 西湖, the Great Salt Lake大鹽湖。
另外有少數(shù)地名前通常加the:
the Netherlands 荷蘭,the Vatican 梵蒂岡,the Balkans 巴爾干半島各國, the Middle Esat 中東,the Hague 海牙,the Ukraine 烏克蘭,the Caucasaus 高加索,the Crimea 克里米亞半島,the Sahara 撒哈拉大沙漠,the Sudan 蘇丹, the Yemen也門。
2) 由普通名詞構(gòu)成的專有名詞很多要加the:
a. 某些國名及政治組織名稱:
the People's Republic of China,the United States,the United Kingdom,the United Nations, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the People's Congress,the House of Commons,the Republican Party。
(但Parliament和Congress前不加the)
b. 某些機構(gòu)、學校、建筑物等的名詞:
the British Museum,the National Gallery,the Philadelphia Orchestra,the Victoria Chest Hospital, the Bronx Zoo, the Midland Bank, the University of Washington,the Royal College of Art,the Harlow Technical College,the Odeon Cinema,the Pentagon 五角大樓,the Hilton (Hotel),the Phoenix (Theatre), the Titanic 泰坦尼克號。
(但也有一些不加冠詞,如Buckingham Palace,Westminster Abbey,Brools Hotel)
c. 某些報刊雜志的名稱:
the New York Times 紐約時報,the Chicago Tribune 芝加哥論壇報,the Washington Post 華盛頓郵報,he Labour Monthly 勞動月刊,he Daily News 每日新聞,he Observer 觀察家報,the Economist 經(jīng)濟學家雜志,he Times 泰晤士報。
(但有些也不加,如Life 生活雜志,Newsweek 新聞周刊, Harper's 哈珀斯雜志)
3) 下面這類名詞前通常不加冠詞:
a. 多數(shù)街名:
Fleet Street 艦隊街,Marston Road 瑪斯登道,Riverside Avenue 濱河大道, Park Lane 派克巷,Rodeo Drive 羅狄歐路,Sunset Boulevard 日落大道。
(但:the High Street)
b. 多數(shù)廣場名:
Russel Square 羅素廣場,Berkeley Square 貝克萊廣場,Times Square 時代廣場,Piccadilly Circus 皮卡迪利圓形廣場(但:the Red Square)。
c. 車站、機場、公園、橋梁名:
Central Station 中央車站,Kennedy Airport 肯尼迪機場,Central Park 中央公園,Waterloo Bridge 滑鐵盧大橋(但:the Golden Gate Bridge)。
d. 大學名:
Harvard University 哈佛大學,Oxford University 牛津大學,Oregon State University 俄勒岡州立大學,Balliol College 貝里歐學院。
(但:the University of East Anglia,the Institute for Contemparary Arts)
e. 節(jié)日名:
National Day 國慶節(jié),May Day 五一節(jié),New Year's Day 新年,Christmas圣誕節(jié),Easter 復活節(jié),Thanksgiving Day 感恩節(jié),St. Valentine's Day 情人節(jié), International Women's Day國際婦女節(jié)。
(但:the Mid-Autumn Festival,the Spring Festival)
f. 多數(shù)雜志名:
Time 時代周刊,New Scientist 新科學家,English Language Teaching 英語教學,U.S. News and World Report 美國新聞與世界報導,Reader's Digest 讀者文摘。
4) 人名前一般不加冠詞,但在一些特殊情況下也可以加,如:
A Mrs Green is waiting to see you. 一位格林夫人等著見你。
My boss is a little Napolean. 我的老板是一個小拿破侖。
I didn't know you were an ardent Romeo. 我不知道你是一個熱情的羅密歐。
The Smith you're looking for no longer lives here. 你找的史密斯現(xiàn)在不住這兒。
The little Vesta was now eighteen months old. 小薇斯塔現(xiàn)在有十八個月大了。
The theory was advanced by the great Einstein. 這理論是偉大的愛因斯坦提出的。
還可以用在某些專有名詞前表示一種車、一張某人的畫像等:
The car was a Buick, not a Benz. 那輛車是別克,不是奔馳。
He had a Van Gogh in the dining room. 他的餐廳里有一張凡高的畫。
What a strange London he saw! 他看到的是一個多么奇怪的倫敦!
He ordered a second Martini. 他又叫了一杯馬提尼酒。
1) 抽象名詞前一般不加冠詞:
The music is full of life. 這音樂充滿活力。
Practice makes perfect. (諺)熟能生巧。
I wish you joy. 祝你愉快。
While there is life there is hope. (諺)有生命就有希望。
即使前面有形容詞修飾,一般也不加冠詞:
She cared little for social life. 她對社交生活不太有興趣。
This invitation gave him particular joy. 這項邀請使他非常高興。
He has always been interested in classical music. 他一向喜歡古典音樂。
You have given me fresh hope. 你給了我新的希望。
2) 若抽象名詞用于特指(即指特定的內(nèi)容),特別是有一個限制性定語修飾時,多加定冠詞:
Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car. 小事故也可能縮短車的壽命。
Her children were the joy of her life. 她的孩子是她生活的樂趣。
The younger generation is the hope of the nation. 年輕一代是國家的希望。
He went on playing the music of Mozart. 他繼續(xù)演奏莫扎特的樂曲。
特指和泛指相對,試比較下面的句子:
特 指 泛 指
* * *
* * *
What do you think of the music? 你覺得這音樂怎樣? She has a passion for music. 她酷愛音樂。
He asked about the progress of my book.他問我書的進展情況。 My research made slow progress. 我的研究工作進展緩慢。
She immediately took the advice. 她立即接受了這個意見。 Good advice is beyond price. (諺)好的意見是無價之寶。
What's the result of your investigation? 你調(diào)查的結(jié)果如何? I worked all day,but without result. 我干了一天,卻沒有結(jié)果。
限制性定語 (Limiting Attributes)指of引導的定語或某些定語從句,它們限制名詞的意義,使指特定的內(nèi)容,和它相對的則是描繪性定語(Descriptive Attributes)(這種定語只描繪,不限定意思):
限制性定語 描繪性定語
* * *
* * *
the picture on p. 2 第二頁上的那張畫 a picture by a child 一張兒童畫的畫
the grammar book you want 你要的那本語法書 a book you must read 你必讀的一本書
the girl sitting there 坐在那里的姑娘 a hard-working girl 一位勤勞的姑娘
the idea he put forward 他提出的意見 a wonderful idea 一個好主意
3) 抽象名詞在一定的情況下可加不定冠詞,用來表示:
a. 一種、一場等:
She always had an affection for me. 她一向?qū)ξ矣懈星椤?
He had a strong dislike for cold weather. 他很討厭寒冷的天氣。
She showed a certain elegance. 她表現(xiàn)出一種優(yōu)雅的風度。
He felt a great tenderness for Ruth. 他對露絲感到一種深情。
It was a just war. 這是一場正義的戰(zhàn)爭。
b. 某動作的一次、一例等:
Do you care for a smoke? 抽支煙好嗎?
The report called for a public inquiry. 該報告要求進行一次公開調(diào)查。
He made a careful check of the accounts. 他對賬目進行了仔細檢查。
It made a good analysis of the situation. 它很好地分析了形勢。
c. 引起某種情緒的人或事:
This work has been a great joy. 這項工作使人感到很愉快。
He is a shame to his family. 他使他的家人蒙羞。
Seeing him so active was a great encouragement. 看他這樣積極很令人鼓舞。
Her son was a great disappointment to her. 她的兒子很讓她失望。
d. 表示某種品質(zhì)的具體行動、人或東西:
Would you do me a favor? 你能幫我一個忙嗎?
You were a great help to us. 你對我們很有幫助。
In some places, white bread is a luxury. 在某些地方白面包都是奢侈品。
A forced kindness deserves no thanks. 勉強的善行不值得感謝。
由于每個抽象名詞情況都不一樣,不清楚時最好查一本較好的詞典。
1) 物質(zhì)名詞前一般不加冠詞:
Do you like tea or would you prefer coffee? 你要茶還是愿意喝咖啡?
We can't live without air. 沒有空氣我們就不能生存。
We use water for drinking and washing. 我們飲水并用水洗東西。
They were digging for gold. 他們在挖找金子。
We expect snow before morning. 我們預計清晨前會下雪。
即使前面有形容詞,一般也不加冠詞:
Is that Indian tea or Chinese tea? 這是印度茶還是中國茶?
Cold air blew in through the open window. 冷空氣從開著的窗子吹了進來。
Is this fresh water? 這是淡水嗎?
It's made of pure gold. 它是純金打造的。
Heavy snow is reported in the north. 據(jù)報導北方下大雪。
2) 物質(zhì)名詞特指時前面也可以加the:
How do you like the tea? 這茶你覺得怎樣?
The air was bad.(房里的)空氣很不好。
Someone has fallen into the water! 有人掉水里去了!
The gold they found weighed two kilos. 他們找到的黃金有兩公斤重。
The visitor disappeared in the whirling snow. 客人消失在飛旋的雪花中。
Don't stand in the rain. 別站在雨里。
3) 物質(zhì)名詞前間或加不定冠詞,表示:
a. 一場,一陣:
A heavy snow was falling. 下著一場大雪。
There was a light rain falling. 下著一陣小雨。
Last night there was a terrible storm. 昨晚下了一陣可怕的暴雨。
b. 一種:
It was a wonderful tea. 這是一種很好的茶。
The bakery makes a very fine rye bread. 那家面包房制作一種很好吃的黑麥面包。
A high-grade paper is made from rushes. 有一種高檔紙是燈心草做的。
c. 一份:
A large coffee for me. 給我一大杯咖啡。
You may as well bring me a chocolate too. 你不妨也給我一份巧克力。
I want a strawberry ice-cream. 我要一份草莓冰淇淋。