2012年9月13日星期四

古德明: 根據傳說




問:Legend tells that villagers fleeing to Tatev were blocked by the raving river(根據傳說,逃往塔特夫的村民,被洶湧的河水擋住去路)這一句,legend tells that三字文法正不正確?

答:Tell解作「告訴」,其後常用「間接受詞(indirect object)+that子句(clause)」,很少只用that子句而不用間接受詞。所以,朗文詞典Longman Dictionary of Common Errors認為,以下一句,沒有them字,就是錯誤的:He toldthemthat he hadn't eaten anything for over a week(他告訴他們說,有個多星期沒吃過東西了)。讀者示下那一句,tell之後沒有間接受詞,難怪他覺得奇怪。

tell之後,只用that子句,作直接受詞(direct object),文法上並沒有錯。一九零三年出版的神怪百科全書Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World第十六章就有以下句子:German folklore tells that the man in the moon was a mortal(根據德國民間傳說,月亮中那個人是個凡人)。

當然,tell之後直接子句的寫法,並不常見,一般宜避免使用。Legend tells that villagers fleeing to Tatev這一句,改用另一說法也可以:Legend has it that villagers fleeing...Have it有「說」的意思,例如:(1Rumour has it that he is in hospital(有傳言說,他進了醫院)。(2I have it from reliable sources that he is ill(據可靠消息說,他病了)。