专有名词前面一般来说不需要加冠词,因为它本身就是特指的,即使前面有形容词修饰也不加冠词:(译文省略)
人名:Bush, Shakespeare, Prince Edward, Little Tom, Big Hugh
地名:London, Oxford, Southwest Asia, Ancient Egypt
但有些特殊情况:
a. 江、河、海洋:(译文省略)
the Yangtze River, the Thames River, the East China Sea, the Red Sea, the Baltic, the Suez(Canal), the Pacific(Ocean), the Rhine
b. 山脉群岛:
the Himalayas(喜马拉雅山),the Alps(阿尔卑斯山脉),the Rocky Mountains(落基山),the Philippines(菲律宾群岛),the West Indies(西印度群岛),the Balkan Peninsula(巴尔干半岛),the Bahamas(巴哈马群岛)
但Mount Blanc(勃朗峰),Christian Island(圣诞岛)前不加the。
c. 海峡海湾:
The English Channel(英吉利海峡),the Taiwan Straits(台湾海峡),the Bay of Biscay(比斯开湾),the Persian Gulf(波斯湾)
湖名前一般不加冠词:
Lake Ontario(安大略湖),Lake Baikal(贝加尔湖),Dongting Lake(洞庭湖)
但有个别湖名前也加the:
the Lake of Geneva(日内瓦湖),the Great Salt Lake(大盐湖)
另外,在下面这些地理名称前都加the:
the Netherlands(荷兰),the Vatican(梵蒂冈城),the Balkans(巴尔干半岛各国),the Middle East(中东),the Hague(海牙),the Ukraine(乌克兰),the Caucasus(高加索),the Crimea(克里米亚半岛),the Sudan(苏丹),the Sahara(Desert)(撒哈拉沙漠)
a. 某些国名及政治组织名称:(译文省略)
the People’s Republic of China, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the People’s Congress, the House of Commons, the Republican Party(但Parliament, Congress前不加冠词。)
b. 某些机构、学校及建筑等的名称:(译文省略)
the British Museum, the Victoria Chest Hospital, the New Century Oil Company, the Bronx Zoo, the Midland Bank, the University of Utah, the Royal Academy of Music, the Odeon Cinema, the Pentagon, the Hilton(Hotel), the Phoenix(Theatre), the Titanic(但Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Brooks Hotel前不加the。)
c. 某些报刊的名称:
the New York Times(纽约时报),the Chicago Tribune(芝加哥论坛报),the Washington Post(华盛顿邮报),the Labour Monthly(劳动月刊),the Daily News(每日新闻),the Observer(观察家报),the Economist(经济学人),the Times(泰晤士报)
a. 大多数街名:
Sunset Boulevard(日落大道),Marston Rood(玛斯登道),Riverside Avenue(滨河大道),Park Lane(帕克巷),Fleet Street(舰队街),Rodeo Drive(罗狄欧路)
b. 广场名:
Berkeley Square(伯克利广场),Russell Square(罗素广场),Piccadilly Circus(皮卡迪利圆形广场),Times Square(时代广场)[the Red Square(红场)是个例外]
c. 车站、机场、公园、桥梁名:
Central Station(中央车站),Kennedy Airport (肯尼迪机场),Hyde park(海德公园),Waterloo Bridge(滑铁卢大桥)[the Golden Gate Bridge(金门大桥)是个例外]
d. 大学名:
Yale University(耶鲁大学),Oxford University(牛津大学),California State University(加州州立大学)
e. 节日名:
National Day(国庆节),April Fool’s Day(愚人节),New Year’s Day(新年),Christmas(圣诞节),Easter(复活节),St. Valentine’s Day(情人节),International Women’s Day(国际妇女节)
f. 多数杂志名:
Time(时代周刊),New Scientist(新科学家),English Language Teaching(英语教学),U.S. News and World Report(美国新闻与世界报道),Reader’s Digest(读者文摘)
a. 指某一个特定的人时可加the:
The John you’re looking for is watching TV. 你找的那个约翰在看电视。
b. 可加a(an)表示“某一个”:
A Miss Johnson called you yesterday. 有一位约翰逊小姐昨天打电话给你。
c. 在人名前可以加“the+adj”,表示赞颂等情绪,或说明暂时的特点:
The polite Mr. Williams closed the door after him. 彬彬有礼的威廉姆斯先生随手关了门。
“Tell Bess to hurry up,”said the eager George. 焦急的乔治说:“让贝丝快一点。”
d. 人名前还可加a(an),表示一些特别的意思:
A sad-faced Charles came in the meeting room. 满脸愁容的查尔斯走进会议室。
He had a Raphael in his room. 他房里有一张拉斐尔的画。
其他专有名词前有时也可加冠词:
The car was a Bern, not a Buick. 那辆车是奔驰,不是别克。
What a strange New York he heard! 他听到的是一个多么奇怪的纽约!
Practice makes perfect. (谚语)熟能生巧。
Failure is the mother of success. (谚语)失败乃成功之母。
His research made slow progress. 他的研究工作进展缓慢。
即使有描绘性定语时,抽象名词前也不加冠词:
This invitation gave her particular joy. 这项邀请使她非常高兴。
You have given me fresh hope. 你给了我新的希望。
I am discussing ordinary human behaviour. 我讨论的是普通人的行为。
Physics is the science of matter and energy. 物理学是关于物质和能量的科学。
The invention of a space rocket took many years. 发明太空火箭用了很多年。
Her children were the joy of her life. 她的孩子是她生活的乐趣。
关键是看这个词是泛指还是特指——泛指不加冠词,特指加定冠词the:
a. 表示“一种”“一场”等:
She showed a certain elegance. 她表现出一种优雅的风度。
Ancient Egypt had an advanced culture. 古埃及有先进的文化。
He felt a great tenderness for Ruth. 他对露丝感到一种柔情。
It was a just war. 这是一场正义的战争。
b. 表示某动作的“一次”“一番”等:
He made a careful check of the accounts. 他对账目进行了仔细的检查。
Her smile was a reflection of her happiness. 她的微笑是她高兴的反映。
Do you care for a smoke? 抽支烟好吗?
c. 表示引起某种情绪的事或人:
It is a difficulty to visit the manager. 拜访经理是很困难的事。
Seeing him so active was a great encouragement. 他这样积极很令人振奋。
He was a disappointment to his family. 他使他家里人很失望。
d. 表示某一品质的具体行动、人或事物:
He did me a great favor. 他帮了我很大的忙。
A forced kindness deserves no thanks. 被迫做出的善举不值得感谢。
In some places, pure water is a luxury. 在某些地方连纯净水都是奢侈品。
关于这个问题,可参阅第21节。
定冠词的运用虽然有一定的规律可循,但每个词特点不同,因此有不少例外。遇到不清楚的情况时最好查词典,确定该词在什么情况下作不可数名词,在什么情况下作可数名词。这会帮助我们决定是否要加冠词,以及加哪种冠词。
Man cannot live without water. 人离开水就无法生存。
We expect rain before evening. 我们预计傍晚前会下雨。
The desk is made of wood. 这桌子是木头做的。
Hydrogen is lighter than Oxygen. 氢气比氧气轻。
即使物质名词前面有描绘性定语,也不必加冠词:
Better let in some fresh air. 最好放些新鲜空气进来。
Is the bust made of pure gold. 那座半身像是纯金铸的吗?
May I have tomato juice?给我些西红柿汁好吗?
Walking in the snow with my boyfriend is romantic. 和我男朋友在雪中漫步是很浪漫的。
Let’s wipe off the dust(on the floor).咱们把(地上的)尘土擦掉。
Is the water in the well fit to drink? 这口井里的水能喝吗?
The bakery makes a very fine cake. 那家面包房制作的一种蛋糕很好吃。
This morning there was a terrible storm. 今早下了一阵可怕的暴雨。
A large beer for me. 给我一大杯啤酒。
除了上面谈的情况,冠词还有一些其他用法值得注意:
They elected him(the)President of the U.S.. 他们选他当美国总统。
He is chairman of the Students’ Union. 他是学生会主席。
They appointed him minister to a foreign country. 他们任命他为驻外公使。
This is Professor Lorin, head of the French department. 这位是法语系系主任劳瑞恩教授。
上面所说的职位都指负责人,指一般工作人员时前面要加冠词:
He is a famous doctor of the hospital. 他是这家医院的一位著名医生。
不过,尽管是指普通员工,现在也有前面不加冠词的使用趋势:
I took the job of foreign editor in a newspaper office last year. 去年我在一家报社当外语编辑。
Soon he returned to his old job as car repairman. 不久他又回去当他的汽车修理工了。
另外,在turn后的名词前通常不加冠词:
After four years’ professional education she turned teacher. 经过四年的专业教育,她当上了教师。
在title和rank后由of引起的短语中,名词前也常不加冠词:
I prefer the title of director. 我更喜欢导演的头衔。
He was promoted to the rank of colonel. 他被提升为上校。
The thief was sent to prison for a year. 小偷要蹲一年监狱。
(对比The girl went to the prison to see her father. 女孩去监狱探视爸爸。)
Is there room for me in the car? 车子里还有我坐的地方吗?
(对比I must share the room with her. 我必须和她共用一个房间。)
What time does church begin? 什么时候开始做礼拜?
The trees were all in flower. 树都开花了。
有很多短语都包含有抽象化的名词,例如go to bed(camp, sea), by bus(plane, boat, car), in bed(school, prison, class), at table(college, sea), come into blossom(flower, bud), send to hospital(prison, bed)等。(译文省略)
Our wedding will be arranged on National Day. 我的婚礼将安排在国庆节。
If winter comes, can spring be far behind? 冬天来了,春天还会远吗?
School begins next Monday. 下星期一开学。
但是,如果有一个限制性定语,代表特定时间时,它前面就得加定冠词:
I remember it happened in the autumn of 1949. 我记得它发生在1949年秋天。
She arrived on the Sunday and left on the Wednesday. 她星期天到的,星期三就走了。
有时这类名词前面还可加不定冠词:
Easter occurs on a Sunday in March or April. 复活节是三月或四月的一个星期天。
What a terrible Friday! We’ll have the final exam. 这是个多么可怕的周五!我们将进行期末考试。
另外,表示一顿饭的名词前一般不加冠词:
I have breakfast at 7 every day. 我每天七点吃早餐。
Where shall we have lunch? 我们在哪里吃午饭?
有时这类名词前面也可加冠词:
I had a good lunch yesterday. 我昨天吃了一顿美味的午餐。
How did you like the dinner? 你觉得那顿饭怎么样?
in town 在城里
in the city 在城里
in front of 在……前面
at the back of 在……后面
at a distance 在一定距离
in the distance 在远处
as a whole 作为整体
on the whole 总的来说
play volleyball 打排球
play the piano 弹钢琴
catch cold 感冒了
have a cold 感冒了
又如,由come构成的短语:(译文省略)
come to a decision(a halt, a stop, a standstill, an end, a pretty pass, etc.)
come to grief(harm, fruition, life, light, hand, heel, etc.)
还有许多短语中的名词前不加冠词:(译文省略)
hand in hand, arm in arm, face to face, from top to bottom, from hand to mouth, from morning till night, make fun of, make friends with, make room for
这时应把它们作为整体来记,这样冠词就不易用错了。