as if / as though 分句中的动词形式 语法讲解

as if / as though 分句中的动词形式

    However, some women don’t like such words because they feel as if these words make them less important than men. (Passage A, Unit 2)

    在这句中，从属连词as if引导一个主语补语分句。此分句中的动词形式是make，也就是说用的是直陈语气(indicative mood)，而不是虚拟语气(subjunctive mood)，这是因为有些妇女认为使用actress, poetess等词确实会使她们显得不如男人重要。

    从属连词as if和as though意义和用法都相同，可用来引导主语补语分句(subject complement clause)或状语分句(adverbial clause)。由于as if / as though的词义是“好像，似乎，仿佛”，有人认为在它引导的分句中只能用虚拟语气。但事实上，用直陈语气的情况也很常见。究竟用哪种形式应视具体情况而定。请看例句：
    (1) He walks as if he is drunk.
      (2) He walks as if he were drunk.

    上例第(1)句的含义是“从他走路的样子可以判断他喝醉了”。而第(2)句含义是“他走起路来似乎是醉醺醺的，但其实他没喝醉”。从这两个例句可以看出，在as if / as though分句中，当说话者认为分句中的内容是事实，或可能是事实，或很可能发生，就用直陈语气；而当说话者认为分句中的内容不是事实，或不可能发生，则用虚拟语气。又如：

   直陈语气：
    He looks as if he is sick （他很可能真的病了。）
    You look as if you’ve been running. （你可能真的在跑步。）
    It looks as if it is going to rain. （或许真的要下雨了。）
    It looks as if we shall have to do the work ourselves. （或许我们真的要自己来做了。）

   虚拟语气：
    It was (as hot) as if we were on the sun. （我们不可能在太阳上。）
    It seemed as if the night would never end. （黑夜总会结束的。）
    He often talks to me as if he were my father. （事实上他不是我的父亲。）
    She often tells us something about Shakespeare as though she had met him. （事实上她从未遇见过莎士比亚。）

   当分句动词用于直陈语气时，其形式应与主句动词相呼应，即如主句动词是现在时，分句动词也必须用属于现在范畴的时态；如主句动词是过去时，则分句动词也要用属于过去范畴的时态。例如：
   He looks as if he is sick.
    He looked as if he was sick.
    It seems as if he has learned some English.
    It seemed as if he had learned some English.
    The boy is very quiet as if he is sleeping.
    The boy was very quiet as if he was sleeping.
    It looks as if it will rain soon.
    It looked as if it would rain soon.

    当分句动词用于虚拟语气时，其形式常用过去时或过去完成时。当分句所表示的时间和主句所表示的时间相同，通常用过去时；而当分句所表示的时间先于主句所表示的时间，则用过去完成时。例如：
   The boy talks as if he were / was a man of forty. （注：如动词为be，其一般过去时形式可用were / was，通常were用于较正式的语体，而was用于非正式语体。）(talk和be所表示的时间相同。)
    He works as though he never felt tired. (work和feel所表示的时间相同。)
    She looked as if she were/was listening to some beautiful music. (look和listen所表示的时间相同。）
   He often tells stories about the war as though he had taken part in it. (take part in先于tell。)
    I felt very tired as if I hadn’t slept a minute the night before. (sleep先于feel。)
    They talked as if they had been friends for years. (be先于talk。)

    当分句所表示的时间迟于主句所表示的时间，分句动词通常用would + 动词原形。例如：
   The rain has been falling for so many days as if it would never stop. (stop迟于fall。)
    He didn’t work very hard as if he would give up. (give up迟于work。)