还在为 who, whom, whose, which, that 这些关系代词头疼吗?别担心!它们就像是连接句子的小桥梁,一旦掌握了用法,你的英语表达会立刻提升一个档次。我教学这么多年,见过太多学生在这上面栽跟头,但其实它们有规律可循。今天,我就要把我压箱底的经验都掏出来,让你彻底搞懂它们,还能写出地道的英文句子!
谁是“谁”?认识关系代词大家族
关系代词(Relative Pronouns)就像句子的“连接器”,它们连接一个主句和一个从句,并且在从句中充当主语、宾语或定语。这就像我们说话时,会用“那个…的”来指代前面提到的人或物。它们主要有 who, whom, whose, which, that。别看名字多,我们一个个来拆解。
Who:指人,做主语
Who 是最常见的一个,专指人,而且在从句里通常扮演“主角”——主语的角色。你可以把它想象成“那个…的人”。
官方标准参考: 在剑桥少儿英语(Cambridge English: Starters)到雅思(IELTS)等考试中,正确使用 who 是区分句子结构和理解复杂句意的基础。
我的教学经验: 很多初学者会把 who 和 what 混淆。记住,who 永远指人,what 指事物或概念。
例子:
- The woman who is standing over there is my teacher. (那个站在那边的女人是我的老师。)—— “who is standing over there” 描述了“女人”,who 在从句里是“standing”的动作发出者。
- I met a student who speaks five languages. (我遇到一位会说五种语言的学生。)—— who 指代“student”,并且是“speaks”的主语。
常见误区: 有时会听到有人说 "The man who I saw yesterday..."。这里 who 就不对了,因为在从句里,I saw the man,who 变成了宾语。别急,后面我们会讲到 whom。
Whom:指人,做宾语
Whom 也是指人,但它在从句里通常做宾语。你可以把它理解成“被…的那个人”。判断 whom 的关键是看它在从句里是否承受动作。
官方标准参考: 在托业(TOEIC)和剑桥商务英语(Cambridge Business English)等考试中,准确区分 who 和 whom 体现了对正式语法的掌握程度。
我的教学经验: 坦白说,在日常口语中,whom 越来越少用,很多人会直接用 who 代替,或者用 that。但在正式写作、考试或者非常正式的场合,whom 还是很有用的。
怎么判断? 试着把关系代词变成代词(he/she/it/they 或 him/her/it/them)。如果用 him/her/it/them 顺畅,那就是 whom。
例子:
- The man whom I met yesterday is my neighbor. (我昨天遇到的那个男人是我邻居。)—— 在从句 "I met whom yesterday" 中,whom 是 "met" 的宾语。如果你把它换成代词,会说 "I met him yesterday",所以用 whom。
- This is the artist about whom we learned in class. (这位就是我们在课堂上学到的那位艺术家。)—— 在从句 "we learned about whom in class" 中,whom 是介词 "about" 的宾语。
小技巧: 如果你觉得 whom 很难用,一个保险的做法是:如果指人且是宾语,用 that 也可以(但后面会讲 that 的限制)。
Whose:指人或物,表示所属关系
Whose 是所有格关系代词,表示“谁的”。它既可以指人,也可以指物,后面一定要跟名词,表示这个名词属于前面提到的人或物。
官方标准参考: 在雅思(IELTS)和托福(TOEFL)写作中,使用 whose 可以让句子更紧凑,避免重复使用 'of which' 或 'of whom'。
我的教学经验: 很多学生一看到 whose 就觉得是“男人的/女人的”,其实不是。它就是个所有格,谁的都行。
例子:
- I have a friend whose car was stolen. (我有个朋友,他的车被偷了。)—— “whose car” 指的是“朋友的车”。
- We visited a village whose history dates back to the Roman times. (我们参观了一个村庄,它的历史可以追溯到罗马时代。)—— “whose history” 指的是“村庄的历史”。
常见误区: 有人会误用 who's(who is 或 who has)来代替 whose。请记住,whose 是所有格,没有缩写形式。
Which:指物,做主语或宾语
Which 主要用来指事物,在从句中可以做主语或宾语。它比 who 范围小,不指人。
官方标准参考: CEFR B2 级别的学习者应该能熟练使用 which 来连接信息,形成更复杂的句子结构。
我的教学经验: Which 的用法相对固定,但要注意它和 that 的区别,尤其是在限制性定语从句和非限制性定语从句中。
例子:
- The book which is on the table is mine. (那本在桌子上的书是我的。)—— which 在从句中是 "is" 的主语,指代 "book"。
- This is the movie which I watched last night. (这就是我昨晚看的电影。)—— which 在从句中是 "watched" 的宾语。
重要提示: 当定语从句是非限制性定语从句时(用来提供额外信息,前后有逗号隔开),只能用 which,不能用 that。
例子: My new phone, which cost a lot of money, is already broken. (我的新手机,花了好多钱,已经坏了。)—— 逗号和后面的信息表明这是非限制性从句,只能用 which。
That:指人或物,做主语或宾语
That 是个“万能选手”,可以指人,也可以指物,在从句中可以做主语或宾语。但是,它有一些限制,尤其是在非限制性定语从句中不能用。
官方标准参考: That 是连接性非常强的关系代词,在日常交流和非正式写作中非常普遍,是提高表达效率的常用词。
我的教学经验: 很多时候,that 可以替代 who, whom, which。学会用 that 能让你在很多情况下“偷懒”又正确。
例子:
- The man that lives next door is very friendly. (住在隔壁的那个男人很友好。)—— that 指代 "man",是 "lives" 的主语。这里也可以用 who。
- I lost the keys that I bought yesterday. (我弄丢了昨天买的钥匙。)—— that 指代 "keys",是 "bought" 的宾语。这里也可以用 which。
什么时候必须用 that?
- 当先行词是不定代词(如 someone, anything, everybody)时:Someone that calls you.
- 当先行词是最高级或序数词时:This is the best movie that I've ever seen.
什么时候不能用 that?
- 在非限制性定语从句中(有逗号隔开):The Eiffel Tower, that is in Paris, is very famous. (错误) -> The Eiffel Tower, which is in Paris, is very famous. (正确)
- 当关系代词前面有介词时:The person about that we are talking. (错误) -> The person about whom we are talking. (正确) 或者 The person whom we are talking about. (正确)
实战案例分析:看懂真实语境
理论讲了这么多,我们来看几个真实的例子,看看它们是怎么用的。
案例一:Sarah 的求职信
Sarah 是一位英语初学者,她在写求职信时遇到了困难。她想表达“我认识一位在 XYZ 公司工作的经理”。
- Sarah 的初稿(有误): I know a manager who works in XYZ company.
- 我的建议: Sarah,这里用 who 是对的,因为 manager 是动作 "works" 的发出者。但是,如果你想让句子更专业,可以考虑用 that,尤其是在非正式的场合。
- 修改后的版本: I know a manager who/that works in XYZ company. (两者都可,who 更常见,that 更简洁)
- 更进一步: 如果你想强调“是那位经理帮助了我”,你可以说:I know a manager whom I met at the conference, and who helped me a lot. (第一个 whom 指代 manager,是 met 的宾语;第二个 who 指代 manager,是 helped 的主语。)
结果: Sarah 理解了 who 作为主语的用法,并开始尝试在不同语境下使用 that。她的求职信因此变得更流畅。
案例二:Mark 的旅行日记
Mark 喜欢写旅行日记,他想描述一个古老的城堡。
- Mark 的日记片段: We visited a castle. The castle was built in the 12th century.
- 我的建议: Mark,你可以用关系代词把这两个句子连起来,让它更紧凑。
- 使用 Which: We visited a castle which was built in the 12th century. (which 指代 castle,是 was built 的主语)
- 使用 That: We visited a castle that was built in the 12th century. (that 指代 castle,是 was built 的主语)
- 更复杂的描述: The castle, whose walls are still standing, is a popular tourist attraction. (whose walls 指代 castle 的墙壁,所有格)
结果: Mark 学会了用 which 和 that 来连接描述事物的句子,他的日记变得更生动有趣。他还学会了用 whose 来描述城堡的“一部分”。
避开“坑”:常见错误与纠正
在使用关系代词时,有些错误非常普遍。我们一起来看看,然后确保你不会犯!
1. 混淆 Who 和 Whom
错误: The person who I talked to was very helpful. (这里 "I talked to the person" - person 是介词 to 的宾语)
纠正: The person whom I talked to was very helpful. (正式) / The person that I talked to was very helpful. (常用) / The person I talked to was very helpful. (口语,省略关系代词)
解释: 在从句 "I talked to _____" 中,关系代词充当介词 "to" 的宾语,所以应该用 whom。但口语中,that 更常见,甚至可以省略。
2. 滥用 That
错误: My car, that is red, is parked outside. (非限制性定语从句)
纠正: My car, which is red, is parked outside.
解释: 当从句提供的是额外信息,前后有逗号隔开(非限制性定语从句),that 是不能使用的,必须用 which。
3. 遗漏或误用介词
错误: This is the book that I told you. (缺少介词 "about")
纠正: This is the book that I told you about. / This is the book about which I told you. / This is the book which I told you about.
解释: 在从句 "I told you _____" 中,关系代词应该填补 "about" 的位置。如果用 that,介词通常放在句末。如果介词提前,则需要用 which 或 whom。
4. Who's vs Whose
错误: The girl who's bag is missing is crying. (who's 是 who is/has 的缩写)
纠正: The girl whose bag is missing is crying. (whose 是所有格)
解释: Who's 是 "who is" 或 "who has" 的缩写,而 whose 表示“谁的”。
练习一下:巩固你的知识
理论学得再多,不如动手练一练!下面是一些练习,试试看你能做对多少。
练习 1:选择正确的词
请在括号中选择正确的关系代词:
- The doctor ______ I saw yesterday was very kind. (who / whom / whose / which)
- This is the best pizza ______ I've ever eaten. (who / whom / whose / that)
- She is the student ______ won the first prize. (who / whom / whose / which)
- I lost my keys, ______ means I can't get into my apartment. (who / whom / whose / which)
- He is a writer ______ books are very popular. (who / whom / whose / which)
练习 2:填空
用 who, whom, whose, which, that 填空,注意有些地方可以省略关系代词。
- ______ is that man standing over there?
- The music ______ was playing was very loud.
- ______ do you think will win the game?
- This is the house ______ my grandparents built.
- I need to find a pen ______ works.
练习 3:改写句子
用关系代词将以下句子合并,使之更简洁:
- I saw a movie. The movie was directed by my favorite director.
- He is talking to a woman. The woman is his sister.
- This is the tool. I need the tool to fix the car.
答案:
练习 1: 1. whom/that/ (omitted) 2. that 3. who 4. which 5. whose
练习 2: 1. Who 2. that/which 3. Who 4. that/which 5. that/which/(omitted)
练习 3:
- I saw a movie which/that was directed by my favorite director.
- He is talking to a woman who/that is his sister.
- This is the tool which/that I need to fix the car.
怎么样?是不是感觉清晰多了?这些关系代词就像是英文写作中的“万能胶”,让你的句子结构更完整、逻辑更清晰。记住,多读、多写、多模仿,你一定能掌握它们!下次你写英文邮件、日记,或者参加考试时,就能自信地用对它们了!