有关ｆｉｖｅ－ｙｅａｒ－ｏｌｄ用法的联想

刘慧娟

本文说的 five-year-old 的意思是“五岁大的”,其中的 five 只是我们随意举的一个例子,它也可换成 one, two, three, four, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve 等;同时,其中的 year 也可根据情况改用 month, day 等词。本文拟对这类结构的用法作一小结,同时也对其相关用法作一归纳。

一、基本用法

1. 用作形容词

My four-year-old daughter was asleep on the sofa. 我四岁的女儿在沙发上睡着了。

Mary drove. Her ten-year-old daughter sat behind. 玛丽开车,她十岁的女儿坐在后面。

Their five-year-old son is able to use the calendar to count how many days it is until his birthday. 他们五岁的儿子能用日历数出离他的生日还有多少天。

In the car accident the mother was killed, but her two-year-old son was found alive. 在这次车祸中,母亲死了,但是她两岁的儿子却还活着。

2. 用作名词

A seven-year-old should be able to read. 七岁的儿童应当识字了。

Shes quite clever for a ten-year-old. 对一个10岁的孩子来说,她算相当聪明了。

Tim has an average vocabulary for a 3-year-old. 蒂姆掌握了相当于3岁孩子的平均词汇(量)。

二、用法联想

1. five-year-old 中的 year 可用复数吗?

不可以。five-year-old 这类结构中的 year 只能用单数,不能用复数。如:

她两岁的儿子摇摇摆摆地走进屋里。

误:Her two-years-old son toddled into the room.

正:Her two-year-old son toddled into the room.

2. five-year-old 中的连字符可以去掉吗?

不可以。若去掉,则要转换表达方式。如:

She has a ten-year-old son. 她有个10岁的儿子。

She has a son ten years old. 她有个10岁的儿子。

Her son is ten years old. 她儿子10岁。

3. five-year-old 可用作表语吗?

不可以。若要用作表语,可考虑改用 five years old 之类的表达。如:

她20岁,但却嫁了一个50岁的丈夫。

误:She was twenty-year-old, but married a man of fifty.

正:She was twenty years old, but married a man of fifty.

4. five-year-old 前用 a 还是 an?

five-year-old 前若需要用不定冠词,要用 a,不能用 an。但是,若将其中的 five 改为 eight, eleven, eighteen, eighty 等,则其前要用 an,不用 a。如:

He has an 11-year-old daughter. 他有一个11岁大的女儿。

He married an 18-year-old American girl. 他娶了一个18岁的美国女孩。

5. five-year-old 用作名词时可以有复数形式吗?

可以。five-year-old 这类结构用作名词时,若语法上需要用复数,可以在词尾加-s。如:

Eighteen-year-olds qualify to vote. 年满十八岁者有选举权。

The report attacks the idea of exams for 7- and 8-year-olds. 这份报道抨击了对七八岁孩子进行考试的设想。

Even ten-year-olds have started wearing lipstick and make-up in imitation of the older girls. 甚至连10来岁的女孩子们也开始模仿年龄大一点的女孩子抹口红和化妆。

(编辑 周贞雄)