名词的相互转化

陈烨

一般来说，具体名词可数，抽象名词不可数。但由于实际表达的需要，它们也可以相互转化。以下就这种情况做一些归纳。

1. 许多表示动物名称的名词可数，但在表示食品时则不可数。如：

There is some fish on the plate.

Which do you like best， chicken， duck or goose？

2. 当介词by表示“乘（交通工具）”，in 表示“用（表达方式或材料）”时， 其用作宾语的名词表示抽象意义。如：

Did they come to the city by plane？

Please complete the form with the information of yours in pen.

3. 表示头衔、职位的名词，如chairman， president， captain， manager， head， director， monitor等在句子作主语补足语、宾语补足语、表语或同位语等时，其前面不用冠词，表示抽象的职位概念。如：

Henry was made captain of the ship.

They elected Lao Liu director of the factory.

4. 当一天内的时辰名词，如day， morning， noon， afternoon， evening， night等表示天色时，系抽象名词。如：

Evening came when I got home.

Day had now broken， and he cast his net for the last time.

5. 当word作“消息、音信（news， information）”，space作“太空（the sky）”讲时，不可数。如：

Word came that you were wanted at the office.

We know nothing about him， for no word has came yet.

6. 在“kind/sort of”结构中，of后面的可数名词抽象化。如：

What kind of bike do you like best？

I have never seen such kind of person.

7. 当单数可数名词用于as， though引导的让步状语从句位于句首时， 该名词就抽象化了， 其前不用冠词修饰。如：

Young child as Jack was， he asked lots of questions.

Old man of over eighty as he is， the professor thinks quickly.

8. 当单数可数名词在独立结构中作逻辑主语时， 其前面不能加冠词， 即成为不可数名词。如：

I climbed in， sword in hand.

Sweater stolen， he had to buy another one.

Cigarette in mouth， he sat there， reading a newspaper.

9. 某些表示运动、娱乐的名词与play连用时，它们就抽象化、物质化了。如：

Many children like playing football.

Sometimes they played mahjong to kill time.

10. 某些部门、机构、公共场所或事物名称，如office， school， class， court， church， market， cinema， theatre， hospital， table， bed， sleep等，在与某些介词连用时失去了具体意义，而表示与该名词意义相关的动作活动或情况。如：

The turners were at table.

Did Mrs. Smith go to church every Saturday？

Anyone who refused to bow was thrown into prison.

You can discuss the problem after class.

11. 某些词组中的可数名词表示抽象意义。如：on TV， at noon， by hand， lose heart， all day long， night and day， year by year， experiment after experiment， hand in hand， from dawn till night等。

1. 当抽象名词，如history， knowledge， experience， help， danger， failure等，有定语修饰，且表示具体含义时，前面可以加不定冠词表示具体含义。如：

He has a wide knowledge of geography.

A knowledge of English is a must for young people today.

Living on a deserted island for a night can be quite an experience.

Chica is an ancient civilized country with a history of over 5000 years.

In the past few years， there has been a steady increase in agriculture and industry.

Having an English-Chinese dictionary at hand is a great help to the learners of English in China.

2. 某些抽象名词用来表示具体的行为、事件与现象时表示具体含义。如：

Students are a great joy to me.

What a surprise to see you here.

The Great Wall is one of the wonders of the world.

It is an honor for me to be asked to give a lecture here.

In learning a foreign language， various forms of practice are good disciplines （训练方法）.

3. 某些表示动作的抽象名词与have， take， give， make等动词连用时，可表示一个短暂的具体动作。如：

What a nice watch ！ Let me have a look at it.

“You have just made a nice throw.”

4. 某些表示性状、动作的抽象名词，如success， failure等，在表示具体的“某一……”概念时， 可以加上不定冠词，表示具体含义。如：

As a singer， he was a success.

She turned out to be a success at marketing.

China has a population of about 1.2 billion.

The experiment turned out to be a great success.

Reading is a skill while writing is another skill.

Everybody wants to be a success； that is to say， nobody wants to be a failure.

Why do you think it a waste of money to buy this kind of computer？

5. 某些表示时空、天气的名词，在表示整体时是抽象的，但在表示局部时却是具体的。如：

Towards morning， a cold rain began to fall.

Did you have a good time in the park yesterday？

Our country has a history of more than 5000 years.

6. 某些抽象名词，如joy，delight，sorrow，shock，pity，shame，pleasure，comfort，relief，disappointment等，前加不定冠词表示对某种情况的感受，这类名词本身就是表示人的感觉类的形容词的名词形式。如：

Its a relief that his health is picking up now.

That he stole the necklace was a shame to his family.

The news that out team won the match is a delight to everybody.

What a pity it is that you should miss the party this weekend！

[练习]

1. One way to understand thousands of new words is to gain _____ good knowledge of basic word formation.

A. 不填 B. the C. a D. one

2. “What ______ great surprise to meet you here！” She said in surprise.

A. 不填； 不填 B. a； 不填

C. 不填； the D. a； a

3. It is often said that teachers have _____ very easy life.

A. 不填；不填 B. 不填；a

C. the； 不填 D. the； 不填

4. He developed _____ deep interest in insects when he was at _____ age of 8.

A. a； a B. the； the C. a； the D. the； a

5. She tried to make the children live _____， which is _____ great comfort to her.

A. in comfort； a

B. in comforts； 不填

C. in a comfort； a

D. in comfort； 不填