作者tijj (my two cents)
看板Eng-Class
標題Re: [文法] ____ it rains, go into the building.
時間Wed Feb 8 13:19:07 2012
※ 引述《paulchi (paul)》之銘言：
: Despite the heated exchange I enjoyed both sides of the argument. But I am
: not a scholar, and I resent over-analyzing simple, everyday English.
: Central to this argument is the strength, or the degree of certainty contained
: in the adverb 'soon', which in my opinion can be easily clarified with just a
: little elaboration of the original dialogue...
: -----
: Tina: It is raining soon.
: Mary: How do you know? Maybe it is just cloudy.
: Tina: Just cloudy? Didn't you hear the distant thunder roaring?
: Mary: Nope. I was in the basement.
: Tina: Trust me. It is raining soon. I can smell it in the air.
: Mary: Fine. Let's go take our clothes in WHEN it does.
: But IF it doesn't, you better see a doctor about your nose.
: -----
: Tina: It is raining tomorrow.
: Mary: How do you know?
: Tina: The forecast said so.
: Mary: pfff. They ain't always right.
: Tina: They are usually right around this time of year.
: Mary: Oh well. I won't go out to jog IF it does then.
Thank you, Paulchi
→ lim10337:I just asked one of my friends from the U.S. He said 02/08 02:19
→ lim10337:there's no such thing as "it's raining soon/tomorrow" 02/08 02:20
推 tengharold:Correction: I'm not sure I can write "it is raining 02/08 03:05
→ tengharold:soon" and make it make sense in a conversation. I 02/08 03:05
3.
I suppose that "It is raining soon" states definitely that rain will fall, so
that the coming rain is not an "if" but a "when." In conversation, you could
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
hear either, though..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nicholas Watson
Professor of English
Harvard University
4.
"It is raining soon" means that it is not yet raining, but will be soon.
Therefore, answer A ("Because") is wrong, since the sentence "Because it
rains, go into the building" implies that it is already raining. Answer C
(If) is wrong, since the sentence "If it rains, go into the building"
suggests that it might rain, whereas you know that it is definitely going to
rain. ANswer D (However) is wrong, because the sentence "However it rains, go
into the building," does not make much sense. Therefore B is the best answer.
James Wood
Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism
Department of English
Harvard University
5.
B is the only possible answer; the other possibilities produce incorrect
syntax.
James Simpson
Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English
Chair
Department of English
Harvard University
--
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◆ From: 210.69.13.1
1F：推 tengharold:Prof. Watson is a bit reserved in endorsing the use 02/10 02:03
2F：→ tengharold:"I suppose that..." 02/10 02:03
3F：→ tengharold:I'm a bit surprised that Prof. Wood appears to 02/10 02:04
4F：→ tengharold:fully accept the usage, makes for an interesting 02/10 02:05
5F：→ tengharold:development. 02/10 02:05
6F：→ tengharold:Prof Simpson is answering the "if or when" and not 02/10 02:06
7F：→ tengharold:addressing the acceptability of the rain sentence. 02/10 02:06
8F：→ tengharold:So the only big surprise for me is Prof. Wood 02/10 02:06
9F：→ tengharold:Counting Prof. Watson, I think 1 1/2 profs endorse 02/10 02:08
10F：→ tengharold:the sentence :p 02/10 02:08
11F：推 hh47:That is what YOU think. 02/10 08:00
12F：→ hh47:Professor Watson是講，我可以料想得到…….，儘管if或when 02/10 08:01
13F：→ hh47:在口語中聽到任一種回答是有可能的。 02/10 08:01
14F：→ hh47:我是覺得不要為了辯而辯。大學教授不是傻瓜。 02/10 08:02
15F：→ tengharold:今天考試在考文法，別說人家出文法錯誤的題目來考文法 02/10 13:32
16F：→ tengharold:絕不應該，就算原句只是在文法上有其爭議性，就不該拿 02/10 13:33
17F：→ tengharold:來考文法。 02/10 13:33
18F：→ tengharold:And yes I do think Prof. Watson sounds 'reserved' 02/10 13:33
19F：→ tengharold:in his endorsement. That's why I said my only real 02/10 13:34
20F：→ tengharold:surprise was Prof. Simpson's answer. 02/10 13:34