非限定关系子句

非限定关系子句会就句中论及的人事物额外补充信息,但这些信息并不会指明它谈的是何者。就拿这个例句来说:Gorillas, which are large and originate in Africa, can sometimes be found in zoos. 在这个句子中,我们谈的是「所有大猩猩」,而不是只有其中几只。非限定关系子句会多加补充有关一般大猩猩的信息,不会限定群体或单一只大猩猩。如果非限定关系子句从句中移除,剩下的句子文法上仍是正确的,整句话的意思不会有太大的改变,顶多少了些信息罢了。

非限定关系子句必定包含关系代名词和动词,有时也会包含动词的主词或受词,可有可无。非限定子句一般会用逗号或括号来与主要子句隔开。

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举例
  • John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren.
  • My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel.
  • My grandmother, who is dead now, came from the North of England.
  • We stopped at the museum, which we had never visited before.
  • I've just come back from London, where John lives..
  • Yesterday I met a woman named Susan, whose husband works in London.

关系代名词

以下的关系代名词是用在非限定关系子句,置于非限定子句的句首,而关系代名词指的是前面提到的名词。

  事物 地方
主格 who which  
受格 who/whom which where
所有格 whose    
非限定关系子句与限定关系子句的差别

在英语口头上,限定关系子句常用 that 来取代 who丶whom 和 which 等代名词。但在非限定关系子句中,就不能用 that 来取代其他关系代名词,也不能像限定关系子句一样省略关系代名词。在非限定关系子句中,关系代名词是不可或缺的,就算关系代名词是子句中的受格,也不能省略。非限定关系子句一般会用逗号来与主要子句隔开,而限定关系子句通常不用逗号分隔。

举例
  • He gave me the letter, which was in a blue envelope.(非限定子句:信只有一封,而且是蓝色的;这时您必须用 which。)
  • He gave me the letter which/that was in a blue envelope.(限定子句:信不只一封,而且颜色有很多种,而他给我的是蓝色的那封信。which 可以被 that 取代,并且不用加逗号。)
  • He gave me the letter, which I read immediately.(非限定子句:信只有一封,而 which 是动词 read 的受词,但不能省略。)
  • Stratford-on-Avon, which many people have written about, is Shakespeare's birthplace.(介词一般会放在关系子句的句尾。)
  • Stratford-on-Avon, about which many people have written, is Shakespeare's birthplace.(书面用语上常会将介词放在代名词前。)
在非限定子句的引导词

在关系代名词前,可以用 all of 或 many of 来引导非限定子句。

 
all of, any of, some of, a few of, both of, each of, either of, half of, many of, most of, much of, none of, one of, two of 等 whom which
举例
  • There were a lot of people at the party, many of whom I had known for years.
  • There are 14 girls in my class, a few of whom are my friends.
  • He was carrying his belongings, many of which were broken.
  • He had thousands of books, most of which he had read.
  • He picked up a handful of stones, one of which was sharp.
用 which 来指整个主要子句的信息

在非限定关系子句上,句首 which 可以指前面句子的所有信息,而不是单指子句前面的那个词。

举例
  • Chris did really well in his exams, which is quite a surprise.
  • My friends were all hiding in my apartment, which isn't what I'd expected.
  • She's studying to become a doctor, which is difficult.
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