汉英翻译4--说明部分英译

汉语说明英译法

英语的谓语动词有时态、语气、语态的变化形式，汉语里的动词没有这些，所以，这是中国学生学习英语的一个难点。

一.时态（tense）

1、中国学生认为该用现在完成时

1）英美人用现在一般时

如要表达“已经当爸爸了？”“结婚了吗？”所以，时态有其规定性，也有其任意性，约定俗成性。

汉语：从你妈那听说的你从北京回来了。

误：I’ve just learned from your mother that you have been back from Beijing.

正：I’ve just learned from your mother that you are back from Beijing.

汉语：那个客人问道，“你结过婚没有？”

不是：The visitor asked, “Have you married?”

而是：The visitor asked , “Are you married?”

说明：英语习惯上不用完成时，而用一般时，问现在的状况。

2）英美人用过去一般时

原文：其实就是要抗美援朝战争别打了，重工业建设别干了。

译文：…in effect, they wante d us to give up the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, and now they want us to give up the building of heavy industry.

说明：两处时态不同，因抗美援朝战争当时已胜利结束，只能用过去时。

原文：而“大人物”往往不注意，并往往加以阻拦

译文：… while the “bigwigs” have ignored and obstructed it as is their wont;…

说明：“不注意”、“加以阻拦”前面加了“往往”，就不仅指这一次，而是一贯如此，这样时态就难处理了。不加as is their wont，矛盾解决不了。

原文：这个口号并不是突然提出来的，它已经经过了好几年的酝酿。

译文：It was not put forward all of a sudden, but had been in the making for several years.

说明：这里had been 比was要清楚多，先后分明。

原文：傅先生公开承认自己反动透顶，但是傅先生在和平解放北京时为人民立了功。

译文：Mr. Fu openly admits that he was utterly reactionary, yet he did a service to the people in the peaceful liberation of Peking.

说明：这里时态很重要，如was改为is, 变成他承认至今还是反动透顶，或者我们也认为他依然反动透顶了。

2、现在进行时

中国学生不会用的现在进行时

她胖了。She’s growing fat.

孩子们累了。The children are growing tired.

天黑了，我想我们应该回家了。It’s growing dark --- I think we ought to go home.

我老了，但是只要我身体健康就快活。I’m getting old, but so long as I keep my health I’ll be happy.（汉语不说“我正在变老”的话）

杯里的牛奶流出来了。The milk is running over the edge of the cup.（汉语不说“正在流出来”）

计划开始在我心中形成。/ 计划里已经在我心里形成了。The plan is beginning to take shape in my mind.

二. 语气（mood）

语气是动词的一种形式共有三种语气：

1、陈述语气

陈述语气是用来陈述事实的，如：

who answered this letter?

2、虚拟语气

虚拟语气是用来表示愿望、可能性、怀疑。

as if

原文… but I feel as if it was merely dragging .

修改… but I feel a s if it were merely dragging.

说明“were”. Use the subjunctive because the statement is unreal. In fact, the train is objectively moving very fast. The slowness is in your mind --- and quite likely in the minds of many of your fellow passengers! Nevertheless, it is a subjective judgment and not an objective truth, so use the subjunctive.

原文… as if she was playing a game of hide-and-seek with me.

修改… as if she were playing a game of hide-and-seek with me.

说明Were! This small remainder of the old Anglo-Saxon subjunctive is still required in careful writing after phrases expressing doubt or unreality such as “ as if”.

if

原文If I meet a stranger in my hometown, surely I’d be glad to give him a helping hand.

修改If I met a stranger in my hometown , surely I’d b e glad to give him a helping hand.

说明In this unreal condition clause, meet has to be in the past tense –met

原文If only good friends forgave each other whenever unhappy things happen!

修改If only good friends would forgive each other whenever unhappy things happen!

说明此句表达一种愿望，而不是事实。故应用would forgive。

must/ would

原文I imagined she must be overjoyed at this beautiful card.

修改I imagined she would (surely) be overjoyed at this beautiful card.

说明诚然，must一词常用于“猜测”，它一般仅用于对某些“迹象”所作的猜测；上句的语气含“虚拟”因素较重，故用would 为妥。

原文Provably they also try to stay away from us girls….

修改Probably they would (or might) also try to stay away from us girls ….

说明它实际是一种假设，一种虚拟，是an unreal condition, 因此，应加入would 或might，以体现这种虚拟。

wish

原文I wish everyone is living happily and everyone has his own carefree life.

修改I wish everyone lived happily and had his own carefree life.

说明You are expressing a wish, an unreality, so you must use the past tense after “I wish”. 这就是我们所说的虚拟语气。

advisable

原文… it is advisable that we should attract more and more foreign funds.

修改… it is advisable that we attract more and more foreign funds.

说明After “it is advisable that” we use the simple form of the verb after the subject, and so not