5.6　关系代词

5.6.1　关系代词的作用

关系代词有如下这些：

它们都是用来引导定语从句的。这类代词都起着三重作用，一是代表前面的名词，二是把从句和它所修饰的词连接起来，三是在从句中也担任一个成分，例如：

I met someone who said he knew you. 我碰到一个人，他说他认识你。

（who代表someone，又引导从句修饰它，同时又在从句中担任主语）

The noise that he made woke everybody up. 他弄出的声音把大家都吵醒了。（that代表noise，又引导从句修饰它，又在从句中担任made的宾语）

I saw something in the paper which might interest you. 我在报上看到一点消息，可能会使你感兴趣。（which代表something，又引导从句修饰它，又在从句中担任主语）

这种代词起着关连作用，把引导的从句和所修饰的词连接起来，因此称作关系代词，它们引导的从句称为关系从句（Relative Clauses），也称定语从句（Attributive Clauses）。

5.6.2　who, whom和whose的用法

1) who代表人，在从句中作主语：

The man who robbed her has been arrested. 抢她东西的人被捕了。

The girls who served in the shop were the owner's daughters. 在商店里接待顾客的那些姑娘是老板的女儿。

The girl who spoke is my best friend. 讲话的姑娘是我最好的朋友。

2) whom也代表人，但在从句中作宾语或介词宾语：

The man whom I saw told me to come back today. 我见到的那个人让我今天再来。

The girls whom he employs are always complaining about their pay. 他雇用的姑娘们老是抱怨工资太低。

The man with whom I was travelling didn't speak English. 和我一道旅行的那人不会讲英语。

在口语中常可用who代替，也可省略：

The man (who) I saw told me to wait. 我见到的那个人让我等一会儿。

The girl (who/whom) I spoke to was a student. 和我讲话的女孩是个学生。

但紧跟介词时只能用whom：

The man to whom I spoke was a foreigner. 我找他讲话的那人是外国人。

The man from whom I bought it told me to read the instructions. 卖我货的人让我看一看说明书。

3) whose 表示“某人的”，在从句中作定语：

A mental patient is one whose mind is diseased. 精神病人就是脑子有病的人。

I know a boy whose father is an acrobat. 我认识一个男孩，他父亲是杂技演员。

That's the boy whose mother has just died. 这就是那个刚死了妈的男孩。

The film is about a spy whose wife betrays him. 这部电影讲一个间谍，他的妻子出卖了他。

有时可指无生命的东西：

He saw a house whose windows were all broken. 他看到一所房子，窗子全都破了。

He showed me a machine whose parts are too small to be seen. 他给我展示了一种机器，它的部件都小得无法看到。

I saw a film whose name I have forgotten. 我看了一部电影，名字我忘了。

5.6.3　that和which的用法

1) that可以代表人（a），也可以代表东西（b）：

a. He that would eat the fruit must climb the tree. （谚）想吃果子就得爬树。

Can you think of anyone that could look after him? 你能想到什么人能照顾他吗？

The man that I spoke to told me to wait. 我找他讲话的人让我等一等。

b. That is the picture that (which) caused such a sensation. 这就是那张引起如此轰动的画。

The stairs that lead to the cellar are rather slippery. 通往地窖的楼梯相当滑。

All the apples that fall are eaten by wild boars. 落在地上的苹果都被野猪吃了。

在从句中作宾语时，that常可省略：

This is the best hotel (that) I know. 这是我知道的最好的旅馆。

Who is the man (that) you were talking to? 刚才你在和谁讲话？

2) which只能代表东西或动物，它在从句中可充当：

a. 主语：

She was not in the train which arrived just now. 她不在刚到的火车上。

The dog which was lost has been found. 丢失的狗找着了。

This is the book which was on the table. 这就是原来在桌上的那本书。

b. 宾语：

The car which (that) I hired broke down. 我租的汽车坏了。

These are the conditions which we have to accept. 这些就是我们必得接受的条件。

His mind was full of ideas which he wanted to discuss. 他脑中充满了各种想和别人讨论的想法。

c. 介词宾语：

The day on which I saw him was the greatest of my life. 见到他的那天是我一生中最伟大的日子。

That's a formality which we have to go through. 这是我们必须履行的手续。

The ladder which (that) I was standing on began to slip. 我站的梯子开始滑动。

在作宾语或介词宾语时，which（that）常可省略：

That's the house (which/that) we built. 这就是我们盖的房子。

This is the book (which/that) you wanted. 这是你要的书。

There are the difficulties (which/that) we got into. 这些就是我们碰到的困难。

但在紧跟介词时，只能用which，不能用that，而且不能省略：

Read the passage to which I referred in my talk. 读一读我在讲话中提到的那段文字。

The situation in which he found himself was very difficult. 他的处境非常困难。

在口语中，介词和它的宾语分开，也可以省略：

The situation (that/which) he found himself in was very difficult.

5.6.4　限制性定语从句和非限制性定语从句

定语从句有两类，即限制性定语从句（Restrictive Attributive Clause）和非限制性定语从句（Non-Restrictive Attributive Clause）。

1) 限制性定语从句：

这种从句限制所修饰词的意义，如把它拿掉，句子意思即不清楚，甚至失去意义，例如：

That's the machine he designed. 这就是他设计的机器。（若把he designed去掉，句子意思则不清楚）

Madame Curie was a woman we admired. 居里夫人是我们崇拜的女性。（若把we admired去掉，句子就失去意义）

前面举的例子都包含限制性定语从句，在译成汉语时也多译成一个定语， 如“我们崇拜的”、“他设计的”。只有在限制性定语从句中，作宾语的关系代词才能省略。

2) 非限制性定语从句：

另有一种定语从句和主句（句子的其他部分）关系不太紧密，对所修饰词的意思没有限制作用，把它拿掉对句子基本上没有影响，句子依然完整。它可以说是一个附加上去的成分，通常都用逗号把它和句子的其他部分分开，译成汉语时常可译成并列句。这种从句只能由who（m）（a），whose（b）或which（c）引导：

a. Peter, who had been driving all day, suggested stopping at the next town. 彼得开了一天的车，建议在下一个城镇停一停。

I passed the letter to Helen, who was sitting beside me. 我把信传给海伦，她就坐在我旁边。

I've invited Mrs Green, who lives in the next flat. 我邀请了格林太太，她就住在隔壁。

Peter, whom everyone suspected, turned out to be innocent. 彼得受到大家的怀疑，但结果证明他是无辜的。

Mr Black, for whom I was working, was very generous. 我给布莱克先生工作，他为人很大方。

David, whom (who) I played tennis with on Sundays, was a colleague of mine.我星期天都和大卫打网球，他是我的一位同事。

b. Anne, whose children are at school all day, is trying to get a job. 安妮的孩子们全天上学，她在想法找一份工作。

This is Harry, whose class you'll be taking over. 这是哈利，你将接手他的班。

My dog, whose temper is very uncertain, often bites judges at dog shows. 我那条狗的脾气捉摸不定，参加狗展时常咬裁判。

c. The 8:30 train, which is usually very punctual, was late today. 八点三十分的（火）车通常很准时，但今天晚点了。

My new car, which I paid several thousand pounds for, is not running well.我的那辆新车花了我好几千镑，开起来却不太好。

They drafted two different constitutions, one of which was never put in force.他们草拟了两部不同的宪法，其中一部从未实施过。

5.6.5　which的特殊用法

1) 在非限制性定语从句中，which可以代表主句的一部分，甚至全部，而不仅仅限于一个名词或代词：

This I did at nine o'clock, after which (=doing it) I sat some time reading the paper. 我九点钟做了这事，之后我就坐着看了一会儿报。

He invited us to dinner, which was very kind of him. 他请我们去吃饭，这是他难得的好意。

We had to sleep in our wet clothes, which was most uncomfortable. 我们不得不穿着湿衣服睡，这很不舒服。

He said he had never seen her before, which was not true. 他说他以前从未见过她，这不是真的。

2) which有时在从句中作定语：

He advised me to hide behind the door, which advice I took at once. 他让我躲在门后，我立即照着做了。

He believes in the abolition of capital punishment, which idea I am quite opposed to. 他主张废除死刑，对这种观念我是完全反对的。

She may not be in, in which case you could leave her a note. 她可能不在家，如果是那样你可以给她留个条。

He studied computer science, which knowledge is very important today. 他学的是电脑，这门知识现在很重要。

在书面语中，有时把这类从句单列成一句：

From which he learned a few lessons which were later of value to him. 从中他得到了一些教训，对他后来很有用处。

3) which还可以和不定式一起用：

Allow me one minute in which to change my costume. 给我一点时间去换装。

She had a little money in the bank, with which to help her mother. 她在银行存了一点钱，用这钱来帮助她的母亲。

Now he had no pretext on which to stay in the house. 现在他没有什么借口再在这家待下去了。

4) which有时还可以表示“任何一个”，意思和whichever差不多：

You may have which apple you like. 你想要哪个苹果就拿哪个。

Take which dresses you want from my wardrobe. 想要什么衣服就从我的衣柜里拿。

You may select which you like. 你可挑选任何你喜欢的。

Use which method you prefer. 你愿意用什么方法都行。

关于关系从句，在22.3.1—22.3.2节中还将作进一步讨论。