你问我答

英语语法：前置现象

内容简介

一位听众来信询问能不能把句中的形容词前置于句首作状语？在英语中，这种把形容词、副词、副词短语或其它一般不出现在句首的成分放在句首的做法被称作 “fronting（前置）”。将这类成分前置的作用是什么？在把副词和副词短语前置时要注意哪些要点？本期节目介绍有关 “前置” 的知识点。

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（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Jiaying
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。I'm Jiaying. 

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

Question
“Desperate, people pushed their way out.” 这里的 “desperate” 是什么语法？好像是一个修饰状态的状语。形容词可以作状语单独放在句首吗？ 

Phil
“Desperate, people pushed their way out.”

Jiaying
“人们不顾一切，拼命往外挤。”

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
没错，位于这句话句首的是形容词 “desperate”，它在这里的意思是 “不顾一切的，拼命的”，用来修饰句子中的名词 “people（人们，人群）” 的状态。

当我们在讲述一件事情发生的经过或者在讲故事的时候，常常能用到像这样将形容词放在句首的结构。我们有时将这种把形容词、副词、副词短语或其它一般不出现在句首的成分放在句首的做法称作 “fronting（前置）”，以此来突出说话人想要强调的重点成分，从而帮助听者更好地想象事情发生时的景象。

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.
（那个垂头丧气的球员坐在草地上，看着对方队伍举起奖杯。）

Tired and hungry, the man pushed open the door and sat down.
The tired and hungry man pushed open the door and sat down.
（这个又累又饿的男人推开门坐了下来。）

Jiaying
在第一组例句的第一句话中，为了强调主语 “she” 的状态是 “非常沮丧的，垂头丧气的”，形容词 “devasted” 被放在了句首。

在第二组例句的第一句话中，为了强调 “the man” 的状态是 “又累又饿的”，形容词 “tired” 和 “hungry” 被放在了句首。 

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
将副词 “desperately” 前置在句首，要比说 “People desperately pushed their way out.” 更能突出强调人们 “往外挤” 的动作是 “不顾一切地”。我们再来听两个将副词前置的例句。

Examples
Calmly, the students walked out of the hall and into class.
The students walked calmly out of the hall and into class.
（学生们平静地走出大厅，走进教室。）

Angrily, he slammed down his bag and walked off.
He angrily slammed down his bag and walked off.
（他气愤地扔下书包走了。）

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
别忘了，将副词短语前置在句首时，副词短语后同样也要加逗号。听两组例句，仔细体会每组例句的第一句话中，副词短语前置在句首时，说话人想要突出强调的含义。

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.
（她慌忙检查钱是否还在。）

With a heavy heart, she handed in her resignation.
She handed in her resignation with a heavy heart.
（她怀着沉重的心情递交了辞呈。）

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，要记住，我们常常在讲述一件事情发生的经过或者在讲故事的时候，将上面提到的不同词语或短语前置于句首，从而强调事情或动作发生时人或事物的状态。 

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.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Jiaying
你也可以通过微博私信的方式把问题发送给我们，我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye, everyone! 

Phil
Bye.