中國人輕鬆學英語常用語法(12)
第十二章 冠詞（Articles）
假設我們要翻譯以下的中文句子：
他是聰明的孩子
也許我們會將以上的句子翻譯成以下的句子：
＊ He is clever baby.
這種翻譯是錯的，boy的前面，必須有一個冠詞，英文冠詞只有兩個：a和the，在這個例子，我們應該加a，因此正確的翻譯是：
He is a clever boy.
我們現在再看以下的中文句子：
他是昨天來看我的孩子。
以下的翻譯是錯的：
＊ He is boy who came to see me yesterday.
為什麼錯呢？仍然是在於boy前面沒有冠詞，這次我們必須加the，正確的翻譯是：
He is the boy who came to see me yesterday.
一般來說，英文句子的單數名詞前面都會有冠詞，沒有冠詞是例外，以下的句子都是錯的：
＊ He saw cat.
＊ Swimming is good exercise.
＊ Java is computer language.
＊ King of England died last night.
＊ He is professor who taught me English.
正確的句子是：
He saw a cat.
Swimming is a good exercise.
Java is a computer language.
The King of England died last night.
He is the professor who taught me English.
我們知道大多數的名詞前面要加冠詞，但究竟要加a，還是the呢？我們在下一節討論。
12§1 a和the之不同用法
a和the最大的不同，在於a後面的名詞不是指定的，而the後面的名詞是有所指的。我們不妨看以下的兩個句子，他們都是正確的，但意義卻不同。
John is a boy.
John is the boy.
〝John is a boy.〞的意思是〝約翰是一個男孩〞，而〝John is the boy.〞的意思就完不同了，我們一定曾經提到過某一個男孩子，而約翰就是那個男孩子。可能的情形是：There is a boy who is very good in mathematics. John is the boy.
我們就以〝國王〞為例，如果我們泛指一般的國王，我們可以用複數，也可以用單數，但必須用a，以下是一些例子：
Kings are also human beings.
Even a king will die sooner or later.
Have you ever met a king ?
I do not like to be a king.
He is an ordinary person, not a king.
如果我們的國王是指某一個特定的國王，就必須用the，舉一個例子；如果我們說〝國王萬歲〞，我們當然是指我們的國王，因此〝國王萬歲〞的翻譯就是
Long live the King.
以下的例子都是正確
Here comes the King.
The King is a popular person in our country.
Even the King of England can not come in.
讀者應該了解，同類型的句子，可以用a，也可以用the，但意義是完全不同的，請看以下的句子：
He is not a boy who would cheat others.
意思是：
他不是那種會欺騙別人的男孩子。
再看以下的句子：
He is not the boy who cheated in an examination yesterday.
他不是昨天在考試中舞弊的男孩。
再看以下的句子：
He is a King.
意思是〝他是一個國王〞。
如果說
He is the King.
意思就完全不同了，這句話的意思是〝他是我們國家的國王〞。
請注意，世界上國王有好多個，如果我們僅僅說他是一個國王，當然沒有指定哪一個國家的國王，就用a king，如果我們用the King意思當然指我們共識中的國王。這時的King中的K必須大寫，以示尊敬。
我們再舉一個例子：
Please open a window.
是指請開一扇窗子，隨便哪一扇都可以。
Please open the window.
就不同了，說這句話的人和聽這句話的人一定有一個共識，〝the window〞一定是指某一扇特定的窗子，也許這間房子裡只有一扇窗，也可能他們談話中曾經提到某一扇窗，〝the window〞就是指那一扇窗。
我們可以再舉一個例，假如我們說，〝我們需要一場大雨〞，我們說
We need a heavy rain.
如果我們說，〝這場雨好大〞，我們說
The rain is really heavy.
有了這個基本觀念以後，我們就很容易了解以下句子中，為什麼要用the：
I am going to the train station.
The post office is quite near.
Where is the library?
根據這種原則，當我們提到地球，月亮這種獨一無二的東西，就必須用the。
the earth
the sun
the moon
the universe
除此以外，the還有一個特殊的用途，我們可以在the的後面加一個形容詞，使這兩個字變成了一個名詞，舉例來說：
the rich＝富人
the poor＝窮人
the weak＝弱者
the deaf＝聾人
the blind＝盲人
請注意，以上的名詞是複數：
The rich always get richer.
The poor are getting poorer.
The blind are often very sensitive to sounds.
以下是一些用a和the的例子，讀者應設法了解句子中為何有時用a，有時用the。
He is a student.
He is the student who can swim very well.
I like to be a teacher.
He is the teacher who taught me English.
The president of the United States in an important person in the world.
I have a son and a daughter.
I have two sons. This is the son who will be a doctor.
I want to be a teacher who is loved by students.
He is not the person whom we talked about.
There is a boat in the river.
This is the boat which we can use.
The rain is going to stop tomorrow.
We need a good rain.
The weather is really bad.
Is there a train station near us?
Where is the station?
Do you know where the post office is?
There is a post office inside that building.
The library looks so good.
The rich should pay more taxes.
We should pay more attentions to the poor.
The blind can also study computer science now.
The earth is round.
The sun never sets in the British Empire.
Do you think we can reach the moon?
How large is the universe?
練習【練習五十六】
將下列中文句子譯成英文：
1. 他是一個好學生。
2. 他是那位老師都喜歡的學生。
3. 我要做總統。
4. 這是總統。
5. 請打開一扇窗。
6. 中華民國的總統將於明年訪問美國。
7. 我要做一個好的工程師。
8. 他是那位我們常常談到的老師。
9. Java是一個新的計算器語言。
10. 我有一隻狗。
11. 他是獲大獎的教授。
12. 火車站在哪裡？
13. 請告訴我郵局的地址。
14. 這裡有郵局嗎？
15. 富人常住在城裡。
16. 盲人可以用計算機。
17. 太陽在東邊升起。
18. 宇宙是非常大的。
19. 為什麼我們白天不能看到月亮？
20. 總統幾歲？
【練習五十七】
將適當的冠詞填入下列的空白：
1. He is student who went to see you.
2. There is river in this area.
3. I don't want to be teacher.
4. He wants to become doctor.
5. No one wants to be beggar.
6. Please open door which opens to the hall.
7. UNIX is computer operating system.
8. WINDOW is only operating system invested by Microsoft.
9. I have dog and two cats.
10. She is teacher who got many prizes.
11. earth is not flat.
12. Is there hotel around here?
13. Where is train station.
14. I really like library.
15. Please give me glass of water.
16. wind is getting stronger and stronger.
17. He is friend of mine.
18. It is hard for poor to go to colleges.
19. He is swimmer who swam across the English Channel.
20. weather is getting colder and colder.
21. This is book which I bought yesterday.
22. I don't like to be professor.
23. I am going to take vacation next month.
24. John will become basketball player.
25. I ride bicycle to work every morning.
12§2 a和an的用法
在英文裡，a有時必須用an代替，凡是一個字一開始的發音是元音的話，那麼前面就不能用a，而必須用an。例子：
an apple
an answer
an egg
an eye
an island
an idea
an old lady
an odd case
an umbrella
請注意，用an與否並不是完全和字母有關，而是和發音有關。舉例來說，u雖然是一個元音字母，但是我們卻說a unit，而不能用＊an unit，因為unit的一開始發音並非元音。
其它類似的例子有：
a useful car
a university
a uniform
a one-sided opinion
反過來說，有些字並不以元音開始，但是卻必須用an，因為這些字的第一音節是元音發音，例子：
an honest person
an hour
【練習五十八】
填入a或an
1. He is English Professor.
2. This is easy job.
3. He is just ordinary person.
4. friend in need is friend indeed.
5. Give me hint.
6. I have American friend.
7. I will become engineer.
8. Is he honest boy?
9. hour later, he went away.
10. Is this university library?
12§3 冠詞使用時的例外
在以上的兩節，我們好像說冠詞的使用是有一定規則的，其實不然，例外也不少。在很多情形之下，冠詞是要省略的，更麻煩的是，連省略冠詞的規則都有例外，應該省的卻又不省了。
第一個有關冠詞的特殊用法是這樣的，假設我們要說〝男生通常不喜歡彈鋼琴〞，我們不能說
Boy does not like to play the piano.
而要說
Boys do not like to play the piano.
這時，Boys的前面，是沒有冠詞的，理由很簡單，我們不能加a，因為boys是複數，我們也不能加the，因為boys並沒有指定哪一個男孩，也沒有指定哪一種男孩。類似的例子有：
Girls are more diligent than boys.
When spring comes, flowers start to bloom.
Dogs are often close to their masters.
Cats are often quite lazy.
Men eat more than women.
Professors are all very smart.
第二個規則有關所謂不可數名詞，很多名詞是可以數的如：
a cup, two cups
a boy, three boys
a teacher
a student
a boat
an airplane
a glass of water
a cup of tea
可是很多名詞是不可數的，以下這些名詞都是抽象的，因此不可數
time
love
hatred
pain
joy
sadness
kindness
wisdom
hope
patience
這些抽象名詞的前面是不要加冠詞的，例子如下：
Time flies.（時間過得很快）
We can not live without love.
Let there be no hatred.
We must be able to endure pain.
Loving others creates joy.
There is sadness in his voice.
Can you feel his kindness?
He has wisdom.
There is hope among us.
I am losing patience.
以上的例子，乃是泛指的事物，如果特定的抽象名詞，仍要加冠詞。例如：
This is the time to cry.
Do you feel the pain?
There is a hatred towards was in our society.
Everyone can feel the joy of being loved.
We just can not avoid the sadness of losing some loved ones.
He does have the patience to listen to long talks.
It is a virtue not to steal.