从一道高考题看set的用法

从一道高考题看set的用法

先看下面一道高考题:

When Jack arrived he learned Mary ________ for almost an hour.

A. had gone

B. had set off

C. had left

D. had been away

熟练掌握动词与短语动词的意思及其用法是高考英语词汇考查的一个趋势。此题中的for al most an hour 这一信息词组暗示要用持续性谓语动词。英语中瞬间动词可用完成时,但不可和表示一段的时间状语连用。set off, go, leave为瞬间动词,故正确答案该选D。

set在英语中是一个很活跃的词,可以与一些介词和副词构成不同的词组。我们应该掌握set 的以下几种用法:

一、set作及物动词,属不规则动词,其过去式及过去分词均为set,意为\"放置;竖立\"等

I told her to set the dishes on the table. 我叫她把碟子放到桌上。

It was the old man who set the ladder against the wall. 是那位老人把梯子靠在墙上。

动词set, lay, place, put 都可用来表示\"放\"。set一般指把某物垂直着放;lay一般指把某物横着或摊开着放;place指有意识地把某物放在较为确定的位置上,语气庄重;put是最普通的词,指较随意地放,可代替其它几个词。试比较:

He laid his book open on the desk and went out for play. 他把书摊在课桌上,出去玩耍。The waiter placed the meal in front of me. 服务员把饭菜摆在我面前。

I put the scissors in the drawer. 我把剪刀放到抽屉里了。

二、set意为\"安置;安排\"(通常与副词连用)

The taxi driver set the wheel on the axle. 出租车司机把轮子装在轴上。

It was your turn to set rooms for the guests.该轮到你为客人安排房间。

三、set意为\"镶嵌;点缀\"

The sky was set with tens of thousands of stars. 无数星星点缀着天空。

The tops of the walls were set with broken glass. 墙顶嵌有碎玻璃。

四、set意为\"使处于某种状态(位置)\"

Don\'t worry. I\'ve set everything in order.不必担心,我已使一切就绪。

Do you know what has set the dog barking? 你知道什么使那只狗叫起来了?

A good night\'s rest will set you right.好好休息一夜将使你精神恢复。

五、作不及物动词,意为\"(日、月等)落;凝固;凝结\"

It will be cooler when the sun has set.太阳落后,天就会凉爽些。

As is known to us all, this kind of concrete sets quickly. 大家都知道,这种混凝土凝结得很快。

六、和set构成的常用短语

1. set off \"动身;使爆炸;使开始\"。

They will set off for Paris next week.下星期他们将动身去巴黎。

The country set off a hydrogen bomb successfully in 1957. 1957 年这个国家成功地爆炸了一颗氢弹。

If you can set him off talking on his pet dog, he\'ll go on all night. 如果你能让他开始谈论他的宠物狗,他就会整个晚上谈下去。

2. set about\"开始;着手\"

Once I realized what was wrong, I set about correcting it. 我一认识到错误马上就纠正。

3. set out \"出发;开始;陈述\"

They will set out at dawn.他们将在拂晓出发。

Having made the plan, she set out to make the experiment. 计划制定好以后,她就着手进行试验。

The professor sets out his ideas clearly in his article. 在这篇文章中教授清楚地表明了自己的想法。

4.set up\"创造;建立;创办\"

The young man has just set up a new national record in high jump. 那个小伙子刚创造跳高全国记录。

It is difficult for us to set up a school within a month. 我们在一个月内很难建立一所学校。

set构成的其它短语还有set an example to... 为......树立榜样;

set a trap for ...为......设陷阱;

set sail启航,等等。

此外,set 还可以作名词。a complete set of equipment成套设备。