英语中专指两者和三者的不定代词

陈仁祯

一、分类归纳

1. 只用两者

只用于表示两个人或两个事物的不定代词主要有 both， either和neither。如：

If you lose your job， Ill lose mine； so were both in the same boat. 假使你失业，我也会失业，所以我们是难兄难弟。

Come on Tuesday or Thursday. Either day is OK. 星期二或星期四来吧。这两天中哪一天都行。

Neither of my parents likes my boyfriend. 我的父母都不喜欢我的男朋友。

2. 只用三者

只用于表示三个或三个以上的人或事物的不定代词主要有 all， any， none和every。如：

The door was open and all his things had gone. 门开着，他所有的东西都没了。

These books are not interesting， and I dont like any of them. 这些书都没趣，我都不喜欢。

I tried on a few jackets， but none of them looked nice. 我试了好几件外套，可是都不好看。

He knew every corner of the old town. 他熟悉这座古镇的每个角落。

3. 可用于两者和三者

既可用于两者也可用于三者或三者以上的人或事物的不定代词只有一个 each。如：

She had a cut on each of her feet. 她每只脚上都有伤口。

There are four bedrooms， and each has its bathroom. 共有4间卧室，每间都有单独的盥洗室。

注意，由于 each 既可指两者也可指三者或三者以上的“每个”，而 every 只用于指三者或三者以上的“每个”，因此当指两者时，只能用each。

There are new houses on each side of the street. 街道两边有新楼房。（不能用every）

二、相似比较

以下三组句子，均分别含有表示两者和三者的不定代词，请注意体会：

He has two sons， and both of them are clever. 他有两个儿子，都很聪明。

He has three sons， and all of them are clever. 他有三个儿子，都很聪明。

He has two sons， and either of them is clever. 他有两个儿子，哪个都很聪明。

He has three sons， and any of them is clever. 他有三个儿子，哪个都很聪明。

He has two sons， and neither of them is clever. 他有两个儿子，两个都不聪明。

He has three sons， and none of them are clever. 他有三个儿子，个个都不聪明。

三、语法特点

1. 既可用作代词也可用作形容词

在以上归纳的表示两者和三者的不定代词中，大多数既可用作代词也可用作形容词，比如 both， either， neither， all， any 等。如：

Both children go to the same school. 两个孩子在同一所学校读书。（both为形容词）

Both of the children go to the same school. 两个孩子在同一所学校读书。（both为代词）

Here are two dictionaries； you may take either one. 这里有两本词典，你拿哪一本都可以。（either为形容词）

Here are two dictionaries； you may take either. 这里有两本词典，你拿哪一本都可以。（either为代词）

2. 只用作代词而不用作形容词

只用作代词而不用作形容词的不定代词只有一个，即 none。由于 none 不用作形容词，所以绝对不能用它来修饰名词。如：

误：None keys would open the door.

正：None of the keys would open the door. 这些钥匙没有一把可以打开这扇门。

3. 只用作形容词而不用作代词

这样的词也只有一个，即 every。由于 every 具有形容词性质，所以它不能单独使用，也不能后接 of 短语，而必须后接名词。如：

误：Every of the students wants to try.

正：Each of the students wants to try. 每个学生都想试一试。

注：严格来说，every不是代词，但由于它与本文提到的不定代词在用法上有许多相似之处，且考试中命题者常把它与其他不定代词综合在一起进行考查，所以本文也将其归纳在一起分析。

四、考题分析

1. —How did you get the new pen， from a shop or by phone？

— _______. I always like shopping online.

A. None B. Neither C. Both D. All

分析：答案选 B。对话前一句提供的选择为两项，即from a shop（从商店）还是by phone（通过电话），所以首先可排除表示三者的 none 和 all；再根据I always like shopping online（我一直喜欢网购）可知，答案应选 neither，即表示既不是从商店购买的，也不是通过电话购买的。

2. My twin brothers promised my parents to give up playing computer games， but _______ of them made it.

A. none B. neither C. either D. both

分析：答案选 B。根据前面的 twin brothers（双胞胎兄弟）可知，这里是指两者，故可排除表示三者的 none，即排除A；再根据空格前的转折连词 but 可知，空格处只能填 neither 意思才通顺。句意：我的双胞胎兄弟答应我的父母不再打电子游戏，但是他们两人都没有做到。

3. —How many students are there in the classroom？

— _______. They are all in the lab.

A. Some B. None C. All D. Neither

分析：答案选 B。根据常识可知，一个班的学生通常会多于两个，所以空格不宜填表示两者的 neither；再根据空格后说的“他们都在实验室”可知答案应选 B，因为既然学生都在实验室，说明教室里没有学生。

五、边学边练

1. —Ann， would you like to drink tea or coffee？

— _______. Im not thirsty at all.

A. Either B. Any C. Neither D. Both

2. —Dont be angry with your kid when he makes a mistake again， will you？

—No， I wont. I know that _______ of us are perfect after all.

A. none B. neither C. each D. all

3. They were all very tired， but _______ of them took a rest.

A. none B. all C. both D. either

4. —We have red and yellow T-shirts. Which color do you like？

— Im afraid _______. I think blue will be OK.

A. both B. either C. neither D. none

5. —What do you think of the two backpacks？

— _______ of them are very nice.

A. Either B. Both C. Each D. All

6. Peter tried on three jackets， but _______ of them fitted him.

A. all B. both C. none D. neither

7. —What do you think of the four books？

—I hear that they are wonderful， but Ive read _______ of them.

A. all B. both C. neither D. none

8. I cannot understand why Steven bought so many watches but never wears ______ of them.

A. any B. both C. all D. either

（参考答案：1—5 CAACB 6—8 CDA）

（编辑 陈根花）