2009年9月16日星期三

葛傳槼的錯誤

中共英文學者葛傳槼文集有以下一句: Each of these two dictionaries explains and illustrates fully and clearly the common words that one meets with every day but are entangled with other words in so many connexions that the idiomatic use and right understanding of them are far from easy(這兩本字典,對我們天天看到的常用字,有詳盡清楚的解釋和說明,但這些字往往和其他字並用,十分複雜,要用得恰當、理解正確,並不容易)。句中 meets一字應不應加 s?
讀者這個問題很奇怪: one指「一個人」,所配動詞當然要用第三身單數( third person singular)的 meets。假如 one改為 we或 you,動詞才須改為 meet。
葛傳槼那一句的錯誤,不在於 meets with,而在於 but之後缺了主詞( subject) that。請比較以下兩句:( 1) It is a word that/ which he knows but(that/ which he) does not often use(那個字他認識,但他並不常用)。( 2) It is a word that/ which he knows, but that/ which does not appear in the dictionary(那個字他認識,但字典沒有收錄)。第一句 does的主詞是 he,承接上文的 he,所以可略去;第二句 does的主詞是 that/ which,不承接上文的 he,所以不可略去,否則會引起「哪個是主詞」的誤會。葛傳槼那一句, are entangled的主詞論句子結構應該是 one,但論意思則明顯是 that,所以 that是不可略去的。
【代郵】 ying ying君:「茲」是傳統虛詞,有「現在」含義,如「茲收到定金一百元」等。現代漢語反傳統,習慣棄「茲」不用,語氣常覺突兀。