英语名词状语及其相关特征探析

英语名词状语及其相关特征探析
发表时间：2010-09-29T18:43:08.717Z 来源：《中学课程辅导教学研究》2010年第18期作者：杨中华[导读] 名词是英语中极为重要、极为活跃的一个词类，可以用作各种句子成分，在英语语言结构和使用中起着举足轻重的作用。

摘要：名词是英语中极为重要、极为活跃的一个词类，可以用作各种句子成分，在英语语言结构和使用中起着举足轻重的作用。

名词或名词词组用作状语是一种较典型的语法现象。

本文从名词状语的形式、修饰对象、语用及语法意义几方面分析了作状语用的名词及名词词组的构成及其相关特征，以期对英语学习者掌握名词的语用有所帮助。

关键词：英语；名词；状语
作者简介：杨中华，任教于河南省周口职业技术学院外语系。

名词作为英语十大词类中的实词之一，是英语中极为重要、极为活跃的一个类词，可以用作各种句子成分，在英语语言结构和使用中起着举足轻重的作用。

长期以来，由于受到汉语环境中的英语教学的影响，许多英语学习者在名词的使用上往往从汉语式思维的角度去分析和使用名词，常常会因频繁出现的与名词有关的表达方式而困惑，对名词作状语这一用法感觉难以把握。

本文分析了名词状语的构成及其相关特征，以期对英语学习者掌握名词的语用功能有所帮助。

状语在英语语言中有着相当重要的地位，一般由形容词、副词或副词短语、名词或名词短语、介词短语、分词或分词短语，不定式以及从句等，用来修饰动词、形容词、其他副词、句子、名词短语或介词短语等，说明时间、地点、程度、方式等概念。

名词或名词词组修饰动词、副词、形容词等，在句中用作状语的现象称为名词状语(noun adverbial)。

名词或名词词组用作状语是一种较典型的语法现象。

在阅读中，我们经常可以看到英语名词(短语)直接用作状语的现象。

作状语的名词(短语)可以用来代替介词短语甚至状语从句，从而使语言更简洁明了。

这种现象在现代英语中已越来越普遍。

名词状语的使用体现了现代英语越来越能用尽可能简洁的语言结构来最大限度地表达丰富的思想内容和语用趋势。

一、名词状语的表现形式
1.单个名词作状语
Some scientists think that the most important thing about humans is that they learn to act human. 一些科学家认为人类的一个重要的特点是他们总要学着跟别人一样。

His wife is so bone idle that she does noithing but play cards. 他妻子懒得很,除了打扑克什么都不干。

2.副词+限定词+名词
The next Christmas they were married, and for three months she was perfectly happy: for six months she was very happy.（D. H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers）接下来的那个圣诞节他们结婚了，之后的三个月，她感到无比的幸福，在婚后半年里，她还是觉得相当快乐。

She wishes to be treated as nothing more than a common girl. 她希望被对待得只不过像一般的女孩子。

3.名词或名词词组前的during或for省略之后,名词可直接作状语Mark Davies 的美国语料库里，有98个 walk two/three etc blocks 的结构，只有1个 walk for two/three etc blocks，所以，walk two/three etc blocks就是个主流结构。

He has walked three blocks.他已走过了三个街区。

Could you wait (for) a few days for the money？这钱你再等几天好吗？
4.名词+after/by/or/for/to/over etc.+名词构成的固定名词词组其中常见的有word for word,shoulder to shoulder,face to face, hand in hand,side by side,heart and soul,arm in arm,hand and foot等。

Year after year she has had some birthday presents from him. Jim painted his trunk top and bottom.
Reform, however imperative，must be carried out step by step.
5.名词+比较级
She felt a great deal more comfortable now.
The building is 10 metres higher than that one.
6.each/every/the first /time，the instant/instance/moment/minute+从句所引导的时间状语从句；the way+从句所引导的方式状语从句The girl ran across the grass the instant she saw her mother. Please prounounce the word the way she does.
二、名词状语的修饰对象
1.修饰整个句子
She visits her mother Tuesdays.
Some important figures will come to our school tomorrow.
2.修饰谓语动词
He entered the room, his nose red with cold (his nose red with cold作状语)
I shall stay another five months.(another five months作状语)
3.修饰形容词
某些表示数量意义的名词可作状语修饰其后的long, high, tall, wide, thick, deep, broad等形容词。

He lives a few minutes' walk away. (a few minutes' walk 修饰away) The boy jumped twelve feet high. (twelve feet 修饰high)
修饰这些形容词的也可以是其他名词。

例如：He is a head taller than I. 他比我高一头。

4.修饰介词短语
名词短语间或可修饰介词短语作状语。

He’s head and ears in debt.
She stands head and shoulders above all her classmates in study. (head and shoulders 修饰above all her classmates in study) 三、名词状语的语用分析
名词状语是一种生动化的绘景式描摹，通过语音手段和句法手段凸显话语焦点，语体风格口语化。

名词或名词短语作条件、让步、原因及比较状语时，在语义上相当状语从句或状语短语。

试比较下列句子：Short rede,good rede.(=Short rede as it is , it is a good rede.) It was pitch black but some sixth sense told me that there was somebody in the room.(It was as black as pitch , but some sixth sense told me that there was somebody in the room.) She is three years older than her sister.(=She is older than her sister by three years.) 从以上例句我们可以看出，使用名词状语比使用从句或短语作状语要简炼明了得多。

四、名词状语的语法功能
英语名词及名词词组可以不经任何形式的语法变化，直接修饰句中的动词、副词、形容词等，说明地点、时间、原因、目的、结果、条件、方向、程度、方式和伴随状况等。

名词状语具有简单、灵活、使文句凝炼等特点。

下面从9个方面探析不同意义的名词及名词词组作状语的语法意义。

1.时间状语
在言语交际过程中，时间状语的表达手段是多种多样的，而一些表示时间的名词和名词词组作时间状语时则使句子的表达更加精确简练。

常用的时间名词有today，tomorrow，yesterday，Monday，Tuesday，Wednesday，Thursday，Friday，Saturday，Sunday等。

如果在morning，day，week, hour，month, year等表示时间的名词前有修饰语this, that,next ,last,every, many,some或数词（包括a）等，构成的名词词组可以作状语修饰整个句子或谓语部分。

They can complete the work this week. We have oral practice every other day. In America, many students work part time in order to get the money for education.
2.方式状语
名词或名词词组作方式状语有两种情况：(1)单个名词位于过去分词前，表示方式或行为的主体。

这样的短语用作表语时，该名词对过去分词起状语作用；用作定语时(不论它们之间是否有连字符号)，可看作一个复合形容词，其中的名词仍起状语作用。

例如：The seeding are machine planted.
(2)一些固定的名词词组可用来表示方式状语。

其中常见的有this way, that way, some other way, word for word, shoulder to shoulder, face to face, hand in hand, side by side, heart and soul, arm in arm, hand and foot等。

例如：Frankly, I could care less what they think of me around here, and one way or the other, I'll come by later. They fought for their motherland shoulder to shoulder.
3.程度状语
名词或名词短语作程度状语，主要表示重量、价值、高度、深度、距离、年龄，长度、宽度、温度、倍数等，常用来描述人、物体或时间的某种特征所到达的具体程度。

The baby weighs nine pounds.(表重量) The temperature fell seven degrees in a single night.(表温度) So what would a space traveler see after trekking 1500 light-years to the Orion nebula？(表长度) Li Xiao-hong is three years older than her brother. （表年龄）4.地点状语
表示地点的名词常用来修饰过去分词或形容词，起状语作用。

例如：Shanghai made watches are of fine qualities. Chen Jing-run was noted as one of the world famous scientists in maths.
5.让步状语
For years, wet or fine, he got up at six and had a run in the park. Winter and summer, the sun itself is the same.
6.条件状语
(1)名词可作为一个“无动词的分句”放在句首表示条件，在这种情况下，后分句往往是用连词“an”引导的结果分句。

One or two days out of medicine, and the soldier will be dead for sure.(Jane Morse Thompson, The Actress and the Athlete)如果一两天没有药品，这位士兵必死无疑。

(2)英语名词可以用在谚语式的对仗结构里，前面一部分表示条件，语言简练，形式活泼。

如：No pains, no gains. 不劳无获。

Other times, other manners. 不同时代，不同礼俗。

英语名词及其短语作状语使英语语法结构化繁为简，直截了当，简洁明了，描摹形象生动，这种语用现象在现代英语中已越来越普遍，但是这种情况许多语法书上并没有过多的详解。

关于英语中的名词作状语，不仅限于上述几个方面，还有一些规律及用法有待我们在英语语言学习和使用中作进一步的探讨。

参考文献：
[1]孙志成.新英语教程语法[M].北京：清华大学出版社，2001.
[2]李宁莹.谈英语名词常被忽视的功能[J].新课程研究•职业教育，2008(3).作者单位：河南省周口职业技术学院外语系邮政编码：466001
On English Noun Adverbial and and Its Related Characteristics YANG Zhonghua
Abstract: Nouns in English is an extremely important and active parts of speech, can be used as a variety of sentence constituents, and play an important role in English structure and use. Nouns or noun phrases used as adverbial is a more typical phenomenon in English grammar. This paper analysed the nouns or noun phrases used as adverbial and their related characteristics from the forms, modified objects, pragmatics and the grammatical meaning in the hope of helping English learners to use nouns correctly. Key words: English; nouns; adverbial。