趣谈定语后置

韩天福

定语后置是初中英语教学的重难点之一，从近几年的中考题型来看，这一考点所占分值呈逐年上升趋势，然而，有不少同学对这一考点掌握得不够熟练，以下内容也许能为你指点迷津。

一、形容词作定语修饰something， nothing， anything， everything等不定代词时须置于不定代词之后；形容词短语作定语修饰名词时须后置。

例如：

1. Keep quiet！I have something important to tell you.

（请安静！我有一些重要的事情要告诉你们。）

2. Look， the old woman is carrying a basket full of apples to walk to the supermarket.

Look， the old woman is walking to the supermarket with a basket full of apples in her arm.

（瞧，那位老大娘提着一篮子苹果正往超市里走。）

二、有些形容词，如nearly，alive，alone，old last，enough等，以及表示长、宽、高、深等度量的形容词修饰名词需后置；here，there，home，upstairs，downstairs，below，above 等副词作定语修饰名词时须后置；

例如：

1. The old man lives in the village nearby.

（那位老大爷住在附近的村子里。）

2. Who is the happiest man alive in the modern society？

（当今社会谁是最幸福的人？）

3. This is a road 20 meters wide.

（这是一条20米宽的公路。）

4. She is a girl of 16 years old.

（她是一个16岁的姑娘。）

【注1】当表示度量的短语放在名词前面时，表示量的名词须用单数形式，且数词、量词与形容词之间须加连字符。如上面的例句3和例句4可分别译作：

That is a ten-meter-wide road.

She is a sixteen-year-old girl.

【注2】但少数形容词，如 nearby，enough等，修饰名词时既可置于名词之前，也可置于名词之后，如：a hometown nearby，a nearby hometown。

We have enough time （time enough） to finish solving the math problems.

例如：

Read the passage below and answer the following questions.

（阅读下面的短文回答下列问题。）

The girl saw the traffic accident happen when she was walking past the corner of the road on her way home.

（那个姑娘在回家的路上路过公路拐角处时目睹了那起车祸发生的经过。）

三、副词短语作定语修饰名词时须后置；else除修饰不定代词要后置之外，修饰疑问代词who， whom， whose， what， which和when， where， why， how等疑问副词时要后置。

例如：

1. He pointed to the high mountain far away and said， “That is my hometown”.

（他指着远处的那座高山说：“那就是我的家乡”。）

2. —Who else will help you with your English this evening？

（今晚谁教你学英语？）

—Nobody else. Ill teach myself.

（没有人。我自学。）

四、基数词用于表示事物的顺序时要后置；介词短语作定语限制名词时要后置。

例如：

1. Please turn to page fifty-six and read after me.

（请翻到56页跟我读。）

2. The girl in / wearing the light yellow skirt and a pair of dark glasses is our monitor.

（那个穿着浅黄色裙子、戴着一副深色眼镜的姑娘是我们的班长。）

五、动词不定式及不定式短语作定语时要后置；分词短语作定语时也要后置。

例如：

1. The best time to visit the Wudang Mountain is in spring or autumn.

（来武当山参观的最好时间是春季或秋季。）

2. Our class has a very excellent English teacher called / named / with the name of Han Mei.

（今天我们班有一名非常优秀的英语老师，名字叫韩梅。）

【练一练】根据括号内的提示，完成下面的句子。

1. The farmers live in a rural area，

（美丽而又有趣的地方）.

2. Could you tell me （关于学习英语的重要性吗）？

3. The math problems are （对于我们来说够难） to work out in 30 minutes.

4. Are you able to retell （上面的课文） and find out main language points？

5. The girls join the English club （经常）.

6. The boss often pays his staff （很高的薪水）.

7. Where else will you travel next weekend？

（哪儿也不去）.

8. The children （穿着漂亮的衣服） are on the spring festival.

9. We have something important （完成） today.

10. She likes reading the novels （茅盾写的）.

11. The man （站在窗户旁边） is our English teacher.

12. The young man is at most （30岁出头）.

【参考答案】

1. somewhere beautiful and interesting

2. something important on / the importance of learning English

3. difficult enough for us

4. the text above

5. quite often

6. very well

7. Nowhere else

8. in beautiful clothes

9. to finish

10. written by Mao Dun

11. standing at the window

12. in his early thirties