英语讲义(72)名词修饰语㈡

　上一期举出了10种名词修饰语，它们多数是出现在名词前面的单字单词。

　　这里要谈及另外两种很重要的名词修饰语：一种是形容词短语（ adjective phrases）；另一种是形容词从句（adjective clauses）。

　　形容词短语分介词短语（如例①）、现在分词短语（如例②）和过去分词短语（如例③）：

　　① in the corner, on the table, from China, of great ability等，如： The books on the table are mine.

　　② standing on the platform, seeing the danger, hearing the noise等，如： Standing on the platform, the speaker looked nervous.

　　③ taken by surprise, awakened by the noise, frightened out of his wits等，如： Awakened by the noise, the baby cried.

　　就位置来说，介词短语紧随被修饰的名词，如：

　　④ The man in the corner looks pale.

　　⑤ The flowers in the vase are fading.

　　⑥ I have met many visitors from China.

　　现在分词短语由现在分词引导而出，可以在主语名词前面（如例 ⑦）或后面（如例⑧），也可以在宾语后面（如例⑨）：

　　⑦ Looking at the gigantic stranger, the small girl cried.

　　⑧ Jim, seeing the danger, hurried home.

　　⑨ Can you see the fish swimming in the pool?

　　过去分词短语，由过去分词带头，出现的位置和现在分词相同，如：

　　⑩ Taken completely by surprise, the enemy gave in.

　　● Peter, frightened out of his wits, stood rooted to the spot.

　　● We were sorry to see the dog chained to the tree all day long.

　　现在分词短语和过去分词短语形式不同，性质也异。前者主动，后者被动。

　　上述三种形容词短语出现率很高，不可等闲视之 .

　　最后一种出现率高的名词修饰语，是众所周知的形容词从句。形容词从句由关系代词（the relative pronoun）“who, which, that, whose”等或关系副词（the relative adverb）“where, when, why”等引导而出现在被修饰的名词后头；这样的名词叫先行词（the antecedent）。例如：

　　● Dr Yang is a renowned scientist who specialises in physics.

　　● The book which deals with translation is Jason's masterpiece.

　　● Have you read the report on education that came out yesterday?

　　● David is the new director whose most urgent job is to reorganise the department.

　　● The writer whom you praised in your review felt greatly grateful for your admiration.

　　● This is the university where I studied 30 years ago.

　　● Gone are the days when people could live happily without the stresses and strains of a busy life.

　　● The reason why Harold suddenly resigned is not known.

　　● The host gave us such food as we could eat.